Author: watson

Vat & Fiddle Pub Nottingham
Art Deco, Events, Mansfield, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

More Art Deco Pubs & Mansfield Meander

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Extra dates for my new projects! Plus more Watson Fothergill Walks this summer.

Hello to new subscribers, and thank you to everyone who has already joined me for a walk or talk so far…

I’m lining up to repeat my new Art Deco Pubs talk at The Abdication on 22 July. This one is now SOLD OUT, so I’m staging it again, this time at The Vat & Fiddle in their Golding’s Room, on Tuesday 19 August, doors 6.30 pm. Tickets £10 (including fees) from Eventbrite or from the pub if you’d like to pay in cash. 

The Vat & Fiddle, Architect WB Starr & Hall, 1937-8, previously known as The Grove, Miami, Ziggy’s, Tom Hoskins… Photo: Lucy Brouwer

I’m also offering a shorter version of Watson Fothergill Walk in honour of the 184th anniversary of his birth on Saturday 12 July, 2 pm. This was organised to coincide with a talk about architect George Gilbert Scott at Bromley House Library. We will explore some of Scott’s influence on Fothergill’s work and take a leisurely stroll back to the Library to look in the garden. It was initially only open to Bromley House Library members, but if you’re not a member and would like to join in, you can visit as my guest (as long as you’re on your best behaviour!) 

Tickets for the Shorter Fothergill Birthday Walk here. 

There are just 3 tickets remaining for the Hine Hike on Sunday 27 July, 2 pm.

After the amazing response to the release of tickets for The Mansfield Meander, I’ve added a new date – Sunday, 3 August, 3 pm. Tickets here. We will explore some of Fothergill’s early buildings and look for traces of his work on the streets of his home town. 

The next Carrington Crawl – a look at the work of Fothergill and his chief assistant LG Summers in Mapperley Park, Sherwood Rise and Carrington is on Saturday, 27 September, 1 pm. This finishes up Clawson Lodge Ukrainian Cultural Centre with a chance for a cuppa and a look at their turret! 

Extra turret! Clawson Lodge. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

There are a couple of summer dates scheduled for the original Watson Fothergill Walk, these are Sunday mornings, in an attempt to beat the rush of Nottingham city centre in the holiday period… Sunday, 17 August, 10 am and Sunday, 7 September, 10 am. All ticket links and info here. I hope you can join me. 

I’ve got limited availability for private weekday walks this summer – so send me a message if you’d like to bring a group of 6 or more on The Watson Fothergill Walk, Hine Hike or Deco in the Details.

Mansfield Cattle Market
Events

Phew! More dates because you can’t get enough buildings!

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Mansfield & Art Deco pubs sell out! More dates coming up in August & September.

Thank you so much to everyone who has shown an interest in my new events. 

My new Nottingham Art Deco Pubs talk at The Abdication Micropub has sold out both nights and I’m looking for a venue to hold another performance! More news as it is confirmed. 

The Mansfield Meander on 31 August is now full up… so I’m going to squeeze in another one on Sunday 3 August – this will probably fill up fast so don’t delay. I’m also hoping to do this walk for private groups, so if you have 6 or more people who’d be able to do it on a weekday or evening then please, get in touch.

Watson Fothergill Walk – Mansfield Meander: Sunday 3 August, 3 pm 

I’m also doing a shortened version of the Watson Fothergill Walk to mark the anniversary of the Architect’s birth on 12th July 1841. Starting at 2 pm outside Bromley House Library (following on from Nigel Lowey’s sold-out talk about architect George Gilbert Scott). I will lead a shorter than usual walk to look at some of Watson Fothergill’s buildings in Nottingham city centre and explore his use of Nottingham bricks, the influence of George Gilbert Scott and the Gothic Revival on his work. At the end of the walk, there will be an opportunity for a short visit to Bromley House Library (as my guest) to see the wonderful hidden garden. Tickets: £15 with a discount for Bromley House Library Members. 

