The Viking Mural at the Council House

Historical footnote - they most probably did not have wings or horns on their helmets!

While researching my recent Watnall Hall article “The day the Vikings sailed to Nottingham”, I discovered the four remarkable murals painted high above the shopping arcade in the Council House. One of the murals depicts the Viking longboats arriving in Nottingham with the river Trent snaking away into the distance. They are by Nottingham-born artist Noel Denholm Davis who in 1932 painted a portrait of Watnall Hall's owner Sir Lancelot Rolleston. He was at the time chairman of Notts County Council and also celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary. His portrait (shown below) hangs in County Hall.

Council House arcade

There are 4 murals, painted in 1929 when the Council House replaced the old Exchange Building in the Old Market Square. They each show moments from Nottingham’s history including a few quirky features to look out for. Council House architect Cecil Howitt appears as William the Conqueror’s surveyor, near the site of the castle; and Little John is Albert Iremonger, Notts County’s giant 6’5” goalkeeper. 

The Atlas Obscura website does a good review of the murals…

SINCE ITS CONSTRUCTION IN THE 1920s, the baroque-revival city hall known as the Council House has housed a surprising and splendid mini-mall called the Exchange. The crowning glories of this vertiginous space are the four recently restored murals adorning the walls some 200 feet above shoppers’ heads. They depict three key moments in Nottingham’s history, plus an inevitable reference to the city’s beloved Robin Hood legend. The colourful murals decorate the pendentive of a glass dome that dominates the central atrium of the Exchange. In chronological order they depict: 

- the Viking capture and occupation of Nottingham in 868, 
- William the Conqueror ordering the construction of Nottingham Castle in 1068, 
- King Charles I triggering the English Civil Wars at nearby Standard Hill in 1642.

- The fourth mural flies in the face of recorded historical events, depicting Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and their band of Sherwood outlaws engaged in a little archery. Even in the 1920s visitors expected to see Robin Hood in Nottingham. 

These historical and not-so-historical murals were painted with more than a little artistic license by Noel Denholm Davis, and feature cheeky cameo appearances by local celebrities of the era. For example, the Council House’s architect, Thomas Cecil Howitt, appears as a surveyor alongside William the Conqueror, and the particularly tall goalkeeper of a local soccer team lent his face to Robin Hood’s henchman, Little John.

Howitt appears in a cheeky cameo as a Norman surveyor to the left of William the Conqueror in the Council House's murals. William is ordering the construction of Nottingham Castle. Perhaps in his dreams Howitt wished he had the commission for that job too. Now that would have been a Nottingham icon.

Notts County's 6'5" goalie Albert Iremonger as Little John

Inscribed above these mall murals is the stone-carved proclamation that “The Corporation of Nottingham erected this building for counsel and welcome, and to show merchandise and crafts.” Having suffered serious water damage, the city council authorized the restoration of the murals, which was completed in 2018 by conservation artist Alex Carrington.

Know Before You Go - The Exchange is situated in the Council House, which is easy to find, dominating Nottingham's Old Market Square. If you can't find it, wait until the hour and follow the rumbling sound of England's deepest-toned bell, naturally called "Little John," which hangs somewhere above the murals. The tiny mall has three entrances, on Long Row, Cheapside, and High Street. The murals are in the central atrium, where there is a small cafe, enabling you to have a coffee as you crane your neck to admire the art.

Colonel Sir Lancelot Rolleston, KCB, DSO, TD, DL, JP of Watnall Hall.
Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council and Quarter Sessions (1928–1932)
Presented on his 50th wedding anniversary in 1932.
Painted by Noel Denholm Davis.

Sources: https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/historic-murals-nottinghams-exchange-arcade-1714212; https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-exchange-murals; https://www.nottinghampost.com/whats-on/shopping/next-time-you-visit-nottingham-2158709

https://www.mynottinghamnews.co.uk/things-are-looking-up-for-historic-dome-murals/