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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
I have some capacity for private tours on weekdays in April and May – rates start from £100 for up to 4 people. Drop me a message via this link to check availability.
– Lucy, Watson Fothergill Walk Tour Guide.
Former Express Offices, Lower Parliament Street, Nottingham. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
*Don’t just take my word for it!
“Best 20 quid I’ve spent this year, theWatson Fothergill Walk, walking around Nottingham city centre looking at this amazing architect’s work. Lucy was an amazing guide, extremely knowledgeable with added humour!” – Tim, Facebook review, March 2025
Thanks to everyone who has joined me for a walk so far this year. Please keep spreading the word about these events to your friends.
Thanks to Louise for the photo from Deco in the Details pt. 1.
Here’s your update on forthcoming dates from Watson Fothergill Walk. If you’d like to explore Nottingham’s historic architecture with tour guide Lucy Brouwer here are the dates, click the links for tickets and all details:
There are still limited tickets available for tours in March 2025:
As promised, more walks are coming up. There are still tickets available for both parts of Deco in the Details in February. March sees the return of the Carrington Crawl, plus more chances to join me for the Watson Fothergill Walk and Hine Hike in Nottingham city centre. I can also take private bookings for groups of 5 or more on weekdays and I can present illustrated talks to groups, so please drop me a line if you’d like to organise an event. Terms and conditions apply.
Valid gift vouchers purchased before the end of 2024 will be honoured – please send an email if you have any difficulty redeeming vouchers.
*This now includes ALL FEES and is the same price across all platforms (Eventbrite, Yuup and TripAdvisor) whose fees vary. This helps my small business to reach a larger audience.
Thanks to Jane for the photo!
Hire a House Historian
Lucy Brouwer (seen here with her mate the Left Lion) is a tour guide, art historian and researcher who likes to look at things differently. If you’d like to hire a researcher to look into the history of your house, business premises or other pre-1940 building then send an email via this form. Rates start at £57 for a preliminary investigation into each property. More details here.
Have you been putting it off? Did you miss out on tickets last year? Now is your chance to join me to discover Nottingham’s unique architecture – Watson Fothergill Walk and Deco in the Details are back.
Forthcoming dates (with more to come throughout the year)
*Tickets are now the same price on all platforms with fees included across the board. Previously purchased gift vouchers will be honoured until their expiry date – please contact me directly if you have any difficulties redeeming vouchers. Tickets are also available on new events platform Yuup:
It’s been a great year for Watson Fothergill Walk! Thank you to all the people who have joined tours of Nottingham’s great architecture, loads of you have returned for my new Art Deco tours and I’ve received some lovely 5-star reviews on Tripadvisor. Thank you everyone!
Thanks Christine G for the photo of me and my mate Agamemnon a.k.a. Left Lion.
All the tours will be back for more dates in 2025. Meanwhile, maybe you’d like to recommend the tours to a friend, buy a gift voucher for a future tour or leave me a review. Any of these help me to keep doing the tours and work on new routes around Nottingham.I do not have vouchers for the Deco in the Details tours, if you’d like to make a gift of tickets for these, please contact me.
I do not have vouchers for the Deco in the Details tours, if you’d like to make a gift of tickets for these, please contact me.
Left Lion is paying attention! Photo: Christine Gaukroger
The “Winter Wonderland” in the centre of Nottingham means that I can’t do justice to the Watson Fothergill Walk route until 2025. Meanwhile there is one more (sold out) Deco in the Details walk to go or you can book a Hine Hike, Lace Market Heritage Tour or an Illustrated Talk for your group.
