Monstrosities Mon Amour: The Victoria Centre

April 27, 2026 watson

I was a guest on my favourite architecture podcast + May tour availability.

Keep reading for exciting news of my podcast appearance… First of all, a shout-out for my upcoming tours. This is basically my job now, and I really appreciate the support and wonderful feedback that I’ve received from so many of you. Hopefully, the weather is going to start behaving itself so, it’s the perfect time to join me and discover even more of Nottingham’s architecture.

Some of the buildings you can learn more about on The Carrington Crawl. Photos: Lucy Brouwer.

The Carrington Crawl, Saturday, 9 May, 1 pm

More Watson Fothergill, this time his domestic architecture and the work of his Chief Assistant, L.G. Summers, plus a few surprises. Starting at Mapperley Road, taking in Sherwood Rise and ending in Carrington, where we can explore inside the Ukrainian Cultural Centre at Clawson Lodge.

Nottingham Deco in the Details: Part One, Sunday, 3 May, 11 am

Nottingham was transformed in the 20th-Century interwar years, with great examples of modernism, Art Deco influence, and decorative flourishes. This walk starts and ends at TC Howitt’s Council House, with a look at a full-on Deco Woolworths, the fabulous Viyella factory and much more.

Nottingham Deco in the Details: Part Two, Sunday, 17 May, 11 am

There was so much being built in the 1920s & 1930s in Nottingham, it takes two tours to cover it, you can do them in either order, do one or both. This one starts with Howitt’s YMCA and explores dance crazes, pubs and markets through the medium of architecture.

Not forgetting my original Nottingham city centre architecture tour:

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 24 May, 2 pm

If you’ve already done it, tell your friends. If not, what are you waiting for? A rare afternoon outing for this tour of buildings by Victorian architect Watson Fothergill (aka Fothergill Watson). Recently called Nottingham’s Charles Rennie Mackintosh by a visiting London tour guide…(I’d argue that you could call him Nottingham’s Gaudi!). Join me to find out what all the fuss is about!

Monstrosities Mon Amour!

If you’re interested in architecture, like me, you may have read John Grindrod’s books – particularly Concretopia (which will change your preconceptions about Modern buildings) and IconIcon, which looks at landmark buildings in contemporary Britain.

Author John Gringrod on my tour of Nottingham’s architecture. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

Recently, John came to Nottingham’s Five Leaves Books to talk about his latest book, Tales from the Suburbs, on LGBTQ+ people’s experience of suburbia. Monstrosities Mon Amour is John’s podcast where he invites writers, tour guides and experts to talk about the architecture that other people love to hate. After taking John on a personalised tour of Nottingham, he asked me to contribute and here’s the result!

Monstrosities Mon Amour

It was great fun to do, and I hope you enjoy listening to it.

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Art Deco, Events, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

Deco in the Details walks moved to Sundays, Carrington Crawl & Hine Hike now booking.

April 13, 2026 watson

Deco in the Details now on Sundays

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.

The revised dates are as follows:

Nottingham Deco in the Details Part 1: Sunday 3 May, 11 am

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!).

Nottingham Deco in the Details Part 2: Sunday 17 May, 11 am

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 the Carrington 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!

Carrington Crawl, Saturday 9 May, 1 pm

The next date for Watson Fothergill Walk is Sunday, 24 May, 2 pm, and there is still good availability.

All tour tickets are £20 each.

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.

Events

April & May events & Fothergill’s Irish tresure

March 20, 2026March 20, 2026 watson

Spring into more tours of Nottingham’s wonderful architecture!

Here’s a round-up of forthcoming events with ticket availability, and read on for an insight into an object from Watson Fothergill’s art collection.

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday, 12 April, 10 am. Just 4 tickets left for this date.

The Hine Hike: The Buildings of Thomas Chambers Hine, Sunday, 19 April, 2 pm. Good availability at the moment. Join me for a survey of the work of Nottingham’s other big-name Victorian architect.

Adams Lace Warehouse, Lace Market, Nottingham, architect: Thomas Chambers Hine. (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)

The talk in the pub at The Abdication, Nottingham’s Berni Inns and Their Buildings, is now just about sold out! If you’ve missed tickets, my talks in pubs will hopefully be back later in the year.

New Dates:

I’ll be giving my illustrated talk on Watson Fothergill in Mansfield at Mansfield Library on Tuesday, 12 May, 2 pm – you can purchase tickets at the Library or via Eventbrite at the special Inspire Libraries price of £3.50 each.

Walking Tours:

A new weekday slot for both parts of Nottingham: Deco in the Details. Discover the architecture of the 1920s and 1930s, how it was inspired by Art Deco style and changes to Nottingham in the inter-war period.

