For local government purposes Nottinghamshire comprises a non-metropolitan county, with seven districts, and the Nottingham unitary authority area.

The geography of Nottinghamshire is largely defined by the River Trent, which forms a wide valley which crosses the county from the south-west to the north-east.

However, there is evidence of Saxon settlement at the Broxtowe Estate, Oxton, near Nottingham, and Tuxford, east of Sherwood Forest.

[5][6][7] William's 1086 Domesday Book identified certain areas in Nottinghamshire being under the land of King Edward the Confessor these included Mansfield and Sutton in Ashfield, amongst other places including Skegby, Dunham-on-Trent, East Drayton, East Markham, Farnsfield, Warsop, Carburton, Edwinstowe, Carlton-on-Trent, Budby, Perlethorpe and Walesby.

[9] During the Industrial Revolution, the county held much needed minerals such as coal and iron ore, and had constructed some of the first experimental waggonways in the world; an example of this is the Wollaton wagonway of 1603–1616, which transported minerals from bell pitt mining areas at Strelley and Bilborough, this led to canals and railways being constructed in the county, and the lace and cotton industries grew.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, mechanised deeper collieries opened, and mining became an important economic sector, though these declined after the 1984–85 miners' strike.

Sometime between 1610 and 1719, they were reduced to six – Newark, Bassetlaw, Thurgarton, Rushcliffe, Broxtowe, and Bingham, some of these names still being used for the modern districts.

[dubious – discuss][citation needed] Nottinghamshire, like Derbyshire, and South Yorkshire, sits on extensive coal measures, up to 900 metres (3,000 feet) thick, and occurring largely in the north of the county.

The centre and south west of the county, around Sherwood Forest, features undulating hills with ancient oak woodland.

The Trent, fed by the Soar, Erewash, and Idle, composed of many streams from Sherwood Forest, run through wide and flat valleys, merging at Misterton.

The lowest is Peat Carr, east of Blaxton, at sea level; the Trent is tidal below Cromwell Lock.

[14] Nottinghamshire is sheltered by the Pennines to the west, so receives relatively low rainfall at 641 to 740 millimetres (25 to 29 inches) annually.

Completely encircling the Nottingham conurbation, it stretches for several miles into the surrounding districts, and extends into Derbyshire.

Nottinghamshire, including the city of Nottingham, is represented by eleven members of parliament; nine for the Labour Party, one Conservative and one Reform UK MP.

The party gained full control after previously governing in coalition with the Mansfield Independent Forum since the 2017 election.

Following each election, the county council has been controlled by the following parties:[19] The regional economy was traditionally based on industries such as coal mining in the Leen Valley, and manufacturing.

Since the invention of the knitting frame by local William Lee, the county, in particular Nottingham, became synonymous with the lace industry.

[21] In October 2005, the United Kingdom had 4.7% unemployment, the East Midlands 4.4%, and the Nottingham commuter belt area 2.4%.

[25][26][better source needed] Nottinghamshire is home to the Sherwood Forest, known for its association with the legend of Robin Hood.

Toton was the birthplace and home of English folk singer-songwriter Anne Briggs, well known for her song Black Waterside.

Newark-on-Trent is a bridging point of the Fosse Way and River Trent, but is actually an Anglo-Saxon market town with a now ruined castle.

Worksop, in the north of the county, is also an Anglo-Saxon market town which grew rapidly in the Industrial Revolution, with the arrival of canals and railways and the discovery of coal.

Other market towns include Arnold, Bingham, Hucknall, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Tuxford, Retford and Sutton-in-Ashfield.

The East Coast Main Line from London to Doncaster, Leeds, York, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Scotland serves the eastern Nottinghamshire towns of Newark and Retford.