Nottingham Council Archaeologist Now Counts 1,000 Caves Beneath City

[Inglesport]

'I've helped find 1,000 caves under Nottingham but I'm not done' - BBC News

Scott Lomax, Nottingham City Council's archaeologist, says the discovery of caves will "never end".
The city is built on soft sandstone, making caves relatively easy to carve out, which led to many being used by private households and businesses throughout history.

Scott Lomax, who works for the city council, predicted in April 2025 that by 2026 Nottingham would have "more than 1,000 caves representing 1,000 years of history".

"It's taken a couple weeks longer than I'd hoped... but no other city in Europe can rival Nottingham for the number and range of caves that it has," he told the BBC.

 

[Lankyman]

but no other city in Europe can rival Nottingham for the number and range of caves that it has," he told the BBC.

Well, there are 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire

 

[Andy Farrant]

I think Nottingham County Council can give the City Council a run for its (lack) of money in the number of potholes on its roads. Some of the sandstone caves are accessible to the public, including in several pubs. Tony Waltham's book on the subject (Sandstone Caves of Nottingham, published by East Midlands Geological Society, Nottingham, www.emgs.org.uk), whilst quite old now, gives a good overview of the key sites. Maastricht has some pretty extensive building stone mines on the outskirts of the city.