From prehistory to present times, Nottinghamshire has been shaped by Romans, marauding Danes, Norman barons, rebel armies, radicals and industrialists. The medieval wool trade was superseded by coal and textiles, while John Player's tobacco, Raleigh bicycles and Boots' pharmaceuticals have also played their part in the region's economy. The county boasts Sherwood Forest, monastic houses, a medieval 'dance of death', castles, workhouses and pumping stations, as well as its industrial heritage. Robin Hood and his merry men, the 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' poet Lord Byron, the Pilgrim Fathers and D.H. Lawrence are all part of Nottinghamshire's unique legacy. It is a place where freedom of speech and the right to vote have been fought for across the centuries; where innovation and technology helped to forge the modern world; and where people come to explore a legendary past.