| Content Description | University College Nottingham was opened in 1881 at Shakespeare Street in Nottingham city centre. During the 1920s Jesse Boot gave the University a piece of land at Highfields and gifts of money for the construction of new premises. Architect Percy Morley Horder was tasked with designing the new building. The earliest designs for the new building are dated 1922, and numerous subsequent revisions can be seen to plans, including the addition of the Great Hall. Jesse Boot wanted to create a large university for the whole of the East Midlands in collaboration with the corporations of Nottingham and Leicester, so consequently many of the earliest plans present are labelled 'East Midlands University Nottingham'. However any discussions for an East Midlands University had fallen through by 1927, so plans bearing this title can be dated to the 1922-1926 period.
The new building opened on 10 Jul. 1928 by King George V and Queen Mary. The Arts and Pure Science departments moved out to the new Highfields building in autumn 1928, but the Applied Science department remained at the old Shakespeare Street site. In the early days the building contained a library, dining hall, classrooms, offices, laboratories, and lecture rooms, as well as the Great Hall, Lower Hall, and Council Chamber. It acquired the name Trent Building in 1953.
These plans came to Manuscripts and Special Collections from the University's Estates Department at various times between 1994 and 2018. Researchers should note that although these plans all appear to show Trent Building, academic departments moved around considerably over the years, so some may show other buildings, particularly 'overflow' accommodation such as the Copse Blocks or 'Cowsheds'.
Note that Manuscripts and Special Collection holds plans of many other University of Nottingham buildings. These are currently part of a long term cataloguing project, but only Trent Building plans have been completed to date. Please contact Manuscripts and Special Collections for information about our other building plans. |