Sneinton and Me 1 - Introduction 2025

Sneinton is where I spent most of the early part of my life. When I went to uni I studied the history of working class housing. This entailed a piece of research leading to a dissertation and for this I chose the first phase of Sneinton's growth from a rural village into a densely populated urban area. I loved doing it and it was the start of a lifelong interest.

Recently, I dug it out to help a young relative who was doing a school project. And having done so, it seemed natural to include it in my History blog. It was written over 50 years ago and, while I think the research stands the test of time, some contemporary references may be out of date. And whereas I'm sure the sources I cite do still exist - quite possibly some of the places where I say you can find them don't. But I've added in some more up to date sources too.

With it I have provided supplementary posts giving context. I was writing it at a time of huge urban redevelopment: as I was researching its origins the world I had grown up in was being torn down around me.

I have not uploaded the original, 1974, introductory chapter of the dissertation as it is full of now out of date contemporary material. Odd bits that are useful, I have posted as notes and footnotes.

The Illustrations 

Originally I illustrated the growth of Nottingham and Sneinton by using a series of transparent overlays which could be folded across a base map. As I do not possess the tech to do this online, I have included pictures within the text which, I hope, will serve just as well. 

The Sneinton Enclosure Act

Sneinton's open fields were enclosed in 1796 by an act of Parliament of that year. The principal beneficiaries were the Lord of the Manor, Lord Newark, and John Musters of Colwick Hall. The dissertation deals largely with parcels of land allocated to these two by the act. A map of Sneinton was drawn up to show the holdings of the beneficiaries, and this is referred to as the Enclosure Map. Here's  the relevant portion of the map, showing who owned what.

This is sufficient to provide a bit of background to what follows. It is not my intention here to discuss the enclosure movement in general. There's plenty of information online if you want to know more about it. Lord Newark became Earl Manvers in 1806 and this is how he is referred to in the dissertation. His actual name was Charles Pierrepont. He was also heir to the estate of his uncle, the Duke of Kingston. Basically you can't walk more than a few yards in Sneinton without blundering into something named after him. My grandmother was born on Evelyn Street. He had a brother called Evelyn ... 

The Nottingham Enclosure Act

Nottingham's open fields were not enclosed until 50 years after Sneinton's - for reasons which will become apparent in Me and Sneinton 3.

A word About Money

The changeover from pounds shillings and pence had happened just a couple of years before I did this, so there was no need to explain what it meant in 'new money'. So, if you weren't there at the time:

The Posts

       Sneinton and Me 1 - Introduction 2025 (This one)

Sneinton and Me 2  - The Industrial Revolution as a Stimulus for the Growth of a Domestic Outwork System

•  An increase in the availability of cotton and yarn, made possible by industrialisation, led to a boom in domestic framework knitting and lace production - and contributed to a building boom in the early nineteenth century.

Sneinton and Me 3. Graft on the Corporation and Spatial Development

• Burgesses control the land surrounding Nottingham -  prevent the outward expansion of the town in order to profit from inflated land values in the town – leads to congestion and squalor - housing starts to appear in parishes at a distance, and in Sneinton Parish where it abuts the town.

 Sneinton and Me 4  - The Building Boom of the 1820s and its effect on Sneinton due to Failure to Enclose Nottingham's Fields

• For a period of twenty years, Nottingham's only spatial expansion consisted of a North-easterly advance into the parish of Sneinton.

 Sneinton and Me 5 - Nottingham Spreads Into Sneinton

• Whereas in other areas at this time growth was brought about by migrants from Nottingham, driven out by conditions and prices in the town, the growth of New Sneinton was was one and the same with the growth of the town. At this stage, houses on land allocated to Lord Newark (aka Earl Manvers) were of a poorer quality than those on John Musters' land on the north side of Sneinton Road.

More:

Sneinton and Me 6 - The View From Fifty Years On

Sneinton and Me 7 - Peter Elliot Bate - Property Developer

Sneinton and Me 8 - The Bedsit, Castle Street and Sneinton Hollows

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