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The Leen: Nottingham’s River

Presented by University of Nottingham Libraries, Manuscripts and Special Collections

Thursday 9 October 2025 to Sunday 15 March 2026
Admission is free

This exhibition puts the Leen at the centre of the story of modern Nottingham. From its source in the Robin Hood Hills above Newstead Abbey to the River Trent at the Meadows, the River Leen connects places and communities.

Drawing on the archives of the Trent River Authority and its predecessor bodies, the materials on display show the challenges created by the growth of places like Bulwell and Basford and the expansion of industry. These included pollution from chemicals and sewage, and changing flood risk from urban expansion. New management challenges shaped the redrawing of Nottingham’s political and economic boundaries, and in the 1960s a substantial engineering ‘Improvement Scheme’ diverted the river and fixed the channel behind steel pilings and flood walls. The Leen: Nottingham’s River evaluates the legacies of historic interventions along the Leen for those who manage and live beside it today.

This exhibition has been jointly curated by Dr David Beckingham and Dr Rachel Dishington (School of Geography) and Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University of Nottingham, with additional input from the Environment Agency.