Nottingham Deco in the Details Part 1, Wednesday, 29 April, 11 am

Council House circular route, looking at Friar Lane, Viyella and Broadmarsh.

Nottingham Deco in the Details Part 2, Wednesday, 6 May, 11 am

YMCA to Sneinton Market via Lower Parliament Street and Hockley.

The Carrington Crawl, my tour looking at the domestic architecture of Watson Fothergill and his chief assistant Lawrence George Summers, will be running again on Saturday, 9 May, 1 pm. Join me to explore Mapperley Park, Sherwood Rise and Carrington, just on the outskirts of Nottingham City Centre, with a chance to see the house from the garden, and stay for refreshments, at Clawson Lodge, the Nottingham Ukrainian Cultural Centre.

The Carrington Crawl, Saturday, 9 May, 1 pm

An afternoon fixture for the main city centre Watson Fothergill Walk will be on Sunday 24 May, 2 pm.

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 24 May, 2 pm

All walking tours are £20 per person.

Watson Fothergill’s Irish Treasure.

For St Patrick’s Day earlier in the week, I looked a little deeper into Watson Fothergill’s connection to Ireland and an object that was once in his collection. On the Carrington Crawl, when we visit the site of Fothergill’s home, 7 Mapperley Road, I talk about his great collection of art, glassware, pottery and other objet d’art.

The interior of the Dublin Exhibition Palace, The Builder, 1865 (via Wikimedia)

Fothergill visited Ireland in 1865, to visit the Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures, a world’s fair that had almost 1 million visitors. He became friends with members of the Russell family, who appear to have had a connection to the Fothergill family, as they later made a gift to Watson Fothergill of Dr Fothergill’s seal. Dr John Fothergill was a Quaker scientist born in 1712 at Carr End, Yorkshire, great uncle to Watson Fothergill’s Mother, Mary Ann Watson (nee Fothergill).

He visited the Russells again in 1891 (possibly at their home on Sandford Terrace, Ranelagh.) On this, his first visit to Dublin for 25 years, he purchased a replica of the Ardagh Chalice. The Ardagh Chalice was one of the finest examples of Celtic art ever found. It was part of the Ardagh Hoard, 8th and 9th century metal work, which was discovered in 1868 by two boys digging in a potato field in the village of Ardagh, County Limerick, Ireland.

The original Ardagh Chalice, held by the National Museum of Ireland. (Photo: Wikimedia)

The original is now on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, the replica of the chalice, which was owned by Watson Fothergill, is now held by the Hunt Museum, Limerick.

Replicas of the chalice were made by leading goldsmith and jeweller Edmond Johnson of Grafton Street, who had cleaned the original 8th century chalice when it was found. It’s likely that Fothergill’s chalice was sold after his death in 1928 and purchased by the Hunts, whose collection is held at the Hunt Museum.

Edmond Johnson Jewellers, Grafton Street, Dublin, circa 1894. Via Wikimedia

A similar replica Ardagh Chalice featured on Antiques Roadshow (click for video clip) not so long ago!

More insights into Fothergill’s career as an architect, as well as his art collecting habits, on my walking tours looking at his life and buildings.

If you’d like a private tour or talk for your group – please send me a message via my website.

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Events, talk, TC Hine, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

April walk dates and more

February 21, 2026 watson

New walk dates, researching talks and return of The Hine Hike

Thanks to everyone who braved the weather for Deco in the Details Part 1 last weekend, and to everyone who came down to The Vat & Fiddle for my Watson Fothergill in the Park Estate talk. Your continued interest in Nottingham’s buildings and my own unique and “entertaining” take on them is much appreciated! Read to the end for new walking tour dates for April 2026.

Poster at The Vat & Fiddle, February 2026

I’m deep into the research for my new Nottingham’s Berni Inns and their Buildings talk. Sometimes you just have to follow the idea and see where it leads… Expect tales of old buildings given new life, familiar menus, retro adverts and maybe a little misty-eyed nostalgia for nights out gone by!

There are still a few tickets remaining for the date at

The Vat and Fiddle on Tuesday 24 March, 7 pm

There will be another date for the Berni Inns talk at The Abdication Micropub, Daybrook, on Tuesday 21 April, 7 pm – email the pub for tickets or drop in to pay cash. All talk tickets are £10 each.

The Abdication, Coronation Buildings, Mansfield Road, Daybrook.

WALKING TOURS

The March walks are now fully booked.

So here are some dates for April:

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday, 12 April, 10 am

The Hine Hike: The Buildings of Thomas Chambers Hine, Sunday, 19 April, 2 pm

All walk tickets are £20 each. Click the links for full information.

A reminder: well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome on the walks.

