Tag: Fothergill Watson

Events, Research

Researching buildings PLUS Summer dates for tours

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I’m busy researching buildings for what I hope will be at least one new tour in Nottingham and maybe something else for extra-keen Fothergill-spotters (all very exciting and I will share this properly with you when things are closer to being ready!)

Research!

Meanwhile, there are some of my walks coming up, including Watson Fothergill Walk and Hine Hike.

Here are the dates and links to tickets.

Watson Fothergill Walk (Nottingham City Centre tour), Sunday 26 May, 10 am

June 2024

A summer evening Watson Fothergill Walk (Nottingham City Centre tour) Thursday 13 June, 6pm 

Watson Fothergill Walk(Nottingham City Centre tour) Sunday June 23, 10am 

Hine Hike – The Buildings of Thomas Chambers Hine, Sunday 30 June, 2pm

Lucy, your tour guide, being over excited about a Watson Fothergill building – in this case The Simons and Pickard Paper Warehouse 1894, now Castle Court, Nottingham.

Please check out some of the lovely reviews people have been leaving on TripAdvisor (thank you so much if you’ve taken the time to write one.) (Booking directly through me or Eventbrite is the best value option for tickets).

It’s getting harder and harder to reach new people on social media… so if you’ve enjoyed Watson Fothergill Walk please tell your friends!

So, if you live in or around Nottingham or just visiting, you’re interested in History, architecture, and eccentricity (me? the architect?) you might enjoy my tour. Plus you get your steps in & there’s a pub at the end!

Dates in June with tickets available – all details and links to tickets here or sign up to the mailing list to hear about new dates each month. Thank you everyone!

Events

Lighter nights? Try an evening walk in June

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Thank you if you’ve already joined a tour this year – and thanks if you’ve told your friends or written a lovely 5-star  TripAdvisor review – it’s great to get the word out!

Tickets for walks in June 2024 are now live on Eventbrite.

All tickets linked here.

Join tour guide Lucy Brouwer to explore Nottingham’s outstanding Victorian architecture:

Watson Fothergill Walk, City Centre Tour, Thursday 13 June 6 pm

Watson Fothergill Walk, City Centre Tour, Sunday 23 June 10 am

Hine Hike, The Buildings of Thomas Chambers Hine, Sunday 30 June 2 pm

All tickets £15 each (plus Eventbrite booking fee).

There’s still time to get tickets for a walk in May with limited tickets for a rare Sunday afternoon date for

Watson Fothergill Walk 12 May 2 pm

The Carrington Crawl Saturday 18 May, 1 pm

Watson Fothergill Walk Sunday 26 May 10 am

More dates to come in July and throughout the summer – or book a walk for your group – email Lucy with your requirements.

Events

See Nottingham differently: Walks for May 2024

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Thanks to everyone who has supported my small business by joining me for a Watson Fothergill Walk or Hine Hike around Nottingham. More dates now on sale, including another date for the Carrington Crawl, see below.

The Express Building, Parliament Street, Nottingham. Architect Fothergill Watson, 1876. Photo: Lucy Brouwer.

I’m looking forward to the Spring and some more walks in May. Now booking – click dates for tickets and info:

An afternoon date – Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 12 May, 2 pm

Carrington Crawl, Saturday 18 May, 1 pm

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 26 May, 10 am

There are also still some tickets remaining for April –

One ticket left for Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 7 April, 10 am

Carrington Crawl Friday 12 April, 2 pm

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 21 April, 10 am

Hine Hike, Thursday 25 April, 2 pm

All tickets are £15 plus a small booking fee. Gift vouchers are also available.

Tickets for all walks on Eventbrite.

Tour guide Lucy is also available for private bookings for any of the above mentioned tours. Email for more details– minimum charges apply. 

Events

More walks for April 2024 – Watson Fothergill, TC Hine, Carrington Crawl

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Thanks to everyone who has joined me so far for The Watson Fothergill Walk. The first Hine Hike of the year is sold out so I’ve added another date in April, and that month also sees the return of The Carrington Crawl. Tickets are moving fast for the city centre walk in March – there might be a couple left for 17 March if you’re quick…

Fothergill’s – the end of the city centre Watson Fothergill Walk – you can book in for a meal or stay for a drink. Photo: Lucy Brouwer


Tickets are now on sale for walks in April 2024.


Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 7 April, 10 am

The original Nottingham city centre walk looking at the life and buildings of Watson Fothergill, Architect.

 Carrington Crawl, Friday 12 April, 2 pm

The  stories behind the domestic architecture of Watson Fothergill and his chief assistant L.G. Summers in Mapperley Park, Sherwood Rise and Carrington.


Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 21 April, 10 am

See the city centre at a quiet time of day and discover the details of Fothergill’s buildings, stories from his life and how to spot his work.


