Lynne About Loughborough

Sunday, 17 May 2026

Now is the month of May

April was a busy month for the blog as I signed up to write 26 blog posts for the A-Z challenge. Here’s a link to the whole lot of them!

May is also shaping up to be a busy month, with so many anniversaries to celebrate, connections to share, and national days/weeks/months to contribute to, not to mention books to write! Where to start? Ok, let’s share a quick connection, first!

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be singing in Coventry Cathedral (Mahler’s 8th Symphony, known as the Symphony of a Thousand), and during the rehearsal breaks I managed to get a photo of the wonderful Crittall window that forms part of the entrance to the cathedral. Coventry Cathedral is a Grade 1 listed building, and was designed by the architect Sir Basil Spence, who won the design competition in 1950. The foundation stone for the cathedral was laid in 1956, and the building completed and consecrated in 1962. Sir Basil Spence worked in collaboration with Arup Associates, an architectural firm who were later involved in the development of the engineering buildings on the campus of Loughborough University. Of course, there are many Crittall windows still to found in Loughborough town centre.

There are a number of anniversaries in May, some of which have already passed, but I have blogged about in connection with Loughborough in previous years, like The Great Exhibition; the Festival of Britain; and VE-Day (have a look at how one street commemorated VE-Day during the lockdown of 2020).

Some of the national awareness months are worth mentioning, particularly Local and Community History Month, after all, what is this blog if now local history?! If you use the web view (scroll down to the bottom of the posts, if you’re reading this in mobile view, and click on ‘View Web Version’), you’ll be able to search this blog, look back at the archives, or click on a term that interests you.

National Walking Month is another awareness initiative of note, and there are a number of walks on this blog – like the Zeppelin Trail, the Three Towers Trail, the Sculpture, Art, and Architecture Trail, the Loughborough Plaque Trail – as well as countryside walks close to our lovely town, like the Nanpantan Reservoir, and The Outwoods.

During Mental Health Awareness Week you might investigate ways to protect your own mental health, or you might want to read about people’s experiences from the past. This is a particularly harrowing case from the early twentieth century in Loughborough.

Learning at Work Week might be interesting for those who work, but if you don’t there’s always International Museum Day (18th - why not visit one of the ones in Loughborough?), or International Tea Day (21st – why not visit one of Loughborough’s independent teashops – ooops, I think we’ve lost many of these now!).

And then there’s other anniversaries – like 25 years since the formation of the Milestone Society. There are a few posts on this blog which feature milestones, one about the Pack Horse milestone , and one a comparison of our milestones with others I’ve spotted across the country.

Hmm, I think that’s enough rambling around Loughborough for one post!!!

My poor photo of the Crittall frame Great Screen, designed and etched by John Hutton

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). Now is the month of May. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/05/now-is-month-of-may.html [Accessed 17 May 2026]

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Lynne

Sunday, 3 May 2026

Complete list of A-Z blogging challenge posts 2026

A-Z Blogging Challenge Reflection

It was in 2024 that I first discovered the A-Z Blogging Challenge, and decided to take part. The challenge involved writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, every day in April apart from Sundays. Each day's article was themed around a specific topic, chosen by me, started with a letter of the alphabet, the first article beginning with the letter A and the last with letter Z.

In 2024, I chose to write a series of posts on random topics associated with some way with Loughborough. This was reasonably successful, so I also took up the challenge in 2025, focusing on Art Deco as the theme, illustrated by examples from Loughborough.

In April 2026, it was a very last-minute decision to take part in the challenge, as I had a lot of other things happening, so I wasn’t convinced I’d be able to complete the challenge. This was the first hurdle; the second was finding a suitable theme to write about!

I gave it some thought, and settled on the theme of architects with some connection to Loughborough. The next challenge was to find someone whose name began with the letter of the alphabet for the day. In some cases, this was easy, and I found one architect for these letters. In other cases, this was more difficult as I found several possible entries for some letters, and so I had to make a choice about which person to write about. In yet other cases, I had to bend [my own] rules, and select someone based on their first name rather than their surname.

