A few people have asked if I can move my Deco in the Details tours to the weekend, so I’ve given my diary a shake-up and moved the two dates (previously on Wednesdays) to Sunday slots in May.
This tour looks for traces of Art Deco style in the architecture of the 1920s and 1930s. Starting with the Council House and taking in Friar Lane, Viyella, Broadmarsh and Listergate to end back at the other side of the Council House (well, it is very large!).
There was so much change in Nottingham in the 1920s and 1930s that this tour needs two parts. You can do either one or both, in any order. This one starts with the YMCA and winds down Parliament Street to Hockley and Sneinton Market.
There’s lots to discover on both these tours – you might be surprised how much. Expect my usual entertaining blend of architecture-spotting, history and anecdotes.
Other upcoming events
There are still some spaces on The Hine Hike, Sunday 19 April, 2 pm. If you’ve not done this tour yet, then please join me to explore the massive contribution the architect Thomas Chambers Hine made to the way modern Nottingham is laid out.
A rare chance to join me for theCarrington Crawl. This tour looks at houses designed by Watson Fothergill and his chief architectural assistant, Lawrence George Summers. I don’t do this one very often, so don’t miss out on a chance to find out more about Fothergill’s domestic set-up, his art collection, the house he built for himself and the buildings that helped to shape Mapperley Park, Sherwood Rise and Carrington. This walk starts at the junction of Mansfield Road and Mapperley Road and finishes at Clawson Lodge (the Ukrainian Cultural Centre) in Carrington, where you can go inside, look around, enjoy a drink and ask me questions!
All these tours can be booked for independent groups -I’m often available during the week. Please drop me a line to set up a tour for you and your friends, or for social clubs, gatherings, alternative works-dos etc.
Architecture in the Pub talks
Thank you for the fabulous response to these talks. The Berni Inns talk at the Abdication is now full, but I will hopefully be repeating the series and possibly adding new topics at the Vat & Fiddle in the Autumn. There will be some historical highlights on the Vat & Fiddle’s social media over the coming weeks.
My research into Nottingham’s Berni Inns has led down a few historical rabbit holes…
I’m busy researching and writing my forthcoming talk on Nottingham’s Berni Inns and their buildings. This is now fully sold out at The Vat & Fiddle, but I will be repeating the talk at The Abdication Micropub, Daybrook, on Tuesday 21 April, 7 pm. Please contact the pub for tickets, £10 each.
Meanwhile, I have a couple of walking tours lined up for April:
I also have some weekday availability to conduct walking tours in the next few months, if you have a group of friends, a club or organisation that would like to see Nottingham differently, drop me a line here.
I have been delving deep into the stories of some old Nottingham buildings. One of these is the Flying Horse Hotel, which, for a short time, was owned and run by Berni Inns, but has been famed in the town and beyond in the years before and since.
These days, it is Flying Horse Walk, a shopping arcade first planned in the mid-1980s, now home to the first cafe opened by 200 Degrees Coffee and Bar Gigi, who make use of some of the cellars beneath the building. According to J. Holland Walker’s 1928 history of Nottingham, The Flying Horse stands on the site of the house the Plumtre (sometimes Plumptre) family erected when they first came to Nottingham in the 13th century. Claims are made, not least by the date inscribed on the facade, that it was established as a hotel in 1483, but like several other dates attached to Nottingham pubs, this might not be everything it seems.
I’ve trawled the newspaper archives for evidence and found that The Flying Horse Hotel is sometimes called a “Tudor Coaching Inn”, with the name referring to the speed of the horse-drawn vehicles. It seems more likely that the flying horses were the ones on early fairground rides – perhaps inspired by the Goose Fair, which was held on the Great Market Place close by. J. Holland Walker posits that it was known as “Travellers Inn” (later writers state that he doesn’t mean this was the name of the hotel, rather this was the purpose for which the hotel had a reputation.) It was also claimed (apparently in Thomas Bailey’s Annals of Nottinghamshire) that the hotel was mentioned in letters of endowment of the Plumtre Hospital in 1392.
The Wikipedia page claims the owner was William Rowbottom from 1799. I’ve found evidence for him as licensee until 1811, when Robert Mackley, formerly of the Black Boy Inn, took over. I can find Mackley at The Flying Horse until around 1821, and then it is possible that he retired. Mrs Jane Clarke is the next licensed victualler on the premises (until circa 1844), and then the hotel is taken over by her son-in-law, William Henry Malpas. Of Malpas, a lot more seems to have been recorded, at least in the local papers.
