During my visit to the newly reopened Nottingham Castle I spotted a few clues that point to the architect who originally transformed the ruined Ducal Palace into the first municipal art gallery outside London. But does anything remain of "The Midland Counties Art Museum at Nottingham"? Nottingham's not really a castle.. it's a Renaissance Ducal… Continue reading Traces of TC Hine at Nottingham Castle
Three Lions may belong on a shirt... but there are four lions at Nottingham Castle that I am particularly interested in... The four stone lion sculptures found in the grounds of Nottingham Castle... Photos: Lucy Brouwer As I mention on the Watson Fothergill Walk, these four stone lion sculptures originally adorned the tower of the… Continue reading Four Lions at Nottingham Castle
Here's another instalment in my occasional series looking at architects who were active in Nottingham at around the same time as Watson Fothergill. Albert Nelson Bromley (1850-1934) is probably best known for his long involvement with Boots The Chemist, but he was responsible for many buildings in Nottingham ranging from schools to shops, warehouses to… Continue reading Nottingham Architects: Albert Nelson Bromley
The more I work on Fothergill, give talks and promote my guided walks, the more contact I receive from people who want to know if the building they have spotted is the work of Watson Fothergill, architect. Recently, I've been sent several photos, either houses people have spotted while on urban walks or pictures they… Continue reading The Brigadier, The Librarian and the Awkward Squad
While I'm still available for walks (Covid-19 regulations permitting) as private bookings and I have gift vouchers on offer (if you'd like to have a walk to look forward to in 2021), I'm also trying to research more buildings for future walks and talks on the architecture of Nottingham. But I get so easily distracted...… Continue reading Research and Distractions
Last week I attended the launch (via Zoom) of the new edition of The Buildings of England: Nottinghamshire, commonly known as The Pevsner Guide. The hefty new edition of The Buildings of England: Nottinghamshire. You can watch the interview with Clare Hartwell, who has throughly revised and updated the Nottinghamshire guide, on Five Leaves Bookshop's… Continue reading Pevsner’s The Buildings 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. Tim Dunn at St Pancras Station, Photo: BrownBob Productions This week's… Continue reading Architecture The Railways Built: St Pancras
Previously, I began telling the story behind the building of The Bodega on Pelham Street. These days it's a popular music venue and bar, but it's been through several image changes over the years... I spoke to Alan Clifford on BBC Radio Nottingham about the building. While it's nothing to do with Watson Fothergill (as… Continue reading The Bodega, Pelham Street: Part Two
Earlier in the year, I was invited to talk to Alan Clifford on BBC Radio Nottingham about my walk The Hine Hike and the buildings of Thomas Chambers Hine. The programme recently got in touch with me to see if I'd like to talk to Alan on the radio again. They asked if I knew… Continue reading The Bodega, Pelham Street : Part One
Having studied the building from the outside, the chance to have a look around inside the Offices of Watson Fothergill on George Street, Nottingham was too good to resist. Many thanks to Sarah Julian of BBC Radio Nottingham for giving me the opportunity and to the Bragas for letting me take a few quick photos… Continue reading Inside Watson Fothergill’s Office part two
