DP&P 02.10/EXT/6540

Printed on 80% recycled paper

NewarkArt Deco Trail

This is the sixth in a series of leaflets which are to be published eachEaster and August Bank Holiday. Future topics will include:

Newark Riverside Part 2 and Newark’s Curiosities

This trail was made possible by the following organisations:

Co-authors: George Wilkinson, Bill Davidson and Jeffrey Keays of Newark Civic Trust

Newark Art Deco Trail Distance:1.5 km

(plus optional 1.5 km extension)Time:1

1⁄2(or 2

1⁄4) hours

Start/Finish:at the bronze model of Newarkin the Castle GroundsWheelchair & pushchair friendly

‘Art Deco’ is a label applied to a designstyle that became wildly popular during the1920s and 30s as the world recoveredfrom the horrors of the Great War andendured the Great Depression. The namederives from Paris’s ‘ExpositionInternationale des Arts Decoratifs etIndustriels Modernes’ - originally plannedto take place in 1915 but postponed forobvious reasons until 1925. Inarchitecture, the skyscrapers of New Yorkand great projects such as London’sHoover factory epitomise the style of thetime, with geometrical themesaccompanied by motifs borrowed fromthe classical age and executed in modernmaterials of steel, concrete and glass. Butthe style was also widely used for buildingsof a more modest scale and its popularitycontinues to this day. In Newark’s streets,

alongside medieval and Georgian buildings,may be seen many in the Art Deco styleand others with Art Deco design features ifonly one knows where to look. This trailfollows a familiar route, looking at familiarscenes through ‘Art Deco eyes’.

Start the route at the bronze model ofNewark in the Castle Grounds.

Leave the Castle Grounds via the irongates, then turn right along CastleGate. At the zebra crossing, cross over,turn right and continue along CastleGate.After about 200m, the upper lightsof the large ground floor windows of the‘Feeling Peckish’ (1)restaurant display alocal interpretation of the Art Deco style,

Return to Stodman Street and headtoward the Market Place. On your rightstands the Marks & Spencer (3)building,with its raised and stepped parapetembellished with a ‘sunburst’ – one of themost popular of Art Deco motifs.

Only this main elevation ofthe original 1930s building

remains largely unaltered, andthe Burton shop (4)opposite (of

1934) is also much changed. It retains,however, its own raised and steppedparapet and the 3 central windows of theupper storey display good qualitydecoration, including more sunbursts andstylised papyrus fronds. When originallyopened, and for many years thereafter, thisupper floor accommodated a dance hall.

Continue along Stodman Street andcross the Market Place to reach BridgeStreet. On the left hand side, Bird’sconfectioners’ (5)shop front in Art Decostyle was refurbished in 2008. It retainsmuch of the original black ‘Vitriolite’surround and timber upper screen.

probably by Snaiths glaziers, once of KirkGate. The bold geometric shapes andstrong colours (which appear to have beenadded at a later date) provide aninteresting contrast to the rest of therather bland 18C frontage.

Continue ahead to thecorner of StodmanStreet, turn left andproceed to the junction withMiddle Gate. Turn left andlook for theHalifax Bank (2)on yourleft. The tall triangular window(reminiscent of the Hoover building) andhorizontal stone banding were installedwhen part of the original 18C building wasconverted to a cinema - The Savoy - in1935. At that time cinema, like motoringand flying, was booming and the buildingsassociated with each of those industriesinvariably had an Art Deco theme. TheSavoy operated until 1989, by which timethe window had been replaced in modernmaterials; it was then converted to itspresent use.

1

This trail explores many

of the town’s most

interesting Art Deco

buildings and features

235

4

DP&P 02.10/EXT/6540

Printed on 80% recycled paper

NewarkArt Deco Trail

This is the sixth in a series of leaflets which are to be published eachEaster and August Bank Holiday. Future topics will include:

Newark Riverside Part 2 and Newark’s Curiosities

This trail was made possible by the following organisations:

Co-authors: George Wilkinson, Bill Davidson and Jeffrey Keays of Newark Civic Trust

Newark Art Deco Trail Distance: 1.5 km

(plus optional 1.5 km extension)Time: 11⁄2 (or 21⁄4) hours

Start/Finish: at the bronze model of Newarkin the Castle GroundsWheelchair & pushchair friendly

‘Art Deco’ is a label applied to a designstyle that became wildly popular during the1920s and 30s as the world recoveredfrom the horrors of the Great War andendured the Great Depression. The namederives from Paris’s ‘ExpositionInternationale des Arts Decoratifs etIndustriels Modernes’ - originally plannedto take place in 1915 but postponed forobvious reasons until 1925. Inarchitecture, the skyscrapers of New Yorkand great projects such as London’sHoover factory epitomise the style of thetime, with geometrical themesaccompanied by motifs borrowed fromthe classical age and executed in modernmaterials of steel, concrete and glass. Butthe style was also widely used for buildingsof a more modest scale and its popularitycontinues to this day. In Newark’s streets,

alongside medieval and Georgian buildings,may be seen many in the Art Deco styleand others with Art Deco design features ifonly one knows where to look. This trailfollows a familiar route, looking at familiarscenes through ‘Art Deco eyes’.

Start the route at the bronze model ofNewark in the Castle Grounds.

Leave the Castle Grounds via the irongates, then turn right along CastleGate. At the zebra crossing, cross over,turn right and continue along CastleGate. After about 200m, the upper lightsof the large ground floor windows of the‘Feeling Peckish’ (1) restaurant display alocal interpretation of the Art Deco style,

Return to Stodman Street and headtoward the Market Place. On your rightstands the Marks & Spencer (3) building,with its raised and stepped parapetembellished with a ‘sunburst’ – one of themost popular of Art Deco motifs.