William Henry Malpas (1803-1862), along with his wife Jane (who he’d married in 1835), and later his sister Emma Susanna Malpas plus a staff of over a dozen barmaids, waiters, chambermaids, cooks, a carman and an under ostler, boots and under boots, ran the hotel until his death in 1862. Henry Malpas, as he was known to his friends, was a character seemingly straight from the pages of The Pickwick Papers (Charles Dickens’ debut novel, published in serial form from 1836). A colourful obituary in the Nottingham Journal describes him as “20 years mine host” at The Flying Horse, known for its “quaint and cosy style of architecture… one of those establishments where ‘men on the road’ and temporary sojourners might be supposed to have ‘taken their ease at the inn.’” The Flying Horse was known throughout the country and “held lordly sway over the lesser inns in Nottingham.” Malpas was a “robust and genial host”, always ready with a sporting story, his “force of character”, patriotism, love of field sports and greyhounds and acquaintance with “stars of the ring” including Nottingham’s boxing hero William “Bendigo” Thompson, making him a popular figure. Despite bankruptcy hearings due to his “having more than one iron in the fire” with his investments in iron and tin plate, he continued at the Flying Horse after the death of his wife and after attempts to sell the lease of the Hotel.
At his death in November 1862, from a “brief but severe illness” after suffering severely from “frequent and protracted attacks of gout”, his sister Emma Susanna Malpas took over the running of the hotel, going into partnership with her assistant Sarah Harper from 1868. They rebuilt substantial sections of the building in 1870 and opened a new luncheon bar and restaurant in 1871, described as “at once handsome, commodious and convenient”. In 1872, a new company was formed and it appears the hotel was at least partially rebuilt (at least this was the plan at the time).
Nottingham Journal, April 1870. (British Newspaper Archive).
Miss Malpas died in 1874, and for a while, Miss Harper continued at the helm, making more improvements to the building.
From around 1877-8, the Hotel seems to have been run by a succession of managers and manageresses, and owned by Thomas Dickinson (sometimes Dickenson), Wine and Spirit Merchant, with Martin Inett Preston (solicitor, who had been Sheriff of Nottingham 1866-7) trading as The Flying Horse Hotel Company.
In November 1886 an altercation between the manageress Miss Emily Smeed and the Musical Hall star Jenny Hill was reported. Miss Hill was refused service, and a fight ensued, possibly ending with Miss Hill striking Miss Smeed with her umbrella (the witness accounts were conflicting to say the least).
In 1881, a new annexe to the hotel with an entrance of St Peter’s gate opened, with a new refreshment counter and billiard room.
Each successive report of the Hotel going up for auction (in 1870 and 1908) seems to end in ‘no sale’, as the reserve price was not met. It continued to trade all the same. Apart from adverts for staff and notices of meetings and dinners, the most solid mention of management is in 1908, when the license of the “ale house” transfers from Arthur Mann to Charles Symons.
In 1916, alterations are again proposed, this time to reduce the number of entrances; the magistrates object. Around 1921, Trust Houses Ltd, a company originally formed to rejuvenate coaching inns for the motor car age, took over The Flying Horse.
In 1931, the property was once again put up for sale, but Trust Houses still seem to be in charge, then in 1934, applications were made for more alterations to the building, it was actually suggested that the building be demolished. Douglas Gladstone Millett, Trust Houses in-house architect, planned to pull down The Punch Bowl, another inn adjacent to the Flying Horse on Peck Lane, as this was now largely disused. The licensing magistrates were in favour of pulling down the entire hotel rather than modernising the interior. They claimed the only solution was to rebuild. The Flying Horse was described as the only surviving medieval landmark in Nottingham. The date 1483 was then visible on the signboard, but the architecture was described as “from about the time of The Armada.”
The Flying Horse Hotel, before the 1935 alterations. Nottingham Evening Post, 1.12.1934 (BNA)
Permission for Trust Houses modernisation scheme was refused at first, but in 1935 plans for structural alterations were deemed satisfactory and went ahead, with the facade being practically rebuilt to D.G. Millett’s design (the pargetting is alleged to be based on The Rose & Crown, another coaching inn he had worked on for the company in Saffron Walden, Essex.)
8 Oct 1936 Nottingham Evening Post (BNA)
The Flying Horse Hotel circa 1951 (Old English Inns Illustrated, source.)
