an inland county of England, bounded on the N. by Yorkshire and a part of Lincolnshire, on the E. by Lincolnshire, on the S. by Leicestershire, and on the W. by Derbyshire. It is of an oval figure, with its narrowest end towards the north. Its greatest length is about 50 miles, and its greatest breadth 27. Its circumference is estimated at 140 miles. The number of square miles is 822, or 526,076 acres.

The county is divided into six hundreds, or, as they are usually denominated, wapentakes; three of which are to the north and three to the south of the River Trent. It contains nine market-towns, and 207 parishes. The annual value of the real property assessed to the property and income tax for the year ending 5th April 1851 was £1,198,843. The number of inhabitants amounted in 1801 to 140,350; in 1811 to 162,000; in 1821 to 186,873; in 1831 to 225,400; in 1841 to 249,910; and in 1851 to 270,427.

The number of inhabited houses in 1851 was 55,019. We are not enabled to state the exact proportions of the several classes engaged at that date in trade, agriculture, &c. According to the census of 1851, the county contains 231 public day-schools, 58 of which are supported by endowments, and 136 by the voluntary subscriptions of members of the Established Church. The total number of scholars in public and private day-schools is 31,178. The number of Sunday schools is 428, of which 183 belong to the Established Church, and 245 to other religious communions. The total number of scholars in the former is stated to be 17,785, and in the latter 26,153. The places of worship belonging to the Church of England are returned as being 248, and those belonging to other religious bodies as 382, of which the large proportion of 273 is assigned to the Wesleyan Methodists. The number of sittings is reported as 160,234, of which the Established Church furnishes 76,960.

The towns and villages containing more than 2000 inhabitants, and the numbers in each, were in 1851:

| Town | Population | |-----------------------|------------| | Nottingham | 58,529 | | Southwell | 3,516 | | Newark | 11,330 | | Beeston | 3,016 | | Mansfield | 10,627 | | Hucknall-Torkard | 2,970 | | Basford (parish) | 10,600 | | Retford | 2,943 | | Worksop | 7,215 | | Clarborough | 2,904 | | Kirkleatham | 5,542 | | Ashfield | 2,863 | | Lenton (parish) | 5,585 | | Carlton | 2,329 | | Greasley (parish) | 5,284 | | Ruddington | 2,181 | | Arnold | 4,704 | | Blagdon | 2,054 | | Balwell | 3,786 |

The face of the country is generally level, with moderate undulations; and its beauties are of a mild description, somewhat picturesque in the vicinity of Sherwood Forest, but displaying neither the striking features of the adjoining county of Derby on its western side, nor the flat insipidity of the plains of Lincolnshire on its eastern side. From its position between these two descriptions of country, and from its moderate elevation, it enjoys a milder climate than either, partaking neither of the cold air of the one nor the moist atmosphere of the other. The mean temperature of the county town is said to be only 1½ below that of London, or 49°73. The dryness of the climate is favourable to early vegetation, and is supposed to be the cause of the seed-time and harvest in Nottinghamshire commencing at the same period as in the more southern counties. The soil of this county is very various. On the borders of Derbyshire there is a stripe of land with coal and limestone, partly in wood, but mostly under arable culture. Parallel to it is a broader tract, including Sherwood Forest, the soil of which is chiefly sandy and gravelly; but though naturally sterile, it has in some degree been brought into a productive state by the extensive cultivation of turnips, and the maintenance of considerable flocks of sheep. The tract which adjoins is a clayey soil, extending to the banks of the River Trent. It is chiefly arable land, but varied with woods and meadows, and highly productive of wheat, oats, beans, and, in some parts, of hops. The lands on the banks of the Trent are very fertile, being mostly devoted to pasture, on which many oxen are fattened; and some of the dairies are extensive. The arable land of this district is celebrated both for the quantity and the quality of the oats which it produces. The beautiful vale of Belvoir, in the south-easternmost part of the county, enjoys some of the best soils, both for pasture and arable husbandry, of any part of this island. The farms are in general small, and commonly held by tenants at will, the rents taken from whom are generally moderate; and a very great proportion of the land is free from the burden of the tithes. The spirit of agricultural improvement has not proceeded so far as in many other counties, though it has made considerable progress of late years. Neither the breeds of cows and sheep nor the modes of cultivation differ so much from those of the adjoining counties as to deserve any especial notice.

There are no mines except those of coal, which are exclusively confined to a narrow district bordering on Derbyshire; the coal is of good quality, very abundant, and, by means of railways and internal navigation, diffused throughout the whole county. Excellent stone for building is raised in many parts, some of which has the peculiarly valuable quality of hardening by exposure to the weather. Many parts of the county abound in veins of gypsum. In the parish of Gotham it is found in strata of the thickness of 3 feet. At Beaconhill, near Newark, there are large quarries of this substance. Although it has been much praised as a manure, the trials of it that have been made in its vicinity have not been attended with such beneficial results as to induce the continued use of it for that purpose. It should only be used in moderate quantity, and on stiff soils.

