Nottingham · History beneath your feet
Nottingham's history, mapped to the streets where it happened. Explore hundreds of real stories, lost places, people, trails and hidden corners of the city.
Nottingham, England · iPhone & Android
The old city, in your pocket
History Lens is a new way to explore Nottingham through the people, places and events that once filled its streets. Hundreds of historical stories are pinned to the real locations where they happened, from ordinary houses and vanished pubs to factories, railway stations, churches, courts and forgotten yards.
Most stories begin with contemporary newspaper reports, preserving the language and detail of the time. History Lens adds the map, the surviving location, useful context and the connections between stories so that the old city gradually becomes visible beneath the modern one.
You can browse the whole archive from anywhere. Or take History Lens out into Nottingham: walk the streets, visit locations, follow trails, complete quests and build up a personal record of the city you have explored.
Keep track of the stories and places you have explored. Your archive, finds, badges and progress build over time as more of Nottingham's past comes into view.
"The city has always had these stories. They were recorded once, in the newspapers of the day, and then forgotten."
Edmund Treadwell, ArchivistExplore Nottingham
Find vanished pubs, factories, stations, houses and whole districts. Historical footprints and location notes show what once occupied the ground beneath you.
Compare historical maps with modern aerial views. Slide between then and now to trace the footprint of places like Victoria Station and see how the city has changed around them.
Every district has a story. Explore Nottingham's neighbourhoods through illustrated histories, from the gardens of the Arboretum to the streets and buildings that shaped the city.
Follow recurring policemen, publicans, architects, criminals and ordinary residents across different streets and decades, and explore the buildings and districts connected to them.
Follow themed walking trails through the city or take on location- based quests that turn Nottingham's history into something to seek out for yourself.
Legal
Last updated: September 2026
History Lens is designed to collect as little personal data as possible. This policy explains the information used by the app, why it is needed, and the third-party services involved in providing certain features.
If you allow location access, History Lens uses your device location to show nearby stories and places and to support location-based features such as visits, trails and quests. Location access can be changed at any time through your device settings.
History Lens does not use location data for advertising or to build an advertising profile about you.
Subscriptions and other in-app purchases are processed by Apple through the App Store or by Google through Google Play. History Lens receives the purchase or subscription status needed to determine whether paid features should be available. We do not receive or store your payment card details.
Information such as discovered stories, visited locations, archive progress, badges, quest progress and app preferences is stored on your device so that History Lens can remember your progress between sessions.
If you use History Lens to take or save photographs as part of Your Finds, those photographs remain on your device unless you choose to export or share them. History Lens does not publish your photographs automatically.
If you choose to enable notifications, the app and the notification services provided by your device platform may use a technical device or notification identifier in order to deliver them. Notifications can be disabled at any time in your device settings.
If you contact History Lens for support, feedback or another enquiry, we receive the information you choose to provide, such as your email address and the contents of your message. This information is used only to respond to your enquiry and maintain necessary support records.
History Lens uses services supplied by other companies where they are necessary to provide app functionality. These may include Apple App Store and Google Play services for purchases and subscriptions, Google Maps for map display, and Apple or Google notification infrastructure for push notifications. Those services process information under their own privacy policies.
History Lens progress and locally saved app content are primarily stored on your device. Deleting the app removes locally stored History Lens data from that device. Purchase and subscription records are maintained separately by Apple or Google and may remain available for restoration after reinstalling the app.
Messages you send to History Lens for support or feedback may be kept for as long as reasonably necessary to deal with the enquiry and keep appropriate records.
History Lens is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
This privacy policy may be updated as History Lens changes. The current version will always be made available on this website.
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how information is handled, please contact us at support@historylens.net.
Get in Touch
For support, feedback, corrections or enquiries about History Lens, please email support@historylens.net