As you might imagine, there were some letters that proved extremely difficult to write about, especially those towards the end pf the alphabet. In these cases, I ended up writing about architectural topics, rather than architects per se. Y was very tricky and I found myself connecting yew trees with the cemetery, and with the architects of the cemetery chapels, Bellamy and Hardy. For letter Z, I indulged in sharing the story of a librarian connected with the free library on Green Close Lane, which preceded the Carnegie Library on Granby Street, which linked us back to the opening couple of posts – A for Allcock, and B for Barrowcliff.

My final challenge was not posting on a Sunday, as for the past 13 years, for the most part, this has been the day when I share an article about Loughborough.

Anyway, the A-Z Blogging Challenge was very challenging, but also very enjoyable. I hope you have enjoyed reading the articles as much as I enjoyed writing them!

Here’s a list of all the articles I posted during the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2026:

A - Edward Thomas Allcock

B - George Harry, and Arnold Montague Barrowcliff

C - Tom Anderson Collins

D - Thomas Henry Dobson

E - Ernest Alfred Dakin

F - Ernest George Fowler

G - The Goddards

H - Willie Thomas Hampton

I - Isaac Charles Gilbert

J - Anthony David Jacobs

K - Albert Edward King

L - S.W. Lax

M - William Bonython Moffatt

N - John Smith Norris

O - Frederick Webster Ordish

P - Arthur John Price

Q - Charles Henry Bourne Quennell

R - Archibald Hurley Robinson

S - Christopher Staveley

T - Frank Tranmer

U - Unity House

V - Reginald Vaughan

W - Watson Fothergill

X - So What is Our Letter X?

Y - Yew Trees

Z - Zebedee Moon

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). Complete list of A-Z blogging challenge posts 2026. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/05/complete-list-of-z-blogging-challenge.html [Accessed 3 May 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Thursday, 30 April 2026

And Finally We Reach Letter Z!

An A-Z of Architects of Loughborough

For a complete list of the A-Z posts please head over to the bloglist.

So, we have reached the final letter of the alphabet in this A-Z blogging challenge, and what a tricky one it is too, to find something that fits the overall theme I’ve chosen this year! If I were writing a book called ‘A-Z of Loughborough’, I would have plenty of topics to choose from – Zenobia, Zeppelins, Zamosc, Zodiac Toys, and more! Trying to find an architect whose name begins with a Z, and who has some connection to Loughborough has proved impossible!

If I were sticking to the architectural theme, I could perhaps write about ziggurats, but those iconic, step-like rooflines, so typical of the Art Deco period, were featured in last year’s A-Z blogging challenge. Obviously, I want to share my new discoveries with you, but you could pop over to last year’s feature, or to the Art Deco glossary.

So, what am I going to share with you for this final blogpost of April? I’ve decided to go back to my professional roots, and the reason I came to live in Loughborough …

Short biography of Zebedee Moon

Zebedee Mooon’ parents, Isaac, and Elizabeth, née Tilke, tied the knot on 12 November 1843 at Coleford in Somerset. Isaac was a coal miner at the Coal Barton Collieries, in Coleford, Somerset, as was his father, William. Elizabeth’s father was a farmer and butcher, and Elizabeth, unlike Isaac, signed her own name on the marriage register.

By the time Zebedee was baptised on 27 November 1859, he had older siblings, William, Eliza, Albert, Elizabeth, and Grace, while siblings born after Zebedee were Rosalie and Ann. The family lived on Kilmersden Common, in Coleford, and at the age of 11, like his father, Zebedee was listed on the 1871 census return as a coal miner. In June 1873, Isaac died, and between that time, and the next census, which was taken in 1881, Zebedee moved to Loughborough, and was boarding with the Skevington family at 56 Baxter Gate. Samuel Skevington, the head of the family, was a grocer, Zebedee was a postal clerk, and the other boarder, Nathaniel Riley, was a clock and watch maker.

On 26 December, 1882, Zebedee, who was apparently living in Barrow-on-Soar, married Sarah Ann Clarke of Loughborough. The wedding took place at the Primitive Methodist Chapel, which was probably the one on Swan Street. The following year, Zebedee appears in a trade directory as living on King Street, Loughborough, as a shopkeeper. The electoral roll for 1883 shows the house on King Street to be no.43: the houses along King Street were demolished and rebuilt around 1888, so the shop itself no longer exists.

