Watson Fothergill is the most famous of NottinghamÕs Victorian architects. Other architects of the period were perhaps as capable, and certainly as prolific if not more so, but none had the distinctiveness of style that defines Fothergill. No other architect of the period put such a distinctive stamp on the architecture of Nottingham:
ÒThe imitative nature of the nineteenth century architect is often stressed but what should be equally emphasised is that many architects of the period could also be remarkably inventive. Watson Fothergill belonged to this group Ð a truly creative designer who had mastered the art of architecture and who obviously took pride in his work and loved what he was doing and did it well.Ó
To date there has been no comprehensive study of FothergillÕs works and, since his death, a wide number of projects have been incorrectly attributed to him and, more worryingly, buildings that are by him but not widely recognised as such have continued to suffer neglect and even demolition. The latest building to be demolished was lost as recently as 2011.
The aim of this Catalogue of Works is to provide a comprehensive schedule of all of his works and in doing so to bring together as much information as possible about each project to provide an informative and invaluable resource.