Events, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

Extra June 2023 Watson Fothergill Walk dates

Join tour guide Lucy Brouwer for some Fothergill-spotting in Nottingham. Tickets are now on sale for Watson Fothergill Walks in June.  In addition to previously announced dates, tickets for some weekday walks are now available.

Learn about the buildings where Fothergill left his mark on Nottingham. Forthcoming dates for Watson Fothergill Walk – a guided tour exploring the life and work of architect Watson Fothergill aka Fothergill Watson – more details on the ticket pages, links:

Sunday June 4, 10 am

Friday 9 June, 2 pm

Wednesday 14 June, 6 pm

Tickets are £15 each – book before 1 June and save almost £2 on Eventbrite fees.

Events

Watson Fothergill Walk dates for June 2023

I’m planning more dates through the summer starting with dates in May & June.

More Sunday dates for the Watson Fothergill Walk are now booking –

Sunday 4th June 10 am.

Extra evening date: Wednesday 14 June 6pm

Book early and save on Eventbrite fees. Tickets are £15 each (plus Eventbrite fees where applicable.)

There are still some spaces on the guided tours in May – the city centre Watson Fothergill Walk, an introduction to the buildings of architect Thomas Chambers Hine on The Hine Hike and houses by Fothergill and his chief assistant LG Summers on the edge of the city on The Carrington Crawl.

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Watson Fothergill Walk dates for May 2023

Another chance to join the Watson Fothergill Walk, an evening date and the return of The Carrington Crawl and The Hine Hike.

Sunday 14 May, 10 am Tickets £15*

The next date for Watson Fothergill Walk will be Sunday 14 May 2023, 10 am

Thursday 25 May, 6 pm Tickets £15*

There will be an evening Watson Fothergill Walk on Thursday 25 May, 6 pm

Carrington Crawl Saturday 20 May, 1 pm Tickets £15*

The Carrington Crawl exploring the houses of Fothergill and Summers just outside the city centre will be Saturday 20 May, 1 pm

The Hine Hike Sunday 28 May, 2 pm Tickets £15*

There are a limited number of tickets for The Hine Hike: The Buildings of Thomas Chambers Hine available for Sunday 28 May, 2 pm

*All tickets £15 each (plus Eventbrite fees £1.96)

Make sure your email is on the list for future updates.

Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

“‘Ning Po’!” A mention on Nottinghamshire Live (The Post)

I spoke to Lynette Pinchess at The Nottingham Post about one of Nottingham’s most fascinating buildings – Watson Fothergill’s Office on George Street.

In action on George Street. Photo: Lamar Francois

You can find out more about the building and the many others that the architect built on The Watson Fothergill Walk – tickets are now available for walk in March and April 2023 or send a message to make a private booking for your group of 6-20 people.

Events

Watson Fothergill Walk dates for April 2023

Watson Fothergill Walk is now booking into April 2023 with Sunday dates on 16 April, 10 am and 30 April, 10 am.

Explore what The Daily Telegraph called “Nottingham’s Fantastical Architecture” and learn about the life and work of architect Watson Fothergill, a.k.a Fothergill Watson…

Tickets are £15 each – book before 1 April and you won’t have to pay Eventbrite’s fees!

Tickets for Sunday 16 April, 10 am
Tickets for Sunday 30 April 10 am

Tour guides Lucy Brouwer is also available for private bookings for groups of between 6 and 20 people, please send a message with numbers and preferred dates for more details.

Events, reviews

More 5 star reviews!

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review for Watson Fothergill Walk – I’m so glad that people are finding the tours entertaining and enlightening!

Thanks to Roger for the review!

You can read more reviews over on Tripadvisor or even leave one yourself if you’ve joined me for a tour.

The next ticketed Watson Fothergill Walk is on Sunday 26 March, 10 am and tickets are £15 each (buy before 1 February and pay no Eventbrite fees).

Or book a private walk for your group of 6 or more people. Drop me a line to arrange a date and time.

Events, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

Another March date by popular demand!

The walk on 12 March sold out very quickly so I have added another Watson Fothergill Walk on Sunday 26 March, 10 am. Tickets are £15 each and if you buy before 1 February there are no Eventbrite fees to pay.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/watson-fothergill-walk-architecture-of-victorian-nottingham-tickets-510531923727?aff=WFWebsite
Buy tickets for 26 March – £15 each

NEWS FLASH…. I am running a private Watson Fothergill Walk on Monday 16 January at 2 pm – The group have generously offered to let me open this up to anyone who can join us. £15 each – pay cash on the day. Meet outside Visit Nottingham Tourism Office by The Council House at 2 pm – the walk takes approx 2 hours and finishes at Fothergill’s Pub. Email Watsonfothergillwalk@gmail.com to secure a place.

Events

Watson Fothergill Walks 2023

The first public ticketed walk of 2023 will be on Sunday 12 March at 10 am. Tickets are on sale now, priced £15 each and if you buy before 1 February then there are no Eventbrite fees to pay.

The Watson Fothergill Walk takes place in Nottingham City Centre, starting outside the Visit Nottingham Tourism Centre on Smithy Row, the walk duration will be just over 2 hours and we usually finish at Fothergill’s Pub near Nottingham Castle (where a variety of food and drinks are available).

