Report - Nottingham Guildhall and Police Station, March 2024

[crusader]

Good evening everybody.

I visited here with @blueprint507 and it's been my first explore in a while. Good to get to a new place and meet a fellow explorer.

As you can see from the photos the place has deteriorated more over time....



Nottingham Guildhall was built in 1887 to 1888 to replace the previous Nottingham Guild Hall on Weekday Cross. Following a competition with Alfred Waterhouse as the judge, the French Renaissance Revival design by the architects Thomas Verity and George Henry Hunt was chosen.

Gabbutts of Liverpool were chosen as contractors much to the annoyance of local building companies. The initial estimate for the building was £128,416 (equivalent to £13,759,981 in 2021), and immediately the council asked Verity and Hunt to simplify the design. The building closed in 2010 when it all moved to Loxley House.


Remaining inside is the vandalised remains of a smorgasbord of different public sector services, all with their signs thrown left, right and centre. I've tried to cover the place best as possible in the dark using a cheap but undrainable Maglite so photos aren't the best- enjoy.

A couple of historic photos:
(From picturenottingham.co.uk hence the watermark. I do not own these)

The outside, taken around 1897.

"City of Nottingham boundary extension enquiry, The Guildhall, Burton Street, Nottingham, 1920" - again from picturenottingham.co.uk

Anyway, back to 2024. A photo of the underground bits which I'm not sure have been covered yet... it's an old air raid shelter with catacombs.

And a staircase leading further down into them! This place was bit of a labyrinth, no minotaur luckily.

A little bit of comic relief I suppose?

Discovered the attic at the top- loads of random paperwork dating back from all over the 20th Century.

The roof, taken from an attic window (didn't go on the roof for obvious reasons)

Nice staircase, right?

And the courtroom of course. @blueprint507 "Will the defendant please enter the courtroom?"

Apologies for all the shadows, courtrooms were dark and flickering.
One of the cell doors.

Quick one of the courtyard:

I don't think Henry Enfield would approve of the state of the building!
('Henry Enfield was Town Clerk from 1815-45. Listed in Pigot & Co Directory for Nottingham,1830, as Town Clerk, Clerk of the Peace and Town Treasurer.')

No wonder he looks so disappointed.
(Image of Henry Enfield below from 1844, from PictureNottingham.co.uk , credit to the relevant owner )

Thanks all.

 

[The Young One]

What are you taking your photos on?
Or have you had a fiddle around with the settings? Just a question

 

[crusader]

What are you taking your photos on?
Or have you had a fiddle around with the settings? Just a question

Just an ordinary camera, a few years old point and shoot 👍

 

[JaffaTB]

I did this last Sunday, police were outside the gate with one in the car as i walked the perimeter, I found a way in and explored and when i came to get out there was a board over the entry point luckily just rested and not nailed on, missed a lot as i stupidly forgot my torch in the car, very trashed inside now

 

[Kibby]

Place is a bit worse for wear now, I went in about a month ago and had to go in twice since I didn't have the time to cover the entire place in one day and both times I was there I met one or two groups of kids, typical British 13yr olds shouting and smashing stuff. Had a little bit of police around, checking in on me and what I was doing whilst loitering outside the place, but I think they were only there because of the group of kids I'd seen when walking up to the building who were throwing stuff off the roof. Even had a scrapper scare the life out of me in the dark when going round a corner towards the exit, still a fab visit though definitely worth the look around

 

[thegrowlerr]

Visited tonight. Surprised that we were the only ones in there considering how easy it is to access. There were at least 3 ways in to the building. It’s a mess, some of the floors are collapsing, burnt out areas where kids have lit fires in the corners of rooms and the balconies over the court rooms are totally rotten and collapsing. Well worth a visit though. Still plenty to see and it’s really is like trying to navigate a maze. This was my first time exploring any building and I feel like my next ones will be disappointing in comparison.