Victoria Centre, Nottingham

Intu Victoria Centre

The clock tower of Victoria Centre
Location	Nottingham City Centre, England
Opening date	1972
Management	Intu Properties Plc
Owner	Nottingham City Council Intu Properties
No. of stores and services	120
No. of anchor tenants	4
Total retail floor area	91,140 m² (981,000 ft²)
No. of floors	2
Parking	2700
Public transit access	Nottingham Victoria bus station
Website	www.intu.co.uk/victoriacentre

Intu Victoria Centre, is a shopping centre in Nottingham, England, constructed between 1967 and 1972. The Victoria Centre has various fashion and high street stores as well as cafes, restaurants, a health and fitness centre and the Nottingham Victoria bus station. Over three million people live within a 45 minute drive of the centre.

The Victoria Centre stands on the site of the old Nottingham Victoria railway station, which was demolished in 1967. The clock tower and the former Victoria Station Hotel (now run by Hilton Hotels) are the only parts of the old station to survive. The shopping centre was built between 1967 and 1972 by Taylor Woodrow. Above the shopping centre rise the 26 floor, 256 feet (72m) high "Victoria Centre Flats", which run North to South along the length. There are 464 flats and 36,000 sq ft (3,300 m²) of offices.

In 1970, the kinetic sculptor Roland Emett was commissioned to design and build a 'water-powered' clock, known as The Aqua Horological Tintinnabulator. The clock was installed late 1972 and chimed on the hour and half-hour, playing 'Gigue en Rondeau II' (1724) from Rameau's (1683–1764), 'Pieces de Clavecin' Suite in E-minor. This musical animated sculpture was between Boots, Next and John Lewis (formerly Jessops) on the lower mall and was a popular meeting place. At some point, the clock was modified to chime and play the music every fifteen minutes. In February 2014 the clock was dismantled from the Main Square and underwent initial refurbishment by Engineer Pete Dexter and the Rowland Emett Society. It was re-assembled for exhibition in Millennium Point, Birmingham during the summer of 2014 before being dismantled again and stored until December 2014. The parts were then transported back to Nottingham where further refurbishment work was carried out by Pete Dexter and staff at intu Victoria Centre. It was re-assembled in its new location on the north end of the upper mall. Its stature, colour scheme and most of its original water features were restored. It was officially re-started on 17 June 2015 by Emma Jaggers (5), grand-daughter of Pete Dexter.