Nottingham's Grand Designs - building the Council House & how County Hall nearly had a huge tower

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, T.C. Howitt, landed the job of designing the city council's magnificent neo-classical Council House in 1924. 

Not wishing to be usurped by their city counterparts, we'll then look at how Notts County Council, led by Watnall Hall's Sir Lancelot Rolleston, designed their own showpiece headquarters by the River Trent, County Hall. It was originally planned to have a huge Italianate bell tower three times the height of the main building would have dominated the view of the River Trent...

The Council House

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. He sings the praises of homegrown city architect, the young T.C. Howitt, for all to hear...

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!

'Sculpting the lions', Old Market Square, Nottingham, 1928. 
The Council House lions were modelled by Joseph Else, Principal of the Nottingham School of Art.
The cutting was done by one of his assistants, A. W. Pond.
Credit: Nottingham Hidden History Team

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 left lion is called Agamemnon and the right one Menelaus, mythical Greek brothers from the Trojan wars.

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 four of his former pupils. We begin with Charles 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. The group modelled by Joseph Else, was 'Commerce'. Another of the art school students involved was Robert Kiddey who went on to carve County Hall's entrance statues of miners and other local industry. See below. Inside the dome are a series of colourful murals which we examine in this article... https://watnallhall.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-viking-mural-at-council-house.html

One of the murals shows Notts County's 6'5" goalie Albert Iremonger as Little John

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

Architectural summary from the Nottingham sculpture tour...

Nottingham's neo-classical Council House was officially opened by Edward, Prince of Wales, on 22 May 1929. The Portland stone building was designed by the architect T. Cecil Howitt. Sculptural embellishment was directed by Joseph Else (1874-1955) the Principal of Nottingham School of Art, and a group of assistants including Charles Doman, Robert Kiddey, A.W. Pond, Ernest Webb and James Woodford. The 200ft high dome has an allegorical figural group at each corner representing Knowledge, Prosperity, Civil Law and Commerce. The pediment on the west façade carries twenty-one high-relief sculptures of allegorical figures in a modernistic style, representing the city council's activities, including Justice, Architecture, Literature and Education. A low-relief frieze below the pediment extending twenty-five metres across the width of the building depicts ancient trades of Nottingham, as carried out by an army of naked putti. Coal mining, alabaster carving, leather working and textile manufacture are amongst the industries represented. Resting on plinths at ground level are two large Portland stone statues of male lions. This is one of the most popular meeting points for shoppers and lovers.

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

We do a deep dive into Taylor's bell foundry and how bells are still made there today in this article about the bells of Greasley church... 

https://watnallhall.blogspot.com/2025/11/is-one-of-greasley-churchs-bells.html

County Hall - Notts County Council responds with their own showpiece HQ

In a demonstration of Nottingham's potential for great visions and grand designs (and the money to realise them), the county council started to plan their own landmark headquarters, County Hall on the banks of the River Trent. The plans were unveiled for the council's 50th Jubilee in 1939 with two of our local squires at the helm, Colonel Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall Hall and Major Barber of Lamb Close House. 

County Hall today minus the planned bell tower.
The distinctive green roof is oxidised copper.

As you can see from the pictures below, it had a huge Italian-style bell tower planned. The new County Hall scheme was put on ice during WW2 and the plans changed..."...because of a pause to construction during the Second World War, it was only completed in 1954. The original plans included the construction of a landmark bell tower which would have been three times as tall as the main building. When construction resumed after the war this part of the plan was mothballed to reduce overall costs." Imagine if it had been built with the tower!

Watnall's local squires were in behind the scheme

Previously, the county council was based at the ancient Shire Hall in the Lace Market in central Nottingham. After deciding that the existing premises were inadequate for their needs, county leaders decided to procure a new building. The site they selected had been occupied by the Castle Cricket Ground. 

Foundation stone with 
Notts Coat of Arms

The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, William Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland, on 21 November 1939 (one of his first public duties after taking over from his father). It was designed by Vincent Harris who is also credited with designing Leeds Civic Hall, Bristol City Hall and Sheffield City Hall.

Interestingly, the small pocket of land occupied by the old Shire Hall building lies inside the city council's geographic area but had retained its "county" status ever since it was exempted from being part of Nottingham "town" in the 1449 town charter issued by King Henry VI. The same exemption was applied to Nottingham Castle.

Robert Kiddey's statues - the two main entrances to County Hall are flanked by four large allegorical carvings showing the then primary local industries of coal mining, ironworking, arts/architecture and agriculture. Kiddey also did similar statues for nearby Wilford power station (long since demolished) which are now displayed outside Newark County Hall. He also worked on the Council House as discussed above.

We look at the Nottingham College of Art, a fine building in its own right, where Kiddey and his fellow carvers learnt their trade under Joseph Else in this article... 

https://watnallhall.blogspot.com/2025/01/phoenix-from-flames-art-gallery-at.html

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Notes and sources

https://nottinghamcivicsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/063.pdf

Neo-classical style and decoration blurb... https://eresources.ntu.ac.uk/mle/acc/subjects/heritage/sculpture/elevations/CHouse/Sculp10Text.htm

Some excellent pictures here on the Watson Fothergill Walks website

https://watsonfothergillwalk.com/category/t-cecil-howitt/

It is a grade II listed building

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1270582?section=official-list-entry

Other Howitt works :

https://modernmooch.com/tag/t-cecil-howitt/

FB Group "The Works of TC Howitt, Architect" https://www.facebook.com/groups/942185887368919

Kiddey https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce374q1wk20o

Woodford - Council House sculptor James Woodford working on a sculpture of Robin Hood, (which eventually will become the design for the Robin Hood statue below the grounds of Nottingham Castle) in his studio, London, 7th March 1958.

Old Market Square layout before the Exchange

County Hall's split-personality

Part of Nottinghamshire County Hall is grand with neo-Georgian features, the other was made using concrete and springs.

Statue of miners by Robert Kiddey

The County Hall building was designed by Emanuel Vincent Harris in the 1930's. His work includes Sheffield City Hall, Leeds Civic Hall and Manchester Central Library.

County Hall has a Portland stone base, used for many civic buildings, and a copper roof which has turned green over the years.

The entrance to County Hall

The entrance to the Hall is flanked by statues of miners and workers (see above); they're the work of Nottingham artist Robert Kiddey (1900-84).

Bell tower

The original plans for County Hall featured a bell tower which was about three times as high as the present building and would have dominated the view of the River Trent.

However, the tower plans were abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II.

Local historian Chris Matthews has been researching the building, he says:

"[The tower] would have put Nottingham alongside cities like Venice, or the great trading cities of northern Europe, it had that kind of ambition."

The prefabricated side of County Hall

Spring loaded

The second half of County Hall, on Trent-side, is a grey prefabricated extension built in the 1960s.

It was designed by the Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme
(CLASP).

The building was made with a series of steel frames, clad with concrete. They were also spring loaded in order to withstand mining subsidence and even earthquakes.

Some designers believed CLASP buildings could one day be the homes of people living on the moon.

Concrete side of County Hall

Many of Nottinghamshire's schools were built in this way including the Kimberley School.

Before CLASP, the old building's windows used to break when the coal board were sinking a new shaft.

The CLASP building ethos was imported to many other countries but can still be seen all over Nottinghamshire in schools, fire stations and community centres.