Only this main elevation ofthe original 1930s building

remains largely unaltered, andthe Burton shop (4) opposite (of

1934) is also much changed. It retains,however, its own raised and steppedparapet and the 3 central windows of theupper storey display good qualitydecoration, including more sunbursts andstylised papyrus fronds. When originallyopened, and for many years thereafter, thisupper floor accommodated a dance hall.

Continue along Stodman Street andcross the Market Place to reach BridgeStreet. On the left hand side, Bird’sconfectioners’ (5) shop front in Art Decostyle was refurbished in 2008. It retainsmuch of the original black ‘Vitriolite’surround and timber upper screen.

probably by Snaiths glaziers, once of KirkGate. The bold geometric shapes andstrong colours (which appear to have beenadded at a later date) provide aninteresting contrast to the rest of therather bland 18C frontage.

Continue ahead to thecorner of StodmanStreet, turn left andproceed to the junction withMiddle Gate. Turn left andlook for the Halifax Bank (2) on yourleft. The tall triangular window(reminiscent of the Hoover building) andhorizontal stone banding were installedwhen part of the original 18C building wasconverted to a cinema - The Savoy - in1935. At that time cinema, like motoringand flying, was booming and the buildingsassociated with each of those industriesinvariably had an Art Deco theme. TheSavoy operated until 1989, by which timethe window had been replaced in modernmaterials; it was then converted to itspresent use.

1

This trail explores many

of the town’s most

interesting Art Deco

buildings and features

2 3 5

4

On the opposite side, look at the firstfloor window of Cope’s jewellers (6).This interesting and rather stylish ArtDeco addition to an 1830s building, withits decorative frame and geometricglazing, would be unlikely to gain planningconsent under today’s rules.

Go to the end of Bridge Street, crossCarter Gate and head down BaldertonGate to reach London Road car park.Half way along the right side of the carpark is the recently-built Reel Cinema(7). Reflecting the cinema boom periodthat produced the old Savoy, andreminding us that Art Deco is sometimesreferred to as ‘Odeon Style’, the design ofthe central tower feature proudly assertsthe building’s function.

Go back to Balderton Gate, turn right,then left along Guildhall Street, right inBarnby Gate, left at the traffic lights inFriary Road and continue to its junctionwith Bede House Lane. Here standsNewark College (8), with its imposingcentral entrance block set across theangle of the main wings. Opened in 1931,this is a fine example of the period’s stylein its borrowing of classical features -columns and pilasters beside thedoorway, triangular pediment andrectangular ‘attic’ above - blended withtall, narrow, rectilinear windows, some instylish bronze.

Go down Bede House Lane and keep alookout for the series of carved stonepanels (9) set into the wall of the college(this has a modern brick skin). Thesepanels were produced by talented localartist and teacher Robert Kiddey as anintegral element of the building’s designand they illustrate some of the crafts thatwere taught by the college. Many moreexamples of Kiddey’s work are to befound elsewhere in Newark.

Continue ahead to reach Barnby Gate,turn right and head for its junction withAppleton Gate. Just before this pointpause to admire the Art Decooptometrist’s shop front and door(10), of modest but pleasing proportions.

In Appleton Gate, turn right and thenleft just before the war memorial to goalong Church Walk. At the end, as youreach the tall chimney, you will see therear of Ladbroke’s betting shop (11).All 3 sides of this building have pleasingArt Deco features, principally the tallslender windows, but the doorway andmain shop front happily retain theirbronze decorative metalwork and granitefascia from when the shop was built in

1935 - a sister (or brother) for the 1934Burton’s shop that we looked at earlier inStodman Street. Clearly, the companywas doing so well at the time that theycould afford to adorn the building with araised and stepped parapet and classicalpilasters in the height of Art Deco style.As a change from dance halls, the upperfloor of this building originallyaccommodated a snooker/billiards hall.

Leave the Market Place via Chain Lane(at first a narrow passage to the rightof the Town Hall) and go ahead toMiddle Gate. Here, turn right and goalmost to the end where it joins KirkGate. Look out for the shop currentlyoccupied by The Children’s Society(12). Overshadowed by the grandGeorgian house to its right and the finetimber frame building to its left, at firstglance this building might have been putup only a few years ago; in fact, the frontelevation dates from the 1930s and thechevron decoration in the upper lights ofthe shop window together with theproportions of the upper windows anddecorative brickwork mark it out as ArtDeco in style.

Enter Kirk Gate, turn left and look atthe building currently occupied by theShaan restaurant (13). This wasoriginally built as a shop for the Co-op in1937, as attested by the Art Deconumerals on the date stone that is set in astone string course just below the raisedand stepped parapet.

Go to the end of Kirk Gate. Here youhave the choice of turning right to extendthis trail by some 1.5Km (return) in orderto see perhaps the most recognisably ‘ArtDeco’ building in town or, if you prefer,conclude by turning left along Castle Gateto reach the zebra crossing and return tothe castle grounds.

Head right along Bar Gate, then NorthGate, crossing the junction withQueen’s Road and side roads to reachLincoln Road railway bridge. As youpass the summit of the bridge andreach the next junction, turn right tosee the premises of the Gregory Spurrcar dealership (14). Together with theadjacent garage, this was built in 1935 forthe Wright family and its style reflectedthe then current fashion - in bothmotoring and architecture. With its palerendering, flat roof, raised parapet, clearhorizontal and vertical lines, geometricallyornate doorway and the Aztecthunderbird motif high on the mainelevation, it is a classic Art Deco stylebuilding.

Retrace your route along North Gateetc to reach the castle grounds and theend of the trail.

Map ©Newark and Sherwood District Council

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