1884 saw the birth of Zebedee and Sarah Ann’s first child, George, followed in 1887 by that of Jessica. Meanwhile, Zebedee was changing jobs again!

Loughborough’s first library was on Baxter Gate, and moved to the Town Hall (designed by the nationally-known architect, William Slater, who was also responsible for the design of the Baxter Gate Hospital, 1861) around 1856. However, it only stayed there for about 11 years, before closing completely, and it wasn’t until the town adopted Free Libraries Act of 1885, that a new library was built. This was on the corner of Green Close Lane (now part of the Sainsbury site), and was designed by Hodson, Price, Hodson. The first librarian here was Zebedee Moon, who stayed until July 1892, when he moved to Leyton, where the new library opened to the public on 1 June 1893. Interestingly, the building which housed the new Leyton library had originally opened as the town hall, and was designed by architect John Knight, and was built using white bricks. A new redbrick town hall (with Technical Institute adjoining) was built next door, as the original building was becoming too small, and this is when, in 1892, it became the library.

So, back to 1891, and the census return shows Zebedee, the borough librarian, aged 31, living with his wife, Sarah Ann, aged 29, and their children, John Morley, aged 7, Jessie, aged 4, and Elsie, aged 2, at no.138 Herrick Road, Loughborough. A directory of secondhand booksellers and public libraries, published in 1891, suggests that the Loughborough Free Library now had a stock of 5,000 volumes, and an annual circulation of 48,000. Money to fund the library was raised through the rates, amounting to about £260 per annum, of which £30 was spent on books. The opening hours were weekdays only, from 9.30 in the morning until 9.30 in the evening!

The Moon family welcomed another daughter, Ida, who was born in 1900, but who sadly died the same year. In 1901, the family are living at La Maison, Public Library, High Road, Leyton, and have been blessed with more children – Edna, and Eric. Later that year, Zebedee’s mother died in Folkestone, where she had been living at East Cliff Gardens, with her married daughter.

Zebedee continued to work as the borough librarian at Leyton, meanwhile, back in Loughborough, a new library was being built on Granby Street, designed by Barrowcliff and Allcock. In 1911, Zebedee and the family, which included two more children, Leslie Arthur, and Dora Gladys, were still living at the Leyton library. Daughter Jessie, now aged 24, was working as an assistant librarian at Leyton! 1921 and still the family are living at the library, although they were tricky to track down as Zebedee has been mistranscribed as Zelda!! So, Zebedee, wife Sarah Ann, and offspring, Edna, working as a library assistant, Eric, a civil service clerk at the Inland Revenue, and Leslie, an engineering apprentice with the Great Eastern Railway, and Dora. They are being visited by Jessie, who has married Albert Green, with whom she has 3 children.

I’m not sure when Zebedee retired from work, nor when he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, but I do know he died on 2 August 1938, when he was living at 14 Windsor Road, Wanstead. He left effects amounting to £1,968 18s. 2d..

In 2024, Michelle Johansen, writing about librarians during the period 1890-1920, is able to advise that Zebedee Moon, was one of many self-taught men from a working-class background, and like his colleagues, was “often to be found surrounded by books and papers, continuing into adulthood the diligent habits of self-education adopted in … youth.” Apparently, “Zebedee Moon of Leyton studied poetry and linguistics” in his spare time.

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Basic facts

Name: Zebedee Moon

Parents: Isaac (c.1825-1873) and Elizabeth, née Tilke (1824-1901), m.1843 Colesford, Somerset

Date and place of Birth: 1859 (baptised 27 November), Coleford, Somerset

Spouse: Sarah Ann Clarke, m.1882, Loughborough

Children: George Morley (b.1884); Jessie Beatrice (b.1887); Elsie Elizabeth (b.1889), Ida Lillian (1890-1890); Edna Irene (b.1894); Eric Bertram (b.1899); Leslie Arthur (b.1902); Dora Gladys (b.1906)

Death: 20 August 1938, Wanstead

Places lived: Colesford, Somerset; 43 King Street, Loughborough; 138 Herrick Road, Loughborough; High Road, Leyton; 14 Windsor Road, Wanstead

Place of work/Offices: Loughborough Free Library, Green Close Lane; Leyton public libraries

____________________________________

I’m taking part in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge!

