Guided tours of Nottingham
While I’m staying at home (and not in Nottingham city centre), my brother Jim, who does live in the city, offered to take his camera on a walk to have a look at one of the buldings that I feature on my Watson Fothergill Walk walking tour.
So here are the results – a look at one of my favourite Fothergill buildings that serves as a taster for the tour.
We might do some more while conditions are like this – stay tuned and subscribe to my new Watson Fothergill Walk YouTube channel for more.
While I’m unable to take walks to look at buildings, I thought I would talk to some of the people who I’ve connected with through a mutual interest in Fothergill and the buildings of Nottingham.
In this installment I talk to Jo Ackroyd, a Pre Construction professional at Willmott Dixon Construction. I helped Jo with some research on a Watson Fothergill building for a project on Conservation and Heritage. Jo and his colleagues gave me some great professional insight into Fothergill’s techniques and use of materials when I took them on a tour of Nottingham.
Lucy Brouwer: Can you briefly tell me about your professional interest in architecture and building conservation?
Jo Ackroyd: There are fewer and fewer people who have an understanding of the skills and trades of yesteryear. As these skills are lost, the industry is replacing them with poorly judged and ill placed modern materials. I see these incompatible materials and cheap attempts to repair historic fabric and find myself wondering why and how are these seen as acceptable? To learn about these old buildings means to study both the architecture and the skills required to construct them.
As with Alice, the more you learn, the more the rabbit hole opens and you find yourself sucked into a fascinating and detailed world. Moreover, the people involved are usually, ‘individuals’!
It is also an aspiration that following a specialism such as this will enable me to move away from modern construction.
LB: You did a project on Watson Fothergill’s Express building – what drew you to that building in particular?
JA: It is one of Fothergill’s significant buildings. Significant by its size, position in the city, use of materials and its history of adaptions.
I needed a building with a rich history and many of his other works are relatively small by comparison.
As I discovered more about the building, I found errors in texts, stories of the building’s development and use, the influence of technological change and how the building reflected societal development. Essentially the buildings of the age performed many functions and assisted the growth of individual businesses and the development of the city as a whole. The investors were very canny about spreading the assets uses to decrease risk.
I also found an otherwise unmentioned Newlyn Datum. An important mark which hitherto had not been mentioned in the texts and reflected the status of the building and the importance of its position.
LB: Do you have a favourite building in Nottingham? Which one and why?
JA: I do like the old Fothergill former NatWest Bank. It’s a deviation from his usual style and materials and the way it was extended is astounding.
There’s also a form of Ghost Sign on the front façade, as the old NatWest sign was removed its left an urban mark behind, which I intend to discuss in my next paper.
By comparison, I also like the Halifax Bank in Long Eaton, it’s a stand alone Fothergill of some status.
It uses all his usual hallmark materials and designs and is set in quite a unique way to augment its proportions.
LB: From a builder’s point of view, what’s special about Fothergill’s architecture and the way he uses materials?
JA: I don’t believe his approach was unique. I do think the way he reused his elements was straight from a pattern book.
This in itself isn’t new, Robert Adam had the same approach, but Fothergill mixed the colours and textures very well to create a unique aesthetic.
He obviously used the same materials, skill and trades, the same individuals on each of his projects.
I suspect that’s how he died a millionaire! I assume his supply chain was very tight and he benefited greatly from this.
Not least because he acted as architect, project manager and quantity surveyor.
These elements now stand out in Nottingham as many other forms of architecture lack the polychromatic tracery, the ornate and intricate carvings and the shear willingness to build a spire which has absolutely no use whatsoever!
Many thanks to Jo for taking the time to answer my questions. And thanks again for all the insights into building – I incorporate a lot of them into my tours! If you’d like to join me for a walk when we are able to get out again, then you can purchase a gift voucher to redeem against future events.
The earliest house that architect Watson Fothergill (born Fothergill Watson, 1841) is known to have built is the dwelling he designed for himself and his family, which stood at 7 Mapperley Road, Nottingham.
Fothergill noted in his diary in 1870: “This Autumn after searching all over town for a site we liked I bought a piece of land on the northern side of Mapperley Road in Mr Patchitt’s estate.” Edwin Patchitt (1807-1888) was a solicitor and also a member of the Notts County Cricket team; he was Mayor of Nottingham for two terms between 1858 and 1860 and was the Secretary to the Enclosure Commissioners. He owned a triangle of land between Woodborough Road, Mansfield Road, Redcliffe Road and Elm Bank. Costing Fothergill £375, the land comprised 1,250 sq. yds and had a frontage of 105ft to Mapperley Road.