The new dining room was described as “beautifully panelled”, a description you’ll recognise if you’ve ever been inside 200 Degrees Coffee Shop (and a scheme that they have replicated across their chain of cafes!).
In 1968, the Hotel again came under threat of demolition but was saved and altered internally once again, this time to become part of the Chef & Brewer chain of dining pubs, opening in 1969.
1969, Nottingham Evening Post (BNA)
Into the 1970s, as Chef & Brewer were absorbed into the Grand Metropolitan hotel chain, The Flying Horse was rebranded as a Schooner Inn and by 1981 had become a Berni Inn (the 9th steak restaurant in Nottingham and the surrounding area.) In 1986, when plans for the new shopping arcade were launched, Berni had originally planned to remain on the site, but in the end, they pulled out of the deal, and the Flying Horse Hotel finally closed its doors. Flying Horse Walk shopping arcade opened in 1988, costing £8 million it was seen as a sign that Nottingham was a vital and fashionable shopping city.
Original shops included Ouiset, French Dressing Mondi, Alexon, Berketex Brides, Le Pew, Barbara Pepper Lingerie, The Costume Jewellery Shop, Optional Extras, Wires and Intermission Coffee Shop (upstairs if I remember rightly!).
Flying Horse Walk Opening event, March 17 1988 (With thanks to Nottingham City Libraries Local Studies Dept.) (Actress Jan Harvey played a fashion tycoon in the BBC melodrama Howard’s Way, broadcast on BBC 1 at the time)
The facade remains as a listed building, but the majority of the building was modernised (and has been refurbished a couple of times since). The arcade was rebranded as FH Mall for a while, but was rebranded again as Flying Horse Walk in 2013 with the addition of Amy Goodman’s Pegasi sculptures. Currently, in 2026, the shops inside include The Cheese Shop, Vivienne Westwood, jewellery shops, hairdressers and art shops.
The Flying Horse sculpture by Amy Goodman (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)
More about Nottingham’s Berni Inns and their buildings on 21 April, 7 pm at The Abdication Micropub, Daybrook. Please contact the pub to reserve a spot. Tickets £10 each.
Building histories… an occasional series. Plus a new talk at the Vat & Fiddle in March.
Deco in the Details Part 1 is now sold out, and there are 6 tickets remaining for Deco in the Details Part 2 on 29th March, 11 am. I will also hopefully be doing these walks again later in the year.
The Watson Fothergill Walks in February and March have tickets still available, if you haven’t joined me yet for a tour of my favourite Nottingham buildings, then make sure you don’t miss out this year. Read on to the end for news of a new illustrated talk at the Vat & Fiddle in March.
Thanks to my correspondent Hazel C for suggesting I look into the history of 26-28 Market Street, Nottingham. It has just been put onto the market for sale, with the present tenants Revolucion de Cuba, staying on inside.
This Flemish Renaissance-style grade II listing building, which was built from 1897 and opened in 1899, was designed by architect A.R.Calvert as The Nottingham and County Constitutional Club. At the time of his death in 1922, he was still the club’s secretary.
Alexandra House, Market Street, Nottingham. Photo: Lucy Brouwer.
It was originally built as the headquarters of The Nottingham and County Constitutional Club, one of several gentlemen’s clubs in the city in the late Victorian period. It was organised as a place for supporters of the Conservative and Unionist Party to meet and discuss the political events of the day, socialise and use the facilities. Their chairman at the time was the Solicitor James McCraith (coincidentally a colleague and client of Watson Fothergill).
The newly completed Constitutional Club, 1899 (The Building News, Internet Archive).
When newly built, The Constitutional Club was considered “one of the most complete and well-equipped clubs outside London.” Inside were a smoking room, billiard room (three tables), and assembly hall on the ground floor. On the second floor, behind the balconies, were dining rooms, a committee room, reading, writing, and card rooms. At the top of the building were bedrooms for members, a bathroom and a steward’s room. Disconnected from these were a kitchen, scullery and servants’ bedrooms. There was a large skittle alley in the basement and a ladies’ room, decorated in peacock blues and white, “separate from the club proper”, (as not yet having the vote, the ladies were not allowed membership.)
The front of the building was constructed in Derbyshire stone, the entrance porch was panelled in Kilkenny and Languedoc marble, with a mahogany screen containing antique glass. A period photograph held by Historic England shows that the terrazzo floor, which can still be found in some places inside, is likely original.
