We had seen the police and fire stations before, but we were in town for a gig with @slayaaaa and drove past this on the way over, so decided to check it out after the show. A little bit of research revealed that the neighboring guildhall was fair game, as well as the other buildings on site. This took some figuring out but it was well worth it in the end. On satellite images it looks much easier than it turned out to be - There are connecting walkways to an office block, which then connects to the old guildhall, but most methods of access had been built over due to the new EON office block that's been slapped into the middle of the historic site, or have been sealed off due to some sections of the building closing before others, etc.
History -
The Guildhall is a former Magistrates Court and was built between 1887 and 1888.
The building was designed by Thomas Verity and George Henry Hunt and built by Garbutts of Liverpool were chosen as building contractors.
Originally the building contained the Magistrates Court, the Central Police Station and New Fire Station. The Police and Fire Stations were later moved to the new Central Police and Fire Stations on the other side of the site, a large 1930's art-deco styled building. With the police services being moved first, and the fire services being integrated further down the timeline.
In 1996, all magistrates were moved out of the guildhall and moved into the new Nottingham Magistrates Court Building, whilst the council used much of the current building for offices. The council left in 2010 for more a more modern building. The guildhall has been vacant since, and has had plans since the 2010's to become a luxury hotel, but it seems all that has happened since is a few surveys.
As a side note - the place has not seen a court hearing since 1996!
Visited with @AndyK
The Guildhall -
Grand entrance hall -
Commemorative plaques -
The two courtrooms are pretty much mirrors of each other, minus a few modern additions.
It seems that a shitty suspended ceiling was added at some point, but in slightly more recent times has been taken down, which is good, but the awful frames are still up there.
Court No. 1 -
Cobwebs!
Court No. 2 -
Cells -
These photos were taken with an alarm blaring in the background, so I tried to make it quick, hence the odd composition of some!
Offices, Corridors, Misc -
The rest of the building just consisted of large empty offices, but some were quite grand as offices go. The place also had some nice corridors.
Where EON Joins:
Grand office space:
Continued Below..
History -
The Guildhall is a former Magistrates Court and was built between 1887 and 1888.
The building was designed by Thomas Verity and George Henry Hunt and built by Garbutts of Liverpool were chosen as building contractors.
Originally the building contained the Magistrates Court, the Central Police Station and New Fire Station. The Police and Fire Stations were later moved to the new Central Police and Fire Stations on the other side of the site, a large 1930's art-deco styled building. With the police services being moved first, and the fire services being integrated further down the timeline.
In 1996, all magistrates were moved out of the guildhall and moved into the new Nottingham Magistrates Court Building, whilst the council used much of the current building for offices. The council left in 2010 for more a more modern building. The guildhall has been vacant since, and has had plans since the 2010's to become a luxury hotel, but it seems all that has happened since is a few surveys.
As a side note - the place has not seen a court hearing since 1996!
Visited with @AndyK
The Guildhall -
Grand entrance hall -
Commemorative plaques -
The two courtrooms are pretty much mirrors of each other, minus a few modern additions.
It seems that a shitty suspended ceiling was added at some point, but in slightly more recent times has been taken down, which is good, but the awful frames are still up there.
Court No. 1 -
Cobwebs!
Court No. 2 -
Cells -
These photos were taken with an alarm blaring in the background, so I tried to make it quick, hence the odd composition of some!
Offices, Corridors, Misc -
The rest of the building just consisted of large empty offices, but some were quite grand as offices go. The place also had some nice corridors.
Where EON Joins:
Grand office space:
Continued Below..
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