The first brick was laid on 3rd March 1871, and the Fothergill Family, which at this time comprised Fothergill, his wife Anne and their daughters Marion, Annie Forbes, and Edith Mary, moved from the house they had been renting on Hampden Street on 26th March 1872, “though the workmen were not yet out of it.”
No drawings are known to survive of the original plan for the house, and there are few photos. I asked Nottingham-based architect and historic building consultant Peter Rogan to help me imagine what the house would have been like…
The house reflected High Victorian style with its asymmetry, individualism and accentuated features: brick with terracotta and stone details, prominent tall chimneys, and a four storey tower with decorative brickwork and a steep pitch roof. The house had an eclectic mix of window types: some sashes with stone lintels, bays and some with tracery. An entrance porch on the south-western side had slender decorative columns, above it an archway with a stone tympanum pieced by a window in the form of an eight-pointed star. On the side facing the road: trefoil decorations, circular windows and possibly a date stone. The gables made for broken rooflines creating a picturesque effect, capturing the light and shade that Fothergill found so alluring about the Gothic style.
In June 1872, Fothergill’s fourth child, Eleanor, was born: his three subsequent children, Samuel Fothergill 1874, Harold Hage 1877 and Clarice 1879, were also born here.
“The snuggest of houses! That is what we aimed at. Comfort, not great cold rooms, but gems of art sparkling round, an inviting home.”
Fothergill Family Record 1892.
Fothergill described the various features of the interior – sculptures, stag’s heads, green wallpaper in the style of Pugin, velvet curtains and tablecloths, and “modern” paintings on the walls. A brown wooden ceiling with gold details and floral decorations inscribed with a motto: “He that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.” (1 Corinthians 9:25) A portrait of Dr John Fothergill, his Quaker ancestor looked down on them from over the archway, and this was just the hall…
The rooms were adorned with brown silk and blue velvet, green walls and carpet, carved woodwork and decorated ceilings, but “everything is but a ground on which to display the pictures and the china” Among Fothergill’s collection of art works: a water colour interior of Salisbury Cathedral by JMW Turner and a St Cecilia by George Romney. (Links are guesses at the possible pictures, Fothergill is mentioned in catalogues of various exhibitions as he lent out the paintings, but I’ve got more research to do here!)
Around 1899 Fothergill added electric light and more bay windows to the house to provide light for displaying his collections of porcelain and Venetian glass.
“Indeed there is no doubt that the mediaeval style, call it old English if you will, in which both house and furniture are designed, does particularly lend itself to a home-like effect. It lacks but age, with a few ancestral traditions attached to it, to render it dear to us – no it cannot be more dear.”
Fothergill Family Record 1892.
In 1901, Fothergill purchased the adjacent land extending down to Chestnut Grove, from the lace merchant Thomas Birkin, it cost just over £1000. This became an ornamental garden and a tennis court.
When Fothergill died aged 87 in 1928, the house was sold and his art collection and the furniture was put up for auction, presumably so proceeds could be split between his five daughters, both his sons having failed to outlive him.
In the 1940s and 1950s, it appears that Councillor (later Lord Mayor) John Edwin Mitchell, lived at no. 7, then known as Park House (but I’m not 100% sure, as the numbering of the street has been altered).
Eventually the house was turned into flats, but it was demolished in 1968 – the value of the land too tempting to prevent developers from building many more dwellings on the site.
The present houses on the site were developed in the 1970s. They’re considerably less spectacular, but the development is at least called Fothergill Court!
The site of Fothergill’s house and more of his buildings in Mapperley Park, Sherwood Rise and Carrington will feature in my new walk, The Carrington Crawl. Dates will be announced as soon as the global situation allows… Meanwhile you can buy gift vouchers for yourself or friends and redeem them against future Watson Fothergill Walks with tour guide Lucy Brouwer.
For a while now I’ve been working on a walk to look at some of Watson Fothergill’s domestic archtecture, and I’m happy to say that The Ukrainian Cultural Centre at Clawson Lodge have invited me to bring the new tour to their building on Mansfield Road, Nottingham.
Presenting The Carrington Crawl: a look at houses by Fothergill and his chief assistant Lawrence G. Summers in Mapperley Park, Sherwood Rise and Carrington, finishing with a chance to visit Clawson Lodge, where tea and coffee will be served.
