You might walk the streets of Nottingham every day and not notice the architectural gems the city has to offer.
You see shop fronts, inviting restaurant facades, and modern office buildings. But most of these are conversions - new designs added at street level.
It’s only when you look up that you see the grand buildings that they occupy. And Nottingham is rich with splendours from the Victorian, Georgian, Gothic Revival and neoclassical eras, and many buildings even older.
Many of the city’s finest buildings are the children of two architects in particular, neither of which will need any introduction to Nottingham architecture buffs.
Some of Nottingham’s most unusual and ornate buildings came from the drawing board of Watson Fothergill, a prominent late Victorian architect who set up a studio on George Street.
Many more were designed by Thomas Chambers Hine, better known as T. C. Hine, who was responsible for large swaths of the city centre and The Park Estate.
But these two illustrious 19th and 20th century architects were themselves sitting on the shoulders of some visionary designers whose buildings still stand today.
Here’s a small selection of some of Nottingham’s most prestigious and quirky historical buildings:
1. Newark Castle
The legend of Robin Hood may be just that, but we know for certain that the villain of those medieval tales, King John, did live, and that he ruled over a people who weren’t all that keen on him. We also know where he died, in 1216. Newark Castle. That gives you a sense of the age of this remarkable building, and its importance in English history. Having welched on his pledges to the barons, codified in Magna Carta just the year before, John fled to Newark to take refuge in the castle. The first charter to build a fortress on the site was handed down by Henry I in 1135 - but the building that stands proudly in guard over Newark to this day, the last resting place of King John, was completed some time towards the end of the 12th century. The King’s plan worked to an extent - it wasn’t the barons, but a bad case of dysentery, that ultimately finished John off.
2. Watson Fothergill’s office building, 15 George Street
First, to clear up an old confusion. If you’re not sure if Nottingham’s most famous architect was called Watson Fothergill or Fothergill Watson, don’t worry: he was both. In fact, he was born in 1841 to the Watson family of Mansfield, with the Christian name Fothergill - a reference to one branch of his family, the Fothergills. Later in life, in 1892, after learning that the Fothergills were the more powerful and prestigious side of the family, he simply switched the two names over. That’s why when you take a close look at some of his buildings, you’ll see small stone friezes bearing his name, as little architectural name tags - he had something of an ego. Buildings completed before 1892 let you know that they were designed by Fothergill Watson, and those after that date, well, you can work it out. Speaking of Fothergill’s rather proud nature, the remarkable building that he designed to be his own personal office and studio, at 15 George Street, is not only one of the most striking in the city, it also features an image of the architect himself. Elsewhere on the building’s facade you’ll see tributes to the many great architects that inspired Fothergill, in bust form. But there he is in the centre, in full splendour, striking a pious, almost saintly pose.
3. T.C. Hine’s Park Tunnel
It’s one of Nottingham’s most iconic sights and a must-see for any visitors with a fascination for architecture. Not technically a building - although another of Hine’s works, 18-20 Park Terrace, looms over it - the tunnel connecting The Park Estate to Derby Road makes for a striking and dramatic walk through a historic part of the city. Thomas Chambers Hine, born in 1813, was responsible for many of Nottinghamshire’s finest buildings, including dozens in Nottingham city. These are far too many to mention, but highlights include the magnificent Birkin building in the Lace Market, the Great Northern Railway Station - now the home of the Virgin Active gym off London Road - The Adams Building, Nottingham High School on Arboretum Street, Shire Hall - site of the National Justice Museum - and Nottingham Castle, of which Hine had a leading role in converting for modern use. In 1854 Hine was commissioned by the Fifth Duke of Newcastle, owner of The Park and, at the time, the Castle grounds, to embark on a major project that would transform Nottingham. Hine was to oversee a huge project to develop the former hunting ground of kings of England into a prestigious residential estate, which we now know as The Park. Pivotal to the whole project was a new entrance to the estate carved through the Nottingham sandstone, accessible from what is today Derby Road. There was a snag, in that the incline was too great for horses and carriages to pass through safely, so the tunnel’s purpose was never fully realised. But it stands today as an imposing reminder of the grand ambitions of Victorian Nottingham.
4. 41 Pilcher Gate
Of course many of Nottingham’s oldest buildings - or ruins - date back to the medieval area, in keeping with the city’s ancient history. But of what you might call modern use designs, in particular townhouses, the oldest is believed to be a handsome if understated building in the Lace Market. Walk past the vehicle entrance to the Lace Market car park, up Pilcher Gate, and take a look at the white building on the corner at the end. This is what’s believed to be the oldest Jacobean townhouse in Nottingham, dating back to 1689, the days of the Glorious Revolution, and a pre-industrial city. The building is still here, and in such good shape, due to some major restoration works following campaigning by local heritage groups, including Nottingham Civic Society, completed in March 2021.