CC for the Constitutional Club, found at the entrance to the building. Photo: Lucy Brouwer.
Over the years, these clubs and their lavish buildings fell out of fashion and became expensive to maintain. The Borough Club, which had a similarly decorative building on King Street, completed to designs by the architect Gilbert Smith Doughty, merged with the Constitutional Club in 1959. The building on King Street was sold to the Nottingham Corporation and subsequently demolished.
The Borough Club on King Street to a design from Academy Architect Magazine.
The Market Street Building and the organisation both took on the name “The Borough Club”. This building in turn, became too large and was sold off in 1968. The club had also merged with The Nottingham Reform Club (who themselves had sold off its Victoria Street building – Now The Cosy Club). In 1969, in an effort to bring themselves up to date, the merged clubs moved to the Midland Design & Building Centre, then a new modern building on Mansfield Road (and itself now demolished). The city’s politically-minded clubs now seem to have been absorbed by Conservative Party organisations, and the era of Gentlemen’s clubs is long gone – if you search for them now, you’re more likely to find listings for lap dancing establishments!
The next use for the Market Street building was as a Berni Inn. When The Black Boy Hotel on Long Row (whose many alterations and rebuilding works were carried out by Watson Fothergill) was demolished in 1970, the license was transferred to these premises, and it was refurbished with some of the hotel’s fixtures (including a small statue of an enslaved boy – which came up for auction a couple of years ago). It was renamed The Black Boy Inn, claims were made that the name and the history of the old hotel came from the time of King Charles II, whose nickname was apparently “Black Boy”, thanks to his dark hair. A likely story!
Berni Inns, a British restaurant chain whose accessible and straightforward Steak and Chips menu did much to democratise eating out in post-rationing Britain, had several establishments in Nottingham. In December 1971, The Black Boy Inn on Market Street opened. It eventually was home to four bars with seating for 330 people. As well as their trademark steaks, in the mid 1970s it served pizza and boasted a female DJ in its DiscoDine bar.
Berni traded here until 1988, when the building closed for refurbishment, reopening as Old Orleans, a Louisiana Jazz theme bar and restaurant, with the City Trading House bar in the basement.
In December 2015, Revolucion de Cuba took over the site from the relatively short-lived Long Island American Diner (Here from 2014. If anyone can remember the name of the nightclub on the upper floor, please let me know!)
Part of the Revolution chain of bars, it has recently been taken over by a new consortium and will be having a spruce up as the building goes on the market once again, valued at almost £2 million. (Check the listing for more pictures of the interior.)
All this has inspired me to dig deeper into the history of Nottingham’s many Berni Inns and their buildings, and I will be presenting my findings at The Vat & Fiddle on Tuesday 24th March, 7pm. Tickets are £10.
If you have any Nottingham Berni Inn memories to share or photos of the interiors of any of Nottingham’s many Berni Inns, I’d love to take a look. Drop me a line here.
My next Vat & Fiddle talk, on Watson Fothergill in the Park Estate, is now sold out. However, if you’d like to book me to give a talk to your group or club, please do not hesitate to contact me.
The weather has not been particularly conducive for tours this month, so I took a day off for a wander around Beeston. (This is not a guided tour, just something I do!)
Beeston’s history is well-documented, and the Beeston Civic Society have been doing great work. If you live there or visit, you’ll know that there are loads of cafes and bars, interesting shops and charity shops. A few buildings caught my eye…
Beeston Library, Photo: Lucy Brouwer.
As a former Library Assistant and full-time bookworm, I made a beeline for Beeston Library. The building on Foster Avenue was designed by the County Architect E. W. Roberts in 1938. He was also responsible for West Bridgford Library. The builders of the Library, local firm Hofton & Son, also built Beeston Town Hall, which is now used as a church, and sits opposite. It opened in 1938 and was designed by the architects Evans, Clark & Wollatt with H.H. Goodall. It has a solid Neo-Georgian look with Art Deco details.
Former Town Hall, Beeston. Photo: Lucy Brouwer.
After a very nice coffee at Greenhood, itself in a former Birds the Confectioners shop on the High Road, our daunder** took us past the former Primitive Methodist Church on Wollaton Road. This 1882 building was one of many Victorian-era Methodist churches by Nottingham architect Richard Charles Sutton.
Former Primitive Methodist Church, Beeston. Photo: Lucy Brouwer.