The first of these new walks will take place on 4 April 2020, starting at 1pm.
DETAILS:
A NEW WALK FOR 2020 from the producer of the Watson Fothergill Walk and the Hine Hike.
The Carrington Crawl: Victorian Nottingham’s most flamboyant architect not only helped shape the city centre with commercial landmarks, he also designed dwellings. Explore some of the domestic architecture of Watson Fothergill and his assistant Lawrence G. Summers with tour guide Lucy Brouwer. Discover more about the buildings, those who built them, and the lives of the people who lived in them.
This walk will begin at the junction of Mansfield Road and Mapperley Road, outside St Andrew’s Church, it will then look at some of Fothergill’s houses in Mapperley Park, including the site of his own family home, continuing to Sherwood Rise, then return to Carrington to finish, after a walk of approximately 2 hours / 3km, at Clawson Lodge on Mansfield Road, where tea and coffee will be available.
Participants are asked to come prepared for appropriate weather eventualities and to wear footwear suitable for city walking.
Meet for 1pm start on Mapperley Road near the junction with Mansfield Road, outside St Andrew’s Church, Nottingham.
Advanced booking is essential as places are limited.
Some great photos of Lucy in action during a wet but enjoyable Watson Fothergill Walk on 16 February. It was great to see people so keen to join in the first public tour of the year! Photos by theparkestate on Instagram (follow them for some great photos of houses by Fothergill, Hine and other Nottingham architectes in Nottingham’s Park Estate).
I’ve got more walks coming up in March and April. So far the dates are 29 March 10am and 29 March 1pm and I’ve now added 26 April 10am and 26 April 1pm.
If you wish you can also buy tickets with cash or card at Debbie Bryan on St Mary’s Gate, Nottingham.
Sign up for the mailing list to get news of all future walks and events by clicking HERE and adding your name and email address.
I’ve been busy reading, researching and thinking about new walks and talks for the new year. But I’m ready to get out walking again, so I’ve set up some dates for The Watson Fothergill Walk in February and March 2020.
The first walk, which will start at 10am outside Nottingham Tourism Centre and finish at Debbie Bryan on St Mary’s Gate, will take place on 16 February. Tickets are £12 each and include coffee or tea and cake at the end of the walk.
UPDATE: I have also organised a walk on 22 29 March, this is also a morning walk starting at 10am. Tickets are available here.
It is once again likely that I will be adding afternoon walks to these dates if there is sufficient demand, so if you prefer to start at 1pm, please get in touch to express an interest…
A busy August so far with several walks, both public and private. It’s great to share the love for Nottingham’s architecture with so many people. Here’s some of the Facebook reviews I’ve received so far.
A very informative and interesting walk, Lucy is obviously very passionate about the subject. A very hot, sunny Sunday so we were all wilting a bit but loved it and got some good photos. I was born and bred in Nottingham but learnt a lot from this walk. I will walk around in future looking up at the history of our (mainly) beautiful city.
Heather, Facebook, August 2019
Did the walk today, interesting informative and a super guide. I would recommend this to anyone interested in architecture or the history of Nottingham
Brenda, Facebook, August 2019
The next Watson Fothergill Walks will be in September 2019 – there are three dates now booking on Eventbrite.
19 September 2019, starts 6pm, finishing up in Fothergill’s.
29 September 2019, starts 10am, includes tea or coffee and cake at Debbie Bryan.
Once again I’ve made it inside one of the Watson Fothergill buildings that features on The Watson Fothergill Walk.
Thanks to Alec Frusher (a keen Nottingham food blogger who follows me on Twitter, and who just happens to work in one of the largest Watson Fothergill buildings in the city) I was able go inside the building on King Street now known as Fothergill House. It was built as a Department Store for Jessop & Son circa 1895.
Some changable summer weather struck just as I arrived to meet Alec to explore the floors at the top of the buildings but we pressed on and I took a few photos as we went.
At the firm where Alec works they have meeting rooms with appropriate names. (They’ve also commemorated Zebedee Jessop, one of the founders of the Store.)
We went up two flights of stairs to access the rooms that now hold tanks and heating. I think originally they were part of the staff accomodation.
The paint was peeling off, strip lights had been added and it was a bit dusty. There were some exploratory holes in the walls in places, but otherwise the structure looked in decent shape.
There seemed to be original leaded windows on each side, and lots of strudy woodwork to support the structure.