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). And Finally we Reach Letter Z! Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/04/and-finally-we-reach-letter-z.html [Accessed 30 April 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Wednesday, 29 April 2026

So Who Is Our Letter Y?

An A-Z of Architects of Loughborough

For a complete list of the A-Z posts please head over to the bloglist.

Oh how difficult it has been to find suitable stories to tell for letters towards the end of the alphabet! If it weren’t for the fact that I am blogging about architects who have some connection with Loughborough, I might have chosen to write about Mr Yates and his walk to Nottingham, or the YWCA building on Great Central Road that has just been demolished, or York Road with its Larkin connection, or Young Pilsbury and Young. Or, perhaps yew trees? Ah, yew trees, often to be found growing in churchyards …

Short story of architects Bellamy and Hardy

Bellamy and Hardy both worked for William Adams Nicholson in Lincoln: Bellamy was apprenticed to Nicholson from 1841, and Hardy was the chief clerk to Nicholson. Apprenticeship completed, Bellamy moved as assistant to architectural practices in Liverpool and Manchester, but upon his marriage he returned to Lincoln where he established his architectural practice around 1845

Meanwhile, Hardy also left Nicholson’s practice and worked with an architect in York, but when the architect died, Hardy sold the practice, returned to Lincoln, and teamed up with Bellamy, a partnership, which lasted until March 1887, when the practice was dissolved by mutual consent. The majority of their work was the design of public buildings like corn exchanges, cemetery chapels, and non-conformist chapels, centred around, but not solely in Lincolnshire. Bellamy’s architecture was elegant brick and tile in the Italianate style, and Pevsner is said to have remarked that Bellamy delighted in building “palazzos in streets decidedly unsun baked”.

Bellamy and Hardy were the architects behind a couple of Loughborough’s interesting buildings. I wrote about one, the Leicester Road cemetery chapels, in ‘Loughborough in 50 Buildings’:

“The government’s first Public Health Act (1848), which permitted the creation of local Boards of Health, received Royal Assent, following a second national outbreak of cholera. A series of Burial Acts were also passed, culminating in the Burial Act, 1854, allowing town councils to create Burial Boards, such boards being responsible for establishing parish cemeteries.

Loughborough Cemetery was created following the passing of the Burial Acts, the chapel being designed by architects Bellamy and Hardy of Lincoln in the popular Gothic Revival style, and built by John Sudbury of Loughborough.

At a ceremony in July 1856, a procession, including members of the Burial Board, which comprised many well-known local men, including Edward Chatterton Middleton, Edward Warner, Beauvoir Brock, and Henry Toone, walked from the Town Hall to the cemetery, where Edward Middleton laid the foundation stone for the chapels.

Expansion at the end of the nineteenth century was followed by the creation of a new cemetery in 1947, and in 2017 further expansion has been proposed. Remedial and conversion work was carried out on the deteriorating chapels in 1993 and they are now home to the Cibes Lift Group.

According to Pevsner these are the best cemetery chapels in the country.”

Since that time, the new cemetery, off Watermead Way has been created, and there are new companies working from the cemetery chapels off Leicester Road.

The other building designed for us by Bellamy and Hardy was the magistrates’ court off Wood Gate. Although I’ve always loved this building and its history, I’ve not researched it much detail. However, I have mentioned it in previous blogposts, and shared some pictures of the inside, taken during a performance of a play to commemorate the Zeppelin attack on Loughborough.

Cemetery chapels on a grey day!

Cemetery chapels, early evening

Magistrates' Court, Wood Gate

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What follows is a selection of buildings designed by Bellamy and Hardy

Note: this is a selective, not a comprehensive listing.