R.C. Sutton was a very prolific architect in his day; his buildings can be found all over Nottingham and outlying areas. I’m hoping to explore his work and his connections to Bromley House Library, where he had his office, further this year.
Back on the High Road, the former NatWest Bank stands out. It was originally built for the Nottingham and Notts bank, 1905-08, and was likely designed by the Coalville architect Thomas Ignatius McCarthy. The Pevsner guide describes it as “abstracted Neo-Tudor.” It ceased to be a bank in 2023 and is now a kitchen showroom.
Former Nottingham & Notts/ NatWest Bank, Beeston. Photo: Lucy Brouwer.
Further down the High Road, the familiar Home Brewery lettering on a white building caught my eye. The Pudding Pantry cafe was previously The Durham Ox pub.
A very detailed history of the pub can be found on David Hallam’s Beeston History website. The present building was built in 1925, and was one of many pubs rebuilt by the Nottingham architect Albert Edgar Eberlin, as mentioned in my Art Deco Pubs talk. Eberlin also worked on The Fox, The Royal Children, The Beechdale and many more pub buildings around Nottingham.
Another Deco-era building I noticed, the recently closed Poundland, was in fact a former Woolworths.
This was Woolworth’s store 578 and was completed in 1934 by their in-house architect, Harold Winbourne. I noticed the parapet and margin glazing in the metal-framed windows. Head over to the Woolies Buildings website for archive pictures of this one in its former glory and to Building Our Past for shop architecture historian Kathryn A. Morrison’s in-depth look at Woolworths and their architects.
Does your neighbourhood have any buildings that catch your eye? Look up and see what you can see next time you’re out. Or if you have a building you’d like me to research – get in touch.
* Bimble; English, informal: a leisurely walk or journey.
** Daunder; Scots: to stroll, saunter or wander aimlessly.
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Book the newly renovated function room in a Fothergill building
Thanks to everyone who came to the Introducing TC Hine event at the University of Nottingham. It was great to see some familiar faces and to explore the City as Lab project.
Some pages from the digitisation of TC Hine’s scrapbook. (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)
To continue the TC Hine theme, I’m offering my Hine Hike tour on Sunday 14 December, 11 am. This tour surveys the Nottingham city centre buildings of the Victorian architect Thomas Chambers Hine, from The Park Tunnel to The Lace Market and gives an introduction to his life and work.
The upstairs function room of The Castle has been renovated and is ready for pre-Christmas bookings. I took a look around inside.
(Photos of the interior courtesy of Eversosensible/ The Castle Pub).
Upstairs in The Archer’s Attic (so called because there’s a great view of the Robin Hood statue), there is a bar, two dining areas with plenty of room for parties or group events, and even space for your own DJ. There’s info on capacity and more photos on the pub’s website. It’s free to hire the room, and they have some pre-Christmas availability so drop them a line if you’re interested in booking.
Mortimer House, which is also home to Fothergill’s Pub & Bistro, was built in 1882-83, and represents the Old English elements of Fothergill’s architectural style. Built for Clement Tate, a business man and surveyor, who was based in Nottingham at the time, the building was originally six houses with shops at either end. The Old Castle Inn, as it was then known, has been a public house since 1980, with a brief stint as The Fletcher and Firkin in the 1990s (look for the old Firkin doormat!) It had previously been a tea room, an antique shop and the office of a bankruptcy accountant! These days, it is a listed building and the final stop on my Watson Fothergill Walk guided tour.
Mortimer House, now The Castle and Fothergill’s (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)
The Watson Fothergill Walk will be back in 2026, so make sure you are subscribed to receive dates as they are announced. Gift Vouchers for my tours are available from Gift Up, or you can book a private walk for small groups by contacting me via my website.
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I’m working with U of N Manuscripts & Special Collections on something special
If you’ve been on my Hine Hike walking tour, you’ll know that architect Thomas Chambers Hine’s buildings are very important to Nottingham.
In researching the tour, I visited the University of Nottingham’s Manuscripts & Special Collections archives to look at Hine’s scrapbooks. Since then, the archivists have painstakingly digitised these documents, so it’s now possible to view them without handling the fragile pages.
Article and image of The Park Tunnel from the Scrapbook of T. C. Hine, Manuscripts and Special Collections, MS 575/1/164. Please do not reproduce without permission.
