Guided tours of Nottingham
I’m excited to be running the second of my Nottingham Art Deco tours for Art Deco Society UK.
This tour is a version of my Deco in the Details Part 2 which will be run for members of Art Deco Society UK (non-members also welcome). You can purchase tickets from the Society’s page and there is a small discount for members. Art Deco Nottingham Part 2 Saturday, 13 September, 2 pm click through for TICKETS
I will be giving the talk, which is fully illustrated with photos, again at The Vat & Fiddle, Queensbridge Road (very handy for Nottingham Railway Station) on Tuesday 19 August, doors 6.30 pm, the bar will be open. Talk starts 7.30 pm and the pub closes at 9 pm.
Tickets are £10 each and are available here or there are a limited number available at The Vat & Fiddle if you wish to pay cash.
Info on the talk: Architecture Historian and Tour Guide Lucy Brouwer (creator of The Watson Fothergill Walk) will take us on an entertaining and informative virtual tour of Nottingham’s Art Deco Pubs. This illustrated talk will uncover the local architects who designed many of the pubs in Nottingham and the surrounding suburbs in the 1920s and 1930s, explore the concept of the Improved Pub, and examine trends in pub design during the inter-war years. Featuring the work of architects WB Starr & Hall, AE Eberlin, TC Howitt and more and including pubs such as The Grove (now The Vat & Fiddle), The Vale, The Wolds and The Test Match Hotel among many others.
See you there!
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.
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!
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.
The return of Deco in the Details and another chance to do The Carrington Crawl
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!)
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).
Lawrence George Summers, Fothergill’s talented chief assistant architect, was recently commemorated with a new grave marker in the Church Cemetery.
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).
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
Thanks to everyone for the positive response to my Art Deco Architecture tour…I’ve discovered that Nottingham has enough buildings from the 1920s and 1930s to make two new walks (or a tour in two parts) – so I need to road-test the second part. There are a VERY LIMITED number of discounted tickets for a work-in-progress version of Deco in the Details Part 2 for Wednesday 11 September at 2 pm.
The new Deco in the Details walks will be run in full in October on Sunday 6 October (Part One) and Sunday 27 October (Part Two) both with 10 am starts.
I hope to continue to run these in the future – so send me a message if you have a group that would be interested in a private booking.
Summer: Blink and you’ve missed it! Thanks to everyone who has joined me for a walk and hello to new visitors. I’ve got one more scheduled Watson Fothergill Walk to come in October and my new Deco in the Details walks are also coming up…read on!
August & September’s Watson Fothergill Walks are almost full – but there are still a few tickets available for
The Carrington Crawl – Saturday 21 September, 1 pm.
Explore some of the houses Fothergill built in Nottingham and discover his family life in the home he built for himself on Mapperley Road.
What’s next for Watson Fothergill Walk?
There will be a city centre Watson Fothergill Walk on Sunday 20 October, 10 am
Explore the Nottingham buildings of Victorian Architect Watson Fothergill… also known as Fothergill Watson.
Thanks to the positive response to my Art Deco Architecture tour… there will be two new walks (or a tour in two parts) looking at Nottingham’s buildings of the 1920s and 1930s –
Deco in the Details Parts 1 & 2.
These walks can be done in any order – you can choose to do either or both.
The first will be a repeat of the tour commissioned by the Art Deco Society UK
Nottingham: Deco in the Details Part 1, Sunday, 6 October, 10 am
This walk explores Nottingham’s architecture from the 1920s and 1930s, starting and ending with T. Cecil Howitt’s Council House sculptures.
We’ll look at the rise of chain stores like Montague Burton, F.W. Woolworth, and Marks & Spencer, as well as the use of concrete in industrial buildings and the influence of car ownership on the city’s architecture in the 1930s.
The second is
Nottingham: Deco in the Details Part 2: Sunday 27, October, 10 am
This walk will cover the north side of Nottingham City Centre and finish at Sneinton Market. You’ll see the work of local architects, uncover how the Palais de Danse added a touch of glamour to Nottingham and seek out remnants of the Art Deco era, including hints of streamline moderne and even some Egyptian hanging gardens. Starts Outside Victoria Centre and finishes at The Bath Inn.
My newest walk, Nottingham: Deco in the Details will be running for The Art Deco Society UK on Saturday 14 September, start 10 am.
This new walk looks at Nottingham’s architecture of the 1920s and 1930s and will explore the influence of Art Deco on the buildings in the city.
Tickets are available via The Art Deco Society UK – with a discount for members:
Nottingham Deco in the Details, Saturday 14 September, 10 am
I hope to rerun this walk and put together a second part of the tour that will cover the other side of town. These tours will be added to my regular event programme in due course.
Many of Nottingham’s Art Deco-influenced buildings are further out of the city centre, so I am also working on a self-guided tour that makes them easier to find! Watch this space or sign up for the Watson Fothergill Walk newsletter to receive updates.
