Nottingham Council House
Nottingham Council House | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | Municipal Headquarters |
Architectural style | Neo-Baroque |
Classification | |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Designated | 4 February 1988 |
Reference no. | 1270582 |
Location | Nottingham, England, United Kingdom |
Address | Old Market Square, Nottingham NG1 2DT |
Coordinates | 52°57′12″N 01°08′55″W / 52.95333°N 1.14861°W |
Construction started | 1927 |
Completed | 1929 |
Client | Nottingham Corporation |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Thomas Cecil Howitt |
Nottingham Council House is the
History
The Council House was commissioned to replace the former Nottingham Exchange. It was designed by Thomas Cecil Howitt in the Neo-Baroque style and built between 1927 and 1929.[2]
Housed within the belfry, is the affectionately-named 'Little John' hour bell – the deepest toned clock bell in the United Kingdom,[3] weighing over 10 tonnes (10 t)[4] – whose strike can be heard for a distance of seven miles.[5]
The building has staged many high-profile occasions with
Since Nottingham City Council relocated councillors’ offices to Loxley House in 2010, the Council House is seldom used for day-to-day administrative functions.[12] From April 2011, the building also now serves as the chief Register Office for Births, Marriages and Deaths in the City.[13]
Exterior
The Council House and Exchange Buildings (to the rear) are constructed of
The terrace overlooking the Old Market Square has eight massive columns, above which, are 21 figures representing the activities of the Council, also modelled by
Interior
The interior of the building is elaborately decorated:[16]
Ground Floor
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Foundation Stone
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Entrance Loggia
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Golden Key used to open the Council House
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Ceremonial Staircase
-
Ceremonial Staircase
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'Welcome' - statue by Sir William Reid Dick
- The Entrance Hall has columns, walls, floor and made from Italian marble. The City Arms are inlaid as a mosaic in the centre of the floor. Bronze plaques on the left (northern) wall list the Honorary Freemen of the City of Nottingham; whilst those on the right (southern) wall list the City’s Honorary Aldermen. Another plaque commemorates the opening of the building in 1929, including the golden key used by the Prince of Wales to open the doors. In a nod to modernity, a final plaque displays the building’s energy efficiency rating.
- A grand sweeping marble staircase leads up to the reception rooms on the first floor. At the top of the stairs is a bronze cast figure entitled ‘Welcome’, by Sir William Reid Dick. It features a female figure with arms outstretched, welcoming visitors to the Council House. Presented to the City by Sir Julien Cahnthe statue was unveiled on 10 February 1931.
First Floor
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The Dome above the Staircase
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The Ballroom
- The Ballroom, is similar in style to one at the Palace of Versailles, with gilt embellished columns and a highly decorated ceiling. The fine parquet sprung floor is made from oak, walnut and ebonised pearwood. French windows lead out onto the famous balcony overlooking the Old Market Square.
- The Dining Room has Ancona walnut panelling and an Italian marble fireplace, and is generally for smaller events. The room is dominated by a fine portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by John Townsend, presented to the City by Mr Lewis Colton in 1970.
- Display cabinets house the City’s ceremonial maces and silverware gifts given to the City Council by visiting dignitaries. There is also a display giving details of the ship HMS Nottingham. A matchstick model of the Council House building invites donations from visitors to the Lord Mayor’s charities.
- The Lord Mayor’s Suite includes the Parlour, panelled in carved walnut, with an adjoining Sitting Room featuring oak panelling recovered from Aston Hall, Derbyshire.
Second Floor
- The Committee Room contains a horseshoe table in walnut veneer, and is where most executive board meetings were held before the Council moved meetings to Loxley House on Station Street in 2010.
- The Sheriff’s Parlour (originally that of the Lady Mayoress) is decorated in Adam style.
Third Floor
- The Tea Room holds up to 30 people. The large walnut table was originally in the Boardroom at Raleigh Industries’ headquarters building (also designed by Howitt).
- The Members’ Room has facilities for councillors, including newspapers and journals, computers and a television. An archive of minutes of City Council meetings is available in glass-fronted bookshelves.
- The Council Chamber takes up the remainder of the third floor. The fixed seating is arranged in a semicircle so no one is more than 26 feet (7.9 m) from the Lord Mayor, above whose dais can be found two Latininscriptions whose translations read “Laws are made for the welfare of the citizens and the city” and “It is the highest justice to give each man his due”. The chamber’s walls are of Ancona walnut, with fabric wall panels containing seaweed to aid the acoustics. A separate entrance from the Exchange Arcade (Smithy Row side) gives direct access to the public galleries.
- There are rooms which can be used by councillors (since 2010, most city councillors have been based at the newly acquired Loxley House on Station Street) and the Conservative opposition group on the Council has an office outside the Council Chamber.
Dome
The most striking visual element of the building, and in itself an iconic symbol of the City. An ornate cupola stands on the apex of the dome.[1] The top of the cupola is 200 feet (61 m) above the Old Market Square below.[17]
To the rear of the clock face is the
Four bells provide
The Exchange (Exchange Arcade)
The ground floor is predominantly an upmarket fashion-dominated shopping mall – now called ‘The Exchange’ in honour of the Nottingham Exchange – having had an image makeover in 2005. The original name of Exchange Arcade is still used by many local people however. Retailing space was included in the design to fund the Corporation’s construction of the building, during the Great Depression and remained under council control until sold in 1985 and redeveloped as a shopping centre.[22]
This part of the building has been in private hands since that time, and is currently owned by a Pension Fund. Each shop has its own basement showroom or storage facilities, deliveries being made via an underground roadway, served by a vehicular lift on Cheapside. This service area was originally the fresh produce hall, and received natural light via pavement lights in the floor of the arcade above. The locations of those lights can still be seen, marked by the 1985-vintage terracotta tile strips which replaced them, interspersed between the York stone paving slabs. The paved areas were replaced in 2014 with identical York stone.[23]
Painted murals underneath the Council House dome feature:[24]
- The Danes capturing Nottingham in 868:
- William the Conqueror ordering the building of the castle in 1068;
- Robin Hood and his Merry Men;
- King Charles I raising his standard at the start of the Civil War in 1642.
