At last! The walks are returning with added social distancing! Having completed the preparation for Visit England’s We’re Good To Go mark, I am now delighted to invite groups of up to 5 people (maximum groups are 6 so that includes your guide!) to accompany me on The Watson Fothergill Walk, tour of Nottingham city centre.
As groups have to remain small for now, I am offering private tours for groups of up to 5 people. Please contact me if you can make up a group of 5 or are happy to join another small group to make up a tour. The walk takes 2 hours and is best at quiet times of day.
I am also scheduling Sunday morning walks… the first will start at 10am, on 2 August 2020. Tickets are £12 each.
The next will be on 16 August 2020, 10am. Again tickets are £12.
NEWS FLASH! These have filled up very quickly so I have added more and will add more as demand dictates. If you can do weekdays please let me know as with small groups it might be possible to conduct tours at quieter times. TICKETS for all forthcoming dates (August 2, 16, 23, 30) are on Eventbrite.
If you would like to organise a walk for up to five people, please contact Lucy to select a suitable date and time.
At the moment I am only able to take groups of up to 6 (including me!) so there are just 5 tickets for The Carrington Crawl on 15 August 2020.
NEWS FLASH! The first walk is already full! But I have added more dates (Aug 20, 11am & Aug 22, 2pm): Tickets for all forthcoming walks are available on Eventbrite.
If you have a group of 5 people or less and would like to arrange a time to do the walk then please get in touch. (I can also do walks on weekdays.)
We successfully tried out the walk with social distancing in place and so I’d like to try more dates.
Thanks to the Promenaders for trying out The Carrington Crawl!
The Carrington Crawl looks at the domestic architecture of Watson Fothergill and his assistant LG Summers at Mapperley Road, Sherwood Rise and Carrington.
Following consultation with fellow guides, detailed examination of the Government’s Coronavirus Guidelines for England and completion of a new risk assesment, I’m pleased to say that Watson Fothergill Walk can now display Visit England‘s We’re Good To Go mark.
For now this means tours will be limited to groups of up to 6 people (including myself) and to private tours for up to 5 people. I am hoping that this will be able to be increased as guidelines are relaxed.
For the time being tours will not include refreshments – however I will be able to direct you to venues that are open and bookings can be made on request (subject to availabilty).
You can see the We’re Good To Go certificate and WFW’s C-19 risk assessment here.
In support of Primary taking their talk series Tell Me Something I Don’t Know online for a special event, some of their past talks are now available to listen to on Soundcloud.
I talked about my research into Watson Fothergill’s assistant, Lawrence George Summers and some of the paths that led me to explore.
I’ve written about being on the trail of Summers before here and here.
Design for a Town Hall by Lawrence G Summers. Lithograph from The Buildings News, 1974.
The Fothergill book I refer to in the talk is Fothergill: A Catalogue of the Works of Watson Fothergill by Darren Turner, which is available from the author.
The door to L.G. Summers office, inside 15 George Street, Nottingham. Photo: Lucy Brouwer.Douglas Byng. Half-Brother of Louise, L.G. Summers’ wife, and one of “The Queens of England”
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.
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.
The last walk I took to look at architecture in Nottingham, before Lockdown, was around The Park Estate.
For this installment of my series of interviews with people I’ve met through doing The Watson Fothergill Walk, I talked to Dan Simpkin, who lives in The Park and is responsible for maintaining the @theparkestate Instagram account, a great source of photos and information on the history and architecture of this unique part of Nottingham.
Lucy Brouwer: You take photos and maintain the Instagram account @theparkestate, can you briefly tell me how that came about and what you hope to achieve through sharing your knowledge of Park houses?
Dan Simpkin: I’ve lived in The Park for over fifteen years and love the architecture, atmosphere and community. I’ve recently become a committee member of the Nottingham Park Residents’ Association (NPRA) who organise events aimed at encouraging community within the estate with the remit to look after their social media. I’ve got an interest in architecture, photography and history, and like to walk, so as I’m walking around The Park I naturally take a lot of photographs. I had the idea that Instagram might be a good addition to the NPRA communications as a way to bring attention to their underused website looking at all the pre-1918 houses in The Park.
