The new Arboretum in 1853

on
1853 - The view from the top of the Arboretum over the new pond
towards Nottingham's not so built-up city centre.
There's no Art School and no Trent Uni.

The fabulous drawing above shows Nottingham's Arboretum just over a year after its opening in May 1852. The pond and gatehouse are still recognisable from the tram picture below.

Note there is no Nottingham School of Art in the view towards Nottingham's city centre, that grand edifice was built ten years later in 1863. I wonder what the big house on the opposite side of Waverley Street is?

Today Nottingham's NET trams run past the Arboretum down Waverley Street but the drawing pre-dates even the original Nottingham trams which didn't come along until 1877. Nor did the old trams run down Waverley Street, that only began with the new NET trams in 2005...

Modern Nottingham tram going past the same
gate posts and gatehouse as in the 1853 picture.

You can read all about the fascinating inspiration for the Art School in another of my blog posts here...

"Today we look at how the success of a Nottingham art school, founded on the lace and textile trade, led to one of Nottingham's grandest royal parades and the resurrection of Nottingham Castle from a burnt out hulk to today's fabulous Art Gallery and Museum..."





There are plenty more historical "Tales from Watnall Hall" and hereabouts at the main blog page here...
https://watnallhall.blogspot.com/





Picture credits and sources

Arboretum web page

Alan Robson for tram pic

The 1853 pic came from Glenys Partridge "Taken from the decaying scrap album made in 1888 by my Great Grandmother for her 4yr old son , Percy Adamson, my grandad"

Nottingham Corporation Tramways was formed when Nottingham Corporation took over the Nottingham and District Tramways Company Limited, which had operated a horse and steam tram service from 1877.

A Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Tramways Company tram, known as 'Ripley Rattlers', waiting to leave Nottingham’s Upper Parliament Street terminus, for Ripley, in 1916. The Nottingham to Ripley tram route opened on 15 August 1913.


Brian Yeoman's colourised picture in the as "near-as-careful-research-allows" correct green livery..."the only evidence out there seems to be that they were painted In Balfour Beatty's usual bright green and cream livery."



Creepy JM Barrie and the Arboretum, Nottingham and DH Lawrence's disparaging view of him - 
A young JM Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, lived close to the Arboretum when working for the Nottingham Journal. It's been suggested the park and pond was used as inspiration for some elements of Peter Pan. His writings for the Notts newspaper showed an early predilection for the odd, boyish and disturbing nature of stories...

JM Barrie from the Left Lion article
on the writer's links to the Arboretum 

DHL got to know Barrie later in life after Barrie's marriage to and messy break up with DHL's friend Mary Ansell. 
DHL wove Barrie's character into the oddball Loerke in Women In Love, the book's Gerald Crick storyline echoing the life of Barrie and his close friendship to polar explorer Capt. Robert Scott. DHL's famous quote about Barrie is... "J. M. Barrie has a fatal touch for those he loves. They die." Also a reference to the real life suicide of one of the Peter Pan boys Barrie had become close and influential to.

The Pond
Interesting video of the pond being emptied and what lies beneath from 2026 (rather fine Victorian brick work actually!)...
by  Ant Daykin of Our History Underfoot



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