Nottingham is officially even more chaotic than you thought — because it turns out there are now 1,000 confirmed caves hiding underneath the Rebel City.
Yes, you heard us correctly – 1,000.
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The milestone has just been confirmed after more than 15 years of investigating by the city’s top caveman, archaeologist Scott Lomax, who’s basically spent over a decade uncovering what’s lurking beneath Nottingham’s streets (spoiler: it’s a hell of a lot).
And before you assume they’re all ancient ruins — they’re not. These caves have been used for everything from homes and beer cellars to workshops and even WWII air raid shelters.
According to Scott, this officially makes Nottingham the European City of Caves, because no other city in Europe has this many surviving man‑made caves. Not Paris, not Rome — Nottingham. In your FACE Europe!
Turns out, while places like York and Chester kept their historic buildings on top of the ground, Nottingham went in a completely different direction and basically built a second city underground.
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What’s even wilder is that some of these caves weren’t even supposed to still exist. Loads were thought to have been destroyed, but recent discoveries show they’ve actually been hiding behind walls, under buildings, or just completely forgotten about for years.
For example:
- A cave under Brook Street turned out to be an old 1830s beer cellar 🍺
- One in the Lace Market was rediscovered during redevelopment after people thought it was gone
- Another on Goose Gate was found blocked up but still intact
- There’s even an 18th‑century sand mine hiding near Mansfield Road
So yeah, there’s a decent chance you’ve walked over one and had no idea.
And it’s not just random history for the sake of it — these caves still play a role today. They’re protected as part of Nottingham’s planning system, meaning developers actually have to check for them before building. No wonder Batman took up residence in Notts!
Scott said reaching 1,000 caves is a huge moment, but also warned it’s definitely not the end. Basically, there are probably loads more still out there waiting to be found.
