Photos by Roberto Alborghetti

Last April I had the chance to visit again Nottingham – “City of the Rebels” – in the Land of Robin Hood, for The Ghost Bus project and other initiatives such as The Roses of the Year. The events were promoted by ACT founded by Marysia Zipser. A great honor for me to be received by former Lord Mayor of Nottingham City, Cllr David Trimble who accompanied me on a visit to the beautiful Castle and among the new exhibition rooms, including the Rebellion Gallery which tells of the historic courage and civic passion of the capital city of the Middle Lands of the United Kingdom.

In the last weeks, newspapers and websites wrote that the Castle has been closed to visitors, due to a critical situation that has occurred in the Trust that coordinates the various activities of the ancient structure. Nottingham Post reported: “Nottingham Castle has closed to visitors as the trust responsible for the site has announced it is preparing to enter liquidation. Officials from the Nottingham Castle Trust confirmed it had now started the process of appointing liquidators, describing it as a ‘heartbreaking day’. Nottingham Castle reopened in June last year after a three-year £33 million renovation. However, despite the trust’s goal for it to open as a ‘world-class’ heritage site, the last 18 months have been marred by a number of high-profile incidents.“

A statement published by the board on November 21, said: “We are saddened and hugely disappointed to announce that today, Nottingham Castle Trust (‘the Trust’) has begun the process of appointing liquidators. This is a heartbreaking day for trustees, our staff, visitors, and the city. Despite the immense dedication of staff and volunteers, the Castle is now closed to visitors.”

The leader of Nottingham City Council Cllr David Mellen said that the announcement from Nottingham Castle Trust “that it is in the process of appointing liquidators and closing the site to hand back to the council is hugely disappointing and a significant blow for the city and its visitor economy. Our immediate priority is to work with the appointed liquidators to safeguard the site and its collections while it is not operational and to support staff at the Castle affected. We appreciate the significant efforts they put into the site and understand how devastated they must be by this news”.

We hope that the difficulties will be resolved soon. It is truly a pity, for so many visitors from all over the world, not being able to enjoy such a beautiful and important monument.

Read the news:

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/live-updates-nottingham-castle-closed-7845138