Eagle Works - Hooton Street


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Hello Nottstalgia Members :)

 

My name is Ali and I currently hold a studio at Nottingham City Artists, part of the old Eagle Works building on the corner of Hooton Street and Carlton Road. This part of the building has been used as artist studios since the late 1990’s, but I’m wondering if anyone has information on the origins of the factory or use of the building before this time. I’d love to know more about it. I’ve found a couple of older pictures of the outside online, but I’m having trouble delving any deeper. My best guess is a former textile or lace factory, with potentially a link to the Hooton family, but hopefully someone out there can give me more accurate insights and perhaps the odd story from old?

 

Thanks in advance...

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Just looking at old adverts for staff the earliest I can see is around 1885 when it was a printers called Grover  and Black . After that , just Grover  and Co at the Eagle Printing Works .

 

1905 a firm of trimming manufacturers called Palmer and Mycroft were there.

 

1920s up to1950 and probably beyond it was Cooper and Roe knitwear co that occupied Eagle Works .

Edit Still there in 1976 (though given a spelling error)

https://picturenottingham.co.uk/image-library/image-details/poster/ntgm019037/posterid/ntgm019037.html

 

I don't know the building but it looks large  enough to have been shared by other  companies at the same time as those above.

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As it's now an artists studio you may be interested that the well known artist Tom Browne  1870-1910 , worked for Grover and Black as a lithographer before heading off to London to work . The Johnnie Walker Whisky logo character was his work .

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Browne_(illustrator)

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Thank you so much David, this is really great info! Off to Google Tom Browne! How might I go about finding the adverts? I'd love a picture of the Grover and Black / Grover and Co info... Groves is my last name and Grover was a school nickname so I'm feeling a connection there! 

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Unfortunately to read the old news archives you will need a subscription . 

This is one source

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ you can search it and it will give results but to read the articles you have to pay .

 

I should clarify that Tom Browne certainly worked for Grover and Black at their earlier premises on Wollaton St . Indeed when he was successful in London he called his property Wollaton House . 

There appears to have been an acrimonious split at some point between Grover and Black and there was a court case to determine who Tom Browne was actually apprenticed to . 

Having said that there is a bike poster online , illustrated by Tom Browne and printed by Grover .

H0849-L184880134.jpg

 

This is a good blog about the work of Tom Browne .

 

http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2010/03/tribute-to-tom-browne.html?m=1

 

 

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Not exactly answering Ali's question, but a bit of associated trivia. I knew the area well for a few years in the late 70s.

 

I worked at the top of Hooton Street for a company named TecQuipment (still there as TQC), and the Eagle Works was the building next door. To the left of the Eagle Works, in the area now occupied by a fruit & veg dealer, was a pub named The Crown Inn and later renamed Smithy's. It was demolished in the early 2000s.

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In 1918 , Hart and Co , Mineral Waters Co were at Golden Eagle Works , Bloomsgrove St. 

No idea where that is but probably a different place .

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Thanks again for the newspaper database link DavidW. I have stumbled across some fab information so far.

 

It turns out that the Eagle Works were the first port of call for many First World War Belgian refugees. Really interesting stuff, and at present I have high hopes there might be a photograph out there somewhere. 

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Cooper and Roe had an air raid siren on the roof which they used to test well into the 1950's. My grandma lived on Cropwell Green, up Linnell Street opposite the factory, and as a 5 year old, when the bloody thing went off it used to scare me to death!!

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