Thoughts from our Director

Listen to our Facebook interview in which Hugh White - Director of Sport and Culture give his thoughts on the transformation and what the HLF funding means to the project.

Walkthrough

From the new tunnel door entrance down to the caves and Brewhouse Yard...

Have a look at the latest walkthrough of how the site will look after the transformation.

This walkthrough was created by Casson Mann

Funding decision in the news

Here are a few of the many pieces of local media coverage on the great news...

Notts TV - Nottingham Castle will get almost £14m to turn it into a modern tourist attraction of international interest and ‘make it more than a day trip’

ITV - Nottingham Castle gets £13.9m from Heritage Lottery Fund

Nottingham Post - Unexplored caves to be opened at revamped Castle

Heritage Lottery Fund - An abundance of merriment is announced at Nottingham Castle 

Object of the Month - The Undercliff by Richard Parkes Bonington

What is it?

A watercolour painting 'The Undercliff' from our collection of works by Nottingham born artist Richard Parkes Bonington is the selection for this month.

Why is it significant?

Richard Parkes Bonington is considered to be a major figure in the history of English watercolour painting, his works are owned by significant galleries such as the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Tell me more

Born in Arnold in 1802 Richard moved to France with his parents when he was 14. He studied art in Calais and Paris, at the exhibition of the French Academy of Fine Arts held at the Louvre in 1824 he received a gold medal for his work. One of his fellow medal recipients was John Constable.

Tragically Richard died of TB in 1828, one month short of his 26th birthday. The Undercliff is his final painting and has a poignant inscription on the back;

 “August 6 and 7 1828. The last drawing made by our son about prior to his fatal dissolution. Never to be parted with. E Bonington.”

It is suggested by some that the crouched figure by the artist’s signature on the painting may be Bonington himself.

In our opinion

"We want the new displays at the Castle to highlight some of Nottingham’s historical ‘art stars’ and Bonington is one of the most important European artists of the early nineteenth century. He’s crucial to our understanding of French and British Romanticism - a movement in which artists including Turner and writers such as the poet Lord Byron were inspired by a new interest in the natural world, human psychology and the expression of personal feelings. In Bonington’s work, this is expressed through his mastery of colour, light and sparkling atmospherics and The Undercliff - a lively watercolour of chalk cliffs near Dieppe - is a fine example. Sunlight glances off the cliff-tops amidst fast-moving clouds; huddled figures with rowing boats and pack mules gather on the beach below, where a figure points out across the blustery sea to the distant sails of approaching ships. It’s been suggested that, in such a secluded cove, the figures can only be smugglers, which heightens the sense of drama." - Deborah Dean, Visual Arts Collections & Exhibitions Manager

The Undercliff will feature in the new Art as Inspiration gallery currently being designed by exhibition designers Casson Mann.

Lace visit to Calais

An historic first, as the Lord Mayor of Nottingham visits Calais, almost 200 years after the smugglers helped the French city to establish a rival lace industry to Nottingham’s.

The group is pictured Outside Calais Town Hall in front of ‘The Burghers of Calais’ statue by Rodin 1895: (l-R) Ann Inscker (Curator of Archaeology and Industry), Councillor Laurent Roussel (Calaisien district), Lord Mayor of Nottingham Cllr Mohammed Saghir, Kristina Howell (President of the British Association Cote d’Opale).

Almost two centuries after the father of local Arnold artist Richard Parkes Bonington, established a lace factory in Calais based on smuggled machine parts, the Lord Mayor - Mohammed Saghir visited Calais in order to encourage the development of strong ties between the two cities and their shared history, with respect to the manufacture of lace.

As part of the itinerary, the party took a tour of the famous Desseilles Laces lace factory, where the top end Leavers lace is still produced on 150 year old machines by Jardines of Nottingham and Wallis and Longden of Long Eaton.

The Lord Mayor, Mohammed Saghir said: "We look forward to progressing a twinning opportunity between the two cities and to working closely with Laurent Roussel’s district and my own Leen Valley ward."

Curator of Archaeology and Industry, Ann Inscker said: "The lace museum and factory visits were both truly wonderful sources of inspiration for our newly commenced Designation Funding lace project and our projected new lace gallery at Nottingham Castle. Hopefully there will be many collaborations between the two cities to come."

If you would like to be kept up to date on the Designation funding lace project, please email ann.inscker@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Christmas starts here!

It's only just approaching December but our Castle advent calendar will get you into the Christmas spirit.
 

It's full of Castle related facts, quirky tales and pics as well as the chance to win some fun prizes.

We'll pop it on social media and the website too so keep an eye out!