Category: Influences

Influences, Research, Travels

Lichfield Cathedral

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In June, I visited Lichfield and called in at the Cathedral – the relevance to this project being that such a visit was a massive inspiration to Fothergill Watson when he was a trainee architect.

Lichfield Cathedral front. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

Whilst working in Frederick Jackson’s office in Nottingham, Fothergill visited many buildings of architectural interest in England including Lichfield Cathedral in 1858. It was this visit to the Cathedral which really fired his enthusiasm for his chosen career, architecture. This can be seen from an entry in the Family Records, “my enthusiastic love for Gothic architecture began, a love which has grown with the years. So did it stir my zeal for architecture as a profession that I commenced to work as I had never done before, and left no stone unturned in my endeavours to thoroughly master my profession.”

Lichfield Cathedral front, detail. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

In November 1903, Fothergill re-visited Lichfield Cathedral which had been the inspiration for his ambition to follow a career as an architect. He noted that it was 42 years since he last visited the Cathedral: “what a jewel among Cathedrals”. (Information from the Fothergill Watson Family Record extracted from Denis S. Kilner, PhD Thesis – Watson Fothergill: A Victorian Architect, University of Nottingham, 1978. Copy at Nottinghamshire Archives).

During my visit I spotted a stained glass window that depicts builders and architects. The Hackett Window, by Charles Eamer Kempe c. 1901 shows Bishop John Hackett (1661-70) poring over plans for the rebuilding of his cathedral which had been ‘overthrown by violent and wicked hands’ during the Civil War. (Lichfield Cathedral, A Journey of Discovery by Jonathan Foyle)

Perhaps Fothergill saw this window on his second visit in 1903? He certainly remembered the sculptural figures when he was designing his office on George Street, Nottingham!

Statues on Cathedral front, Lichfield. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
Gargoyle at Lichfield Cathedral. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
Statuary on Fothergill’s George Street office, Nottingham. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Learn more about Fothergill’s buildings and his influences by joining The Watson Fothergill Walk, the next available date is Sunday 6 August, 2023, 10 am. Tickets here or book a private walk for your group.

Influences, Nottingham Architects, Research, TC Hine

NC Club: a mystery in the details

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Prompted by a question about this building on the Nottingham Hidden History Facebook page…

This building on the corner of Bridlesmith Gate and Victoria Street was a bit of a mystery… Photo: Lucy Brouwer

Ever since I noticed the details in the frieze above the first floor on this building I’d been wondering what the symbols, which on close inspection are an N and C overlapping and a club like you’d find in a deck of cards, could signify.

The frieze in more detail. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

When researching my Hine Hike tour, looking at the buildings of Thomas Chambers Hine, an architect whose work in Nottingham was prolific between the 1850s and 1870s, slightly predating that of Watson Fothergill, I found out more.

Along with the frieze, there are also monogrammed iron grills on the Bottle Lane side of the building.

More hidden letters in the grills on Bottle Lane. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

So what does it all mean? This rather elegant building was originally built as The Nottinghamshire County Club, set back from the road to allow the members to alight from their carriages. It was designed by Thomas Chambers Hine and his Son, George Thomas Hine who he had recently taken into partnership. The club opened in 1869.

Established in 1864, The Nottinghamshire County Club was a gentleman’s club containing billard, reading, card and coffee rooms. It also had bedrooms and “all the conveniences of a first-rate club”; there were around 200 members. Members paid a subscription and there was a reduced rate for gentlemen residing within ten miles. It was a place for meetings, a place to receive messages (for example, adverts were placed in the newspaper for items for sale and the club was used as the address to apply to). There were stewards and a secretary.

Originally there was a tourelle on this corner but it’s possible it was destroyed by the 1929 fire. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

Originally the building had a tourelle on the corner but this has been removed. A severe fire in 1929 destroyed most of the club’s early records and the name doesn’t make it an easy thing to search for in a city that not only has a Notts County football team, but also NCC (Notts County Cricket) and NCC (Notts County Council)! These are unrelated to these premises.

In 1954 it was sold to the Leicester (later Alliance and Leicester) Building Society and the Club leased back all but the ground floor. Access to the first and second floors was by lift via a new entrance on Bottle Lane.

The building is featured on my Hine Hike walk looking at the life and work of Thomas Chambers Hine. I hope to run this tour again in the summer, so sign up for the mailing list for news of dates. The Hine Hike is also available as an illustrated talk, in person or via Zoom so contact me for more details to set up a session for your group.

Influences, Research

Architecture The Railways Built: St Pancras

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You won’t be surprised to learn that I enjoy watching programmes about architecture on television. A great series that presents an accessible introduction to the history of architecture is currently running on Yesterday – Architecture The Railways Built, with the wonderfully enthusiastic Tim Dunn.

Tim Dunn at St Pancras Station, Photo: BrownBob Productions

This week’s episode looks at St Pancras Station, one of my favourite London buildings. The station was built by the Midland Railway and the adjoining hotel’s architect was Sir George Gilbert Scott.