Watson Fothergill Birthday Walk: Shorter Walk Special, Saturday 12 July, 2 pm 

There are currently tickets available for the original City Centre Watson Fothergill Walk and Hine Hike on the following dates:

Hine Hike: Buildings of Thomas Chambers Hine, Sunday 27 July, 2 pm – 5 tickets remaining. 

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 17 August, 10 am – back to early starts to beat the beach rush!

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 7 September, 10 am 

There will be another chance to join me for The Carrington Crawl looking at houses by Fothergill and his chief assistant Lawrence George Summers in Mapperley Park, Sherwood Rise and Carrington. Carrington Crawl, Saturday 27 September, 1 pm

And Finally…

I will be running Nottingham Deco in the Details Part 2 for the Art Deco Society UK on Saturday 13 September, at 2 pm. There is a discount for ADSUK members. More details and tickets from ADSUK: Deco In The Details Part 2

As ever – if you’d like a tour or talk for you and your group I have some availability on weekdays – so drop me a message.

Mansfield Cattle Market
Events, Mansfield, New Tour, The Park Estate

At Last! A Mansfield Walk!

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You asked for it and it’s finally happening – a tour of the buildings in Fothergill’s home town.

There are still tickets remaining for this week’s Watson Fothergill Walk on Wednesday evening – so bring your sun hats… Tickets here:

Watson Fothergill Walk, Wednesday 18 June, 6 pm

Plus I’ve added an extra date so we can fit in a walk before Nottingham Beach takes over the market square. Please note this has a 4 pm start time.

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 29 June, 4 pm

A few tickets are also available for the scheduled Watson Fothergill Walk on Sunday 6 July, 2 pm

The Hine Hike, Sunday 27 July, 2 pm is just over half full so get your skates on if you’re thinking of joining us. Tickets for all these walks are £20 each including booking fees.

Look out for more dates coming up in July and August.

After much prevaricating, I’ve decided to organise a walk in Mansfield! 

Introducing The Mansfield Meander! This walk will look at the remaining buildings built by Fothergill in his home town, and we will search for traces of some of his earlier work. There will also be a chance to look at Mansfield’s massive viaduct and to stay for a drink or a meal at Ciao Bella Italian Restaurant (booking required). More details and tickets at the special introductory rate of £15 plus fees via this link:

Watson Fothergill Walk: The Mansfield Meander, Sunday 31 August, 3 pm

After an overwhelming response, there will now be two “performances” of my Art Deco Pubs talk at The Abdication in Daybrook (24 June & 22 July) These are now both full. If you’d like me to present my illustrated talk for your group or club then please get in touch via my website.

Thanks again to Lamar for collaborating on our Smartphone Photography Workshop Walk looking at some of Nottingham’s public art last week. Lamar knows so much about how to get the best out of even the smallest camera and we got some great shots. If you’re interested in taking part in one of these events in the future we’d like to hear from you – it might be possible to organise private sessions for small groups. Drop me a line to express an interest.

Nottingham Playhouse & Sky Mirror through filters… as taken on the Smartphone Photography Workshop Walk. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

Finally, Sunday 22 June is The Park Garden Trail – the best time to see the architecture (and gardens) in Nottingham’s Park Estate. Explore the heart of Victorian Nottingham and benefit a host of local charities… I will be there wandering around with my flyers, probably pointing out the Fothergill buildings… see you there!

The Park Garden Trail 2023, 5 & 7 Lenton Road, (1873, Fothergill Watson). Photo: Lucy Brouwer
Collabs, Events

Urban Photography Experience!

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Explore Nottingham’s public art and improve your photos. Plus extra date for Art Deco Pub Talk.

I’m exploring collaborations with some of my fellow creative freelancers in Nottingham. First up, a Smartphone Photography Workshop with Lamar Francois.

Lamar took the photos for my WatsonFothergillWalk website and I’ve had a keen eye on his career ever since. He has documented the Standing In This Place project and recently started running photographer workshops to help you take the best photos with the device in your pocket.

I thought this would make a good opportunity to explore my new obsession with Nottingham’s public artworks, so we are hosting a joint workshop on Saturday, 14 June, starting at 5 pm.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite. There are just six places available.

