City of Caves: Unearthing Nottingham's Underground Heritage

There are hundreds of caves beneath the city of Nottingham, all created by humans carving into the soft sandstone on which the city is built. They range in date and function from medieval tanneries and malt-kilns, to 18th-century sand-mines, aristocratic drinking dens, Victorian garden follies, slum housing, pub cellars, and WW2 air-raid shelters. Together they form a unique subterranean urban landscape that reflects the development of the city’s geopolitical importance, industries, and changing populations over centuries. Dr Chris King has been leading a new collaborative project with key local partners looking at the archaeology and heritage of Nottingham’s medieval and later caves, as part of new urban regeneration and place-making initiatives in the city. Drawing on a long tradition of antiquarian, archaeological and community research into the caves, this lecture will outline their structure and history as well as associated discoveries in the archaeological record and medieval archives of the city.

Biography:

Dr Chris King is Associate Professor in the School of Humanities at the University of Nottingham, specialising in late medieval and historical archaeology with a particular interest in urban archaeology. He is PI for the AHRC-funded ‘City of Caves’ project.