Hockley, Nottingham

Hockley is an area near the city centre of Nottingham, England. It lies adjacent to the Lace Market area and has many well-preserved Victorian buildings. There has been a mercantile presence in the area since at least the 13th century. With many bars, restaurants and clothes shops, it is a vibrant and modern area of the city. It has been described as "the Soho of Nottingham."[1]

Hockley, looking down Goose Gate, in 2007

History

From around 1285, the area was called "Walker Gate" after the practice of "walking" or stamping upon cloth to make it softer after weaving.[2]

Until the 20th century, Nottingham's fortunes were tied to the "rag trade" (cloth industry). Indeed, from 1343 to 1345 the price of wool in Nottingham Market was taken as the standard for the whole of England.[2]

Hockley has not always been an affluent area: Sir Jesse Boot, son of the founder of Boots the Chemist and the architect of the company's modern business empire, was born in poverty in the area in 1850.[3]

Culture

Hockley is home to many shops (ranging from design and fashion to New Age and music), as well as many galleries, bars and cafés.[4]

The area boasts an independent cinema, Broadway Cinema, which was the first cinema in the United Kingdom to show Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.[5]

Hockley was also home to The Screen Room, which was (at the time) the world's smallest commercial cinema, as confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records. It had 21 seats and a single screen. It opened in 2002 and closed in 2011.[6]

See also

Notes
  1. "Close up on... Hockley". BBC Nottingham. 18 February 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  2. J. Holland Walker (1927). "Hockley, Goose Gate, Platt Street, Coalpit Lane and Holland Street". An Itinerary of Nottingham. Archived from the original on 6 March 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  3. Matthew H.C.G., editor. Dictionary of National Biography on CD-ROM. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1995.
  4. Stephen McClarence. "Explore and Experience Nottingham". profilenottingham.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 December 2004. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  5. "It's another big Tarantino moment for the Broadway". By This is Nottingham. 14 August 2009. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  6. "Smallest cinema in the world opens its doors". BBC Nottingham. 26 September 2002. Retrieved 11 October 2014.

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