(Exploring abandoned Nottingham and other derelict places in the surrounding area)
Famous for lace, bikes and its temperamental sheriff, Nottingham is one of the UK’s great Midlands cities. Situated amid the English countryside 30 miles south of Sheffield, it takes in two large universities, pleasant suburbs, and so many important literary sites that the city has been named one of UNESCO’s 20 worldwide cities of literature.
But not everything in modern Nottingham is bustle and life. Scattered across the city are empty mills, forgotten tunnels and abandoned tower blocks. Like invisible ghosts, they haunt the darker crevices of the city; reminders of a past that has steadily vanished. Here are 10 abandoned places in Nottingham and its surrounding area.
Abandoned Railway Tunnels of Nottingham
(Images: Kevin Frost; the abandoned Nottingham Mapperley Tunnel)
Many moons ago, the great railway companies operating in the Midlands decided to extend their Nottingham operations underground. To avoid the hassle of running trains over substantial hills, the companies dug deep below the city, leaving a warren-like maze of tunnels stretching endlessly out.
Although most of these lines would close down over the course of the 20th century, not all of the tunnels were filled in. Even now, many of them continue to lurk beneath the surface – a subterranean underworld hidden deep beneath the city.
(Images: Alan Murray-Rust; Lorisarvendu; Tunnel in the Park & Weekday Cross)
While many of the abandoned Nottingham tunnels were sealed off with concrete or earth mounds, some remain accessible. One example is Mapperley Tunnel. Situated amid gloomy scrubland, its entrance yawns open, as if inviting passers-by into its hungry maw. Overgrown, graffiti-covered and likely dangerous, it offers a haunting glimpse into the tunnels that criss-cross subterranean Nottingham, largely invisible to those living on the surface.
Abandoned Radford Mill
(Images: Google Street View; Nottingham’s abandoned Radford Mill)
A grand, redbrick edifice sprawling across the skyline, Radford Mill was once something of a local landmark. Constructed in the 19th century, it once provided employment to hundreds of Nottingham residents, making it an integral part of the community. Finally closed down in the late 20th century, the Victorian mill quick decayed into a spooky ruin.
Urban explorers who visited were confronted with great, rusting machinery, dark and dingy basements, and creepy tunnels that led to nowhere. Graffiti sprawled out across the walls. Chunks of plaster peeled off the ceilings. In the last years of its life, the abandoned Nottingham mill looked like the sort of place you might set a horror movie.
Despite all this, the industrial building was still considered by English Heritage for listed status. In 2008, the organization ran a spot check, but ultimately concluded the Radford Mill wasn’t worth saving. The ruined mill was partially pulled down and transformed into flats, starting in 2012. Today, few traces of the original mill remain.
Abandoned Georgian House on Pilcher Gate
(Images: Google Street View; abandoned mansion on Pilcher Gate, Nottingham)
Not so very long ago, Nottingham was considered the lace capital of the world. From this one East Midlands city, lace was exported around the globe, seriously boosting the affluence of local merchants. For those at the top of the industrial ladder, lace profits turned into grand, Georgian mansions. One impressive example of this was 41 Pilcher Gate.
Built around the turn of the 17th century, the Grade II listed house now has all sorts of pedigree. It’s the last surviving mansion in the old lace area, and possibly one of the oldest Nottingham residences still in existence. Originally owned by the Sherwin family, it was later converted into a warehouse, accounting for its modern lack of ornamentation. Closed down when lace ceased to be Nottingham’s stock-in-trade, it has since stood empty; forgotten and largely unloved.
Since then, 41 Pilcher Gate has collapsed into a shocking state of disrepair, as can been seen in the photos. While plans have been afoot to either demolish or convert this abandoned Nottingham landmark since at least 2008, Google Streetview’s record from October 2015 revealed it to be still standing empty. Here’s to hoping this historic home finds a caring owner.
Burrows Court Tower Block, Sneinton
(Images: Google Street View; Bing Maps)
Landmark or eyesore? That’s the debate that’s been raging around the vast Burrows Court tower block since it was built in 1967. Soaring 19 storeys into the sky, the high-rise can be seen from across the city; like a sentry watching citizens’ every move. Closed to residents in 2005, it has stood empty ever since, despite numerous council attempts to sell it.
Inside the abandoned Nottingham tower block, it’s easy to see why potential buyers might not be too keen. The block looks like ground zero for an apocalyptic breakdown of society, the sort of collapse in civilization JG Ballard might envisage. Everything lies in utter ruin. Dark warnings have been scrawled on the walls. Windows are smashed, apartments looted and devastation reigns supreme. Water damage has eaten through walls. If you were magically transported there, you’d be forgiven for thinking you had appeared in the dark depths of some high-rise slum.
Supposedly, the ruined block is haunted. As recently as January 2016, spooky lights were photographed shining from the building’s windows. Ghosts? Aliens? Urban explorers? Who knows?
RAF Newton: Abandoned Nottinghamshire Airfield
(Images: Alan Murray-Rust (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6); Martin Jones; Richard Croft)
Less an abandoned RAF airfield and more like an entire depopulated town, RAF Newton is one of the largest abandoned sites in the whole of Nottinghamshire. Constructed in the dark days of the Second World War, Newton was instrumental in the Battle of France, before becoming a training school for British and Polish units. Handed over to Technical Training Command in the aftermath of VE Day, it spent the rest of the 20th century in various guises before finally closing for good not long after the millennium.
