IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
George Street, NOTTINGHAM, NG1 3BU

A glance along this side of George Street in the direction of Carlton Street - where it meets Lincoln Street - reveals the rather tired-looking facade of some once white-fronted business premises. These look as though they may have recently been vacated in view of the fact that the company name plate has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. In the distance and on the same side of the road are the business premises previously occupied by Watson Fothergill, the well-known but now deceased Nottingham architect. Their mixed Gothic Revival and Old English vernacular style of architecture is also replicated in many other Nottingham locations.

This extravagant confection was built as a showcase of Fothergill's style, to impress clients. The rather eroded datestone ("Built 1895") is to the left of the quatrefoil. The picture gives a clear idea of the building's bright colours, which were much less apparent when I first came to know it in the smoke-blackened days of coal fires and steam trains.

This little gem was built by Watson Fothergill in 1894-95 as his own office. The main figure at the first floor depicts an architect consulting plans - Pevsner wonders if it might be Fothergill himself - and there are busts of Victorian architectural giants Pugin and Street, and panels inscribed with the names of others - Scott, Burges and Norman Shaw. Much more scrumptious detail besides (Image]). Grade II listed. John Sutton has taken many fine close-ups of this building, including: Image], Image] and Image I think it was empty at the time of the photo. Watson Fothergill, or Fothergill Watson as he began life, is Nottingham's Victorian architectural superstar. Walking around the city, it's not long before his idiosyncratic buildings jump out. Drawing on English traditions in a style sometimes labelled as Domestic Revival, his copious use of polychromatic bands of stone, timberwork and carved detail are very distinctive. In lesser hands, a mass of features results in an overwrought jumble, but Fothergill, despite apparently never working outside Nottinghamshire, and rarely even outside the city, was clearly skilled enough to blend everything together successfully. For a full list of his buildings, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/The-Buildings-of-Watson-Fothergill.

The figure is an architect consulting plans with a model of a church or cathedral at his feet. There are also busts of architects Pugin and Street. Below are "four terracotta panels by Benjamin Creswick depicting classical and medieval buildings, and Wollaton Hall, under construction". Full view: Image

A careless lorry driver damaged the brickwork of the oriel window of Watson Fothergill's offices in George Street earlier in 2015. For more about Fothergill and his remarkable buildings, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/The-Buildings-of-Watson-Fothergill .

A careless lorry driver damaged the brickwork of the oriel window of Watson Fothergill's offices in George Street earlier in 2015. For a closer view of the damage, see Image For more about Fothergill and his remarkable buildings, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/The-Buildings-of-Watson-Fothergill .

It's well over 2 years since this idiosyncratic building was damaged by a Sports Direct vehicle Image Image It looks like the resulting dispute over liability / insurance has finally been settled and repair work has been started.

A careless lorry driver damaged the brickwork of the oriel window of the corner turret of Watson Fothergill's offices in George Street in 2015. For comparison see Image] (April 2010) and Image] (August 2015). For more about Fothergill and his remarkable buildings, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/The-Buildings-of-Watson-Fothergill .

A careless lorry driver damaged the brickwork of the oriel window of the corner turret of Watson Fothergill's offices in George Street in 2015. For comparison see Image] (August 2015). For more about Fothergill, and pictures of most of his buildings, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/The-Buildings-of-Watson-Fothergill .

The offices of Watson Fothergill, architect, dating from 1895. Grade II listed. Listing number 1247548