Nottingham Cooperative
Nottingham Cooperative (or Nottingham as referred to by its residents) is a 21 room housing cooperative located at 146 Langdon St in Madison, Wisconsin, on the shore of Lake Mendota. The house was incorporated in February 1971 by a group of lawyers and students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, a mix of about 20 students and non-students are members. Unlike many other housing cooperatives near the campus area, Nottingham is not part of the Madison Community Cooperative.
Former and Current residents of Nottingham sometimes refer to themselves as "Hamsters"
History
The house was originally built in 1927 for the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity by Kansas architect Clarence E. Shepard (1869 - 1949.) Shepard was the premier architect of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School in Kansas City, although 146 was built in the Mediterranean Revival Style. This Spanish style architecture was popular out west especially in Hollywood at the time, but rare for the Midwest. Nottingham's tile roof is one of the more obvious features of a Mediterranean Revival. Past owners include fraternities Sigma Phi Epsilon (1927-1939) and Phi Sigma Delta (1940-1942,) an all-girls dormitory Shoreland House (1943-1951), and fraternity Pi Lambda Phi (1952-1970.) Having began officially in February 1971, Nottingham celebrates its 35th year of cooperation in 2006.
Events
Over the years Nottingham has hosted many events, usually held in its spacious ballroom. In addition to 5-year summer alumni reunions, annual events include Nottingfeast, a vegetarian Thanksgiving, and the sensual Virgo Slut party. Fundraisers for the Mifflin Street Cooperative and local politicians, open mike coffeehouses, Radical cheerleading practices, Food Not Bombs cooking, bookclubs, film festivals, breakdancing, Go (board game) clubs, bingo nights, Yoga sessions, private or semi-private magickal rituals including multiple performances of Aleister Crowleys' Gnostic Mass, and local Chapter meetings of such occult lodges as Ordo Templi Orientis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Friary/Apostolic Johannite Church; and more have happened at Nottingham. Since 2003, the house has enjoyed a venue/label relationship with local label 23 Productions, through which many so-called "noise" bands have played shows. Nottingham collects no money for these shows.
Notable bands that have played at Nottingham include: MDC (1983), Die Kreuzen (1983), Hüsker Dü (1984), Bikini Kill (1994), Wolf Eyes (2003), Cock ESP (2003,04), Trad, Gras och Stenar (2003), Jackie-O Motherfucker (2003), Costes (2003), Eugene Chadbourne (2004), Nautical Almanac (2005), and Defiance, Ohio (band) (2006).
Notable Madison bands include:
Killdozer (1983),
Tar Babies (1983,84),
Cattle Prod,
Naked Aggression (1992),
Honor Among Thieves,
Pachinko,
Natty Nation (1999), and
The Buffali.
Membership
A number of chores are expected of Nottingham's house members, including cooking, washing dishes, and cleaning the bathrooms, as well as a particular "workjob" (such as breadbaking, ordering food, and maintenance). Food and house supplies are ordered collectively. Members are also expected to attend house meetings. All policies by which the members govern the house are made at house meetings, ratified by unanimous consensus of all those present at the meeting.
Members are accepted on a rolling, open room basis. In order to become a member, interested parties must attend four regularly scheduled dinners (Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.) and then schedule a "membership meeting." The members of the house in attendance then interview the interested party and make a decision to accept or reject the "membershipper."
Notable Alumni "Hamsters"
Kevin Barrett--University of Wisconsin based Islamic Scholar recently noted for openly advocating a conspiracy theory about the September 11th attacks