I’m now taking bookings for private tours with availability on weekdays into the summer. Please drop me a line to organise a walk for your group of 6 or more (maximum group size: 20 people). Versions of all my tours are available for private bookings. If you’d like a personal tour for a smaller group these can be arranged to suit your requirements. Talks are also available for groups. Email me via my website.

Keep looking up! Fothergill’s Office on George Street, Nottingham. Photo: Lucy Brouwer

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Art Deco, Research, Travels

A Beeston Bimble*

February 2, 2026 watson

Plus Nottingham architecture events now booking.

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 first few tours of the year are filling up nicely – Deco in the Details Part 1 on 15 February is now full, but there is space left on Deco in the Details Part 2 on 29 March, and on the Watson Fothergill Walk on 22 February and 22 March. There will be more tours throughout the year, with The Carrington Crawl and Hine Hike also returning, so keep an eye on these emails for future dates.

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…

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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Events

Back for 2026 with more Art Deco Architecture and Watson Fothergill Walks

January 13, 2026 watson

See Nottingham differently with guided architecture walking tours

Here are some of my highlights from 2025:

Watson Fothergill Walk featuring in Made magazine

Trying out a Public Art photo walk with photographer Lamar Francois.
Delving deeper into the Thomas Chambers Hine archive with The University of Nottingham.
At long last, visiting Long Eaton for a look at the buildings!
Selling out my Art Deco Pubs talk four times in a row!

Thanks to Lamar Francois, Dan Simpkin, Louise Hunter & Lucy Simons for the photos.

Into the mix in 2026

Both my talks (Art Deco Pubs and Watson Fothergill in The Park Estate) at The Vat & Fiddle are now sold out, but I’m looking at doing some more later in the year.

Tickets are now available for my architecture tours Deco in the Details Parts 1 & 2 and Watson Fothergill Walk. I hope you can join me to explore the architecture of Nottingham city centre. My original tour looks at the work of Victorian architect Watson Fothergill. (Did I mention it has 5 star reviews on TripAdvisor?)

Deco in the Details is in two parts, each looking at a different side of Nottingham, exploring the history of the buildings of the 1920s & 1930s and looking at what makes the Art Deco style. (Do one, do both, it doesn’t matter in which order!)

The first tour dates of the year are as follows, with more info and ticket details via these links:

Deco in the Details Part 1, Sunday 15 February, 11 am

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 22 February, 10 am

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 22 March, 10 am

Deco in the Details Part 2, Sunday 29 March 11 am

All tickets £20 each (plus relevant booking fees). There will be more tours coming up, including my other walks The Hine Hike, The Carrington Crawl, and hopefully some new ideas too.

If you have a gift voucher, please use the GIFT VOUCHERS ONLY section at checkout. Gift vouchers must be used one at a time – if you have any queries or would like to book directly, please drop me a message via my website and I can make the voucher booking for you.

I am also available for private tours. Any of my walks can be done for private groups and I’m often available on weekdays. Please send me a message to organise a tour for your group of up to 20 people.

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Events, TC Hine, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

The Hine Hike, The Castle Pub & Gift Vouche

December 8, 2025 watson

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.

If you missed it, here’s a blog about TC Hine’s scrapbook from the Manuscripts & Special Collections Department. Many thanks to Dr Charlotte May and everyone at the University of Nottingham Manuscripts & Special Collections for inviting me, and to Dan Simpkin (@theparkestate) for the photos.

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 S unday 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 Hine Hike, 14 December, 11 am Tickets £20 each. Now also booking on Yuup.

News from The Castle Pub, part of Watson Fothergill’s Mortimer House, which features on The Watson Fothergill Walk.

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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Events, talk, Watson Fothergill in Nottingham

Watson Fothergill in The Park Estate

November 27, 2025 watson

An illustrated talk on houses by Fothergill and some of the people who lived in them

People often ask me about the houses in Nottingham’s Park Estate. So far, I have not presented a tour of The Park, mainly because it is so large, walking there involves climbing several steep hills, and there aren’t quite as many houses by architect Watson Fothergill as people might imagine …

… However, I have put together an illustrated talk on houses in the Estate that Fothergill worked on, as well as stories of some of the characters who lived in them.

This talk was originally researched and put together for the Park Residents Association, and I will be presenting an updated version at The Vat & Fiddle on Tuesday 17 February, doors 7.30 pm, (doors 7 pm). Tickets are £10 each.

W atson Fothergill in The Park Estate tickets.

Here’s more info:

Join Lucy Brouwer, the creator of Watson Fothergill Walk, for a look at Fothergill’s houses in Nottingham’s Park Estate. Learn about the original owners and some of the residents of these distinctive Victorian buildings.

