Nottingham 1924 - The building of the Council House

From the Council House plans drawn by Cyril Arthur Farey
for architect TC Howitt dated 1924.
Exhibition of Modern British Architecture, 1927

From the annals of the Nottingham Civic Society comes an account of how a young local architect, TC Howitt, landed the job of designing the city council's Baroque-revival Council House in 1924...

The Trader and Citizen (Nottingham) June 1st, 1929 carried a long account of the splendid banquet celebrating the opening of the Council House and Exchange Buildings. This is part of the speech of the Chairman of the Estates Committee who I think was probably Alderman Bowles, pictured below laying the foundation stone, smoking a cigarette, and looking rather proud.

The central dome from the inside

"I now come to the toast that really matters, and that is the toast of the architect and the builders. What can I say? You saw something of the work of the architect when you entered this building, and I think you will agree that we made no mistake when we selected from our own Corporation staff a young man born within our midst and trained in one of our own city offices (applause) to take upon his shoulders this great undertaking. It is wonderful what great things spring from small matters. Many acrimonious discussions took place as to what we should do and being a Chairman of a rather irritable temperament (laughter) at times I got pretty well fed up. The moment of one's weakness or greatness one never knows. I wandered into our housing department which was producing houses for the masses at a greater rate and at less rents than other municipalities, and I found there a member of the staff in the person of Mr. Howitt after hours and receiving no overtime. We chatted and smoked together and I said: "How would it appeal to you to put on paper a scheme for a new Exchange?"

Being a young man and full of ambition he said: "Give me a chance. (Hear, hear). A few weeks went on, and I had the satisfaction of going to my Committee and saying: "Here is a set of plans I want you to look at". They were fascinated with them, and we passed them on to the General Purposes Committee. Eventually the City Council of 64 members were equally impressed by them, and that is how Mr. T. Cecil Howitt came to be the architect for this great building. (Applause). I think you will agree that he has justified our choice and that today Nottingham citizens have a building of which to be justly proud. (Renewed applause)".

Renewed applause in 2026 too. Well done young man, what a fine job you did!

Council House - laying of the foundation stone, 17 May 1927, by
Alderman Bowles, Chairman of the Estates Committee
and father of the whole project

The idea of a new complex to replace The Exchange which stood on the eastern side of the Market Square was approved by the Council on 1st. December 1924 and the contract was let in May 1925.

The initial estimate, for the cost of the new building work, was £429,295 plus furniture at a cost of £35,000, but the actual cost was £600,293 and thirty three pence including a processional way, a statue of Queen Victoria (now on the River Trent Embankment) and two fountains.

The old Exchange building
replaced by the new Council House

October 1927 - the Council House was being built when the Goose Fair
was held on Old Market Square for the last time before moving to the Forest

To ensure complete safety for the new structure, some 170 large blocks of re-enforced concrete were set over 45 feet into the ground and, on these, was set a girder frame; the large blocks of concrete varied in size bearing in mind the need to have some which, ultimately, would carry 1,000 tons of weight.

Shopping atrium and murals

The stone, for the Council House, Exchange Building and the 'Market Square' (except for the paving stones which are silex stone) is Portland stone. The method adopted for dealing with the delivery of the stone was to have sufficient for two stories moulded and carved and then brought to Nottingham where it was stored and, to offset difficulties, each block was numbered and later assembled like a Jigsaw puzzle; if a block was broken it was easy to replace.

A steel casket, containing details of the scheme approved by the Council, a copy of the report of the Estates Committee, a copy of the minutes of the Nottingham City Council dealing with the scheme, the 'Nottingham Journal' and the 'Nottingham Guardian', along with coins of legal tender ranging from one farthing to one pound, was placed beneath the new foundation stone laid by Alderman Herbert Bowles, J.P., on 17th. May 1927 .

The Council House, itself, was the largest stone building which had been built in Britain since the first world war; on its completion, it was opened by the Prince of Wales, later Duke of Windsor, on 22nd. May 1929.

Left Lion - According to local folklore, the lions will roar if a virgin walks past them!

A Souvenir gold key, used for the opening ceremony, can be seen on a plaque which is affixed to the wall in the foyer of the Council House. The Lord Mayor was Alderman Albert R. Atkey, the Architect was T.Cecil Howitt, OBE., DSO., FRIBA., and the General Contractors were F.G.Minter, of London.

As you walk along the Processional Way you can readily see the figures on the frieze, behind the portico, which were modelled by Joseph Else, A.R.B.S., Principal of the Nottingham School of Art, and represent Agriculture, Bellfounding, Cloth weaving and Mining; the terrace, overlooking the Market Square, has eight massive columns above which are twenty one figures, depicting aspects of the arts, municipal and public endeavour; Else was also responsible for the ever talked about 'lions' at the front of the building (which, according to local folklore, will roar if a virgin walks past them!).

The dome and friezes of the Council House

The great central dome, rising some 200 feet above ground level, is a landmark which can be seen for miles, and, around the base, you can see more of the work of Joseph Else but, this time, with three of his former pupils, we begin with Charles L.J.Doman, who modelled the group 'Civic Law', Ernest Webb who was responsible for the modelling of the group 'Knowledge', The group which James Woodford modelled was 'Prosperity'. In 1951, Woodford was commissioned to create the statue of Robin Hood, which stands under the Castle Wall. Finally, the group modelled by Joseph Else, was 'Commerce'.

Whilst it is true that the four Nottingham artists played a great part in the production of the statuary the actual carving was done by Alfred W. Pond, Chiswick, London, who carved 'Commerce' and, for the others, masons employed by John Daymond & Son Ltd; London were involved.

The dome of the Council House contains 'Little John', the striking bell which is reputed to be the deepest toned bell in the country; it weighs two and a half tons.

The hour bell has been nicknamed "Little John" since the building opened. The bell was cast by the world-famous bell founders John Taylor & Co of Loughborough in 1927. The bell is the 5th heaviest in the UK and the E-flat tone has the deepest tone in the country which can be heard up to seven miles away.

They were renovated in 2025 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg0eeyy2jjo