Garden Street area - Radford


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The thread about Radford Mill and Radford Baths reminded me of two aunts who lived on Garden Street, Radford. Their house was in this space which is now used as a car park, like this.........

http://i.imgur.com/uq37HLd.jpg

Picture the Past have a photo of Garden Street in the 1950s; this is looking towards Denman Street. My aunts' house was on the extreme left of the photo, just about visible. That's where the low railings are in the car park picture above.

http://i.imgur.com/k4woy2m.jpg

 

 

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My last Christmas Eve visit to Garden Street was 54 years ago. Yet, every year on this day, my thoughts are irresistibly drawn to number 4.   By today's standards, the place was primitive in

A bit of a surprise for me on this topic.   My interest in Garden Street arises from the fact that two aunts lived there in the 1940s - 60s. They worked in one of the nearby clothing factori

Personally, I've never liked supermarkets. Much preferred the shops of my childhood like those on Denman Street and our local grocers where everything was weighed out and wrapped in paper. Loved the s

Just been looking around on Google street view.

I seem to remember in the 1970s down Garden Street there used to be flats behind Radford Mills, that I used as a short cut to go to Alfreton Road, whan I finished work in the mills.

Can anyone tell me when they were pulled down and replaced by houses ?

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MELTONSTILTON, there were several developments of flats in Radford which didn't have very long lifespans. If you go to Picture the Past and search Radford Flats you'll get quite a few photos of most of them (including Hyson Green which obviously aren't the ones you are referring to)

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Looking up Garden St to Denman St on the picture I remember the shops but only one springs to mind "The Home & Colonial" the local co-op where mam did her shoping(Because of the Divi) was on Alfreton Rd, I remember the walk up Boden St to get there and of course I have never forgotten her divi number

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Really thrilled to find the website with memories of Garden Street and to see the photos- especially the one taken in the 50s/60s.

I was a regular visitor to number 4 Garden Street in the late 50s/ early 60s as it was owned by my relatives George Henry Ward and Emily Phoebe Ward.

Number 4 was originally a Beer House named The Cherry Tree Inn but I believe it reverted to use as a private dwelling some time around the Great War. George Ward worked for a Mr Smith who owned Smith's bakery and who lived in the nearby Lenton area. George was responsible for maintenance of the bakery's machinery and also acted as chauffeur to Mr Smith- he even wore a uniform!!

Mr Smith kept a Rolls Royce which was housed at 4 Garden Street in a garage probably built in the 20s/30s, adjoining the house. Initially, number 4 belonged to Mr Smith and formed a 'tied' house as part of George and Emily's employment. Emily Ward helped out at the Smith residence in Lenton and George could be called out at all hours to repair bakery equipment or to drive Mr Smith about in the Rolls.

When Mr Smith died, he bequeathed number 4 to the Wards and they continued to live there until the propetry fell prey to a CPO in the early 1960s.

Number 4 stood opposite the 'tower' of Radford Mill, not far from the junction of Ilkeston Road and Garden Street.

The house had no bathroom or indoor toilet. At the rear was a cobbled area with various dilapidated outbuildings and a loo right at the bottom of the yard. At the side of the house, approached from the rear and behind the garage, were storage premises reached by a metal exterior stairway. I believe someone stored either paint or oils there. On the other side of number 4 was a factory called 'Vann's' I beieve.

Walking down from Denman Street, I remember a row of very old cottages on the right hand side. I believe the road was cobbled and it was certainly lit by gas lamps.

I spent a lot of time at Garden Street and was very fond of the house: in fact, I feel quite emotional now just writing about it! It broke my heart when they pulled it down and I couldn't go there any more.

Over the years, (being a keen family historian) I have tried to research number 4's history. I have even appealed to readers of the Nottingham Evening Post for anyone who has photographs or memories of the place to contact me- to no avail.

I visited the area in the 1980s, before I left Nottingham, and found a nursery school on the site of number 4. Apart from Radford Mill, nothing else had survived. It was horrible.

I am trying to locate the 1911 census for number 4 Garden Street. The Wards lived there from the 30s, through the Second World War and on nights when George went firewatching, Emily refused to remain in the place on her own, although the cellars beneath it would have made a fine air raid shelter.

As a small child (I was born in 1957), Emily once took me to see the upper rooms. The roof leaked and I remember seeng pancheons dotted about the floor to catch the rainwater. They only used one bedroom and I am not even certain that there was any electricity above the ground floor.

