Nottingham is a unique city, the home to many famous historical figures, it’s a place brimming with culture and history. One feature however, sets it apart more than any other; its caves. Archaeologist Cameron Black went to Fascinating Finds from Nottingham’s Caves, the new exhibition at Nottingham University Museum to see what has been unearthed of Nottingham’s ancient history.
I’ve been lucky enough to go down a few caves myself, and as part of my job I've been involved in archaeological work recording one in the city centre, so when I heard about the new exhibition, Fascinating Finds from Nottingham’s Caves, I was really interested to see what had been found in them over the years.
For those who don't know, none of the ‘caves’ are actually natural. The Sherwood Sandstone upon which Nottingham sits is easy to excavate, and over the years residents have taken advantage of this, digging a sprawling labyrinth of tunnels and caves beneath the city streets. Nottingham actually has more man-made caves than anywhere else in Britain, over 800 are already mapped, and there's likely plenty left to find, even in 2023 several lost ’caves’ were discovered.
The earliest reference to the caves comes from the tumultuous 9th century, in the Welsh monk Asser’s Life of King Alfred (893 AD): “the above-named army of heathen … advanced to Nottingham, which is called in Welsh Tigguocobauc [Place of Caves], but in Latin ‘The House of Caves’” [Speluncarum Domus]
A fitting name for a place where it was common to find people living underground until around 1845, when the St. Mary's Inclosure Act banned the ‘renting of cellars and caves as homes for the poor’ (though this didn't immediately end the practice).
These remarkable structures have seen continuous use for over a thousand years, forming a key aspect of Nottingham's identity. Some boast elaborate carvings, pillars and staircases, whilst others are modest and practical. The hand-carved spaces have been used as everything from homes and pubs, to air-raid shelters and prisons, evolving with the city to suit its needs.
The exhibition uses themes of ‘work’ and ‘play’ to highlight ways caves were used, it features an impressive range of objects from different periods of history, all found in the caves of Nottingham.
They were and always have been spaces for work and spaces of leisure. Nottingham’s caves are a unique part of the city’s archaeological heritage and we should definitely celebrate them.
Visitors can see these objects first hand, some of which are on public display for the first time. They range from fancy fragments of 17th century serpent-goblets imported directly from Venice (at a time when the production of clear glass was difficult and expensive, these would have been luxurious items indeed), to more modest everyday things, such as a bone comb and some clay tobacco pipes. My favourite was the chamber pot (portable toilet for use at night) ‘prominently featuring’ the image of Charles the Second (son of the deposed and beheaded Charles the First).
I spoke to Dr Christopher King, one of the exhibitions curators:
Why did you decide to put this exhibition together?
There are thousands of objects which have been excavated from Nottingham’s caves by many different individuals and groups over the decades, and they are kept in lots of different places – we have a large collection at the University of Nottingham Museum, other material is held by the City Museums, the National Justice Museum, and community archaeology groups. We wanted to put on an exhibition to bring together all these disparate finds and tell a story of Nottingham through time.
Which objects do you personally find the most interesting?
I think the mediaeval alembic is an absolutely fascinating object. It is really rare to find a complete example – they are normally in fragments. This was used to distil spirits, or extract oils – it could have been used in the home, but perhaps it was also in the workshop of an apothecary, making medicinal remedies from herbs and spices.
What are your thoughts on the King Charles chamber pot?
It’s such an interesting object. This was found in a rock-cut well underneath the site of the Castle Inn, which was one of the most prestigious inns in the city, right next to the Shire Hall. Was it a royalist object, showing loyalty to the newly restored monarchy? Or is the fact that the King’s head is on a chamber pot a bit of 17th-century satire?!
What should people know about the caves of Nottingham? And what would you like them to take away from the exhibition?
The caves contain a huge variety of archaeological finds and I hope our exhibition shows just how much information they can tell us about life in the past – they were and always have been spaces for work and spaces of leisure. Nottingham’s caves are a unique part of the city’s archaeological heritage and we should definitely celebrate them.
I recommend anyone interested to visit, and explore the artefacts on display. Every object has a history, and I believe that when you see an object from the past, you catch a glimpse of the world it came from.
The exhibition is in the Nottingham University Museum at Lakeside Arts, open Thursday to Sunday 12-4pm, until Sunday 7 July.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?