The Waitoa Road Board was formed in 1875. As it did not have access to a suitable room in which to hold its meetings Mr Joseph John Wood was approached about the matter of providing a hotel. This he consented to and built the Nottingham Castle in 1877 on the present site out of timber from the old Cambridge Bridge utilizing gin cases to make partitions. Mr Wood was a native of Nottingham in England hence the hotel was named.
The hotel licence was transferred from the Jolly Cripple which was located opposite the then school, to the new premises and Mr Wood became the first licensee.
The Nottingham Castle (Below) was burnt down on 20th June 1913 and the replacement building was built for Mr Wenzal Schollum during the winter of 1914 by Mr J.C.R. Watts. The Architect was Thomas Price who travelled from Auckland to supervise the construction. A feature of the building when it opened was its electric power – stored in 54 batteries which provided enough power to run 157 lights for 3 ½ days.
Nottingham castle Hotel is registered by the Historic Places Trust as a Category 1 Building. #lyall_randell #morrinsville #New_Zealand #Nottingham_Castle_Hotel
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