The university’s Department of Classics and Archaeology are looking for stories about the city of Nottingham’s caves to contribute to an ongoing project.

There are more than 800 caves in the city of Nottingham. From Medieval malting to private cinemas, they have been used in innumerable different ways throughout the city’s history.

Now it’s the time for you to share your stories about the city’s caves to contribute to Nottingham’s subterranean story.

Sharing your story with us will shed more light on the importance of the caves and tell us about the crucial role they plan in Nottingham’s urban heritage.

A team of staff and volunteers at the university will be recording people’s histories of the caves. You might have worked as a volunteer archaeologist, recording caves when large scale developments were happening; you might have sought refuge in the caves as a child, when many were air-raid shelters during the Second World War; or you might have worked in pubs and shops that used the caves as an important part of their business.

The team will record an audio file of you telling your story in your own voice and the transcribe the file into a document.

Both the recording and transcription will then be used at a variety of public engagement events and stored at the university’s Manuscripts and Special Collections.

This will mean that we can continue to expand the story of Nottingham’s caves, preserve these stories for the future, and share them with new audiences.

How to contribute

To register an expression of interest and tell us a bit more about your story, please complete the online form using the link below:

Share your story here (Microsoft form)

If you would prefer to leave a voicemail for a member of the team, please call 0115 84 67269 and leave a message. The team will aim to get back to you within five working days.

They will not be able to respond to each enquiry or record every story, but will aim to capture as many stories about different caves, their uses, and their communities as possible.

Echoes is part of the City of Caves project.