To celebrate, a special event will take place on Thursday, 4th December, 5 pm at the newly developed Weston Atrium, Castle Meadow Campus, NG2 1AB (formerly the HMRC building) – The event is free, but places are limited, so please email or phone Manuscripts & Special Collections to book. Keep reading for the contact details :
Introducing T. C. Hine – Manuscripts and Special Collections event at Castle Meadow Campus
Weston Atrium, Castle Meadow Campus, NG2 1AB
Thursday 4th December, 17.00 to 19.00
Manuscripts and Special Collections have recently completed a conservation and digitisation project on a beautifully unique item, the scrapbook of architect Thomas Chambers Hine (1813-1899). Hine designed some of the most iconic buildings in Nottingham including the current Nottingham Castle, Nottingham General Hospital, and The Park Estate. The scrapbook is an extraordinary item personally crafted by Hine himself and includes letters and signatures of royalty, churchmen, architects, authors and many others. As a keen autograph hunter, T.C. Hine collected letters which were signed by famous people and pasted them into a scrapbook, often accompanied by relevant illustrations and manuscript notes, photographs, cuttings from printed works, and engravings of architectural features and buildings that T.C. Hine perhaps admired.
This event will include short talks from Lucy Brouwer, the historian and tour guide who has developed the Watson Fothergill Walk and Hine Hike in the city centre, and Gavin Kinsley (York Archaeology) who will discuss aspects of Hine’s work in Nottingham. After this, attendees will be invited to view an innovative three-dimensional model of the centre of Nottingham onto which is projected locations of Hine’s most notable architectural designs, facilitated by Dr Gary Priestnall (University of Nottingham) and hosted in the ‘City as Lab’ facility adjacent to the event space. Digital images of the scrapbook will also be available for attendees to explore in their own time with refreshments.
The event is free to attend but due to a limited number of places you will need to register in advance. We will also be operating a waiting list. To register, please email Manuscripts and Special Collections on mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk or call us on 0115 95 14565.
Places are limited, so please book in advance. Hope to see you there to talk about Why Hine Matters!
I will also be staging a Hine Hike on Sunday 14 December, 11 am, so wrap up warm and join me to discover the work of Thomas Chambers Hine in Nottingham.
I’ll be repeating my talk on pubs of the 1920s & 30s in January 2026
There’s still time to join me for Nottingham Deco in the Details Part 2 on Thursday, 30 October at 11 am. It doesn’t matter if you’ve done Part 1 – the tour is self-contained! This time I’ll be looking at buildings including Notts Fire & Rescue, YMCA, The Palais de Danse, The Lord Roberts, Sneinton Market, and The Bath Inn.
The Lord Roberts, corner of Broad Street and High Cross Street, Nottingham. (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)
And speaking of Art Deco Pubs, I’ll be staging my illustrated talk on Nottingham’s Art Deco Pubs again in January at The Vat & Fiddle. Tickets via this link or from the bar at The Vat. The previous performances have all sold out so book ahead to avoid disappointment!
Nottingham’s Art Deco Pubs: Pub Architecture, Trends and Improvements in the Interwar Years, Tuesday 20 January 2026, Doors 7 pm. Tickets £10 each.
My walking season is almost over, but I am working on a few new ideas for next year. You can still book me to guide and of my tours as private walks for groups – fees starting at £100 for up to 5 people (maximum group size 20). Please drop me a line here to organise a tour.
Plus – look out for some Thomas Chambers Hine-related news coming soon…
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The Bath Inn, Handle Street, Sneinton Market. Photo: Louise Hunter
I touched on the history of The Bath Inn when I looked at Nottingham’s Art Deco Pubs, but since then I met a descendant of Thomas Losco Bradley (the owner of the Midland Brewery, originally responsible for refurbishing the pub in Egyptian style), so I thought I’d delve a little more deeply into the story.
There is an older building, originally built in the 1820s, beneath the 1928 refaced exterior of The Bath Inn, which itself has been restored and reinvigorated by the present publican, Piers Wheatcroft Baker.
Before it was refurbished in the 1920s, the landlord was Frederick Knibb (possibly seen in the photo above). The name above the door is a previous landlord, Thomas Bagshaw (c.1885). By the time the work was done on the exterior, the landlord was Tom Hollingworth, who had previously been a tobacconist. His wife Annie carried on running the pub after his death in 1934 until at least 1939.