The forest of Sherwood, formerly celebrated as the scene of the exploits of Robin Hood, whose deeds amused our nursery days, is mostly an open heathy plain, bordered with recent plantations, and upon which the plough has made very extensive encroachments. The boundaries of the forest are extensive, it being 25 miles in length, and from 7 to 9 in breadth; but a great portion of it has become the property of private individuals, and is inclosed in farms and parks; in the latter of which is to be found the deer with which this forest was once most abundantly stocked. The trees of most ancient date are those on the estates of the Duke of Newcastle and Lord Mansvers.

Nottinghamshire is, for its population, one of the greatest manufacturing counties. (For information on this subject the reader is referred to the concluding part of the article Nottingham.) The spinning of cotton-yarn, from its natural connection with the trade of the district, has been introduced and very widely extended; and the establishments at Nottingham, at Pleasley Works, near Mansfield, and several other places, are upon an extensive scale. There are also some large manufactories for silk-throwing and for spinning worsted yarn. Malting and brewing are carried on to a considerable extent; and the beer of Nottingham and of Newark rivals that of Burton-upon-Trent. There are potteries at Sutton-in-Ashfield; starch is made at Lenton; and sailcloth and candlewick at Retford.

The foreign trade of this county is mostly conducted by the mercantile houses of London and Liverpool; but some of the larger manufacturers export their own goods both to the continent of Europe and to the more distant parts of the world.

The River Trent, the fourth in magnitude of the English streams, passes across the county, and is navigable for barges throughout the whole of it; but its deficiencies of water and its shoals are such great impediments that a canal by the side of it, 10 miles in length, is found of great use to the intercourse. The other rivers are not navigable, but are beneficial for the purposes of irrigation. They are the Erewash, the Soar, the Maun, the Meden, the Wollen, the Worksop, the Idle, the Leen, and the Dover or Dare. These all discharge their waters into the Trent. The canals are—the Nottingham, the Grantham, the Idle, and the Chesterfield. The last of these is about 40 miles in length; the others about 10 each. By means of these and the Trent, the intercourse by internal navigation is extended to almost every district of the county. In addition to this means of communication, all the principal towns, and most of the more populous villages, are now embraced in the railway system.

The titles derived from this county are those of Marquis of Granby, Earl of Mansfield, Viscount Newark, and Barons Pierrepont and Carrington. For election purposes, the county has been divided into two districts, the northern and the southern. Each of them returns two members. The election for the northern division is held at Mansfield, and the polling-places are, that town, East Retford, and Nottingham. The election for the southern division is held at Newark, and the other polling-places are Bingham and Southwell. The three boroughs, Nottingham, Newark, and Retford, return each two members, as before the passing of the Reform Bill. The whole of the county is in the diocese of Lincoln, to which it was transferred from that of York at the recommendation of the ecclesiastical commissioners in 1836. It is on the midland circuit of the judges.

The remains of Roman and Norman antiquities are numerous. Amongst the former are the camps at Barton Hill, at Combes Farm, at Gringley, at Hexgrave, and at Wenney Hill, and a Roman villa near Mansfield. Among the latter are the Castle of Newark; the abbeys of Newstead, Rufford, and Welbeck; the priories of Mattersey and Worksop; and the churches of Bingham, Blythe, Southwell, and Balderton.

Among the distinguished natives of this county have been Archbishop Cranmer, Dr Erasmus Darwin, Sir Martin Frobisher, Denzil Lord Holles, Ireton, the son-in-law of Cromwell, Lady Mary Wortley Montague, Paul Sandby, Archbishop Secker, Gilbert Wakefield, Bishop Warburton, and Henry Kirke White.

The seats of noblemen and gentlemen of the first class are as numerous as in any county of England. Among the most remarkable are the following, viz.:—Annesley Hall, John Musters, Esq.; Babworth Hall, H. B. Simpson, Esq.; Bramcote Hall, J. S. Sherwin, Esq.; Bunny Park, G. A. Forteath, Esq.; Clifton Grove, Sir Robert J. Clifton; Clumber Park, Duke of Newcastle; Colwick Hall (unoccupied); Elton Manor, W. F. N. Norton, Esq.; Flintham Hall, T. B. T. Hildyard, Esq.; Grove Hall, G. H. Vernon, Esq.; Holme Pierrepont, Viscount Newark, M.P.; Kelham House, J. H. M. Sutton, Esq.; Kingston Hall, Lord Belper; Mapperley House, Ichabod Wright, Esq.; Newstead Abbey, late Lord Byron (now Colonel Wildman); Norwood Park, Sir John Sutton, Bart.; Nuttall Temple, R. Holden, Esq.; Osberton, George S. Foljambe, Esq.; Osington Hall, Right Honourable J. E. Denison, M.P.; Oxton Grange, H. P. Sherbrooke, Esq.; Ruddington Grange, Charles Paget, Esq., M.P.; Rempstone Hall, Lady Sitwell; Rufford Abbey, Earl of Scarborough; Serlby Hall, Viscount Galway, M.P.; Stanford Hall, Rev. S. V. Dashwood; Thoresby Park, Earl Manvers; Thrump-