Description:
Jessamine Cottages were formerly called Workhouse Yard. These cottages were erected in 1729 by the parish of St. Nicholas to act as a workhouse; and they remained in such use until 1815. The old name for the hillock upon which these houses stand was Gillyflower or July Flower Hill, because of the wild wallflowers which grew upon it. In 1815 the workhouse was divided into tenements. Gradually they fell into disuse and many, in the 1950s, were overgrown with rambling weeds. In the 1940s there was much discussion, and lively controversy, in the press about how this picturesque corner of Nottingham might be preserved. The premises were offered by the corporation to Nottingham Archaeological Society at a nominal rent to serve as a possible headquarters as repository of relics of bygone Nottingham, but this offer was refused because of the condition of the cottages and the cost involved in repairing them. When the time came to demolish the cottages they had been condemned for many years. Describing the cottages, a local writer said that 'Their picturesque gables, dormer windows and the patch of garden in front of them surrounded with hollyhocks, lupins and jessamine make an old-world atmosphere that never fails to enrapture visitors.' They were still in use after WW2 and were demolished in 1956 to make way for the building of Peoples College opened on March 23rd 1961 (now Castle College), which covers a considerably larger area than that occupied by the cottages. (information from www.invink.com)
The artist was Thomas Cooper Moore (1827 - 1901), who was a nineteenth century painter, watercolourist and pen and ink artist who first trained as an architect before dedicating himself to art. He was mainly self taught in this field but later started the first sketching class in Nottingham and was a founder of the Nottingham Society of artists. Most of Moore's landscapes were produced in or around the Nottingham area. He seems to have particuarly liked drawing and painting pub and inns as well as scenes by the local rivers and canals. During this time and later in the nineteenth century his art was exhibited in Sheffield, Nottingham, Birmingham and London. T. C. Moore was also the father and teacher of Claude T. S. Moore (1853-1901), who became very well known for his paintings and watercolours of the Thames and other river views. A number of Thomas Cooper Moore's drawings and watercolours are housed in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. There are many more of his sketches to be seen on this web-site.