Thanks to everyone for the great response to my new Nottingham Art Deco Pubs talk – it seems the combo of fine ales and pub history is a winning one!
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.
Extra dates for my new projects! Plus more Watson Fothergill Walks this summer.
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.
The Vat & Fiddle, Architect WB Starr & Hall, 1937-8, previously known as The Grove, Miami, Ziggy’s, Tom Hoskins… Photo: Lucy Brouwer
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!)
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!
Extra turret! Clawson Lodge. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
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 Hine Hike, Sunday 27 July, 2 pm is just over half full so get your skates on if you’re thinking of joining us. Tickets for all these walks are £20 each including booking fees.
Look out for more dates coming up in July and August.
After much prevaricating, I’ve decided to organise a walk in Mansfield!
Introducing The Mansfield Meander! This walk will look at the remaining buildings built by Fothergill in his home town, and we will search for traces of some of his earlier work. There will also be a chance to look at Mansfield’s massive viaduct and to stay for a drink or a meal at Ciao Bella Italian Restaurant (booking required). More details and tickets at the special introductory rate of £15 plus fees via this link:
After an overwhelming response, there will now be two “performances” of my Art Deco Pubs talk at The Abdication in Daybrook (24 June & 22 July) These are now both full. If you’d like me to present my illustrated talk for your group or club then please get in touch via my website.
Thanks again to Lamar for collaborating on our Smartphone Photography Workshop Walk looking at some of Nottingham’s public art last week. Lamar knows so much about how to get the best out of even the smallest camera and we got some great shots. If you’re interested in taking part in one of these events in the future we’d like to hear from you – it might be possible to organise private sessions for small groups. Drop me a line to express an interest.
Nottingham Playhouse & Sky Mirror through filters… as taken on the Smartphone Photography Workshop Walk. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
Finally, Sunday 22 June is The Park Garden Trail – the best time to see the architecture (and gardens) in Nottingham’s Park Estate. Explore the heart of Victorian Nottingham and benefit a host of local charities… I will be there wandering around with my flyers, probably pointing out the Fothergill buildings… see you there!
The Park Garden Trail 2023, 5 & 7 Lenton Road, (1873, Fothergill Watson). Photo: Lucy Brouwer
Explore Nottingham’s public art and improve your photos. Plus extra date for Art Deco Pub Talk.
I’m exploring collaborations with some of my fellow creative freelancers in Nottingham. First up, a Smartphone Photography Workshop with Lamar Francois.
Lamar took the photos for my WatsonFothergillWalk website and I’ve had a keen eye on his career ever since. He has documented the Standing In This Place project and recently started running photographer workshops to help you take the best photos with the device in your pocket.
I thought this would make a good opportunity to explore my new obsession with Nottingham’s public artworks, so we are hosting a joint workshop on Saturday, 14 June, starting at 5 pm.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite. There are just six places available.
Lamar will lead the photography side of things, while I will be talking about the stories behind the artworks and making sure we don’t get lost on the way from Nottingham Playhouse (home of Anish Kapoor’s Sky Mirror) via Nottingham Canal to the Broadmarsh Greenheart, home of Nottingham’s newest Bronze statue, Rachel Carter’s Standing In This Place.
This will be a great chance to get one-to-one photo tuition, learn how to improve your pictures and make some art about art!
My talk on Nottingham’s Art Deco Pubs at The Abdication has filled up so quickly that we’ve added a second date. Tuesday, 22 July, doors 6.30 pm. Please contact The Abdication directly for tickets. Update this is very nearly full-up so be quick!
Meanwhile, I’ve got some weekday availability for group tours – so if you’d like to show off Nottingham’s architecture to your friends, have a social gathering with a difference or plan something for your club or U3A group drop me a line here.
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.
Here are all the tours that currently have tickets available
Saturday, July 12 marks the anniversary of Watson Fothergill’s birth in 1841 – and I’m doing a special shorter version of my walk to look at some highlights and explore the influence of George Gilbert Scott on the architect’s work (in conjunction with Bromley House Library) Walk start 2 pm outside Bromley House Library and lasts for approx 1 hour TICKETS HERE
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
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.
