Description

NOTTINGHAM

SK5740SW BURTON STREET
646-1/14/65 (North side)
12/07/72 Guildhall and associated caves
(Formerly Listed as:
BURTON STREET
Guildhall)

GV II

City guildhall, now housing city offices and magistrates'
courts, and associated caves. 1887-88. By Verity & Hunt of
London. Altered mid C20. Darley Dale ashlar and brick, with
Westmorland slate roofs and corniced ridge stacks. French
Renaissance Revival style.
EXTERIOR: rusticated ground floor, dentillated main cornice,
eaves cornice and parapet with pedestals. Windows are plain
sashes and casements, mainly with stone mullions. 2 storeys
plus basement and attics; 5 x 5 bays. Corner site with main
entrance and return fronts.
Entrance front has a projecting centre, and projecting end
pavilions with pyramidal roofs. Portico, 3 bays, with Doric
columns, rusticated piers, and balustrade with pedestals.
Above, 3 tripartite windows with Ionic columns in antis, and
above again, 3 smaller tripartite windows. Central dormer with
round window, and pediment with sculpture. Side bays have 2
windows, the first floor round-arched and divided by
pilasters. Area wall with cast-iron bollards and chains.
Pavilions have tripartite windows on each floor, and
pedimented single dormers.
Left return front, similar design, has pedimented centre with
first floor Ionic portico, and 3 windows in the side bays. At
the rear, a square tower, 5 stages, with round-arched bell
openings and balustrade.
INTERIOR: largely original, has foyer with Doric columns,
segment-arched openings, and enriched cross-beam ceiling.
Central doorway flanked by double columns, with pedimented
doorcase and bust. At each end, a colonnade and steps up to a
stairwell with enriched cornices and stone cantilevered open
well stair. On the first floor, 2 courts, largely original,
with inserted ceilings. Original wall panelling and fittings
including balustraded wooden gallery for grand jury. Court 6,
much altered, has plaster wall panels and pilasters, and a
panelled round-arched recess containing the dock.
Office ranges have moulded cornices, fielded panelled doors
and corniced doorcases.
Cave system, reached by a stone open well stair, is on 2
levels. Brick lined passages and cells. Extensively modified
during World War II for use as emergency headquarters and air
raid shelters.
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Nottinghamshire: London:
1979-: 238; Reprint from The Mercian Geologist, Vol. 13, Sept.
1992: Waltham AC: The sandstone caves of Nottingham:
Nottingham: 1992-: 21).

Listing NGR: SK5715440230

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Nottingham Guildhall at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q7063650

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas