255 
N O T T I N G II A M. 
but commands an horizon of the compafs of many miles, 
including the fertile vale of Belvoir. It is well fupplied 
with fuel, both wood and coal, from the forell; and with 
filh by the Trent, which runs about a mile to the fouth of 
it, and has been made navigable for'barges ; fo that they 
receive by it not only great quantities of cheefe from 
Warwickfhire and Stalfordlhire, but all their heavy goods 
from the Humber, and even from Hull. Over the Trent 
is a (lately Hone bridge of nineteen arches, where the river 
is very large and deep, having received the addition of the 
Dove, the Derwent, the Irvvafli, and the Soar, three of 
them great rivers of themfelves, which fail into it after 
its padlng by Burton in Staffordlhire. 
The town is of great antiquity. John Rowfe, a monk 
of Warwick, quoted by Thoroton in his Hillory of Not- 
tinghamlhire, places its foundation 980 years before the 
Chriftian era ; and fome other old authors tell us that a 
Britilh king, named Coilus, was interred here about the 
fame period. Stukeley fays, “ one may eauly guefs Not¬ 
tingham to have been an ancient town of the Britons ;” 
and his conjecture is fortified by the opinion of Dr. Deer- 
ing, who coniiders the caves in this neighbourhood (to 
be afterwards noticed) as decided evidence of a Britilh 
colony. All thefe notions concerning the antiquity of 
the place, however, are merely hypothetical, or reft upon 
the teliimony of authors of more than doubtful veracity. 
Nor does the idea of Gale, that Nottingham was the Ro¬ 
man Ration Cadfennis, delerve much greater credit. In 
truth, no incident in its early hillory can be relied on as 
corred till the feventh or eighth century, when it feems 
to have been a confiderable town of the Mercian monarchy. 
In the reign of Alfred, it was of fuch confequence as to 
give name to the 111ire. It appears, however, to have much 
decreafed before the Norman conquelt, as Domefday Book 
alfigns to it only 120 dwelling-houfes. This diminution 
of extent may have probably been the refult of the Danifli 
ravages, and of the fate of confufion into which the whole 
country was thrown by the fuecefsful invafon of William. 
At this time, the dominion of Nottingham, and of the 
forell adjoining, was conferred on William Peverell, the 
king’s baltard Ion, who is laid to have given great encou¬ 
ragement to fuch perfons as fettled within the town. The 
court eftablilhed by this fuperior lord, and from him called 
IP ever ell-court, continued to be held till the ninth year of 
Edward II. when it was abolilhed, or at lealt limited in 
its jurifdiCtion. 
Whether Nottingham was an incorporated town pre¬ 
vious to the conqueil, is almoll equally uncertain as any 
other part of its early hillory ; for, though Deering fays 
it “ was doubtlefs a borough by prefcription before that 
event,” he does n«t furnilh any evidence to authenticate 
his alfertion. The firlfc charter, now extant, was granted 
in the reign of Henry II. but, as that deed merely confirms 
privileges enjoyed by the burgeffes in the time of his 
grandfather, Henry I. it feems not unlikely, that this 
prince was the perlon who originally conftituted Notting¬ 
ham a corporate town. King John confirmed the charter 
of his predeceflor, as did likewife Henry III. and Ed¬ 
ward I. which laffc empowered the burgeffes to elect a 
mayor and two bailiffs, and granted that the mayor fhould 
be efcheator within the borough. Henry VI. made the 
town of Nottingham a county of itfelf, and changed the 
bailiffs into IherifFs. He likewife gave power to the cor¬ 
poration to chool’e from among themfelves feven aider- 
men, who Ihould a£l as juftices of the peace within the 
town and county of the town. In this Hate matters re¬ 
mained till the reign of James II. who deprived the bur- 
gefles of their charters ; but thefe were reltored, and fome 
additional privileges granted, by king William, loon after 
his acceffionto the throne; and, under the charter of this 
monarch, the town is now governed. The corporation 
confills of a mayor, fix aldermen, a recorder, two Iherift's, 
two chamberlains, and a common-council, compofed of 
twenty-four burgefles, eighteen of whom are chofen by 
the freemen at large, but mull have ferved the office of 