Lamar will lead the photography side of things, while I will be talking about the stories behind the artworks and making sure we don’t get lost on the way from Nottingham Playhouse (home of Anish Kapoor’s Sky Mirror) via Nottingham Canal to the Broadmarsh Greenheart, home of Nottingham’s newest Bronze statue, Rachel Carter’s Standing In This Place.

This will be a great chance to get one-to-one photo tuition, learn how to improve your pictures and make some art about art!

My talk on Nottingham’s Art Deco Pubs at The Abdication has filled up so quickly that we’ve added a second date. Tuesday, 22 July, doors 6.30 pm. Please contact The Abdication directly for tickets. Update this is very nearly full-up so be quick!

Meanwhile, I’ve got some weekday availability for group tours – so if you’d like to show off Nottingham’s architecture to your friends, have a social gathering with a difference or plan something for your club or U3A group drop me a line here.

Research, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

Another Fothergill on the market

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A couple of small flats are for sale in another Fothergill building, the former Marhill Brewery building at Carlton, to the north of the city centre.

The former Marhill Brewery, Carlton from the listing for a flat in the upper floor on Rightmove

Originally built for Mr Vickers in 1899, it was converted to residential use around 2005. It seems that the Brewery was quite a short-lived enterprise, The Vickers family held the licence at The Black’s Head pub close by in Carlton in the late 1800s.

“Brewing in Nottinghamshire” has an older picture of the building and states that the Carlton Brewery was short-lived. With Mrs Vickers there in 1902 and Willam (her son?) there between 1904-1906. It was sold in 1904, 1906 and 1909. It became a laundry, then a print works and then it was used as a dye works owned by the Ilkeston Hosiery Finishing Company. The sequence of these changes is not entirely clear according to the official listing on Historic England.

This building is too far out of the city centre to feature on my tour but you can reach it by bus then walk from Carlton Square.

More pictures of my FothergillSpotting on the Watson Fothergill Walk Instagram!

Events, Lawrence G Summers, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

Spotlight on The Carrington Crawl

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The Carrington Crawl is my deep dive into the history and architecture of the houses built by architect Watson Fothergill and his chief assistant Lawrence George Summers in Mapperley Park, Sherwood Rise and Carrington, just outside Nottingham city centre. On this walk, you’ll find out more about Fothergill’s family home and his life there with his wife and seven children. You’ll also discover the two most complete known designs carried out by Fothergill’s talented Chief Assistant, a fine architect in his own right, L.G. Summers, FRIBA.

One of the houses that features on the tour is St Andrew’s House, on Mapperley Road which happens to be on the market at the moment.

A rare view of St Andrew’s House, Mapperley Road. On the market as we speak. Photo from the listing on Rightmove.

Fothergill actually added to an existing house and you can see his characteristic polychrome brickwork, tourelle with spire roof and squat attic floor with brick nogging, along with flourishes in the windows, stained glass and other features. The house was extended for Dr Stewart in 1886. Interestingly this building later served as the office for another architect, Thomas Cecil Howitt, who had gone into private practice after his work on Nottingham’s Council House. Several of his buildings from the 1930s feature on my Deco in the Details tours.

I’m only able to do the Carrington Crawl occasionally so don’t miss out on the next date: Saturday 7 June, 1 pm. Finishing up with a visit to Clawson Lodge, where we can have tea with the AUGB who use it as their Ukrainian Cultural Centre.

Events

May, June and into July 2025!

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Here are all the tours that currently have tickets available

Saturday, July 12 marks the anniversary of Watson Fothergill’s birth in 1841 – and I’m doing a special shorter version of my walk to look at some highlights and explore the influence of George Gilbert Scott on the architect’s work (in conjunction with Bromley House Library) Walk start 2 pm outside Bromley House Library and lasts for approx 1 hour TICKETS HERE

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 6 July, 2 pm the original city centre walk.

The Hine Hike, Sunday, 27 July, 2pm, discover some of the many buildings of architect Thomas Chambers Hine. 

