So Who Was Watson Fothergill?

An A-Z of Architects of Loughborough

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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

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

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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