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*Loughborough cemetery chapels 1856

*Loughborough Magistrates’ Court 1859

*Corn Exchange Hull 1856 (now a museum)

*Ipswich Town Hall

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Basic facts

Name: Pearson Bellamy

Parents: Nicholas Pearson plumber & glazier & Elizabeth (Edwards)

Date and place of Birth: 1822 Louth

Spouse: 1 Caroline Ann Penistan 1845 (d.1850); 2 Elizabeth Ingoldy 1850

Children: 1 Arthur 1846-1868; Albert Edward 1848; Lucy 1849. 2 Annie Elizabeth; Kate; Cecilia Mary; Ada

Death: 1901

Places lived: Melville Street Lincoln; Carholme Road Lincoln; Weston Lodge South Park Lincoln; Tentercroft Street Lincoln

Place of work/Offices: 11 & 29 Broadgate Lincoln

****

Name: John Spence Hardy

Parents: John a silversmith and Ann

Date and place of Birth: 1814 Preston

Spouse: Mary Ann Hartley, m 1844, d.1849

Children: Margaret 1845; Mary Ann 1846

Death: 1892

Places lived: Melville Street Lincoln; York;

____________________________________

I’m taking part in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge!

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). So Who Is Our Letter Y? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/04/so-who-is-our-letter-y.html [Accessed 29 April 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Tuesday, 28 April 2026

So What Is Our Letter X?

An A-Z of Architects of Loughborough

For a complete list of the A-Z posts please head over to the bloglist.

Sadly, I have been unable to find an architect connected in some way with Loughborough, whose name starts with an X. This comes as no surprise, as there are no architects listed under letter X in the ‘Biographical Dictionary of British and Irish Architects 1800-1950’. What, then, can I share with you?

What about ‘xylography’, which is the name given to the process of engraving patterns into woodblocks, which are then used for printing? I always think it’s quite interesting that the former Ladybird Books factory on Windmill Road was taken over by Anstey Wallpapers, who are also printers, but of, umm, wallpaper, rather than books. Very exciting that the company holds the William Morris archive of woodblocks, which were used to create those wonderful wallpapers. I believe the staff do factory tours, too!

Related to xylography is ‘xylotek’, which apparently means a company which specialises in designing and making advanced timber structures. I’m presuming this means things like modern house frames, rather than the frames which the carpenter made for our 13th-century buildings, like the manor house, now Caravelli’s. As an aside, this research has actually been really helpful in providing me with knowledge that means that finally after more than 60 years of knowing the visual differences between a glockenspiel and a xylophone, I can now remember which is called what!!

Or another interesting word, and one that can be applied to architecture and urban design, perhaps - ‘xenodochial’. This word refers to spaces that are designed specifically to be welcoming, friendly, and hospitable to visitors, newcomers, and strangers to a place. The word comes from two Greek words, ‘xenos’, which means guest, or stranger, and ‘docheion’, which means to receive. It’s certainly a word that I have never used before, but thinking about the concept of welcoming and friendly in terms of architecture and urban design, it’s possible to look at Loughborough, and consider what we have that’s friendly and welcoming, and what we could have, but haven’t yet got.

Charnwood Borough Council’s (CBC) 'Loughborough Town Centre Masterplan February 2026, has clearly given xenodochia some thought, as the foreword states (my highlighting):

“Loughborough’s town centre is an important commercial and cultural hub which is a focal point for the town and the wider borough of Charnwood. It draws people in from many parts of the East Midlands and is visited by people from across the UK and beyond. Whether shopping, eating and drinking, visiting beautiful parks, using commercial services or having business meetings, Loughborough town centre caters for all and is a welcoming, diverse and safe place.”

Still in the foreword, it is stressed that CBC want Loughborough to thrive, and to be welcoming and attractive. Further into the document, it is considered that actually the people of Loughborough want a more vibrant, active, and welcoming town centre, and later, ‘attractive’ is added to that list.

When considering the Devonshire Square, Cattle Market, and nearby car parking area, CBC suggests future development here should provide safe and welcoming streets, after all, no-one wants to feel unsafe in the town centre, and no-one wants to feel alienated. The plan is that along the road which was previously the A6, updating shop frontages will encourage more visitors to the area, and improved safety in the area will create a more welcoming gateway to our lovely town centre.

CBC have identified that there are a number of inter-related themes, which affect all areas the masterplan is trying to address. One of these is the public realm and townscape. In this theme, one aim is to promote walkability and community safety, to ensure the town centre is safe, accessible to all, and welcoming. A welcoming environment is one that is safe, secure, clear of refuse, and well-lit.

Heritage and culture is another theme that was identified, and there is recognition that our heritage is not all located in the town centre, and finding a way to link such heritage assets, perhaps through trails, clear signage, lighting etc. would create a more inclusive and welcoming experience.

