Sneinton
Sneinton is a suburb of Nottingham and former civil parish in the Nottingham district, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. The area is bounded by Nottingham city centre to the west, Bakersfield to the north, Colwick to the east, and the River Trent to the south. Sneinton lies within the unitary authority of Nottingham City, having been part of the borough of Nottingham since 1877.
Sneinton existed as a village since at least 1086, but remained relatively unchanged until the industrial era, when the population dramatically expanded. Further social change in the post-war period left Sneinton with a multicultural character. Sneinton residents of note include William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army, and mathematician George Green, who worked Green's Mill at the top of Belvoir Hill.
In modern times, regeneration has seen most of the old telephone exchange converted into student accommodation, the market place replaced by a pedestrian plaza and the wholesale fruit and fish market units in the traditional avenue layout re-used for artisan small businesses.
History
The history of Sneinton is inextricably tied to that of its near neighbour, the City of Nottingham. When the area that is now Nottingham was settled by the Anglo-Saxon chieftain "Snot", he named the settlement "Snottingham", and the area east of the city, also settled by Saxons, was called "Snottington". Sneinton is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, where is referred to as "Notintone", which represents the Norman pronunciation of an Anglo-Saxon placename, with the "Sn" dropped in favour of "N", which was easier to say in the Norman language. The Norman pronunciation of "Nottingham" stuck, whereas their pronunciation of "Notintone" did not. In the years between 1086 and 1599, "Sneinton" became the agreed way of spelling the village name.In 1891 the parish had a population of 17,439. On 26 March 1897 the parish was abolished and merged with Nottingham.
Industrial era
Until the 19th century Sneinton was no more than a village, standing on a high ridge about a mile east of Nottingham town centre overlooking the valley of the River Trent. The village was to change dramatically when the principal landowner of the time, the First Earl Manvers, sold off the land between Nottingham and Sneinton to developers. Housing was built on the land in which Nottingham's factory workers lived. Building regulations at that time were somewhat lax, and so the new landscape was to become a slum. Poverty and poor sanitation were facts of life for those living in these cramped tenements.Green's Mill, a red brick tower mill, was built around 1807 on the site of a previous smaller post mill. When the founder of the mill died, his son, renowned mathematician George Green, inherited and operated it until his death in 1841. Near Green's Mill stood the imposing Nottingham Lunatic Asylum, the first County Asylum to open in England, which existed from 1812 to 1902. It was later converted into a boarding school named King Edward's, governed by the infamous head master Alfred Tanner and his wife Mary. Children were killed in industrial accidents at the school. It has since been demolished and is now the location of King Edward Park. At the end of the Nineteenth century, the Third Earl Manvers sold off the remainder of the Pierrepont family land to developers, who subsequently build all of the Victorian housing on the slopes of Sneinton Dale. This housing was of a higher standard than the previous development, and still stands to this day. The population then grew to a peak of 23,093 in 1901, as lace and textile manufacturing expanded along with heavy industry.
Modern period
In the 1930s, Nottingham began to address the problem of overcrowding. Many people in Sneinton at the time were living in the older, cramped, unfit-for-purpose damp Victorian housing. These homes were generally rented, so it was a trivial process use clearance orders to evict tenants. Unfit houses were demolished, and the land redeveloped under the "Carter Gate" redevelopment. Further development was put on hold due to World War II, during which Sneinton was heavily bombed. A map produced by the local Civil Defence Departments showed that many of the industrial units on Meadow Lane received direct hits.Later in the 1950s came the "Chedworth Estate" redevelopment. A large amount of modern housing was built during this period, as well as five multi-story tower blocks, all of which stand to the present day. Around this time, economic migrants began to settle in Sneinton, drawn by affordable housing near to places of work.
In the 21st century, Sneinton has retained a sense of community, giving it a village-like feel, which has so far resisted gentrification. As of 2014, Sneinton has the 11th lowest crime rate out of the 25 Nottingham districts, beating all other comparable inner city areas. House prices have risen over the past few decades but housing remains cheaper in Sneinton than in other Nottingham suburbs. This may change when the planned "Eastside" urban renewal projects beside Sneinton are completed.