Lucy shouting and pointing in tribute to Jarvis Cocker (IYKYK! Pulp new single out now, party like it’s 1995!) Photo: Nigel King

I also have some weekday availability for walks for small groups – friends, family society or club – drop me a line here to book: https://watsonfothergillwalk.com/bookings/

Some of my walk events are also available to book on Yuup.  Subscribe to their events mailing list for £10 off bookings of over £50. Please use this direct link to book on Yuup.

Art Deco, Events, Lawrence G Summers, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

May & June from Watson Fothergill Walk

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The return of Deco in the Details and another chance to do The Carrington Crawl

Dates coming up in May & June 2025

There is still some availability for Watson Fothergill Walk on 25 May, 10 am. (It starts early so we can enjoy Nottingham while it is slightly quieter than later on in the day – it’s worth getting up for!)

Deco in the Details

I’m trying out an evening version of Deco in the Details parts 1 & 2 – these tours look for traces of Art Deco in Nottingham’s architecture of the 1920s and 1930s.

Deco in the Details Part 1, Wednesday, 28 May, 6 pm. £20 each includes booking fees.

This is a circular walk from Nottingham’s Council House down to the Broadmarsh area and back. You can do these tours in any order – I hope to stage them again later in the year.

Deco in the Details Part 2, Wednesday, 11 June, 6 pm. £20 each includes booking fees. Date changed to 11 June.

This second part of the walk starts outside Victoria Centre and finishes at Snienton Market (where there is an opportunity to call at The Bath Inn).

Deco in the Details Architecture of the 1920s and 30s.

The Carrington Crawl

Lawrence George Summers, Fothergill’s talented chief assistant architect, was recently commemorated with a new grave marker in the Church Cemetery. 

The young LG Summers and the new grave marker, commissioned by Andrew Paris. Church Cemetery Photo: Lucy Brouwer

On the Carrington Crawl, I tell Summers’ story, talk about Fothergill’s family home and search for the houses they designed in Mapperley Park, Sherwood Rise and Carrington.

Carrington Crawl Saturday 7 June, 1 pm. £20 each including booking fees.

This walk starts at the junction of Mansfield Road and Mapperley Road and ends at the Carrington end of Mansfield Road with a chance to explore Clawson Lodge (now the AUGB Ukrainian Cultural Centre) where you can enjoy a hot drink (for a small donation).

Father’s Day tour

And finally, for this newsletter, a Watson Fothergill Walk for Father’s Day.

There will be a Watson Fothergill Walk finishing up at Fothergill’s gastropub where you can enjoy the special Father’s Day menu. Book in early if you’d like a table after the tour. I’ll endeavour to finish on time but book for 12.15 pm to be on the safe side! A pleasant 2-hour stroll will build up your appetite.

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 15 June, 10 am tickets £20 each including booking fees.

Tickets for all these guided walks are available on EVENTBRITE

Public Art, Research

WTF is this?

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I’ve been trying to create a tour that people could do without me being physically present. I put a lot into presenting my tours and it takes a lot out of me…

A sunny day in St Peter’s Square, Nottingham. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

I’ve tested a few options including audio tour apps (hit and miss quality-wise), printed tours (where’s my reading glasses?) and dragging guidebooks with me onto the street (haphazard and increasingly heavy to lug around – the updated Nottinghamshire Pevsner guide weighs almost 1kg). 

One of my ideas for an audio tour was for an in-depth look at some of Nottingham’s public artworks and commemorative plaques. Now come on, don’t yawn…

Who doesn’t love a statue selfie? Me with one of the Lions from the demolished Black Boy Hotel, now in the grounds of Nottingham Castle.

So while the sun was out I popped down to the centre of town to walk a route I had in mind, I wanted to include the new Standing In This Place sculpture in this survey of statues, so I headed down towards the Broadmarsh.

On the way, at St Peter’s Square (outside M&S) there is a sculptural work, placed in the 1980s by the well-meaning City Council, back when it had money to spend on the Public Realm. I snapped a photo and as I went by something caught my eye. There was something written in felt tip pen on the marble.