Hine Hike, Thursday 25 April, 2 pm

An introduction to the buildings of Thomas Chambers Hine, prolific architect of Victorian Nottingham. Takes in some of his houses near The Park Estate and industrial architecture of the Lace Market.

Buy tickets for all events here

I hope you can join me for a tour of Nottingham’s beautiful architecture. If you have a group of 5 or more and would like a tour at a time to suit you – please send a message here.

Events, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

First dates for 2024 now booking

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Thanks to everyone who joined me for a walk, bought a voucher or listened to a talk this year. Your support really means a lot! Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year…

…Watson Fothergill Walk will be back in 2024.

Join tour guide Lucy Brouwer to explore the buildings of architect Watson Fothergill in Nottingham. Tickets are now on sale for Watson Fothergill Walk on Sunday 4 February 10 am and Sunday 18 February 10 am. Lucy is also available for private bookings.

Tickets for all walks from Eventbrite here

Tickets are £15 each – book early and save on Eventbrite fees. If you have gift vouchers there is now a specific ticket category for you to use.

If you need a last-minute present for someone who you think would like to explore Nottingham –  Watson Fothergill Walk Gift Vouchers are still available. They are valid for 12 months. They can be purchased and sent by email:

Buy Watson Fothergill Walk Gift vouchers

Events

Winter bookings

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A massive “Thank you” to everyone who joined me for a guided tour of Nottingham’s Victorian architecture this year!

Dog walking group outside Queen’s Chambers on the Watson Fothergill Walk, from earlier in the year. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

I won’t be doing ticketed walks again until Spring 2024… but in the meantime, if you have a small group you can book a tour directly.

For groups of 5 to 20 people, a version of the Watson Fothergill Walk, Carrington Crawl or Hine Hike can be tailored to suit your requirements – for example, shorter versions of the walks are available. Walks are dog-friendly and can end at Fothergill’s or a venue of your choice (subject to agreement).

The Lace Market Heritage tour is also available – this offers an accessible introduction to Nottingham’s historic industrial architecture and takes around 45 minutes-1 hour with the option to stop at the Angel Microbrewery and/or The Cross Keys pubs.

Send a message to tour guide Lucy to discuss a tour for your group. Prices start at £100 for groups of up to five people, maximum group size of 20 people (charged per person subject to agreement). Terms and conditions apply.

Watson Fothergill Walk will be back in 2024 so make sure you’re signed up to the mailing list for news or buy some gift vouchers for a friend!

Events, Research, The Park Estate

Fothergill’s Buildings in The Park Estate

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It has taken a lot of research but I’ve put together an illustrated talk on Fothergill’s Buildings in The Park Estate… and some of the people who lived in them. I will be premiering this lecture for The Park Residents Association on Wednesday 4 October (7 pm for 7.30 pm) at The Park Tennis Club, Tattershall Drive, Nottingham. Details here.

I will hopefully be available to give a version of this talk to other groups in future – so please get in touch if you have a group who would be interested in hearing about some great buildings and their interesting history.

The Park Garden Trail 2023, 5 & 7 Lenton Road, (1873, Fothergill Watson). Photo: Lucy Brouwer

Meanwhile I have a couple of dates for the Watson Fothergill Walk coming up – There are a handful of tickets left for Sunday 8 October, 10 am and a rare weekday fixture on Thursday 12 October, 2 pm.

Join me to see Nottingham from a different angle!

Events

Walks in September & October 2023

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Take the opportunity to join a 5-star rated guided tour of Nottingham’s Victorian Architecture. There are currently a limited number of tickets remaining for The Watson Fothergill Walk on

Sunday 10 September 10 am

&

Sunday 24 September 10 am.

I have also now added dates in October:

Sunday 8 October 10 am

& a rare weekday outing

Thursday 12 October 2 pm

All these walks take just over 2 hours and tickets cost £15 per person (subject to Eventbrite fees). More info on the Watson Fothergill Walk is here.

If you’d like to book a walk for your group then contact tour guide Lucy to organise a date and time. Minimum fee/group size applies.

Events

Walks in September 2023

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Here are the Watson Fothergill Walk dates for September 2023

Join a guided tour of Nottingham with 5-star TripAdvisor reviews! The next dates for Watson Fothergill Walk – looking at the Nottingham City Centre architecture of Watson Fothergill a.k.a. Fothergill Watson are


Sunday 6 August, 10 am tickets £15 – 2 tickets remaining!


Sunday 10 September, 10 am, tickets £15*


Sunday 24 September, 10 am, tickets £15*


*Buy before 6 August and don’t pay Eventbrite fees.

You can also book group tours with tour guide Lucy Brouwer – prices start at £100 for groups of up to 6 people. Email for more information.

A few tickets are still available for the evening Hine Hike: The Buildings of Thomas Chambers Hine walk on Thursday 24 August, 6 pm Tickets £15 plus booking fee.

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.