Regeneration
In the 1930s, the wholesale fruit and vegetable market moved from Slab Square in the city centre to a new location on the edge of Sneinton. This was soon expanded by demolition of decaying dwellings to establish individual brick units arranged in rows for the traders, together with a new market place for stallholders. The area fell into dis-use during the 1980s, and after investment secured from Europe and Nottingham City Council, the area was rejuvenated by conversion of the units into start-up locations for artisan retailers and hospitality. Conversion of the old Brook Street multi-storey telephone exchange into student accommodation brought a greater population with longer trading days, and the area gained a nickname of 'Creative Quarter'. Further nearby student accommodation projects are planned.The old market place was converted into a pedestrian plaza, with the Victoria Baths being extended in 2012 into a larger multi-function leisure facility.
Nearby areas under regeneration include Broadmarsh, Hockley and the Lace Market.
Governance
Sneinton was officially incorporated into the borough of Nottingham in 1877. It now lies within the unitary authority of Nottingham, and so is governed by Nottingham City Council. Nottingham has been sending MPs to Westminster since 1295; the constituency was split up in 1885 and Sneinton has been part of Nottingham East ever since. Within the Nottingham East constituency, Sneinton mostly lies within the Dales electoral ward, though the Sneinton Elements estate is included in the St. Anns ward instead.Geography
Sneinton is the area around Sneinton Dale road, which runs for about two miles east of Nottingham city centre until it turns into Oakdale at a roundabout marking the boundary with the 1930s suburb of Bakersfield to the east. Otherwise the boundaries are blurred - Carlton Road and the A612 Newark road are generally regarded as the northern and southern boundaries of the residential area, but the Dales electoral ward, which includes Sneinton and Bakersfield, extends south of the Newark road down to the river. Thus the ward includes riverside industrial areas, the racecourse, Colwick Woods and Colwick Country Park as they are within the city boundary and Colwick is outside it in Gedling borough. The ward boundary mostly runs south of Carlton Road but some estate agents may describe property north of it around Victoria Park as being in Sneinton rather than the troubled area of St Ann's. The western boundary of the ward comes up from Lady Bay Bridge along the A6011 Meadow Lane which turns into the A612 Manvers Road.Sneinton sits on soft Bunter sandstone, overlaid on top of Keuper marls. Nottinghamshire's sandstone ridges can easily be dug with simple hand tools to create artificial cave dwellings. The general area around what is now Nottingham was once known in the Brythonic language as "Tigguo Cobauc" meaning "The Place of Caves" and was referred to as such by the Bishop of Sherborne Asser in 893 AD in The Life of King Alfred. Cave dwellings extended out into Sneinton, wherein they were referred to as the "Hermitage", being as they were occupied by members of a reclusive religious order. When Manvers Road was first constructed, brick buildings were built facing into the sandstone, using the caves as back rooms. In 1829 a rock collapse destroyed these buildings, and in 1897 a railway expansion forced Manvers Road to divert, cutting away much of the rockface, erasing most of Sneinton's remaining caves. What little remains can still be seen along the edge of Sneinton Hermitage.
Demography
In 1801 the population of Sneinton stood at just 558, but by 1851, it had grown to 8,440. The population peaked at 23,093 in 1901.People from the West Indies, Southern Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, The Middle East, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Western Europe, Africa, South America and North America are all represented in Sneinton, but the greatest single population comes from Pakistan. As result of this mixed migrant population, the area has a multicultural character, and has a diverse range of restaurants and stores. In 2011, the population stood at 12,689 people, of which 60% was white, 20% Asian, 8% black, 9% mixed, 2% other.
Economy
In the 19th century the local industries were lace and textile manufacturing, like most of Nottingham. In Sneinton, heavier industries were also represented, such as the iron foundry, engineering works, and brickworks, sited at the eastern end of Sneinton Dale. Most of the existing red brick terraced houses were built in the nineteenth century, and many of the factories and warehouses of that era have long since been demolished to make way for additional housing.Sneinton had a traditional open-air public market situated at the north-western end of Sneinton, where the district meets the city centre. The Market struggled in recent years.
Sneinton Market was substantially altered into a pedestrian plaza for the student quarter. This urban regeneration project has been called "Nottingham Eastside" by developers, and the start date was pushed back numerous times due to a lack of funding during the Great Recession. The Eastside development ties in with Nottingham City Council's ambitions to develop the south eastern part of the city centre into a "Creative Quarter". The area includes the Lace Market, Hockley, Broadmarsh East, the Eastside Island site and BioCity, the project aims at creating growth and jobs. In July 2012, the government contributed £25 million towards a £45 million venture capital fund, mainly targeted at the Creative Quarter.
Sneinton Dale and Sneinton Boulevard, the two main high streets through the village, have weathered the recession. The Sneinton Business Forum represents over 160 local businesses.