Iheriff, and are the fenior council, whilll the remaining 
fix are chofen in the fame way from the body at large, and 
form the junior council. Thefe, however, have equal 
votes and equal rights with the others, except that the 
magillracy mult be filled up from the fenior body. Be- 
fides thefe officers, there are a town-clerk and a Reward 
attached to the corporation ; and an officer called a J'ca- 
venger, wdio fuperintends the pavingof the fireets. There 
are likewfife two pinders of the town ; one of the fields, 
and another of the meadows. He that is of the fields is 
alfo woodward, and attends and anfwers for the town at 
the loreR-courts. The mayor holds a particular court of 
pleas of land; and he and the IherifFs hold an ordinary 
court of record every alternate Wednefday. This town 
fends two members to parliament. The right of eledlion 
was anciently, according to Dr. Browne Willis, in the 
inhabitant houlekeepers paying fcot and lot; but, by a re- 
folution of the houfe of commons of June 10, 1701, this 
right is made fo complicated, and open to fraud and liti¬ 
gation, that every freeman of the town, by a lurreptitious 
indenture of apprenticefhip, executed in any part of the 
kingdom, may qualify any number of electors that may 
fuit his convenience or his interefi. This refolution is as 
follows : “ Agreed, that the right was in the mayor, free¬ 
men, and freeholders, of 40s. a-year; and that the eldefi 
foils of freemen by birth, and the youngellTons of free¬ 
men who have ferved feven years’ apprenticefhip, whether 
at Nottingham or elfewhere, and alfo fuch perfons as 
ferved apprenticelhips to any freeman of Nottingham, 
were well entitled to demand their freedom.” The num¬ 
ber of voters is about 3500 ; and the returning-officers are 
the lheriffs. 
No place, fays Mr. Oldfield, has Rruggled with more 
zeal “ to eRablilh its independence ;” by which phrafe 
Mr. O. no doubt means, “ to bring in oppofition-mem- 
bers;” and that zeal, owing to the oppolition it has en¬ 
countered from the minifierial party, has, upon one occa- 
fion, burfiinto violence. At the general election in 1802, 
fir John Borlafe Warren and Daniel Parker Coke, efq. 
were the minifierial candidates; and, no other appearing, 
fome of the electors propofed Jofeph Birch, efq. of Hazle- 
hall, in the county of Lancafier, which, after a long and 
fevere contefi, ended in the return of that gentleman and 
fir J. B. Warren to parliament. Mr, Coke petitioned 
againll this return, the principal ground of which was, 
the rioting that took place during the election ; and it 
was alfo proved, that Mr. Colic’s committee applied to the 
mayor to call in the military, who were Rationed at the 
difiance of two miles from the town, to quell them; that 
Mr. Birch protelled againfi fuch ameafure; that, in faff, 
the mayor ordered the military into the town, but, on their 
arrival, Ropped the poll, which was not relumed till it 
was thought that quiet was fo far refiored as to admit of 
their being fent away again. The mayor certainly acted 
with ltrift legal and conRitutional propriety, in flopping 
the poll while the military remained in the town; our 
ancellors having wifely provided that they lhall not be 
within two miles of any place of election, their prefence 
having a greater tendency to fubvert the freedom of elec¬ 
tion than the excels of popular enthufiafm. The com¬ 
mittee, on the 15th of March, determined the election to 
be void. The minutes were printed by order of the houfe; 
but the iffuing of a new writ was delayed till after the 
palling of a bill, by which an “ authority is given to the 
magillrates of the county of Nottingham, to preferve the' 
peace in the town, during the time of eleftions.” It re¬ 
ceived the royal afi'ent on the 17th of May. The proceed¬ 
ings of the houfe upon this matter, and the feveral peti¬ 
tions prefented againll the bill, will be found in the Jour¬ 
nals, from the 20th of April to the 17th of May, 1803. 
At the general election in 1812, the town made a final 
and fuecefsful attempt to eRablilh “ its independence.” 
The candidates were, John Smith, efq. lord Rancliffe, and 
Richard Arkwright, efq. After a poll of fifteen days, 
the numbers were as follows : 
John Smith, efq. 2013 I Richard Arkwright, efq. 1230 
Lord Rancliffe 15.15 j 
The 
