Put Nottinghamshire on VisitEngland's 'Hall of Fame'

MEDIA RELEASE - Nottingham, Monday 10 February 2014

National Tourist Board launches new app to find England’s ultimate claims to fame.

Experience Nottinghamshire, the destination marketing organisation responsible for driving leisure and business visitors to Nottingham and Nottinghamshire is urging local residents to help put the county on VisitEngland’s Hall of Fame.

VisitEngland, the National Tourist Board, has launched a search to establish England’s ultimate Hall of Fame.  From Harry Potter to James Bond, the mini skirt to the tuxedo, The Beatles to punk music and the Magna Carta to the World Wide Web, the Hall of Fame will celebrate what England has brought to the world and what makes the country such a diverse and fascinating place to visit and explore.  

Local residents are invited to submit their suggestions for Nottinghamshire’s greatest claim to fame to the Hall of Fame App under the following categories: The Great, The Good and the Notorious; Inventions & Discoveries; Food & Drink; History & Heritage; Culture & Entertainment and Sport & Leisure.

Jennifer Spencer, Chief Executive, Experience Nottinghamshire, said: “We are urging local residents to help put Nottinghamshire on the tourism map by uploading their suggestions to VisitEngland’s Hall of Fame App.  Nottinghamshire has many claims to fame – from the home of England’s oldest pub (Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem) to the oldest Ice Age art and relics (Creswell Crags); the home of the oldest football league club (Notts County Football Club) to the start and end of the Civil War; from the home of Nottingham Lace, which is currently enjoying a renaissance, to the birthplace of the Raleigh Chopper and from the home of Robin Hood to the place where Ibuprofen was invented - they have all helped to shape the county into the great place it is today.”

Lady Cobham, VisitEngland’s Chairman said: “From being the birthplace of rugby and inventing afternoon tea to being the home of the world’s first national public museum and discovering a king’s skeleton in a car park, England has so much of which to be proud. We hope the Hall of Fame app will inspire people to explore the brilliant, fascinating and unusual destinations on our doorstep, as well as unearthing some interesting English trivia at the same time.’

Anyone that nominates, or later votes for, a claim will be automatically entered into a prize draw to win a weekend break away. The deadline for entries is 23 March 2014. A shortlist will then be open to public vote to establish the final Hall of Fame, which will be announced on 23 April, St George’s Day.

The app is available at Englandshalloffame.com, and on VisitEngland’s Facebook page.

#EnglandsHOF

Other claims to fame for Nottinghamshire include:

• Home of one of the Pilgrim Fathers (Scrooby Manor) and the place the Pilgrim Fathers left in 1607 (Bassetlaw).
• Home of Torville and Dean who are still the only winners of The Olympic’s perfect score.
• Home of WW1 flying ace, Albert Ball.
• Home of the most haunted building (Galleries of Justice).
• The smallest cinema in the country (Screen 22); home of Sir Jesse Boot, who transformed a small herbal store in Nottingham into the powerful pharmaceutical giant ‘Boots the Chemist’.
• Home of the world-famous Fashion Designer, Paul Smith.
• The hiding place of Robin Hood and his Merry Men (Major Oak, Sherwood Forest).
• The country’s oldest touring fair and one of Europe’s largest (Goose Fair).
• Home of Restaurant Sat Bains with rooms, with two Michelin stars.
• Invention of the Framework Knitters Machine, which started the Luddite revolt.
• One of the largest range of beers on sale in the world (Robin Hood Beer Festival).
• Home of the Bramley Apple (Southwell), Stilton and Shropshire Blue cheeses (Colston Bassett) and HP sauce.
• Inspiration for the Peter Pan story (Nottingham Arboretum).
• Home of literary legends Lord Byron and D.H. Lawrence.
• Site of Wollaton Hall, used as the location for Wayne Manor in the Batman film (The Dark Knight Rises).
• The last complete workhouse in existence (The Southwell Workhouse).
• The Newark International Antiques and Collectors Fair is the largest event of its kind in Europe.
• Nottingham Forest was to use corner flags, goal nets, shin pads and the cross bar.
• Home of the largest market square in the UK after London’s Trafalgar Square (Old Market Square)