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Watson Fothergill must be smiling in his grave.
For history has gone into reverse at what can only
be described as one of Nottingham’s finest buildings.
The Rose of England in Mansfield Road reopened
last May after a refit with a difference: it reclaimed the name
it was originally given back in 1898, when it was built as the Nottingham
Brewery’s tap.
So a piece of Nottingham history has been put back
on the map – and not before time.
To describe the Rose of England as glorious and
gracious is an understatement, and it richly deserves an equally
magniloquent name.
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| The Rose of England in all its glory. |
The pub stands proud on the corner of Union Street
and Mansfield Road – in fact it has a corner entrance characteristic
of the period – just 100 yards or so from the Victoria Shopping
Centre, and only about 15 seconds’ walk from the Victoria Bus station,
which is just behind it.
Locals of my generation still know it as the Yorker,
the name it was given by Whitbread in 1967 in an attempt to shrug
off an unhappy reputation as a prostitute’s hang-out.
In 1993 it was briefly reborn as the City Alehouse before Allied
(remember Allied, anyone?) acquired it and turned it into the Filly
& Firkin.
None of these incarnations was exactly a failure
– the pub was busy enough, but the people it was most popular with
weren’t exactly connoisseurs; in fact it has to be said that the
cask ales on offer were sometimes only fit to be shaken over your
chips.
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| Detail of Rose of England. |
In my own apprentice drinking days (circa 1978),
the Yorker entertained a motley crew of regulars ranging from suits
and ties and punk rockers to long-haired bikers.
(I count the suits and the punks as one group,
incidentally, because most of them were of the same ilk – white-collar
workers during the week transforming into full-blown Mohican-coiffed
punks at the weekend.
Nowadays, of course, the weekend punks have disappeared
into oblivion, possibly having been replaced by Goths; but the long-haired
bikers must still be out there somewhere! But I digress).
Anyway, when I heard the news of the pub’s refurbishment,
including the return to its original name, my ears pricked up and
my taste buds started watering.
And I knew that Watson Fothergill would be happy.
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| Watson Fothergill |
Watson Fothergill
But wait a minute – "Who was this Watson Fothergill?", I hear you
ask.
Watson Fothergill was a well-respected local architect
of the Victorian Gothic school.
Something of an eccentric, he was actually christened
Fothergill Watson, but he hated his father so much that he changed
his name.
Very fond of the use of contrasting polychromatic
brick, he also had a habit of embellishing the upper storeys of
his buildings with the most intricate detail imaginable, so that
unless you look up from the pavement as you pass you’ll never notice
it.
A fine example of this can be seen in the trendy
Hockley area of Nottingham where Fothergill’s original offices are
situated, built by the masonry master in 1895.
They stood empty for several years before being
recently purchased by two local physiology professors.
Unlike the Rose of England, this building is in
need of complete renovation, a project being funded by the two academics,
before it opens later this year, housing an art gallery, and an
exhibition celebrating the work of this genius.
Fothergill’s father-in-law was one of the founders
of Mansfield Brewery, but nepotism didn’t draw him into the industry,
for he only ever designed two pubs.
One was the Black Boy Hotel in Nottingham, long since fallen victim
to the bulldozers; and the other was the Rose of England, whose
exterior is still unaltered despite the trading changes of the last
25 years.
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| The wooden archway at the Rose of England. |
False balustrades, a mix of wooden struts and traditional
red brick, and a carved wooden Tudor rose in the porch are just
a few features which make the Rose of England an architectural gem.
The refurbishment of the interior has undoubtedly
given the pub a new lease of life.
Stepping inside, the first thing you notice is
the long bar and its 10 handpumps, usually serving six cask beers
which include Charles Wells Bombardier, Adnams Broadside, and a
guest mild – an underrated and particular favourite beer style of
mine.
The original dividing walls disappeared long before
I started drinking here, although the internal structure suggests
where they once were.
But although it’s now all open-plan, it’s separated
into different drinking areas by the use of different design features
– some areas are carpeted, others not; some areas have freestanding
tables and chairs, others have pew-style settles.
The first floor is also part of the pub; there’s
a bar up there with three more handpumps (that’s 13 in all, and
all on separate lines) and a good-sized stage area.
Bands regularly play at weekends, and there’s usually
a small admission charge.
The pub is owned by Punch Taverns, and the current
tenants, the mother and daughter team of Barbara and Leann Toombs,
have been running it since November 2001.
Originally from the Isle of Man, up until early
2001 Barbara owned holiday flats which she rented out on the island,
before moving in-land to middle England and settling in ‘Robin Hood
town’ to serve the real ale drinkers of Nottingham.
Leann first came to Nottingham back in mid-nineties,
where she achieved a BA in Textile Design at the Nottingham Trent
University.
Then following a spell working at a display and
marketing company, she joined her mum in their new venture, becoming
the licensee of the pub.
The two Manx pussycats, and I say that in the nicest
possible way, serve good food at lunchtimes and cherish their CAMRA-friendly
‘Fothergill-house’, keen to offer as wide a choice as possible of
real ales.
They adore the pub and are very proud of the building
as am I, being a regular visitor to the premises.
Fothergill may have died, but the building lives
on, still trading traditional tipples as it did when it first opened
it doors in the late 19th century.
Today, the new-look Rose of England is definitely
not to be missed whether you know it of old or are new to the city.
But before you step inside, stand across the road
for a few seconds and appreciate the intricacies that Fothergill
incorporated into his original design in what is a truly magnificent
building.
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