In the aftermath of its abandonment, the entire base took on a haunting, post-apocalyptic vibe. Alongside the empty technical buildings, all the on-base housing was left to go to ruin. As a result, wandering the site could take you from an empty street, to a devastated military airfield, to a child’s bedroom still complete with moth-eaten toys, and back again. Surrounded by empty countryside, it really did feel like you could be walking around the end of the world.
Today, much of the site has been converted into housing or an industrial estate. Nonetheless, a handful of empty buildings still remain, reminders of the men and women who were once stationed at the abandoned Nottinghamshire base.
Abandoned Nottingham Canal
(Images: Stephen McKay; Tina Cordon; John Sutton; the abandoned Nottingham Canal)
Before the industrial revolution dragged it screaming into the future, Britain was a nation of canals. Waterways criss-crossed the entire country, bringing trade and free movement of people. While many remain in active use today, just as many have since been shut down and closed off to boats. Such is the case with the abandoned Nottingham Canal.
Opened in 1796, the canal once ran all the way to Langley Mill in Derbyshire, a distance of nearly 15 miles. Sadly, it came into operation just as canals were starting to become a thing of the past. By 1813, side branches had already been closed to reduce costs. Although the canal itself limped along for some years yet, by 1840 it was clear it was losing money. By the mid-19th century, terminal decline set in. When the canal finally closed for good in 1937, it hadn’t seen much profit for decades.
Today, part of the abandoned Nottingham Canal has been subsumed into the River Trent Navigation, while the rest of it is a local nature reserve.
Clipstone Colliery, Nottinghamshire
(Image: Dave Bevis)
A tiny village in north Nottinghamshire, Clipstone was once a settlement that ran on coal. Clipstone colliery provided employment to nearly everyone in the area, and the entire pit village was overseen by the towering headstocks of the mine. Briefly closed in 1993, only to reopen the following year, it was finally closed for good in 2003. Ever since, the grand old, Grade II listed buildings of the abandoned Nottinghamshire colliery have stood empty.
Unsurprisingly, like other derelict collieries and mines, the old headstocks building has become something of a local landmark. With its low, redbrick buildings and vast metal towers, it’s a perfect example of haunting industrial architecture. Seen on a grey day under leaden skies, it almost looks like it belongs on another world. Currently, the government is trying to figure out what to do with the disused building. It may be that 2016 is the year this remarkable abandonment is finally torn down.
Abandoned St Mary’s Church, Colston Bassett
(Images: David Skinner)
A tiny village in southeast Nottinghamshire, Colston Bassett is mainly famous for its creamy Stilton cheeses. However, it is also home to a haunting abandonment. The ruins of St Mary’s Church are about as windswept as they come in this part of the UK.
Once the focal point of this picturesque village, St Mary’s long ago fell into disuse. Perhaps considered ill-suited to the area’s tiny population, its grand halls were sealed off, its heavy doors closed for good. Then, over the next few decades, the church gradually fell into ruin. Windows were removed or smashed. The roof collapsed. The doors disappeared, the walls fell in and eventually St Mary’s began to look less like a viable church than a faded memory of one.
Today, nearly the entire interior is exposed to the elements. It may not have been cared for much in life, but in death the abandoned Nottinghamshire church has become a local icon.
Abandoned Northern Baths on Vernon Road, Nottingham
(Images: Google Street View; abandoned Nottingham baths repurposed as church)
An unassuming, redbrick structure squatting alongside Vernon Road, the Northern Baths were once just another example of Nottingham’s many bathing houses. Only a few decades ago, the city was had many such spaces; many built in the Victorian or Edwardian eras. Used by locals, visitors and the military alike, they provided some much-cherished communal space in this large city.
Sadly, none have survived the passage of time. Despite protests by community groups and petitions to the local council, one by one all the old baths fell. Vernon Road’s Northern Baths were the first to shut, in the late 1990s, with Noel Street Baths being the last, in 2010. With each closure, it seemed like the death of an entire era. Although many other, newer pools opened up in their wake, these abandoned Nottingham swimming pools – including the Northern Baths – appear to have gone forever. Recent signage suggests this building is now in use as a church.
The ‘A1 Lightning’ at Balderton
(Image: Trevor Bashford; XN728, the iconic ‘A1 Lightning’)
Until 2011, if you just so happened to drive along the A1 near the sleepy village of Balderton, you might have come across an unusual local landmark. An old English Electric Lightning fighter jet had been propped up on the roadside, its nose pointing dramatically into the sky in a take-off pose. First installed in the yard in 1983, it remained there right up until the owners scrapped it in 2011.
Known by numerous passersby as the ‘A1 Lightning’, the disused jet became something of a local icon. Aviation enthusiasts would drive out of their way specifically to see it. Although it quickly attracted a covering of graffiti, the jet remained a highlight of the area, beloved by many. As the yard changed hands, it went through periods of abandonment, but always found itself under new ownership, a kooky bonus for those interested in buying up the land.
(Image: XS420.com; saved: the cockpit section of Lightning F2A XS728)
Sadly, not everyone saw it this way. In 2011, the A1 Lightning was finally scrapped, despite multiple attempts by enthusiasts to buy it. Yet all was not lost. It emerged that someone had rescued the gutted cockpit section of Lightning XN728, a rare F2A model, and was now in the process of lovingly restoring it.
Related – Explore 10 Abandoned Places in Leeds, West Yorkshire
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