Air raid shelters.
A cave complex at the top of Pelham Street still shows signs that it was used, during the last war, as an air raid shelter. According to the Air Aid Shelter List for 1945 it was number 722 with accommodation for a hundred people.
Most of the cave walls are painted with white-wash and blast walls of brick have been installed. There are still signs on the walls for ‘entrance’, ‘exit’, ‘how to light the emergency lamps’ and directions for the ‘ladies’ and ‘gents’ toilets. Many of Nottingham's caves, 87 are listed on the 1939/45 air-aid shelter list, were used as protection during the war. The caves alone, not counting the cellars, trenches and Anderson shelters, had capacity for 170/,0/0/0/ people Baker. Many of Nottingham's now famous bakers started off with ovens built into the bunter sandstone, they were using, probably without knowing, one of the rocks inherent features its ability to retain heat. Due to the rock holding water, like a sponge, any heat generated in a cave (oven) is reflected back from the cave (oven) walls. An example of the efficiency of this property was shown when a long established baker moved to new and more modern premises. I interviewed a man who as a boy had been responsible for lighting the fire in the oven he told me ‘‘I used to get there at 4 am every morning to light the fire. When we moved to the new bakery the inside of the old oven was still too hot to get inside a fortnight later’’.

Bank Vault. Caves under Peck Lane destroyed in 1975 were on the site of Smith’s Bank, Thomas Smith (1631 - 1699), Nottingham’s first ever bank, Melllors wrote of him, ‘‘He lived at the corner of Peck Lane. Being a trustworthy man, people from outlying districts, rather take their money through the dangerous county roads, left it in the care of Mr. T. Smith. For security of this money he had made under the kitchen basement of his shop three separate rooms cut out of the solid rock, approached by a trap door and ladder, and another set of rock rooms below these approached by steps partly under the public street.’’

Blacksmithing. A cave in Bridlesmith Gate, (the term ‘gate’ comes from the Old Norse word ‘gata’, which means ‘place of’ i.e, place of the bridle smiths,) retains all the hallmarks of being used as a forge. Deering says of Bridlesmith Gate ’’ was so called by reason of the great number of smiths dwelling there, who made bits, snaffles and other articles for bridles’’. The cave has a large central chimney which rises from the roof of the cave at forty five degrees, then narrows and rises vertically, thus stopping any rain from falling onto the fire. The inside of the chimney contained vast amounts of soot.

Brewery. One half of a cave complex in Goose Gate contained Nottingham’s first brewery, Simpson’s Brewery, built in 1792 on land leased from Richard Arkwright, later Sir Richard Arkwright, the site originally contained three or possibly four early cave malting complexes. These were knocked into one huge cave for barrel storage. This cave plus the slaughter house cave, to which it is connected, form the largest cave complex under the city.

Brewing. Malt produced in Nottingham’s cave’s was sold to local inns and taverns most of which brewed on the premises. Some brewed in caves, The Trip To Jerusalem, whilst others had brew houses above ground, but all would have maintained their cave-cellars to store the brewed ale. In 1697 during a visit to Nottingham, Miss Celia Fiennes did, as lots of travellers to Nottingham would do, visited a cave to taste the ale. She said ‘‘Att ye Crown Inn is a cellar of 60/ steps down, all in ye rock like arch worke over your head; I drank good ale.’’ Alas the Crown Inn is no more but recent investigations made during clean up operations in the caves at the Salutation Inn on Hounds Gate show the likelihood that it brewed its own ale for many years.

Butchers. One half of a cave complex in Goose Gate was a underground slaughterhouse it is not large enough to have coped with cattle but may have only been intended for sheep, calfs or pigs. In it there are butchering thralls to cut the carcasses up on, with drains and spaces to put a bucket to catch the blood. A thrall found topped with sand turned out to be a salting trough used to treat meat to make it keep, they did not have refrigerators in those days. Investigation into the properties owners showed that over many years they had been pork butchers.

Candle making. A trade that required a continuous fire to keep the tallow molten would have been relegated to a cave due to the by-laws appertaining to ‘curfew’: NB. a curfew was a metal device for covering a fire at night, the term originates from an order of William the Conqueror who worried about his subjects plotting against him at night, so he directed that at the ringing of the bell at eight o’clock everyone should rake up his fires and retire to bed.

Catacombs. At the top of Mansfield Road, sometimes called Hang Man's Hill, due to the fact that felons were executed there, in the grounds of the cemetery are the unfinished cave catacombs. They were started in early 1900 by a local company but it ran into financial difficulty and they were never finished or occupied.

Chapel. A cave complex on Castle Boulevard is known to have been a hermitage, a satellite of Lenton Priory and was called ‘The Rock Hewn Chapel of St Mary Le Roche’, it is quite obvious that when the chapel was constructed they extended and modified some existing caves, that may have been there for many years.

Charnel Pit. A cave system in Bridlesmith Gate contained three charnel pits, one of the had vast amounts of Medieval pottery in it.

Chemist. A cave in Bridlesmith Gate contained a rock-cut work bench that had been used by a Mr. Cox a Chemist to produce his patented Black Oils, their were also niches for urn type jars containing chemicals.

Coach house. Their are a few examples of these in the Park, contained in the rock face that backs onto the castle.

Conduits. It is recorded in the Nottingham Town Records that a conduit was constructed through the rock, along the length of Castle Boulevard to supply water to the new water works at the end of Castle Road.

Cutlery. Caves beneath a building that once belonged to a cutler in St. Peters Gate contained many used and worn out sandstone grinding wheels of the kind used to finish and sharpen the old cast iron cutlery.

Dungeons. Rock cut cells are still in evidence beneath the Castle and the old Shire Hall on High Pavement.

Fish Gutting. In the rear of caves in Fisher Gate there is a fish gutting trough.

Fish Tank. A cave on Castle Boulevard has a rock cut fish tank, it was part of the St. Mary Le Roch cave complex. It was a satellite of Lenton Abbey and used for food gathering, growing and catching. The tank would have been for fish caught in the river Leen, it flowed past this site.

Foundry. In the block of land between the Council House and Parliament Street was for many years a large foundry, that produced cast-iron ranges etc. Long Row's original name was Gridlesmith Gate and folk-lore preserves 'The little smith of Nottingham that makes the things that no man can' this alludes to the great skill of the Nottingham founders, who it is believed all moved to Sheffield when Nottingham had it's big clean up.