WTF? Photo: Lucy Brouwer

Now, I’m always on the lookout for stuff to put on the Watson Fothergill Walk Instagram, so a little later I launched this photo of Leaf Stem with brief information about the artwork, I was a bit peeved but not massively so, it’s rather neglected and hardly anyone notices it these days. I didn’t think much more about it.

It auto-posted to Facebook and there were a few comments – the usual mild outrage that I’d suggested “LOCAL PEOPLE” might have committed vandalism, a few tales about how people thought it looked like a certain anatomical shape and the names they used to call it when they arranged to meet their friends by it, that sort of thing. 

What I hadn’t really considered was that the algorithms love a bit of rage. The post started to get a bit more traction than my usual photos of buildings with names and dates. However, the next morning I awoke to a text from a friend – Saw this Notts Post headline and thought “I know her!”

It even made the print edition! Modern journalism, eh?

A little late notoriety for Paul Mason’s Leaf Stem – here’s a blog telling the story of the work in more depth. 

So I suppose I should put something together, possibly with all the slightly rude names that this sculpture has collected over the years… 

Nottingham has some great sculptures – Robin Hood, Brian Clough, Rachel Carter’s fantastic new Standing In This Place, not to mention the Left and Right Lions. They all have stories to tell. Would you like a self-guided public art trail? Do let me know…

Events

A new way to keep up while I walk

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Hello! Here’s a message from my new Substack newsletter…

If you’ve not yet been on one of my walks, I’m Lucy, a tour guide and researcher. Here’s an invitation to sign up for my re-booted newsletter on Substack.

I’ve been leading walking tours looking at Nottingham’s historic architecture for about six years now (blimey!), and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the enthusiastic response, but trying to find new people to take part in events IRL is increasingly becoming a challenge…

Me and my mate Left Lion, Council House, Nottingham. Sculptor Joseph Else, 1927-9. Photo: Christine Gaukroger

Why Substack? 

Mailing list websites are a chore; Facebook is full of videos of women putting their cardigans on backwards, and the less said about the site formerly known as Twitter, the better. I’m at the point where anything I actually want to see is getting lost in the noise, and you might feel the same way.

Bluesky is (so far) a friendly place, but even though it’s nice to have your favourite authors reply to outpourings of gratitude for their work, it doesn’t seem to be very good for finding people who’d like to (hopefully) pay for my skills and services.

So, I’ve decided it’s time to give Substack a go. A cross between a mailing list and a blog, with the option to add videos and podcasts (and make paid content available when I’m ready), a one-stop-shop for all things walks-related should make it easier for me to send out news or other interesting stuff that would get engulfed on other platforms.

Join a new community

There are over 900 people on my email subscription list, (hello again!) and most have been on at least one of my walking tours (thank you!), but there’s plenty of room for even more to join in – if only they knew I was here… (If you were already signed up then your email address will transfer automatically to the new platform – you are free to unsubscribe at any time.)

So the plan is to post about things that might be of interest if you like architecture, eccentric architects, Nottingham history, and photos of details that often hide plain sight.

There are lots of things that I want to share that might not fit into a regular walking tour but would certainly be enjoyable as an online amble or something you’ll be able to follow at your own pace by opting in to see as much (or as little) as you’d like.

It’s all about looking up…

15 & 17 George Street, Nottingham. Architect Watson Fothergill 1894. Photo: Lamar Francois.

Here’s Watson Fothergill’s office on George Street in Nottingham, one of the highlights of my Watson Fothergill Walk. I love how this building tells a story, of architecture, of Nottingham and of the man who is still a huge part of both. Want to know more? Just follow me…


Stay in the loop for tour dates and tickets

I’m not just here to flog tickets, but I certainly wouldn’t want you to miss out on my 100% 5-star reviews on Tripadvisor tour! There are still spaces available for walks in April & May and you can book them on Yuup using this direct link or on Eventbrite. 

Latest review from TripAdvisor – Thanks Steevi_W!

My other tours, The Hine Hike, The Carrington Crawl and Deco in the Details Parts 1 & 2 will be back over the summer. Sign up to be first with the new dates.