By the time I visited the house, George was retired and the Rolls was long gone. There was a Hillman in the garage by then and a greenhouse in the yard where he grew tomatoes and chrysanthemums.

It is all a long time ago now but memories of Garden Street are very precious to me. It's wonderful to see that other people feel the same.

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Nice one Jill. It was me who started this thread (and posted a few of the photos) and you've set me thinking about the subject again.

Seems like you visited Garden Street more often than I did. I was there maybe a dozen times in the early 60s; my aunts moved when the place was demolished - they were at no 27. It's just about possible our paths may have crossed! You are about the same age as me.

I've always remembered it quite strongly, especially the communal yard at the back with the toilet for everyone. If you noticed the fourth picture down at post #1, I'm pretty certain that is in the yard.

I've also done a lot of family history research in the past couple of years, and the next time I visit the Central Library I'll have a look at the census for your place. I can also look at the electoral registers at the County Archive - it gives me a break from looking for my own stuff.

 

And these which you may not have come across….aerial shots of the area. Once you get your head round the angle of view, you'll realise that Garden Street is shown in all of them

http://www.pictureth...008791&prevUrl=

http://www.pictureth...008792&prevUrl=

http://www.pictureth...008793&prevUrl=

http://www.pictureth...010191&prevUrl=

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Cliff Ton, I can't thank you enough for the photos. I've looked at aerial photos in Nottingham Evening Post's Bygone publications but they all seem to miss Garden Street.

If you happen to come across the 1911 census for number 4 (and my relatives would not have been living there then) I would love to see it!

Yes, you've started me thinking about Garden Street again too- especially at this time of the year as we always went there on Christmas Eve and walking home with Mum and Dad over the wet cobbles under the gas lamps is one of my happiest memories of a really wonderful childhood. Must be a sign of old age...!

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Just done a bit of trawling among the census returns and it looks as though 4 Garden Street- along with the even numbered houses- were built later than the odd numbered ones. Number 4 was not there in 1881 but the odd-numbers were in existence. The earliest mention of Number 4 (when it was The Cherry Tree) was in 1885, landlady Amy Ward (no relation to my Wards).

There seems to be some confusion about how big the house was back in those days as it seems to encompass numbers 2-6 at times. As I said in the original post, there was a big garage at the side dating from either the 20s or 30s and I wonder whether part of the original building had been demolished to accommodate that, so perhaps I did not know the full extent of the house in my childhood.

Odd how a building which hasn't been there for the last 50-odd years can still exert such a fascination but I'm sure I'm not alone in that, am I?

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I could write these word on a myriad of threads on Nottstalgia but this and similar always serve to remind me how different an upbringing in the suburbs around Nottingham felt to what has been described from a childhood in the likes of particularly Radford and The Meadows for example. It almost seems like a different world. Nevertheless a very interesting personal comparison to do.

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Went past the area a few days ago and all the buildings around Radford Mill have been cleared. Garden Street and Norton Street now have wide open views. It's not now connected to anything else.

NeDLh9p.jpg

Turning 180 degrees towards Denman Street, this factory/warehouse has survived.

Wrx3qXq.jpg

From Garden Street you can see across to the Globe pub, which has been derelict and boarded up for longer than I can remember. Must be a record for the Nottingham area.

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And from Garden Street you can see across to Norton Street and the former Congregational Hall.

IFrffEG.jpg

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I was a regular visitor to number 4 Garden Street in the late 50s/ early 60s as it was owned by my relatives George Henry Ward and Emily Phoebe Ward.

Number 4 was originally a Beer House named The Cherry Tree Inn but I believe it reverted to use as a private dwelling some time around the Great War. George Ward worked for a Mr Smith who owned Smith's bakery and who lived in the nearby Lenton area. George was responsible for maintenance of the bakery's machinery and also acted as chauffeur to Mr Smith- he even wore a uniform!!

When Mr Smith died, he bequeathed number 4 to the Wards and they continued to live there until the propetry fell prey to a CPO in the early 1960s.

Number 4 stood opposite the 'tower' of Radford Mill, not far from the junction of Ilkeston Road and Garden Street.

More than 4 years after Jill's post, Old Maps now have better quality images of the area. This is Garden Street in the 1950s, and Jill's Number 4 is clearly marked.

gardenst_zpsszkds7y5.jpg

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  • Cliff Ton changed the title to Garden Street area - Radford

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