Some of the views of Nottingham are blocked by more recent buildings, but you can imagine that the view from here (and from the tower itself) was very impressive when this was built in 1895 – it would have been one of the tallest structures around.
Queens Chambers shares some of the features of Fothergill’s late 1890s Vernacular Style with Jessops and was the next building he built.
We kept going up so I could have a look inside the tower. We didn’t dare go inside it, but I could see that there was a viewing platform at the very top. Was it just built for the view or did it ever have another purpose?
I imagine that the rafters and timbers here are a larger version of the kind of craftsmanship that Fothergill had built into the turrets on his other buildings.
After a look around inside, we braved the rain to have a look out on the roof platform. There were metal walkways, so it was very safe to explore inbetween the air-con units added to the modern offices.
Jessops was expanded to the back of the site in 1933 when the stone became part of The John Lewis Partnership. From this quick inspection, I’m not sure if the flat roof is part of that or a more recent renovation.
Pleasingly the back view of the tower had all the elements of Fothergill’s style that you would expect, large chimneys, orange bricks arranged between black timbers, large dormer windows…
I love the details of brick nogging and big dormer windows, that hardly anyone will get to see.
Huge thanks to Alec for taking me up to the roof and letting me look around as well as to his firm for sparing him the time, and David on reception for showing me some of the Fothergill pictures which decorate the interior.
One last Fothergill link I’ve found while digging in the British Newspaper Archives: Lawrence Summers (Fothergill’s right hand man) attended the funeral in 1919 of William Jessop (who had succeeded his father Zebedee Jessop to run the firm).
Learn more about Jessops and Watson Fothergill’s buildings in Nottingham on the next Watson Fothergill Walks in August. Tickets here.
There are a handful of tickets left for the 21 July evening walk and you can get tickets here. Also, I will be conducting some more Watson Fothergill Walks in August 2019.
First up, 18 August sees another Sunday morning walk starting at 10am, which will conclude at Debbie Bryan with tea and cake. Tickets here.
I will also be walking in the evening of 22 August, starting at 6pm and finishing up at Fothergill’s pub (for optional food and drinks). Tickets here.
I try to keep the walks to small groups of around 20 people, so if they fill up and you miss oout on tickets, please sign up for the mailing list and try again or think about booking me for a private group tour – I’m interested in taking groups of between 6 and 20 people around Nottingham at times to suit them. Get in touch!
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 and letting me talk to them about the building.
Following on from my previous blog about getting through the door to find a quote from Geoffrey Chaucer, here we go up stairs to find the offices that have been turned into a two bedroom flat.
Fothergill built his office on George Street in 1894-5 after having to vacate his previous set up on Clinton Street when the railway came through. Typically, he had been prepared for the move and bought the site on George Street. He demolished the previous building in readiness for building his office. Aged 54 at the time, he was a confident and mature architect, his office serves as a three dimensional portfolio, and a lot of his later work around Nottingham seems to have followed on from this construction. It demonstrates his capabilites to his wealthy Nottingham clients and showed them the quality to which his creations aspired.
I managed to grab a few photos, but as well as being rather overwhelmed I was also talking to Sarah for the radio piece, so forgive the rather snatched images! Up on the first floor, the first thing that caught my eye was the nameplates on the internal doors. The larger of the two rooms bore the initials L.G. Summers (Fothergill’s assistant, co-architect but never partner, in the practice Lawrence George Summers who will be familiar to readers of this blog.)
The owners pointed out that the door with Fothergill’s name on lead to the smaller of the two rooms, they deduced that this was so that, in a building heated by coal fires, the boss would have the warmer office. It is also the office on the turret side of the building.
There was a sense in the room that it would have made a cosy place to work, there was a connecting door through to Summers’ office and then the landing between them and the small waiting room that has been extended into a modern kitchen.
It was tricky to get more photos and talk at the same time so there’s just a flavour of what the building was like inside and we didn’t get time to look in the shop downstairs or further into the yard.
The conversion seems to be sympathetic – the building was used as a solicitors office prior to being sold (at least twice) so it had been disused for quite sometime. The quality of the workmanship on the repairs is first rate. It was mentioned that Fothergill had made a sturdy structure with a stone or concrete foundation – without which, the damage that was inflicted in 2015 might have destroyed the front of the building. Bonsers have written about the restoration they carried out on their website.
I will be running more Watson Fothergill guided walks into July and August – you can find dates and details via my Eventbrite page where you can book tickets. Private tours can be arranged – get in touch with Lucy via the contact page.