Highfield House is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building in University Park,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, in the Nottingham district, in the ceremonial county of

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, England.

History

The building was designed by architect William Wilkins the Elder and was built for Joseph Lowe (1737-1810) a wool and linen draper of Long Row, Nottingham, also an alderman and three times

Mayor of Nottingham The Lord Mayor of Nottingham is a largely ceremonial role for the city of Nottingham, England. The position was historically Mayor of Nottingham; this was changed to Lord Mayor in 1928. The position is elected every May by Nottingham city co ...

. On the death of Joseph Lowe, it was occupied by his son, Joseph Hurst Lowe (1766-1817) and Elizabeth Lowe (nee Langstaff) (1770-1826). On the death of Joseph Hurst Lowe it was occupied by his son,

Alfred Joseph Lowe Alfred Joseph Lowe (1789 - 1856) J.P. was a horticulturalist, meteorologist and astronomer based in Nottingham. Life He was born on 1 August 1789, the son of Joseph Hurst Lowe (1766-1817) and Elizabeth Langstaff (1770-1826). He was baptised on 13 ...

(1789 - 1856) and Charlotte Octavia Lowe (nee Swann) (1792-1865). Their son

Edward Joseph Lowe Edward Joseph Lowe FRS FGS FRAS FLS (11 November 1825 – 10 March 1900) was a renowned English botanist, meteorologist and astronomer, who published papers on a wide variety of subjects, including luminous meteors, sunspots, the zodiacal li ...

who built an observatory at the house for meteorology and astronomy. Both father and son were founder members of the Meteorological Society which later became the

Royal Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is a long-established institution that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Associate Fellows can be lay enthus ...

. It was from the Highfield House Observatory that

published his meteorological observations as early as December 1843 and recorded the

Aurora Borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of br ...

in October 1847. In 1880, Edward left and in 1881 the house was put up for auction when it was described as a ''well-built Family Mansion, with complete outbuildings, extensive pleasure grounds, lake, walled kitchen garden, vineries, greenhouses, productive orchards and about 150 acres of beautifully undulated park and pasture land''. It was sold to lace manufacturer, Henry Simpson. The house was put up for sale again in 1919 and was sold to

Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent (2 June 1850 – 13 June 1931) transformed The Boots Company, founded by his father, John Boot, into a national retailer, which branded itself as "Chemists to the Nation". Biography Boot sold his controlling interes ...

who donated the estate to the University. In 1930 the house became the home of the principal of Nottingham University College and later the Vice-Chancellor of the University. This persisted until the Vice-Chancellor vacated the property in the 1990s. The building is now used as the Centre for Advanced Studies.

References

{{Nottingham Places of Interest , state=autocollapse Grade II listed buildings in Nottinghamshire Buildings and structures in Nottingham Buildings and structures completed in 1798