Tickets for 12 March walk here.

If you’d like to do a Watson Fothergill Walk before March, Tour Guide Lucy still has some availability for Private Tours for groups of 6 or more. Send a message stating a preferred date to find out more.

If you have a Gift Voucher and experience any difficulty redeeming your tickets, please send a message stating your gift code and Lucy will be happy to help arrange your tickets.

Events

Fothergill in Retford

Last week I braved the cold to go to Retford where there are a couple of very different examples of Fothergill’s architectural work.

Retford, in North Nottinghamshire, is not somewhere I’ve had a chance to explore before. I did a little research on its history in preparation for my visit. Retford is made up of the market town of East Retford (established around 1100) and on the other side of the River Idle, the smaller, older West Retford (mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086). In 1878 East and West Retford became a single borough.

Nowadays, Retford retains a wealth of Georgian and Victorian architecture. Buildings that are thanks to the prosperity brought to the town by the Great North Road in 1766, the Chesterfield Canal in 1777 and the railways in 1849. There is a grand town hall with market buildings, a substantial market square, several notable churches and many impressive buildings for the architecture spotter to enjoy. I recommend following the Retford Civic Society‘s Heritage Trail (leaflet from Retford Library or download directly as a pdf here.)

Retford Town Hall, 1866-8. Architects: Bellamy and Hardy of Lincoln. Photo: Lucy Brouwer


Retford Town Hall, by architects Bellamy and Hardy of Lincoln, is similar to another town hall they designed for Ipswich, and was described by them as “Italian style”, although it has a “slightly overblown” roof that is more like a French chateau. It was described by Pevsner as a “bad mansard roof and a bad turret”. For all that I think it’s quite a jolly building, especially with the Christmas decorations up.

The Trinity Hospital in West Retford is another significant building, not only of itself but also because the Trinity Hospital Bailiffs (administrators) were responsible for a lot of other building work that took place close by. (For an in-depth history of Trinity Hospital and its impact on Retford, see Jean M. Nicholson’s book A Godly Inheritance.)

Of particular interest to me were the buildings on Bridgegate. The street leads from the Market Square out of the centre of town on the route of the old Great North Road. Many of the buildings on the West Retford side of the river have tiles with the hospital’s TH monogram as they were owned and built by the charity. Of particular interest to me was the group around St Michael’s Place, the oldest of which, Sandrock House is by Fothergill Watson (pre-name change). In red brick with some characteristic features – a picturesque roofline with a turret and tall chimneys – the date stone reads 1877.

Sandrock House, 1877. Architect Fothergill Watson. Photo: Lucy Brouwer.

Research by Jean Nicholson for The Thornton Society (quoted by Darren Turner in his Fothergill Catalogue) provides clues to Fothergill’s involvement in Sandrock House. In 1876 houses belonging to Trinity Hospital on the site next to the Galway Arms were in a ruinous condition and the Bailiff John Henry Worth, who had undertaken a programme of improvement of the houses on Bridgegate, decided to replace them with a crescent to be known as St Michael’s Place.

Fothergill’s diary notes that the house was to cost £500, but it appears that it exceeded this amount and Fothergill did not complete the interiors of the house. Edwin Wilmshurst (who succeeded Mr Worth as Bailiff) noted in 1907 that he had made additions and that the inside of the house was “badly designed by Mr Fothergill Watson of Nottingham”.

Sandrock House from the back (plus spire of St Michael’s Church). Photo: Lucy Brouwer

While I was taking photos, the owner of the house came out to walk his dogs, I asked him about the house interiors, and he implied that they were not particularly remarkable and that although the house was very warm, the inside of the turret was rather damp!

Perhaps the expense of Fothergill’s design was one reason why the other two houses on St Michael’s Place were designed by local architect R. Bertram Ogle.

Tower House, 1888. Architect R. Bertram Ogle. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
Tower House, 1888. Architect R. Bertram Ogle. Note TH monogram of Trinity Hospital on tiles. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

Tower House with polychrome brickwork, tower and solid bay windows responds to Fothergill’s Sandrock House. Robert Bertram Ogle (1850-1908) was born in Newcastle but practised as an architect in Retford during the 1880s and 90s. He was also responsible for the rather plainer Crown House, 1902, that makes the third side of the Crescent.

Crown House 1902, Architect R. Bertram Ogle. Photo: Lucy Brouwer
Crown House (detail) 1902. Architect R. Bertram Ogle. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

The other building in Retford where evidence of Fothergill’s involvement has been found was, until recently, the Nat West Bank on the market square. 21 The Square is up for rent (December 2022). This building was built as a house but then became a branch of the Nottingham and Notts Bank, for whom Fothergill designed several branches (including their HQ on Thurland Street in Nottingham which features on The Watson Fothergill Walk). Fothergill made alterations to Mr Newton’s House in order to convert it into a bank and residence for the manager in 1877. It appears that Fothergill restrained his usual love of Gothic to provide a frontage more in line with the existing building.

21 The Square, with alterations by Fothergill Watson circa 1877. Photo: RightMove
21 The Square, as of December 2022. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

More Watson Fothergill Walks will be coming in 2023… meanwhile you can sign up to receive news of forthcoming dates or purchase gift vouchers to redeem against any tickets on Eventbrite.