The pub is a Listed Building described as stucco with a faience pubfront (the glazed tiles are typical of those used in many 1920s and 1930s buildings). It has a rebated, rounded corner and on both sides, the now-rare Egyptian stylings are visible in the ornamented cornice and the columns with bunched reeds as capitals around the doors. There are giant Egyptian pilasters with decorated capitals down the length of the building, now partly hidden behind the hanging baskets.
Ancient Egypt was all the rage in the 1920s thanks to the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. Read more about it on Historic England’s blog.
In the 1920s, The Bath Inn was one of the tied houses belonging to The Midland Brewery, owned by Thomas Losco Bradley. The Midland Brewery was then based at 119 Northgate, New Basford, but had begun in the late 1890s when Bradley started brewing ales at the pub he kept on Raleigh Street, The Barleycorn (now demolished).
Thomas Losco Bradley was the son of Thomas Bradley, who had run another pub in Radford, The Cricketers Arms on Alfreton Road. They were at the Cricketers in 1881 but by the time of the census in 1891, the Bradleys had moved to The Barleycorn.
Thomas Losco Bradley took over The Barleycorn from his father and began brewing his own beers. He lived at Second Avenue, Sherwood Rise, with his wife Alice and son Thomas Losco Bradley Jr.
Football News, 1892 (BNA)
Around 1907 the business expanded and Thomas Losco Bradley purchased the brewery building on Northgate, New Basford from Madden & Dell. By now the company was called The Midland Brewery and their beers came to be known (in their advertising at least) as “Bradley’s Brilliant Ales.”
In 1928, Bradley’s Ales were awarded First Prize at the Brewers’ Exhibition in London. Perhaps The Bath Inn was refitted in celebration of this victory?
Thomas Losco Bradley was a well-known figure locally. He owned racehorses and as master of the Rufford Hunt, was often photographed in The Tatler mingling with the county set. His wife bred Fox Terriers at their home Munden House and was featured in The Ladies’ Field magazine in 1917 with her dogs, who all had the pedigree name ‘Cromwell’.
The Tatler 1928 (Archive.org)
At the time of his death in 1930, Thomas Losco Bradley Snr had moved to Holly Lodge, Oxton and he was buried in his pink hunting kit after a service at St Barnabas Cathedral. His ‘favourite lemon and white smooth haired Fox Terrier, “Nettle”, with a black bow round its neck attended the funeral’. (Granthan Journal, 5 April 1930).
The Brewery continued to be run by his son Thomas Losco Bradley Jr, with several tied houses, many of which are still Nottingham pubs today, including The Sir John Borlase Warren, The King William (aka The Billy), The Hand in Heart, and The Foresters (New Foresters), along with several outside the city.
Sir John Borlase Warren, Canning Circus, Nottingham, as a Bradley’s pub. (Photo: Brewery History)
In 1954, Shipstones purchased the brewery and its pubs, The Bath Inn and the others became Shipstones houses. In the 1990s, it was briefly a Greenall’s pub, and for a while it was part-pub, part-fish and chip shop.
It closed down, but in 2021 was reopened by Piers Wheatcroft Baker, who has gone on to do great things. He has restored the exterior and added an Art Deco flavour to the inside of the pub, along with many characterful elements worthy of his pedigree – his father is Doctor Who actor Tom Baker and his mother was part of the Wheatcroft family of Sneinton rose growers, including her uncle, the flamboyant Harry Wheatcroft, who was born in Handel Street, just a stone’s throw from the pub. Read more about the regeneration of The Bath Inn in Nottingham’s own Left Lion or drop in for a pint (sadly not of Bradley’s Brilliant Ales).
Now called New Castle House, this building is one of Nottingham’s modern architectural marvels.
There’s another chance to join me for my Deco in the Details walks this October. Two complementary tours explore the architecture of the 1920s and 1930s in Nottingham, these walks examine the influence of Art Deco on the city’s buildings, as well as the expansion and modernisation of the Interwar period.
Each tour takes approximately 2 hours and tickets are £20 each.
Here’s a little more about one of the finest buildings to feature on Part 1, New Castle House, on Castle Boulevard, which was built as Viyella House, completed in 1933.
New Castle House (Formerly Viyella House) Photo: Jane Siddons
William Hollins & Co. with their trademarked Merino wool and cotton thread, Viyella (named for their original factory at Via Gellia in Derbyshire), expanded one of their Nottingham factories to become the company’s head office. Between 1931-1933, the new building by local architect Frank A. Broadhead was constructed on Castle Boulevard.
