September 2026: For our September meeting, a group of us had a guided tour of the Nottingham Council House.  Our guides were three honorary aldermen of the City – one had been Lord Mayor a few years ago. Most people know the external view of the Council House, however, fewer have visited the interior.  Designed by T C Howitt in the late 1920s, it was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1929 – the key is on display in the foyer.  Since the Council offices relocated to Loxley House in 2010, the building is no longer used for regular… Read More

August 2026: Twenty members of the group had a conducted tour of the Mary Potter Heritage Centre located in Regent Street, Nottingham. Mary Potter is a name known to many for a health centre in Hyson Green. The museum brings the name to life with her history and many artifacts from her life. Born in South London in 1847, Mary was the fifth child of a devout Roman Catholic mother and a father who deserted his family soon after her birth. She and her four brothers were brought up in a single parent family and, although she suffered from heart… Read More

July 2026 A group of us visited the village of Clifton cum Glapton, which was swallowed up by the Clifton housing estate in the 1950s, for a guided walk with Graham Woodward, local historian and Chair of Nottingham Civic Society. The original villages can be seen on the section of an Ordnance Survey map obtained from Colwick Local History library. Starting on the green we were given a brief history of the landowners starting from the Norman Conquest. There was a huge dovecote which provided fresh meat to the Hall. We then passed the old school (now village hall) and… Read More

June 2026 A sunny morning in June saw a group of local historians guided round the Arboretum by Kevin Powell. The Arboretum was created in 1845, along with several other Nottingham parks, following the Enclosure Acts. The first part of the 19th Century had seen a huge growth in the population, however, there had been no growth in the built up area so conditions had become horrific, leading to various uprisings and riots. The provision of the Arboretum was intended to give residents a pleasant place to exercise with trees and flowerbeds. In addition there was a pond, band stand… Read More

May 2026 Nottingham Forest Football Club, formed in 1865 by a group of shinty players, the club adopted the distinctive Garibaldi Red colour for which they are well known. In 1898 the club moved to the City Ground where they remain today. We were greeted outside the ground by our guide and given souvenir lanyards with passes then taken inside. The tour started with a short talk then a walk down their history corridor where wall posters provided a timeline of the clubs achievements. The stands were the next place on our tour where we had a full view of… Read More

March 2026 At our March meeting, Robert Mee gave us an interesting talk on Almshouses. He started with the history of almshouses as a form of social housing dating from Roman times. Many were attached to monastic sites and were called hospitals – not for the sick but for the poor and homeless as well as pilgrims and travellers. With the spread of leprosy during the Crusades, a form of home called a Lazar (after St Lazarus) developed. In addition there were Bede Houses, usually endowed by wealthy patrons and including a priest to pray for the benefactors. With the… Read More