Screen shot ofthe NPRA’s Nottingham Park Houses website. A fantastic resource for home owners and anyone interested in the architecture and history of Nottingham’s Park Estate.
I hope that the Instagram profile highlights how rich in history and architecture The Park is. In short, I’d like people to be more engaged and knowledgable about the built environment we have so close to Nottingham City Centre, and treasure it as much as I do.
LB: Do you have a favourite house in The Park? Which one and why?
DS: I’d say I have a few favourite houses. Not one favourite. In no particular order:
LB:What do you enjoy about living in The Park Estate?
DS: The feeling that you’re in a calm place when you’re less than half a mile away from Nottingham City Centre. The great architecture, landscape and light. The sense of community is also great, which you might not expect in a large city.
LB: You’ve recently been sharing stories about notable people who have lived in The Park over the years. Do you have one of these you’d like to share?
DS: When I was lookinh into past residents’ lives, I think the stories of adversity spoke to me most: Albert Ball’s nationally mourned death, Dame Laura Knight‘s recognition in the male-dominated art world, and Justin Fashanu’s tragic life, were all stories I’d heard but not read about in detail before. To hear about these people’s lives, when they have lived within metres of where I live, really bought it home to me.
LB: Anything else you’d like to add about things you’re working on?
DS: Although the Instagram profile @theparkestate is predominantly my photography, I’m very much an amateur. I’m keen to feature proper photographers that see and create different types of images. I like the seasons being well represented, The Park is as nice a place in Autumn and Winter as in the Spring and Summer months, maybe more atmospheric. I’ve also got feature series in the pipeline of Park stained glass and modern Park architecture as well as a look at nature. Suggestions and contributions are always welcome though. I love hearing what people want to see and their experience of this very special area.
Many thanks to Dan for his contribution, in his “day job” Dan is Creative Director of Brand Design Agency Simpkin Burley, based in West Bridgford.
While we’re not able to get out and about as much as we’d like, I thought I’d catch up with some of the people I’ve discovered through doing my Watson Fothergill Walks. This time, I asked Photographer Lamar Francois (who is responsible for the great photos of me in action that grace this website!) – about his work, and some of his favourite Nottingham buildings.
Lucy Brouwer: As a photographer who specialises in photographing architecture, what makes a building interesting to photograph?
Lamar Francois: I find architecture fascinating to photograph because buildings can be admired in terms of their forms and methods of construction – which in turn is something which can be a particular trademark of a particular architect, say the use of black and deep red brickwork for many of Watson Fothergill developments.
Photo taken by Lamar during the Watson Fothergill Walk tour. Photo: Lamar Francois
Architecture is also to examine from the point of view of how buildings are designed to integrate with each other to be able to fit in with their surroundings to make a fascinating urban cityscape, and to provide useful environments for their occupants.
In general I also enjoy really digging into details as to how and why certain things are engineered the way they are – having studied maths and physics as an undergraduate and worked within science.
LB: Do you have a favourite building in Nottingham? Which one and why?
LF: Two buildings spring to mind, which I feel, are particularly memorable:
Albert Nelson Bromley‘s Boots flagship – now a branch of Zara on Pelham Street – the amount of ornamentation and detailing to the exterior elevation facing towards the Council House is really something to admire. I like the contrasts with the arched windows, and curved glass entrance with the straight vertical columns separating the windows above.
GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry, University of Nottingham. Photo: Lamar Francois
In terms of more modern builds, one which I really appreciate is the GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratory – mostly from a point of view of how it used more traditional laminated timber frames, as well as some very clever internal engineering to minimise the use of natural resources. The design also has a really distinctive and memorable form which I admire.
LB: Do you have a favourite photo that you’ve taken of a Nottingham building?
LF: My favourite image of a Nottingham building so far – probably one which I made of the new Confetti build by Allan Joyce back last year. The changeable weather conditions on the day helped highlight and contrast the form of the building against a moody sky – with sunlight highlighting it’s frontages, helped by shadows cast from buildings on the opposing side where I was photographing from.
Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, Nottingham. Photo: Lamar Francois
LB:You’re working on a book of your photos. What sort of subjects can we expect to see in it?
