T. C. Hine
The architect of a new Nottingham, the inspiration that built the future.
Thomas Chambers Hine, or T.C. as he was known, was born in Covent Garden, the eldest son of a hosiery manufacturer. He trained as an architect under Matthew Habershon, completing this apprenticeship in 1834.
In 1837 he arrived in Nottingham and formed a partnership with the builder William Patterson, restoring churches in Gonalston, Shirebrook and Kinoulton. By the 1850s he had become the retained architect and surveyor of Henry Pelham-Clinton, the 5th Duke of Newcastle, who instructed him to oversee the development of The Park Estate and cut the Park Tunnel, which still bears Hine’s monogram! Hine also expanded Nottingham General Hospital and built stunning warehouses for industrialists Richard Birkin and Thomas Adams in Nottingham’s Lace Market – buildings that inspired a generation of new Nottingham architects such as Watson Fothergill.
In 1875, Hine was tasked with the renovations of Nottingham Castle and turning it into a Museum of Fine Art. This work was completed in 1878 and the Castle became the first municipal museum of art outside of London.
