Nottinghamshire
Art, History & Archaeology Sites & Museums

If there is one thing that Nottinghamshire is famous for above all else, it is the legendary medieval outlaw Robin Hood, who in traditional tales dwelled with his Merry Men in the county’s Sherwood Forest. Today, there are many traces of the Middle Ages found across this county, from the ornate decorations of Southwell Minster to the ruins of Mattersey Priory, and from the imperious walls of Newark Castle to the humble medieval field systems still visible at Laxton. However, Nottinghamshire also has an older history; on the border with Derbyshire lies Creswell Crags, a cave in which has been found England’s oldest rock art, dating from the Palaeolithic period. The county is also home to several significant post-medieval and modern heritage sites, from the 16th-century country house at Rufford Abbey to the 19th-century Southwell Workhouse and a perfectly preserved 1920s suburban home, Mr Straw’s House, in Worksop.