In his first feature for NottinghamLIVE, local author Scott Taylor discovers the history behind one of Nottingham’s favourite spots for a pint.
Victorian architect Watson Fothergill has had a huge impact on the individuality of Nottingham’s city centre. He only designed one building outside of our county, and subsequently his trademark striking reliefs, medieval proportions and majestic asymmetry have become something that truly sets our city aside from others.
The fact that bistro-style venue Watson Fothergills honours the great man in its name is a wonderful gesture, since it’s housed within one of his most overlooked buildings.
Due to its higgledy-piggledy roof line, Mortimer House appears at first glance to be a row of intriguing, separate buildings but a closer look reveals a large, unified construction stretching all of the northern side of Castle Road from Hounds Gate to Castle Gate. It was built in 1883 for a Mr Tate and now houses The Old Castle Inn, the Castle Moviehouse (a micro-cinema), and the Christian Duplicating Service (for photocopying, laminating and document binding) as well as Watson Fothergills.
Most people on Castle Road will have their eyes on the famous Robin Hood statue, little realising they could turn around and enjoy first-hand the work of another Nottingham legend. Unlike the forest-dwelling outlaw, though, the Victorian architect’s contribution to modern Nottingham is tangible and solid, and will hopefully prove just as enduring.
Watson Fothergills website: http://www.eversosensible.com/fothergills/
Find more to read by Scott Taylor on Amazon (http://astore.amazon.co.uk/scotttaylorauthor-21) and follow his Nottingham-centric tweets @Nottinghasm.
