vandalism « Views of Nottingham

Nottingham Castle’s Flag Stolen

September 5, 2008 at 6:24 pm | In Buildings, News | Leave a Comment
Tags: flag, nottingham castle, vandalism

The Union Jack at a famous Nottingham landmark has been stolen and the flagpole damaged.

Nottingham Castle staff have appealed for information about the theft and vandalism on the landmark’s South Terrace.

The damage to the pulley system of the pole means that no flag will fly in the grounds for the near future, general manager Dave Green said.

He described it as an “immense disappointment”.

BBC NEWS | England | Nottinghamshire | Castle flag is stolen by vandals.

Nottingham Castle is no stranger to vandalism. The original medieval castle, built by William The Conqueror in 1067, was used by Charles I during the English Civil War and was demolished after his execution to prevent it being used for such a purpose again.

In 1831 the new castle was attacked by a mob who were angry at the Duke of Newcastle’s opposition to parliamentary reform. The castle was set on fire and gutted. It remained derelict for 45 years until it was converted into a museum and art gallery in 1875 – the first municipal art gallery outside London.

This time, of course, it’s just mindless knuckle-draggers having a bit of a laugh (huh, huh, huh).

The Montague Burton Heads

August 23, 2008 at 10:50 pm | In Oddities and Oddments | 1 Comment
Tags: broad marsh, montague burton, Sculpture, vandalism

Pillar of Famous Faces

This pillar with sculptures of the faces of famous historical figures is the primary inspiration behind The Views of Nottingham.

I discovered it while exploring around the Broad Marsh Bus Station. It’s situated in an out of the way place that is primarily designed for kids to play on their skateboards and bikes and to spray the walls with graffiti.

When I first found it I was a bit freaked out. It just seemed to be a rather bizarre thing to be in that out-of-the way location – particularly as none of the people have any connection with Nottingham that I’m aware of. All I could guess is that it was a contemporary construction incorporating sculptures from a demolished building.

I took some photos, posted them on flickr and asked in the Nottingham, UK group if anyone could supply any more information. In short order PeteZab responded, pointing me to the Nottingham21 page on the Montague Burton Heads.

It turned out that my assumptions were correct and the heads came from the Montague Burton store which was demolished when the Broad Marsh area was redeveloped.

This experience made me realise that, despite living in Nottingham for the best part of forty years, there is still lots of things I don’t know about the place and plenty of surprises to be found.

The faces depicted on the pillar (with links to photos on Flickr) are:

William Shakespeare – Playwright
Robert Burns – Poet
General James Wolfe British Army Officer
Cecil Rhodes – founded the De Beers diamond company and the African state of Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe)
The Duke of Wellington – General during the Napoleonic Wars
Horatio Nelson – Navel Officer
Dr David Livingstone – Explorer
Captain James Cook – Explorer
Sir Joshua Reynolds – Artist
Isaac Newton – Scientist