The Magazine of Lenton Local History Society

Hugh Stewart Hall - Nottingham University


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Lenton Hall

Until 1937 the building we know as Hugh Stewart Hall of Residence was Lenton Hall. The Hall was designed and built by William Stretton for John Wright, a Nottingham Banker. The Wright family moved into Lenton Hall about 1804. Following John Wright's death in 1840, his son, Francis Wright, occupied the Hall. This remained his family residence until 1845 when Francis Wright left Lenton to take up residence in Osmaston Manor, where he had a new mansion built there.

Francis Wright had sold Lenton Hall with its park of 130 acres to Digby Willoughby, the 7th Lord Middleton. For the next twenty-three years Lord Middleton rented out the building to various individuals. In 1869 Henry Smith Wright, who was distantly related to Francis Wright, acquired Lenton Hall. Although he lived until 1910 Henry Smith Wright only resided at Lenton Hall until 1878 whereupon he sold the estate to his younger brother Frederick Wright. At this point much of the land attached to Lenton Hall had been sold off and Frederick only acquired the Hall and the parkland immediately surrounding the Hall.

Frederick Wright continued to live at Lenton Hall until 1903. The property then passed through several hands before it was bought by Sir Jesse Boot in the early 1920s. He had not envisaged it as part of the University campus project and before the campus was officially opened in 1928 he had sold it to Helen Barnsdale, the eldest daughter of Sir Frank Bowden, the founder and head of the Raleigh cycle company. Helen and her husband, Major John Davidson Barnsdale, lived there until 1930 when the property was 'acquired' by University College so that it could be used as a men's hall of residence.


Photographs - Lenton Hall

An etching of Lenton Hall as it looked in 1867.

In 1867 Lord Middleton decided to sell off various properties he had acquired on what subsequently became the University campus. This is an advertisement placed by Pott and Neale, the Nottingham-based auctioneers, in many of the national and local newspapers, advertising the sale of not only Lenton Hall but also The Firs and The Abbey plus one of the adjacent farms.

A photograph of Lenton Hall taken in 1925.

Another photograph taken in 1925 shows that the hall and adjacent buildings still looked much as they had done back in 1867.


Hugh Stewart Hall

In 1930 the imminent arrival of an additional one hundred male students at University College prompted the 'acquisition' of Lenton Hall. Although Helen Barnsdale remained the legal owner of the property until 1935 the Hall was acquired by the college and Sir Jesse Boot (now ennobled as Lord Trent) paid for all the alterations that were required to make it suitable accommodation for some forty-three of these additional students. This involved the demolition of the vinery and the single storey building lying behind it and a three-storey extension erected on the side of the building.

In 1935 the College became the legal owners of the building. Initially the property was still called Lenton Hall but following the death in 1934 of Hugh Stewart, who was then the Principal of University College it was decided that this hall of residence should bear his name.

From 1935 to 1937 Messrs John Cawley Ltd. erected some additional residential blocks which brought the number of students accommodated in Hugh Stewart Hall of Residence to one hundred and sixteen.

During the Second World War the Hall was used by Goldsmiths College when it was forced to decamp from its base in London. Goldsmiths would depart once the war was over. Some of the accommodation was subsequently made into shared rooms which meant one hundred and eighty students could be based there.

In 1967 work began on further extensions to the hall which once completed brought the number of students housed there to three hundred and forty students.

Hugh Stewart provides accommodation for about 340 students. Until 2000 the hall was all male but is now mixed.


Photographs - Hugh Stewart Hall

Many of these photographs are taken from A History of Hugh Stewart Hall - University of Nottingham edited by Charles Watkins and published in 1996.

The original portion of Lenton Hall with the new extension to its right as seen in this 1932 photograph.

This photograph was clearly taken after the completion of the additional residential block erected by John Cawley Ltd. between 1935 and 1937.

This is much the same view as in the previous photograph but was probably taken in the 1960s or 70s when ivy had been allowed to cover the frontage of all sections of the buildings.

In 1937 this aerial photograph was taken of Hugh Stewart Hall of Residence. On the right of the photograph, it is very evident that the extensions had brought the buildings into very close proximity with Lenton Firs Farm (once Lenton Hall Farm) which had subsequently been acquired by Sir Thomas Shipstone when he moved into Lenton Firs.

A 1938 photograph of one of the study bedrooms in Hugh Stewart.

This is the front of Hugh Stewart Hall of Residence as viewed from Lenton Hall Drive in 1953.

A 1955 photograph of the dining hall at Hugh Stewart.

A 1955 shot of the library at Hugh Stewart Hall of Residence.

In the mid-1950s the University was able to acquire Lenton Firs Farm and its associated land holdings. The Barsbys who had been the tenants moved operations to a farm at East Leake. This drawing by D. Piggott shows a portion of the farm buildings empty and awaiting demolition. His drawing clearly shows how close the hall of residence had come to the farm.

This photograph taken in 1969 focuses on the latest set of extensions that had extended its capacity to some 340 students.

A 2012 shot of the dining room taken by Matt Buck. The original of this image can be found at by clicking here.



Memories

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