LF: In my upcoming book From The Streets of Nottingham I’ve decided to take a broader look at the urban landscape and showcase a variety of interesting street scenes and quirky details which I’ve seen along the way. I’ve also married this a bit more with my other passion of candid photography to showcase some fascinating events which have taken place in the last couple of years.
I’ve had to pause production due to the current lockdown but I aim to get this produced and available for sale as soon as my suppliers are able to, with the book being in an advanced stage of drafting.
Many thanks to Lamar for answering my questions and letting me show off his photos! You can contact Lamar via his website or follow his Facebook page.
At the moment, we’re not able to go out at our leisure to look at Nottingham (or anywhere else for that matter), so I decided to catch up with some of the interesting people who I’ve met through doing these Watson Fothergill Walks. For this installment I talked to Felicity Whittle, of Gold Star Guides, who conducts the Nottingham Booklovers Tour and she recently launched a programme of virtual #NottGoing Out tours, including one of Nottingham’s Exchange Arcade.
Lucy Brouwer: You conduct the Nottingham Booklovers Tour, looking at writers produced by the city and the places that feature in their books. Have you found that there is a sense of place in Nottingham literature?
Felicity Whittle: Yes, many local writers most definitely convey a sense of place and you can often follow a route through the city in their novels. There is an online Alan Sillitoe trail that imagines following the two squaddies who are out to get Arthur Seaton in ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’; it follows their progress across the city through the various places and pubs that are mentioned in the novel.
The novels of John Harvey, with his police detective Charlie Resnick, have a great sense of place, though the Nottingham he (Resnick) worked in has changed somewhat over the last couple of decades. But Harvey includes events such as a film festival at Broadway, visiting stalls in the Vic Centre market or shops in Broadmarsh, and you get a real sense of the neighbourhoods in which his characters live, be that St Anne’s or the Park estate.
Kim Slater, who writes thrillers under the name KL Slater, has said that although she uses several different parts of the city for her novels she does sometimes move things around a bit to fit the requirements of her characters or her plots. I’m sure she’s not alone amongst writers in doing this!
LB: Do you have a favourite building in Nottingham? Which one and why?
FW: The Council House. I’ve recently become a volunteer tour guide there so have learned more about it and about Exchange Arcade – I love its grandeur and the sense of civic pride that it evokes. There are all sorts of amazing details, from the vacuum system built into the skirting boards, to the paintings that incorporate Nottingham people into historical scenes, which make it a very special place.
Nottingham’s Council House, by architect Thomas Cecil Howitt. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
LB: Nottingham architect Thomas Chambers Hine‘s granddaughter Muriel was a novelist, have you read any of her work? Does she draw on her family background in her books?
FW: Her most autobiographical book is probably ‘A Great Adventure’, in which a family move from Wollaton to a house in the Raleigh Street area of Lacingham (a thinly disguised version of Nottingham!). The father is an architect who wins a competition to design a hospital… so you can see the parallels with her own family life.
The house on Raleigh Street, Nottingham where Muriel Hine’s father George Thomas Hine lived. Designed by Hine and Son. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
In ‘Wild Rye’ the main character comes to live in Lacingham with her grandparents who seem to be based on Hine’s own grandparents. In the novel they live in a big house in the Oxford Street area, so again you can see the influences of her own experience.
Thomas Chambers Hine’s house and office on corner of Regent Street and Oxford Street, Nottingham. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
Other of her novels address very specifically the changing position of women at the turn of the 20th century, the struggle for the vote and whether they needed a man, marriage, children, etc. to feel complete or what the possibilities were of life without any of those things. They are interesting to read because although it can seem quite foreign to us, she was writing about attitudes and conventions that were very real in her lifetime.
LB: Do you find that people notice the buildings in Nottingham? Do you think conducting tours changes the way people see a place?
FW: I find people notice buildings to a certain extent, but often don’t see the detail. One of the best rewards for a guide (as I’m sure you know), is one someone says the ‘I never noticed that before’ phrase, often about somewhere that they’ve walked past a thousand times, or worked nearby but never really looked at. It makes all that research worthwhile!
