10 unusual facts about Nottingham that you probably haven’t heard before

If you’ve lived in Nottingham your entire life, chances are you’ll know quite a bit about the city and its history.

However, there are certain things that even the hardiest Nottingham citizens might not be aware of.

For example, have you ever noticed the metal line running down the middle of Old Market Square before?

Some of you might have, but very few will be aware of why it's there.

Let’s try another one - did you know that Nottingham has experienced an earthquake before?

We’ve picked out 10 unusual facts about Nottingham that you probably haven’t heard before.

Let us know how many you already knew about!

1. The line running down the middle of Old Market Square was added following a redesign of the area in 2006. It’s a nod to Nottingham being separated by a huge wall during the Middle Ages. The wall stood for some 700 years and separated the Normans and Anglo Saxons.
2. Nottingham experienced one of the largest and most damaging earthquakes the British Isles has ever encountered. It happened in 1185 and had a magnitude of 5 on the European macro seismic scale.
3. Brown sauce was created in Nottingham. Resident Frederick Gibson Garton created the sauce in his pickling factory at the back of 47 Sandon Street in Basford.
4. Nottingham Castle isn’t actually a ‘proper castle’. The building we see today is a ducal mansion which was restored in 1878 and subsequently opened as a museum by Nottingham City Council.
5. A housing estate in Bulwell called the Lunar Estate is home to roads named after Apollo astronauts. These include Apollo Drive, Armstrong Road and Aldrin Close.
6. Nottingham’s Park Tunnel was intended to be used by horse-drawn carriages in the 1850s, but a design error meant it was far too steep. It has been used as a footpath ever since.
7. The first road in the world to be laid with Tarmac was Radcliffe Road in West Bridgford, which was paved in 1902.
8. More than 800 caves have been found under the streets of Nottingham, but there are thought to be hundreds, if not thousands more that lay undiscovered
9. It is illegal to rent out the caves in Nottingham and has been since the creation of the Nottingham Inclosure Act in 1845
10. Paul McCartney’s first ever gig as a solo artist was at Nottingham University in February 1972.