Each mural was the work of local artist Noel Denholm Davis. The artist used local celebrities as models. Thus T. Cecil Howitt himself appears in the guise of William the Conqueror’s surveyor, and Notts County F.C. goalkeeper Albert Iremonger as Little John. The inscription around the base of the dome reads: “The Corporation of Nottingham erected this building for counsel and welcome, and to show merchandise and crafts”. The condition of these murals has deteriorated in recent years, largely through the ingress of water. The Robin Hood mural was particularly severely damaged in this way. In June 2018 Nottingham City Council finished a complete restoration of the damaged murals in a process which took about three months.[24]
Statuary
Much of the external statuary is by Joseph Else (1875–1955), Principal of the Nottingham School of Art (now part of Nottingham Trent University). Else was responsible for the famous lions guarding the entrance, for the frieze above the Ballroom windows (representing ancient local industries such as bellfounding and alabaster) and for the figures in the principal façade’s pediment (depicting the arts and public service). A pub overlooking the Square is now named after Else.[15]
The Lions
Created by
Sculpture Groups around the Dome
These groups were created by Joseph Else and three former students of the School of Art. All the sculptors were born and raised in Nottingham.[15]
- 'Commerce' by Joseph Else. The 2 male figures are pushing a ship, carrying a female holding a caduceus. This is at the Exchange Walk (Natwest Bank) corner.
- 'Civic Law' by Charles L J Doman. A smiling central female figure holds a sceptre in her right hand and book in her left. At her feet are the figures of Law (holding a fasces and Justice (carrying a sword). This group is at the Long Row / King Street corner.
- 'Prosperity' by RIBA building in London, as well as the famous statue of Robin Hood at Nottingham Castle.
- 'Knowledge' by pair of compasses.
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‘Commerce’ by Joseph Else
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‘Civic Law’ by Charles LJ Doman
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‘Prosperity’ by James Woodford
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‘Knowledge’ by Ernest Webb
Architectural criticism
Howitt himself was in no doubt that the use of classical lines would mean that it would not look dated in a few years’ time.
A scathing criticism came from Nikolaus Pevsner in his Buildings of England: Nottinghamshire (published in 1951);[2]
“Not much can be said in defence of this kind of neo-Baroque display at a date when the Stockholm Town Hall was complete and a style congenial to the C20 established. Wren has to answer for much, once the connection between Greenwich and this dome (via the Old Bailey?) is noted. The Ionic columniation is no more inspiring or truthful than the interiors. The only positive interest lies in the plan of the building. Its centre is a shopping arcade of great height with a glass roof, and shops run all along the ground floor on the N and S sides.”
See also
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Council House, Exchange Buildings and adjoining shops and bank (1270582)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ ISBN 0-14-071002-7
- ^ a b c "Great Bells of the British Isles". Tower Bells. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Taylor Bells - For the Enthusiast". John Taylor & Co Bell Foundry. March 2019. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Council House bells toll one last time on David's watch". Nottingham News. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "The Prince Of Wales Opens Nottingham's City Hall". Pathe. 1929. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Football History – Tournaments – FA Cup". 1958–1959.
- ^ "Football History – Tournaments – European Cup". 1978–1979.
- ^ "Football History – Tournaments – European Cup". 1979–1980.
- ^ "Soccer - Nottingham Forest - FA Cup Final Reception - Council House, Nottingham". Alamy. 19 May 1991. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Swaap, Aimee; Information Governance Office, Nottingham City Council (23 November 2010). "Loxley House - a Freedom of Information request to Nottingham City Council". whatdotheyknow.com. mySociety by UK Citizens Online Democracy. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ "Births, deaths and marriages". Nottingham City Council. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ISBN 978-0752457048.
- ^ a b c d "The Story Behind: Joseph Else, creator of the iconic lions". Nottingham TV. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "The Nottingham Council House". Nottingham21. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Nottingham Council House". Structurae. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Family behind Nottingham's Council House clock". BBC. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Nottingham Big Ben". Nottingham Evening Post. England. 3 March 1928. Retrieved 2 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Mitchell, Hannah (22 September 2017). "Keeper of Nottingham Council House clock has retired after more than three decades". Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ "Exchange Clock. No longer to be heard at night". Nottingham Evening Post. England. 11 September 1929. Retrieved 2 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ISBN 978-1445634982.
- ^ "Repaving The Mall Within Exchange Arcade". Arc Building Consultance. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ a b "The real story behind the murals in Nottingham's Exchange Arcade". Nottingham Post. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "What are the lions in Old Market Square actually called?". Nottingham Post. 3 February 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Visit Nottinghamshire - Things to Do". 2020.
Further reading
- Beckett, John and Brand, Ken: (2004) The Council House, Nottingham and the Old Market Square (Nottingham Civic Society) ISBN 1-902443-09-8
- Granger, Frank: (1929) The Council House Nottingham – a review of the Council House and Exchange Buildings (City of Nottingham Estates Committee)
- Harwood, Elain: (2008) Nottingham – Pevsner Architectural Guide (Yale University Press) ISBN 978-0-300-12666-2
- Scoffham, Ernie: (1992) A Vision of the City: The Architecture of TC Howitt (Nottinghamshire County Council Leisure Services) ISBN 0-900943-44-0