Without trying to sound too philosophical or mystical about it, I think that hearing the stories about a building, knowing that some other person had a particular connection with it, sort of personalises our built environment and gives us a relationship with those who have been in this place before us.
Many thanks to Felicity for answering my questions. You can keep up with all her tours, both virtual and live, via her Facebook page.
Felicity is hosting a short series of themed virtual tours of Nottingham locations:
While I’m staying at home (and not in Nottingham city centre), my brother Jim, who does live in the city, offered to take his camera on a walk to have a look at one of the buldings that I feature on my Watson Fothergill Walk walking tour.
So here are the results – a look at one of my favourite Fothergill buildings that serves as a taster for the tour.
While I’m unable to take walks to look at buildings, I thought I would talk to some of the people who I’ve connected with through a mutual interest in Fothergill and the buildings of Nottingham.
In this installment I talk to Jo Ackroyd, a Pre Construction professional at Willmott Dixon Construction. I helped Jo with some research on a Watson Fothergill building for a project on Conservation and Heritage. Jo and his colleagues gave me some great professional insight into Fothergill’s techniques and use of materials when I took them on a tour of Nottingham.
Lucy Brouwer:Can you briefly tell me about your professional interest in architecture and building conservation?
Jo Ackroyd: There are fewer and fewer people who have an understanding of the skills and trades of yesteryear. As these skills are lost, the industry is replacing them with poorly judged and ill placed modern materials. I see these incompatible materials and cheap attempts to repair historic fabric and find myself wondering why and how are these seen as acceptable? To learn about these old buildings means to study both the architecture and the skills required to construct them.
As with Alice, the more you learn, the more the rabbit hole opens and you find yourself sucked into a fascinating and detailed world. Moreover, the people involved are usually, ‘individuals’!
It is also an aspiration that following a specialism such as this will enable me to move away from modern construction.
Express Chambers, Nottingham, April 2020, Photo: Dan Simpkin
LB:You did a project on Watson Fothergill’s Express building – what drew you to that building in particular?
JA: It is one of Fothergill’s significant buildings. Significant by its size, position in the city, use of materials and its history of adaptions.
I needed a building with a rich history and many of his other works are relatively small by comparison.
As I discovered more about the building, I found errors in texts, stories of the building’s development and use, the influence of technological change and how the building reflected societal development. Essentially the buildings of the age performed many functions and assisted the growth of individual businesses and the development of the city as a whole. The investors were very canny about spreading the assets uses to decrease risk.
I also found an otherwise unmentioned Newlyn Datum. An important mark which hitherto had not been mentioned in the texts and reflected the status of the building and the importance of its position.
LB: Do you have a favourite building in Nottingham? Which one and why?
JA: I do like the old Fothergill former NatWest Bank. It’s a deviation from his usual style and materials and the way it was extended is astounding.
There’s also a form of Ghost Sign on the front façade, as the old NatWest sign was removed its left an urban mark behind, which I intend to discuss in my next paper.
By comparison, I also like the Halifax Bank in Long Eaton, it’s a stand alone Fothergill of some status.
It uses all his usual hallmark materials and designs and is set in quite a unique way to augment its proportions.
Halifax/ former Smith & Co Bank, Long Eaton. Photo: David Lally
LB: From a builder’s point of view, what’s special about Fothergill’s architecture and the way he uses materials?
JA: I don’t believe his approach was unique. I do think the way he reused his elements was straight from a pattern book.
This in itself isn’t new, Robert Adam had the same approach, but Fothergill mixed the colours and textures very well to create a unique aesthetic.
He obviously used the same materials, skill and trades, the same individuals on each of his projects.
I suspect that’s how he died a millionaire! I assume his supply chain was very tight and he benefited greatly from this.
Not least because he acted as architect, project manager and quantity surveyor.
These elements now stand out in Nottingham as many other forms of architecture lack the polychromatic tracery, the ornate and intricate carvings and the shear willingness to build a spire which has absolutely no use whatsoever!
Many thanks to Jo for taking the time to answer my questions. And thanks again for all the insights into building – I incorporate a lot of them into my tours! If you’d like to join me for a walk when we are able to get out again, then you can purchase a gift voucher to redeem against future events.