Nottingham’s Park Estate was home to some of Nottingham’s most illustrious Victorians and their families. The properties created by the architect Watson Fothergill represent some of the most outstanding houses in the development. Lucy, who is known for her popular Watson Fothergill Walk tour, has researched the histories of these houses and traced some of their original residents. Hear stories of some of Nottingham’s prominent Suffragists, Timber Merchants, Members of Parliament, and Scientists of the late Victorian era.

This is an illustrated talk with a duration of approximately 1 hour. Doors to the Golding’s Room open at 7 pm; the talk starts at 7:30 pm. The Vat & Fiddle will be open until 9 pm. Tickets £10 each

With many thanks to Dan Simpkin for the use of his fantastic photos. More of these on The Park Estate Instagram account. I’m also on Instagram – WatsonFothergillWalk – join me, if that’s your thing!

Another architect, Thomas Chambers Hine, was responsible for the layout and overall look of The Park Estate. I will be introducing Hine and his work for University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections on Thursday, 4 December. Details in the previous post.

To accompany this event, I am staging a Hine Hike walking tour on Sunday, 14 December, at 11 am. This tour offers an introduction to Thomas Chambers Hine and his buildings in Nottingham city centre. Duration approx. 2 hours. Tickets £20 each.

The Hine Hike, Sunday, 14 December, 11 am

Thank you for all the interest in my Nottingham Art Deco Pubs talk. I am looking at staging it again, so make sure you’re subscribed to this mailing list for news of all future dates.

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Art Deco, Events

Autumn Walks and another chance to look for Deco in the Details

October 6, 2025 watson

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.

Deco in the Details Part 1 – Thursday 23 October, 11am – tickets £20 each

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.

Deco in the Details Part 2 – Thursday 30 October, 11am – tickets £20 each

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!

Watson Fothergill Walk, Sunday 12 October, 10am – tickets £20 each

It would be great if you could join me to see Nottingham differently.

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Fothergill Buildings Outside Nottingham

Fothergill in Long Eaton

September 3, 2025 watson

I finally made it to Long Eaton to see the building Fothergill designed for Samuel Smith’s Bank. Just over the border into Derbyshire, Long Eaton is a half-hour bus ride away from the centre of Nottingham (I caught the Sky Link airport bus and met up with my friend Louise on the way).

The Halifax (former Samuel Smith & Co, Bank), 24 Market Place, Long Eaton. Architect: Fothergill Watson, 1889. (Photo: Louise Hunter).

Halifax are closing this branch in September 2025, so we wanted to visit while it was still possible to go inside. However, the interior was fairly modern with the only evidence of the original detail being the coffered wooden ceiling. I didn’t take a photo, as by then the counter assistants were wondering if I was casing the joint.

In March 1889, Fothergill Watson (pre-name change) submitted plans, commissioned by Messrs Samuel Smith & Co, Bankers, but these do not survive in archives. There are several other Fothergill buildings linked to this association with Smiths Bank, including alterations to a house on Cator Lane, Chilwell, for Mr F.C. Smith (see blogs passim), Hucknall Institute & Coffee Tavern (memorial stone laid by Mrs F. C. Smith), and a branch in Bullwell (now demolished).

The Grade II Listed bank makes good use of its location, with both side elevations projecting into the street; there is a porch on the south corner with a typical polished granite column.

Smith’s Bank, Long Eaton. South Elevation. (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)

The building uses Fothergill’s favoured red brick with blue brick bands, stone dressing the terracotta dressings. Elaborately moulded chimneys and a slate roof are also typical.

The front has five moulded Caernarvon arched windows with polished granite columns with foliage capitals. (Caernarvon arch is a term often used by Historic England and refers to an arch comprising a wide keystone resting on two corbels shaped to fit the keystone.)

Caernarvon arched window. (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)

Below the windows is a continuous moulded sill band and above a moulded terracotta frieze (now mostly visible thanks to a smaller Halifax signboard).

Close up of the terracotta moulding. (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)

The porch has semi-circular headed stone arches supported by a large polished granite column with foliage capital. There is wrought ironwork in the tympanums and grid iron work below (it looks like originally there would have been another grid gate to close off the entrance).

Porch with wrought ironwork. (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)

The date stone overlaps 1889 and is rather discreetly placed in the stone arch of the window.

Date stone in window arch. (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)

On the north corner, a canted oriel mullioned and transomed window with terracotta panels to the base and coloured brick corbels below.

Canted Oriel window. (Photo: Lucy Brouwer)

On the north side, facing into the church yard, a grand stair window with a stepped base and below a large moulded arch with a door and window.

While we were exploring Long Eaton, I was pleasantly surprised to discover there were several other buildings of note. More coming up…

If you’d like to learn more about the architect Watson Fothergill, why is swapped his names around, how to spot his buildings, and much more, then join me for The Watson Fothergill Walk, an architectural walking tour of Nottingham City Centre. Next date 7 September 2025.