Nottingham Road was named after Nottinghamshire Regiment stationed in the area in 1856 during the building of Fort Nottingham. The Boers were believed to have settled here in the early 1800's but besides small farm dwellings there was no formal settlement and the 'village' did not exist. Upon the British annexation of Natal in 1849 - several immigration schemes were put in place to encourage British settlement in the province. One such scheme was the Byrne Immigration scheme. Each family paid 10 pounds and this included the passage from Scotland and a small piece of land (believed to be 20 acres). One of the first Scottish families to arrive were the King family who, after residing in Pietermaritzburg for 6 months, arrived on Wilde Als Spruit Farm in May of 1850 (today known as Lynedoch). Here they spent the first 3 months of harsh winter conditions under a mere tarpaulin to protect them.

The women and children were naturally excellent horsemen - using them to plough the fields, visit neighbours or collect supplies from the nearest town (Pietermaritzburg). Local grass was used to build roofs of homes and farmers made their own bricks if the local stone did not suffice. Because of the great distance to Pietermaritzburg many homes took years to complete. The kitchens were the focal point of the home with bedrooms being added on when more children arrived to join the family clan. The women were responsible for looking after the children, churning the cheese, baking the home-made bread as well as education. Most admirable!

On 1st April 1884 a picnic for about 30 people was held at Lynedoch to celebrate the coming of the first railway engine onto the farm. The site then reached the Nottingham Road Station by the end of 1885. Before the station was opened it was known as Harrison's Camp after the contractor.

The station was known for some years as Karkloof Station but it was decided that it was too far way from Karkloof itself, nor was it used by the Karkloof people so the name was changed to Nottingham Road Station (on the road to Fort Nottingham) late in 1887. Although the name is not very original, it is the only telegraphic address of its name in the world.

The arrival of the railway was also the first step towards developing Nottingham Road as a rural area.

(Information taken from 'The Road to Fort Nottingham' by Robert King)

Today, Nottingham Road is well recognized as the 'Heart' of the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands !

" Have you felt a grain of sand, and given it meaning?
Have you planted a speck of earth, and harvested love?
Have you taken a blade of grass, and listened to it grow?
Have you travelled with a bee, sharing its journey?
Have you walked the thread, of a spider's web?
Have you watched a blossom, turn into a cherry?
Have you sat upon a mountain top, seeing the wonderment of earth?
If you have, you've begun to see...the reason for it all. "

"Experience" by Walter Rinder, from his book "The Humanness of You"