St Pancras Station, 2019. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

As the programme discussed, the station was built using materials brought to London from the Midlands – Butterley Iron from Derbyshire, Mansfield red sandstone, Minton tiles from Stoke on Trent and Nottingham bricks.

St Pancras Station, 2019. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

These bricks share their distinctive orange colour with many of Watson Fothergill’s Nottingham buildings, and G G Scott is one of the architects celebrated by Fothergill on the facade of his George Street Office.

Detail from the front of the George Street Watson Fothergill Office. Photo: K.F. Onion
Watson Fothergill’s Office, George Street, Nottingham. April 2020. Photo: Dan Simpkin

Looking at the details of the hotel at St Pancras, which was completed in the 1870s, it seems very probable that it was an influence on Fothergill, who would likely have travelled through it on his regular trips to London (to visit art galleries and to see cricket matches at Lords).

St Pancras Booking Office, now a bar. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

I took some photos last time I was in London. I also went for a drink in the hotel and got to explore the interior, which is fantastic. I think there it’s very likely that Fothergill would have admired the materials used and also the quality of the work, the flamboyant details and the overall beauty of the building. The carved stones, red bricks, sculpture and gothic flare are all recognisable features that Fothergill uses in his Nottingham buildings.

Half way up the cantilevered staircase of the Renaissance St Pancras Hotel. 2019. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

Architecture The Railways Built continues on Tuesdays and Saturdays on the Yesterday channel, or on demand on UKTV player. Other episodes look at Kings Cross Station, the “Derby Gothic” style of the Midland Railway on the Settle to Carlisle line and much more.

For more on the building of St Pancras, I’d recommend architectural historian Simon Bradley’s short but thorough book, St Pancras Station.

The Watson Fothergill Walk is currently on hiatus due to Covid-19 restrictions, but you can purchase gift vouchers to redeem against bookings for future walks.

Events, Influences, Thomas Chambers Hine

Thomas Chambers Hine: The Hine Hike!

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I am trying out a new walk exploring the architecture of Thomas Chambers Hine, the other big name behind some of the most impressive Victorian buildings in Nottingham. This first walk will be a “work in progress” and I’ll be looking for your feedback at the end of the route.

Come and help me test out my new walk, The Hine Hike! Tickets here

Tickets are £10 but if you’re quick you can get a discount on tickets by using the code found in the mailing list email.

Influences

William Burges & The Gothic Revival

Lucy

I recently visited Cardiff Castle to see William Burges’ Clock Tower and the fantastical interiors he designed for the Marquess of Bute.

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Exterior of the Clock Tower at Cardiff Castle. (Photo: Lucy Brouwer).

William Burges (1827-1881) was one of Watson Fothergill’s great influences, his name and dates being one of those carved onto the front of Fothergill’s office in George Street.

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Watson Fothergill’s architectural heroes appear on the front of his office on George Street, Nottingham. The busts depict Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and George Edmund Street. To the right: the names and dates of George Gilbert Scott, William Burges and Richard Norman Shaw. Fothergill himself is perhaps the inspiration for the medieval architect on the left. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Andrewrabbott).

William Burges was perhaps the greatest of the Victorian “art-architects” who sort to re-establish the architectural and social values of a utopian Medieval England. His work stands as the apex of the Gothic Revival, along with the work of the Pre-Raphaelites and it heralds the Arts and Crafts movement.

In Burges’ short but illustrious career, some of his most spectacular work was done for the “richest man in Victoria’s Empire”, the 3rd Marquess of Bute. In particular his Clock Tower at Cardiff Castle, and the lavish interiors that he produced in the tower and in the main building.

Burges Portrait
William Burges, photo portrait to be seen in the Winter Smoking Room of the Clock Tower, Cardiff Castle. “Ugly Burgess who makes beautiful things… isn’t he a duck,” wrote Gwendoline, Marchioness of Bute.

Burges was an eccentric genius, with a wild imagination fueled by smoking opium. He produced architecture, furniture, jewellery and objects which Bute’s wealth was able to indulge on the highest level.

The Clock Tower contains two smoking rooms, for winter and summer, all sumptuously decorated in rich colours.

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Figures of the Four Winds, Summer Smoking Room
East winds
Figures of the Four Winds, Summer Smoking Room.
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Every inch is covered in details, Summer Smoking Room.
Summer Smoking Room
Lamps to light the Summer Smoking Room. (Photos Lucy Brouwer.)

See more of Burges’ work for Bute in this documentary on BBCiPlayer.

Bute: The Scot Who Spent A Welsh Fortune

Burges’ influence on Fothergill can be seen in the animals and mythic creatures he attaches to his buildings, as well as the Gothic Revival flourishes that became part of his architectural style.

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Thurland Street Bank, by Fothergill Watson. Photo © Stephen Richards (cc-by-sa/2.0)

Learn more about Fothergill and the Gothic Revival on The Watson Fothergill Walk. Now booking on Eventbrite.