Trent & Peak Archaeology / The University of Nottingham Willoughby House - system LE3   Willoughby House was built between 1738 and 1741 as the town residence of the Rt Hon Rothwell Willoughby. Rothwell was the younger brother of Lord Middleton, who owned Wollaton Hall. In the twentieth century the building was used as offices until Paul Smith, the Nottingham-born fashion designer, bought the property to convert into a flagship store. Following sensitive conservation, the building was reopened in 1994 and remains one of finest remaining examples of Nottingham’s Golden Age. The caves behind Willoughby House (also known as the ‘Circle Court’ caves are an early and outstanding example of ‘Gentleman’s caves’ - a carefully-designed wine cellar with architectural features. This is comparable with the NG1 cave on Newcastle Terrace, cut a century later. It is likely that Willoughby would have used these caves to show off his wine collection and architectural taste, and perhaps to entertain his friends by candlelight in these unusual conditions. As well as the LE3 caves, Willoughby House has two further sets of caves directly beneath the house. These include LE8, which we have not surveyed, and LE7, which are storage and air raid shelter caves.

Willoughby House  20 Low Pavement, cave LE3