What more can I possibly say!! After all, Loughborough is already the best town in the world!

____________________________________

I’m taking part in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge!

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). So Who Is Our Letter X? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/04/so-what-is-our-letter-x.html [Accessed 28 April 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Monday, 27 April 2026

So Who Was Watson Fothergill?

An A-Z of Architects of Loughborough

For a complete list of the A-Z posts please head over to the bloglist.

Short biography of Watson Fothergill

Now, it may seem that I am cheating again, and choosing a forename for my letter W of the alphabet, but, in this particular instance, we have a surname for W, and also a surname for F! Let me explain …

Architect Watson Fothergill was born in 1841, to parents Robert Watson, and Mary Ann Fothergill who had married in York in 1838. When Fothergill was aged 14, his father died, and at the age of 15, Fothergill was articled to Frederick Jackson in Nottingham, and in 1861 was lodging on Burton Street, Nottingham. He then became assistant to Isaac Charles Gilbert, also in Nottingham, and then to Arthur William Blomfield, whose practice was in London. It was Blomfield who designed Loughborough’s Holy Trinity church 1877. In 1864 Fothergill set up his own practice in Nottingham, before going into partnership with Lawrence George Summers in 1880. In 1889 he was on the Council of the Nottingham Architectural Society.

It was in 1892 that Fothergill Watson changed his name. It is said that he wanted to honour his mother, and his maternal line, and so by reversing the order of his names, he could do this. So, our NatWest bank, which was designed by Fothergill Watson for the Notts Bank and Banking Co., and built in 1888, was actually designed by an architect with a surname beginning with W. Amongst his designs are many banks for the Notts Company, as well as prestigious houses, mostly in the Nottingham area.

Fothergill probably retired around 1906, having designed more than one hundred buildings, which included houses, banks, churches, shops, and warehouses, mostly in the Gothic revival and Old English vernacular styles that were popular at the time – so based on mediaeval churches and castles, and Tudor buildings. A feature of many of his buildings is his use of stripes of blue bricks, and turrets, and tall chimneys. He was highly influenced by the work of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and George Gilbert Scott.

Blomfield was president of the Architectural Association in 1861, a fellow of RIBA in 1867, and its vice president in 1886, knighted in 1889, and received the Royal Gold Medal in 1891. Blomfield designed our Holy Trinity church in 1877-8.

The turret and the upper floors of Loughborough's NatWest Bank

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What follows is a selection of buildings designed by Watson Fothergill

Note: this is a selective, not a comprehensive listing.

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*Bank for Nottingham & Notts Banking Co. (now NatWest) Loughborough 1888

*Offices for Nottingham Daily Express and Midland Counties Courier (Express Chambers) Upper Parliament St Nott (turn right out of Victoria Centre)

*HQ for Nottingham & Notts Banking Co. on Thurland Street (heading toward Hockley)

*Bank for Nottingham & Notts Banking Co. in Newark near St Mary’s church

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Basic facts

Name: Watson Fothergill (originally Fothergill Watson, changed 1892)

Parents: Robert Watson (lace manufacturer & merchant) and Mary Ann Fothergill, m.1838, York

Date and place of Birth: 12 July 1841, Mansfield

Spouse: Ann Hage, m.1867, Mansfield

Children: Marian; Annie; Edith; Eleanor; Samuel (engineer); Harold; Clarice

Death: 1928 Nottingham

Places lived: Mansfield; Mapperley Park

Place of work/Offices: Clinton Street; George Street

Qualifications

Not known, but certainly involved with RIBA

Hon Sec of the Nottingham Architectural Society 1889

____________________________________

I’m taking part in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge!

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). So Who Was Watson Fothergill? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/04/so-who-was-watson-fothergill.html [Accessed 27 April 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Lynne About Loughborough

Pages

Sunday, 17 May 2026

Now is the month of May

Sunday, 3 May 2026

Complete list of A-Z blogging challenge posts 2026

Thursday, 30 April 2026

And Finally We Reach Letter Z!

Wednesday, 29 April 2026

So Who Is Our Letter Y?

Tuesday, 28 April 2026

So What Is Our Letter X?

Monday, 27 April 2026

So Who Was Watson Fothergill?

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