Beauty In Mundanity: Top Beauty Spots in Notts

Impact’s Fatima Bobboyi takes us on a tour around Nottingham, revealing some of the hidden gems outside of the city’s typical beauty spots.

I must admit, now that results are out, taking a module on Art and Architecture in Nottingham was, perhaps, not my greatest idea ever. Regardless of my grade, however, I am proud of the leap I made to take this module and all the things I learnt along the way. Notably, I gained insider information about the many places in Nottingham possessing beautiful art and captivating architecture in their features.

I fell in love with this clock tower before I’d even set foot inside it, and long before I knew it was carved from precious ‘wHiTE liMeStONe’. Made of Portland stone and Copper roofs, this historic site was the first constructed University of Nottingham building after its establishment in 1928. My favourite thing to do here has quickly become spotting some of the original fittings, which my lecturer said are largely intact. Stained glass had never intrigued me until I set eyes on the intricate panels within the walls of Saint Mary’s Church. I loved that with every panel, there was a story; both a piece of the craftsmanship and a record of the past. This breathtaking structure is the largest medieval building in the city and is located in the historic Lace Market.

I never thought I would find myself studying maps and site reports of a garden constructed the year I was born. I definitely never expected to enjoy it either, but the Millennium Garden in University Park enthralled me with its ‘Day to Night’ colour theme and charmed me with its mazes, pools and hedges.

Learning the history and understanding the functions of places and spaces makes you appreciate them differently. I had seen Nottingham Council House and Old Market Square so many times, but my first visit here after finally reading up on their histories gave me a different perspective. My newfound knowledge had me telling everyone that cared to listen about the two Sandstone Lion Sculptures on the left and right of the council house, who were named Menelaus and Agamemnon (from Greek Mythology), with the left Lion acting as a symbolic meeting place ‘back in the day’. Even without the history and stories, the murals, the domes and the beautiful, magnificent pillars in the 200-foot tall, 92-year-old Council house, it is still a magnificent sight that is definitely bound to leave every aesthete fascinated. Even though I have never been to Highfields Park, I have heard so much about this exotic space. As my inventory of places to visit in Nottingham expands, I must add Highfields Park to this list, alongside other magical locations like Newstead Abbey, which lies only 30 minutes from the City Centre. On this list is also the architectural wonder that is the Grade I listed Boots D10 pharmaceutical building (often viewed as “the most significant icon of British Modernism”) completed in 1935. Also, the monumental Arboretum and Memorial Garden must both be recognised.

This list could not be complete without the mention of some vibrant art galleries and establishments, such as Nottingham Contemporary and New Art Exchange. I would like you to know, however, that the most beautiful sights, sounds and spaces I have experienced in Nottingham appeared in the most unusual yet mundane locations: street murals, shop windows, the voices, the sky, all the landscapes and lakes. We would all do well to note, in fact, that if we set out to be amazed by the most simple -yet extraordinary- things around us, we wouldn’t need a list to remind us of the beauty in our lives.

By Fatima Bobboyi Illustrations by Gemma Cockrell Page Design by Chiara Crompton Photograph by Ewan Vernon