Chinese Pagoda, Nottingham

The Chinese Pagoda in Nottingham's Arboretum Park is a striking and historically layered monument built in 1862. Designed by civil engineer Marriott Ogle Tarbotton, it was conceived as a war memorial, blending Victorian commemoration with Eastern architectural influence. This octagonal cupola features traceried brackets, round columns, and a distinctive spire in the Chinese style, standing on a raised rectangular platform edged with inscriptions-some now weathered-and four cannons at each corner. Two of these are originals from the Crimean War, captured at Sebastopol in 1854–55, while the other two are replicas replacing those lost during wartime metal reclamation.

At the heart of the pagoda originally hung a large bronze bell taken from a Joss house (Chinese temple) in Canton-modern-day Guangzhou-during the Second Opium War. It was seized by the 59th Regiment of Foot (later known as the 2nd Nottinghamshire Regiment) when British forces stormed the city on December 20, 1859. The bell, inscribed in Chinese, was gifted to the city as a trophy of empire and suspended in the pagoda until 1955. It was then relocated to the regimental museum in Preston, and the pagoda was partly demolished in 1956.

The pagoda sits within Nottingham Arboretum, the city’s oldest public park, officially opened in 1852 as part of a broader civic movement to create green spaces following the 1845 Enclosure Act. The Arboretum was one of several public areas established for recreation in compensation for lost common lands. Today, the Chinese Pagoda stands not only as a symbol of 19th-century military legacy but also as a curious reminder of imperial histories, blending Eastern aesthetics with Victorian sentiment.