Frank Broadhead (1887-1967) had an office on Friar Lane, 2 Castle Place, and is also known to have designed houses in Wollaton. He was later in partnership with Eric Vernon Royle, who during the 1930s-1950s was diocesan architect working on churches including St John the Baptist in Carlton and St Martha the Housewife, Broxtowe. Incidentally, Broadhead’s home address, at least in the 1940s, was Holly Lodge, The Park Estate.
Viyella House is the only building I’ve been able to find in Broadhead’s name alone. The modern reinforced concrete construction of Viyella House was devised by (Sir) Owen Williams, who went on to design the famous D10 & D6 factory buildings for Boots at Beeston and the Daily Express Building in Manchester. The mushroom-headed concrete columns carry the load of the thin slab floors, allowing the Viyella building to support the weight of machinery inside.
The Architectural Review, September 1933 (which also included a feature on The Midland Hotel, Morecambe) published the plans for Viyella House and stated: “The new building comprises basement, mezzanine, ground and three other floors and is constructed in reinforced concrete of the flat beam mushroom column type. The internal horizontal bands, pilasters and the structure of the main entrance are in artificial stone. The horizontal curtain of windows contains 24,500 feet of glass.”
The article goes on to describe the interiors of the boardroom and hall, which were panelled in teak with furniture and rugs designed by Betty Joel.
Betty Joel (the professional name of Mary Stewart Lockhart) was an interior and furniture designer active in the 1920s and 1930s, and you can read more about her here on the Women Who Meant Business blog. My thanks also to Paul Evans, who shared some info on Betty Joel and her work with me.
Photos of the showroom were included in the Architecture Review article. Recently, another appeared in Dezeen as part of a feature about Art Deco designers, which included Betty Joel.
Viyella Showroom, decor by Betty Joel. Photo from Dezeen
The concrete mushroom columns were covered in stainless steel and their tops turned into lighting features. Joel also designed the rugs.
Interiors from the Showroom and Boardroom. B&W pics Architectural Review Sept. 1933. Colour pic Decorative Arts Journal 2013.
The pattern on the doors is a reworking of the Viyella Day & Night logo as seen on the front of the building.
Viyella’s Day & Night Wear Logo in print and on Castle Blvd.
William Hollins & Co. left the building in 1961.
Thanks to Richard Thorpe for contacting me to tell me about working for James McArtney Architects in the 1980s when the building was listed and restored. The large manufacturing floors provided flexible office space for Bass who had taken over the building, and the interiors were brought up to date while “retaining the Art Deco theme”.
Modernisation of New Castle House by JMA. Thanks to Richard Thorpe, formerly of CPMG Architects, Nottingham
Hello all. I’m back from my trip to Devon, where I attended some events at The International Agatha Christie Festival(such fun!) and visited a couple of excellent National Trust properties. I am now much better informed about seafood, scones, and murder mysteries.
Murder on the Torquay Footbridge. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
If you’re ever down that way, I’d recommend a visit not only to Agatha Christie’s house, Greenway, but also to Coleton Fishacre, the gorgeous Arts & Crafts meets Art Deco holiday home of the D’Oyly Carte family.
Coleton Fishacre (I had the best weather of the week at this National Trust property near Brixham, Devon) Photo: Lucy Brouwer
To continue celebrations of the Art Deco centenary year, I’m running both parts of my Nottingham Deco in the Details tour again this October.
These tours look at the architecture of the 1920s and 1930s in the city centre, searching for elements of Art Deco style in pubs, shops, dancehalls, and civic buildings. It’s in two parts because it’s too far to walk in one go, but you can do either or both in any order.
This walk starts and ends at TC Howitt’s Council House and takes in Montegue Burton – The Tailor of Taste, the Viyella building, a streamlined Deco Woolworths, and more.
This walk starts outside the Victoria Centre to view the YMCA building, then looks at shops, the Palais de Danse, Hockley, and Sneinton Market, ending with a look at The Bath Inn.
Both these routes, as well as my Watson Fothergill Walk are also available for private groups of 6 or more people. Please drop me a line to organise a private tour.
Here I am at Clawson Lodge at the end of the Carrington Crawl the other week. I’ll be back doing this walk again in 2026. Photo: Louise Hunter
Speaking of the Watson Fothergill Walk, the next one is on Sunday 12 October, 10am and I doubt there will be time for another before the Festive Markets on the square get underway,. There are limited places remaining, so if you’ve been putting it off, please book now!
