Nottingham City Council has designated 33 parts of the city as conservation areas because of their architectural or historic interest.
The status is used to protect places where the character of streets, buildings, open spaces or historic layouts is considered important. In conservation areas, certain building works, alterations or demolitions may need specific consent, and new development is expected to preserve or enhance the character of the area.
Some of Nottingham’s conservation areas are well known, including Wollaton Park, Nottingham Station, Nottingham Castle and The Park estate.
Others are less obvious. The city’s protected areas include former hospital sites, suburban estates, industrial streets, market areas and residential neighbourhoods whose historic character has survived despite later changes.
Here are some of the city’s less obvious conservation areas.
Bulwell
Bulwell is one of Nottingham’s oldest settlements, with origins dating back to around 800 AD.
Its market, still held in the centre on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, has taken place in the same area for around 1,000 years.
Once a village before developing into a town, Bulwell retains a number of 19th-century buildings at its centre, some of them built from local magnesium limestone, now known as Bulwell Stone.
The conservation area includes the Market Place and surrounding buildings, as well as Bulwell Bogs park, which contains two Grade II-listed bridges over the River Leen, and the Riverside building to the south.
To the north, the area extends as far as Carey Road, taking in buildings including St Mary’s Primary School, the house at 202 Main Street, the former Methodist Church and three historic pubs — the Three Crowns, the Scots Grey and the Framesmith’s Arms.
To the west, parts of Thames Street and Mersey Street off Commercial Road are included. This was once a busy shopping area and includes Strelley House, a purpose-built school dated 1667, along with terraced housing.
To the east, the trees around Bulwell Stone Church Tower and the churchyard of St Mary’s, along with buildings including the former town hall and library, form part of the protected area.
Gamble Street and Alfreton Road
A section of Alfreton Road is also protected as a conservation area, despite the street now being better known for shops, takeaways and other modern uses.
The conservation area stretches from near Canning Circus at Portland Road to just beyond Peveril Street. It also includes Newdigate Street, Gamble Street, Thoroton Street, much of Russell Street and Exhibition Street.
The area contains a number of Victorian and early 20th-century buildings, including former factories once used for lacemaking.
Nottingham City Council says the dense layout contributes to a strong historic character, with the area retaining a cohesive identity despite some modern changes.
Hine Hall
Hine Hall is located at the end of Ransom Drive, off Ransom Road in St Ann’s, next to Wells Academy.
The building was formerly the Coppice Hospital, a Victorian mental asylum. It has since been converted into 83 apartments.
The four-storey red-brick building is described by Nottingham City Council as being of significant architectural quality, with its historic landscape setting also considered important.
Its position on the edge of a hill means the building is visible from a distance, while the gardens to the rear offer views across the city, the Trent Valley and beyond.
Mapperley Hospital — Duncan Macmillan House
Duncan Macmillan House, off Porchester Road, is another former hospital site with conservation area status.
The building was previously known as Mapperley Hospital and the Borough Lunatic Asylum. Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been in the process of selling the site.
The Victorian buildings and landscaped grounds form a major part of the area’s character. Part of the former hospital complex is no longer used by the NHS and has been converted into apartments.
Wollaton Park estate
The streets between Middleton Boulevard and Wollaton Park were laid out in crescents and built with influences from the garden city movement, including places such as Letchworth and Welwyn.
The area is now home to a mix of families, older residents and students, but was originally developed for working-class housing after the city council bought Wollaton Park in 1924.
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The distinctive white bungalows are known as Crane Houses, named after William Crane, Nottingham’s housing committee chairman at the time.
They were built using conventional methods and traditional materials including brick and clay tiles.
Sherwood Rise
Sherwood Rise is now known in part for houses in multiple occupation, but the area was historically associated with Nottingham’s middle-class expansion.
Streets such as Vivian Avenue and Berridge Road contain Victorian and Edwardian architecture, including three-storey buildings, decorative brickwork and properties with long gardens.
The Grade II-listed Norris Almshouses on Berridge Road are a row of eight one-bedroom homes designed by Fothergill Watson.
The conservation area also includes several former villas. It stretches up to Ebury Road, includes First Avenue and Second Avenue to the west, and extends towards Hucknall Road to the east.
Sneinton Market
Sneinton Market is now associated with independent businesses and creative uses, but its conservation area status reflects an earlier stage in the city’s development.
The buildings lining the market’s avenues were built in the 1930s. The lanes themselves were once residential streets, with houses on either side and their own street names before they became the lettered avenues seen today.
The conservation area also includes nearby historic spaces and buildings such as St Mary’s Rest Garden, Victoria Park, the promenade behind it with its painted houses, and the William Bancroft Building on the corner of Roden Street and Robin Hood Street.
Star Buildings
The Star Buildings conservation area in Basford covers a triangular corridor of industrial heritage from Gladstone Street to the point where Eland Street meets Radford Road.
The area remains industrial in character, but some of its earliest surviving buildings date from the mid-Victorian period. These include terraced homes and the Lion and Raven pubs.
The Shipstone’s Brewery building, built in 1929, remains one of the area’s dominant landmarks.
Although later industrial development has altered parts of the area, a number of important historic buildings survive.
The Cedars
The Cedars is a small private estate just off Mansfield Road, opposite Woodthorpe Tennis Club.
The cul-de-sac forms a small conservation area centred on two large houses built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The buildings are now mainly apartments marketed towards over-55s. At least one of them was previously used as a 20-bed hospital ward connected to Nottingham General Hospital.
The mature trees and spacious layout are among the features contributing to the area’s character.
Wilford House
Wilford House stands on the corner of the B679, close to the route into West Bridgford and Ruddington Lane.
The large red-brick building was built in 1781 and forms the focal point of a conservation area extending to streets including Wilberforce Road, Deane Road and Wakefield Close behind it.
The designation also includes parts of the former Wilford Farm on the other side of Clifton Lane.
The area’s character is shaped by its architecture, historic associations and riverside setting.
The rest of Nottingham City Council’s conservation areas are:
Arboretum
Basford Hall
The Canal
Canning Circus
The Castle
Clifton Village
Elm Avenue-Corporation Oaks
Forest Grove
Lace Market
Mapperley Park and Alexandra Park
New Lenton
Old Lenton
Old Market Square
Old Meadows
Old Sneinton
The Station
Strelley
The Park
Waterloo Promenade
Wellington Circus
Wilford Village
Wollaton Park
Wollaton Village
