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The ressurrection of the Flying Horse topic made me think about this wonderful building, the building that was the FH is still there but this has shamefully been long demolished.

I found this photograph on Picture the Past, I reckon it was taken when demolition was about to begin:-

blackboy.jpg

I'm not sure when it closed it's doors for the last time, I presume that it had a bar accessible to the public, but I don't ever recall going in there when we started going round the town pubs in the late 60's.

I can remember looking in the entrance when I was a kid, they always had a uniformed doorman on the door and the inside was very oppulent with lots of polished woodwork. I don't remember it being demolished either, I think it must have been when I was away at college 1969/1970, it must have caused a lot of disruption to the City centre. All I recall was a gaping hole and a massive brace of scaffolding stretching between the two buildings on either side. Then they built that concrete monstrosity that became Littlewoods, the Planners must have been even more stupid (or corrupt) than they are now to have allowed it to happen.

Last week when I nipped up to see mother, I found another box of my childhood treasures including my old postcard album. I was amazed to see what the original album cover actually was:-

scan0011-3.jpg

I suspect that my old man's printworks used to print the menus and wine list contents, unfortunately, I just have the cover and the lists have gone.

Does any one have any memories of this place and when exactly was it closed down and demolished, Google searching is a bit vague.

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With so many of the Black Boy Hotel photos missing, due to Photobucket, I thought I'd post this article from the Nottingham Post today. There are some good photos of the Black Boy Hotel that

On Ebay at moment photo of interior showing part of the former Black Boy Hotel

I don't think we've had a photo here of Fothergill's Albert Hall. The main central tower is more than slightly similar to the Black Boy.

...I suspect that my old man's printworks used to print the menus and wine list contents...

I can't help with the Black Boy memories, but the father of my best friend in school worked for a printer in Nottingham - and menus, wine lists, etc. were common fare for them. Where did your dad work? My friend's father was Barry Hickling. I don't remember the name of the printer he worked for - but I may if my memory gets a jolt!

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I've got this from a facinating little book that my mum gave me at Christmas

September2009.jpg

It just says the lease ran out , but (IMMSC) I heard that it was to do with some collapsing caves underneath!!

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I reckon that they're all liars Beefsteak, otherwise most of Nottingham would have been demolished due to dodgy caves and dodgy leases. No doubt it needed a bit of money spending on it and they couldn't be bothered and looked for the easy way out with a few quid shoved in the planners back pockets, as usual.

Any planning authority that allowed Drury Hill to be demolished at that time must have been totally corrupt and bought off by the developers, I was pleased to get away from the devious Nottingham planning scum bags and move down to Essex in the mid 70's, corruption hadn't appeared down here then.

Limey, my old man worked at Walter Black's then went on to Hill and Tylers in Basford, where I suspect that these Menu's were printed.

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I couldn't see any planners in London allowing that to happen to such a magnificent building.

Can you imagine Regent Streets wonderful buildings being blighted by the addition of a piece of sh*t like the now Primark monstrosity?

There must have been some serious wedge being passed around back then for that to have happened.

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Craig

It could have easily happened to Regent Street in London back in the 80's.

It was kept quiet at the time so as not to create concern amongst the public, but all those lovely Regent Street terraces and buildings around Piccadilly Circus, and some other famous landmarks, were suffering from steel fatigue.

What it was, all those buildings were built around a steel frame with steel cramps to hold the stone cladding on, over 100 years or so water had crept behind the facades and corroded the structure, large sections of buildings were approaching the stage where they were about to shed large amounts of cladding onto the road.

The cost of repairs was horrendous, consideration was given to demolition, but it was decided to repair them.

The job of sorting this mess out was given to Andrews, Kent and Stone, the UK's top structural engineers based up the road next door to the London Palladium. This was in the days before CAD and unbelievably, they hadn't got anyone who could survey and architecturally draw up all the buildings accurately. My then boss, used to work for AKS and had contacts with them, I was eventually sent over to meet their aluminii and subsequently spent a fantastic 4 months working in Central London, surveying and drawing up all these architectural gems, I loved it. It didn't end there, I had to go back later and survey and draw up Piccadilly Circus, then I was regularly sent details of other buildings that needed 'the treatment'.

If you watched the recent re-runs of the old TV programme 'The Day of the Triffids' you can clearly see the scaffolding on the buildings up Regent Street during mateys wanderings through deserted London, this was described at the time as a stone cleaning exercise, little did anyone know the real story. Happy days.

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All the photos I've ever seen of the former Black Boy Hotel are taken along the road looking at the building from a sideways angle; I'd never seen a picture of it from the front to get a real idea of what it looked like.

Until I came across this.....they don't make hotels like this any more.

EjEDL1x.jpg

And this was demolished in the 60s to be replaced by what is now the Primark building

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Hi Cliff Ton, never understood why the city tore down the beautiful old buildings in the 60s,to be replaced by'modern' replacements. I can remember as a little kid watching lorries full of rubbish, filling in the cave homes around the bowling alley, Not positive to the exact area,but I thought at the time how cool to have one at the bottom of my garden,to play around in.

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I'm still sure I read somewhere that it was "falling" into the caves below and had to come down.

I agree with you that what went in it's place was nothing by comparison (Littlewoods IMMSC)

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Only went in the Black Boy once, and stood having a drink next to old man Steptoe...William Bramble.Didn't recognise him at first with his expensive teeth and glasses and a Crombie overcoat.

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Remember Mam saying there was a good time in town when they were here in the 1930s

Nottingham was good - stayed at the “County” or “Black Boy”(The Black Boy - an inn had stood on the site for many years when it was rebuilt in 1887-88. With its massive central tower with dark wooden gables and a Bavarian balcony with a dark wood balustrade, it was a major landmark in Nottingham city centre until its demolition in the late 1960s The England and Australian Test teams used to stay at the Black Boy Hotel.

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Even if it was collapsing it could have and should have been saved. York Minster was sinking and a massive underpinning and metal structure was put in the foundations, by a Nottingham Company I believe. The Black Boy was popular with RAF personnel and Guy Gibson of dam busters fame was a visitor.

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Nice thought but can't see that happening,where would they put it?

It would cost a fortune to copy it properly and they would no doubt have to change a thousand things to meet modern safety and insulation regulations.

And the new name....The Afro Carribean Non Gender Specific Hotel.....just doesn't have that ring to it!

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I think the Black Boy will remain a pleasant and distant memory only. It's a an interesting general point though - recreating history - reminds me a little of the ambitious talk of re-building Nottingham Castle at one time. Not that it was ever likely. It's a curious thought.

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REBUILD IT, that's what I say; knock down 'the block' that replaced the Gothic masterpiece that the 'Black Boy' was.

Any citizen, respecting the value of the architecture of the 'Black Boy' within our city would agree.

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I would put good money on odds it never gets rebuilt. If they did what would they call it. With political correctness probably not the Blacks Head.

I noticed some years ago the blacks Head Pub in Carlton changed their sign from a dark skin man in a turban to a black horses head. Not complaining as things do move on and what was acceptable once is no longer 'suitable'.

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This is Wonderful Cliff Ton. Thanks for retrieving it. The poster really gets my imagination working; wouldn't I just love to step to step into the building and take a walk around the place? Idea for a film don't you think?

Such a wonderful edifice. How insane to knock this down!

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