Description: Thomas William Hammond 1854-1935. Born in Philadelphia of Nottingham emigres, and orphaned at the age of four, he came to England with his younger sister Maria and lived for a short while with his grandparents in Mount Street. In 1868 age 14 he enrolled in the Government School of Art. On the 1871 census he is described as a lace curtain designer, and in 1872 he was awarded the 'Queen's Prize for a Design of a Lace Curtain'. Other prizes followed and in 1877 he was again awarded the Queen's Prize, this time for the design for a damask table Cloth. Hammond was an indefatigable worker, and soon began to use his skills as a draftsman to record aspects of the changing town. He began showing his work at local venues in 1882 and in 1890 exhibited for the first time at the Royal academy. His real hobby was black and white sketching in charcoal. He drew about 350 pictures all together mainly scenes of a Nottingham he knew but which has largely passed away today. Extracted from 'The Changing Face of Tom Hammond's Nottingham' by John Beckett which is the introductory essay in 'A City in the Making Drawings of Tom Hammond'. Mr. Hammond's picture shows us how very nobly Nottingham Castle stands up above the surrounding neighbourhood; its cliff is a hundred and thirty-three feet above the Boulevard, and its commanding crags always seem to challenge the skill of the rock climber. Just to the left of the Castle, in this picture, is shown the site of the 'Papist Holes' which are now enclosed within the gardens of 'The Hermitage' on Castle Boulevard. These caverns have given rise to all sorts of theories as to their origin and use. Nothing is very definitely known about them beyond the fact that in the middle ages they were undoubtedly the resort and dwelling place of certain devotees, for they were spoken of as the Chapel of St. Mary in the Rocks. The river Leen, which runs across these meadows, has rather an interesting history. Up to the time of the Conquest it joined the Trent near Lenton, and some traces of its old bed may still be found on the western side of Trent Lane. However, William Peverel wanted water power to turn his mill and for domestic purposes at the Castle, so he formed a fresh course for the river across the Meadows, causing the stream to flow more or less where the present Boulevard runs. The water turned his mill at the foot of the Castle Rock, and then was passed along and joined the Trent below Trent Bridge. On these Meadows were encamped in the year 1487 the army of Henry VII, which on the day following marched forth to the battle of Stoke where they overthrew the adherents of Lambert Simnel. Image and descriptive text taken from 'Nottingham Past and Present', published in 1926.