While Nottingham may be known for its unusual Fothergill architecture which is dotted across the city and beyond, there are plenty of other unique features you can find if you look hard enough. Nottingham has a collection of tiled entrances and alleys which are often hidden out of view or that we don't notice as we walk by.
They may not always be in the most glamourous of places such as side alleys or corridors but it's a nod to the hidden history of the buildings we recognise today. The tiles are often due to breweries or factories that existed previously and they are usually attached to listed buildings in an effort to preserve them.
Here are some of the places where you can find these tiles.
Our tiled pubs
An easy place to start a tile trail is with our Victorian or Edwardian pubs across the city centre. The pubs are instantly recognisable by the stunning tile work on the outside of the buildings in an array of colours which are usually linked to the breweries they were owned by.
This includes the Running Horse Pub on Alfreton Road and there is also the White Horse cafe which is a former Shipstones pub on Ilkeston Road. There is also a section of green tile on the entrance to Bar Eleven in Goose Gate.
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The tiles in the entrance to Art File on Weekday Cross
The Art File card design company can be found on Weekday Cross near Nottingham Contemporary. While the offices are well preserved and have retained a lot of their period features, the tiles in the corridor leading to the front door are stunning.
The area that it is in was once the marketplace for Nottingham in the days before the Norman Conquest in 1066. It had its own church where St Mary's now stands but parts of what became known as the market area were demolished when the railway was built in 1900.
It is difficult to say what the original building may have been when the tiles were added.
Tiles in the alley on Market Street
Strangely, tucked down a side street off Market Square, there are some very decorative tiles on either side. The street has seen a lot of change over the decades so it's impossible to know when they were first added to the walls. However, it was once recognised as the Market Street entrance for Yates Wine Lodge in the 1980s but it is now Slug and Lettuce.
Its off-licence on Market Street sold fine wines and had a basement restaurant that offered silver service - until the 1980s, an elderly trio played piano and violins. Yates Wine Lodge was originally known as the Talbot and opened as a gin palace in 1876. The bar is also mentioned in author Alan Sillitoe's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning novel.
It is a Grade II-listed building and became Yates Wine Lodge in 1929. It was built on the site of another pub which existed in the 16th century known as the Bull's Head.
Tiles in the entrance to Brew Dog
The tiles in the entrance to Brew Dog are about halfway up the walls, including along the staircase in the building which leads up to a closed-off area and downstairs to Bohn's Burgers.
While there is very little available history as to what this building may have been, it is thought to have been a factory more than 100 years ago. Many of the buildings on Broad Street were used for knitting and lace at that time. The building was near to the Knitter's Workshop which spanned from number 26 to number 30 Broad Street. It may have had a similar use.
The Lion Hotel
The former Lion Hotel pub in Clumber Street is now a casino but it still has its beautiful frontage which is complete with green tiles. The old pub was once known as the White Lion Inn and was established in 1684.
It once housed the Duke of Cumberland, brother of King George III when he came to Nottingham. In what is now considered a barbaric practice, but was a popular sport of the time, cock fighting was once held at the hotel. In 1763, there were big matches held between Nottingham and London in the hotel.
It was a coaching inn where travellers would give their horses a break between the long journey from York to London. There were many across the city centre including the George and Flying Horse Hotel.
In more recent times, it was known for being a busy lunchtime bar where the women behind the bar would make large cheese cobs for customers.
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