Living in the Shadow of Industrialisation
In the middle of the eighteenth century, Nottingham's population was only about 10,000; but by the early 1800s it had risen to over 30,000. Many people had been attracted to Nottingham by the booming textile industry, especially hosiery, but the growth of the town was limited to its mediaeval boundaries. It was only by the 1845 Enclosure Act that Nottingham could spill out beyond these limits, as the act allowed development on the open fields surrounding the town (the Sand Field, the Clay Field and the Meadows).
The map above, produced by Staveley and Wood, shows Nottingham just before enclosure in 1831. It is evident the Broad Marsh and Narrow Marsh areas had become a densely overcrowded network of streets. The map also shows important evidence of industrial change. On the south side of the town, the Nottingham canal was opened in 1794, and was a vital route for bringing in building and other raw materials and transporting goods throughout the country's waterway system. See Staveley and Wood's map in more detail here [PDF 500KB] 
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The Marshes provided the labouring muscle for many of the expanding industries, such as hosiery and the lace trade. During that period the area just north of the Marshes around St Mary's church developed into what became known as the Lace Market, where many leading lace companies had their warehouses. This advertisement (right, from Wright's Directory of Nottingham, 1907-8) for W Cotton of Weekday Cross (in the Lace Market) in 1908 illustrates one of the company's designs for lace curtains. Cotton's products were exported all over the world. See the advertisement in more detail here [PDF 1539KB] 
Staveley and Wood's map shows Collins' Hospital, a fine set of almshouses, that stood on Carrington Street on the west side of Broad Marsh. The almshouses (left, from Orange's History of Nottingham, 1840) were founded by Abel Collins, a wealthy merchant of Nottingham, who left funds in his will of 1704 for charitable purposes. Some of the funds were used for the 'hospital' that took his name.
