In what I’m planning to be a continuing exploration of Nottingham’s architecture, one day in March I decided to walk around some of the suburbs of Nottingham, taking pictures of any old buildings that caught my eye and when I got home did a bit of research to see if any had a particularly interesting story. Most did, and I learnt a lot of interesting facts about buildings I’ve passed but never given much thought to before.
Above is St Matthias’ Church, a Grade II listed building. The main gate is padlocked and the building is inaccessible from the front. The church seems to have ceased use as an Anglican church in 2003, later being taken over by the Coptic Orthodox Church in 2006; its full name now appears to be St Mary and St George’s Coptic Orthodox Church. I’m a little unsure if services are still held there.
The Church was built in 1868 and damaged in 1941 by a German incendiary bomb; it was only saved from total destruction because the vicar at the time happened to be a part-time air warden.
St Alban’s Church, below, was built in 1886 and is another church that was padlocked closed when I visited. It’s hard to tell if it’s still in use but in 2003 it was sold by the Anglican Church and is now part of the Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians and dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour and St Alban’s.
Below is what is known as Cullen’s Court or Cullen’s Almshouses. The accompanying plaque (on the side of the building) indicates they were both built as almshouses by the Cullen sisters, Marianne and Elizabeth in memory of their brother James in 1882. A quick check with the charity commission confirms that Miss Cullen’s Almshouses Charity is still providing low-cost housing to those in need, just as the sisters wanted.
Nottingham has plenty of hidden gems such as these, so it always pays to look around at your surroundings as you never know what historic building may appear.
Photos of Nottingham in general can be found here.