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Yes I do remember the Lads Club.(Station ROAD) I was never a member but my bro John was. He spent all his time playing table tennis. Never liked church parade because me and his mates used to run at the side of the parade making him laugh and trying to 'leg' him up.

I remember one or to 'invasions' from your neck of the woods. I used to frequent The Beeston Youth Centre "The Shed" there was often a bust up of some description either between visitors from Bulwell or Hucknall (Huckna). When your lot got banned we'd fight amongst ourselves.

I didn't go in for fighting much, always avoided them when I could, I used to bugger off to "The Crown" on Church Street, the best under aged drinking establishment in Beeston. In those days it was easier to find under 18 (often under 16) kids than over 18s.

Not sure on the date, but one time word got around that the Bulwell cum Hucknall lads had issued a challenge to meet the Beeston Lads in the Lucarno Ball Room one Saturday night. I would rather not have gone but it's difficult to play table tennis on your own.

Any road up 'The Lads' showed up at Lucarno. Within about 5 mins my mate Mick Mansfield sidled up to me a whispered " If anybody asks where you come from ,don't say Beeston." you guessed ! he left me standing by this big pillar on my own. Presently I spied a group of gorillas working their way around the hall. The pillar was not wide enough to hide behind so I tried, my damnedest to be invisible.. Surely enough King Kong arrived (I swear he was 8ft tall and 20 stone) and asked me where I come from. For the life of me I couldn't remember the name of another town in England let alone one in Nottingham.

I just blurted out "I 'm from Beeston." on that the knuckle dragger reached forward and grabbed me by the tie, pushed me against the pillar and raised me about ten foot (slight exaggeration) in the air. There were about a dozen or so in his gang so fighting (or biting ) was futile. As usual there was a midget at King Kong's

side slavering and growling , I thought that if I could get him and give him a good hiding then the others would run away. Some hope "Outside" the midget yelled,

My bowels went into freefall. All of a sudden the Band (bless their cotton socks) struck up with ' God Save The Queen' The Gorilla loosed his grip and I slid serenely down the pillar and sloped off and made for the door.

I had survived !!

Bill W.

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Nice 1 Bill,no i was"nt much of fighter either,when it kicked off i usually got under a table with "big Viv".lol. i was 15 or 16 at the time and always found Beeston an easy place to get an underage drink. :)

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Below is a list of residencies on Chapel Street, Beeston in the mid-1950's. The persons names will be the head of the house at the time.

1 SPRAY, Oscar

3 DAVIS, Kenneth

5 GARRATT, Flora

7 HUGHES, Frederick J.

7 BROOKS, Frank

9 COX, Bernard

21 CALVERT, Sarah

23 RUMPH, Elizabeth A.

25 BAILEY, John

2 LUDLOW, Brian

4 PARHAM, Arthur

6 PARHAM, Mary

8 SPRAY, Edwin

10 MCLEAN, Harriett

12 ILETT, Frank

14 THORNHILL, Francis F.

16 TAYLOR, Charlotte

18 FARNSWORTH, Frederick H.

20 TACEY, George E.

24 MOODY, Hannah Maria

26 OTTER, Francis C.

28 LENDER, Thomas

30 WHEELER, William A.

32 PEBERDY, Annie E.

34 MOORE, Sophie

36 WHITTINGTON, Lily

38 MARLOW, Gertrude L.

40 OLDFIELD, Jack

42 GUY, Gertrude C. E. M.

44 CORDON, Elsie M.

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GEORGE TACEY,would probably have been my great UNCLE,my aunt was named beattie Tacey,and she lived on the street

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Thanks for that Littlboro, The chimney sweep I mentioned in my earlier post was Arthur PARHAM.

I remember his face to this day, black as your hat with steel blue eyes. He got invited to a lot of the weddings at the Parish Church as a good luck charm.

Used to have great difficulty in recognizing him when he'd had a wash.

My Dad Sam Wardle used to sweep our chimney at 40 Hallam Rd (pre Westward Ave). After sweeping was completed and everywhere was covered in soot (despite copious covering of the hearth) he would bundle up some newspapers , stuff them up the chimney and then set them on fire. There was an almighty roar as the flames ignited the remaining vestiges of soot.

Every cup of tea during the next few days tasted of soot. But Dad used to grow some beautiful Rhubarb "made yer tabs laff"

Many folks in the area neglected to sweep their chimneys, they would let them catch fire and then call out the fire brigade.

It was great for us kids, we would run miles to watch the firemen at work.

40 Hallam Rd was part of a converted Hosiery factory . It was off Middle St opposite Styring St. see Chapel Street map earlier in this topic. We had a fairly large garden where Dad (and Mam) grew a variety of fruit and veg. Mam supplimented the family income by selling seasonal produce to the workers in the factory of D. Keebles and Multi Spring Ltd.

Sometimes Mam bartered runner beans , peas and spuds for firewood cut-offs from the furniture making.

All Dad needed for his trips to the pub was a tanner. 2d for his 1st pint , the rest of his beer depended on how much he could win at darts, table skittles, cribbage etc. He often returned home drunk as a skunk !!!!!

At Beeston Wakes (held on the Round Hill site) he often got barred from the darts stalls because he won too many prizes

Bill W.

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WELLCOME BILL

ITS SURPRIZING HOW FAR PEOPLE CAME TO GO TO SHEDS IN THE SIXTIES I USED TO COME SOMETIES WITH A GROUP OF BIKER MATES FROM CARLTON FIRST TIME IN 1964 I MET MY HUSBAND HE WAS AN OLD LENTON LAD. THERE AND LOTS OF OTHER PEOPLE WE STILL KNOW WE ALSO USED TO GO TO JACKS AND ROBINS CAFES IN BEESTON ROBINS WAS ON QUEENS RD JACKS VILLIAS ST. I WAS ONLY 13/14 AT THE TIME MY HUSBAND WAS 16/17 AT THE TIME AND THE FUNNY THING WAS I NEVER LIKED HIM AT ALL WHEN I EVENTUALLY AGREED TO LET HIM TAKE ME HOME I WAS 17 AND HE WAS TWENTY THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS TOGETHER I WAS ALWAYS FALLING OUT WITH HIM AND GOING OUT WITH OTHER GUYS BUT EVENTUALLY HE WON ME OVER AND WE HAVE BEEN MARRIED 41 YEARS NOW AND TOGETHER FOR 5 BEFORE THAT. I SURE I MADE THE RIGHT DECITION IN THE END .

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I remember Jacks Cafe on Villa St but not so Robins Cafe. I was born in Hallam Rd Beeston, close to 'The Star'

In 1956 we moved to Central Avenue, a mile or so from Beeston town centre. So it was always a bus ride or a twenty minute walk to get to where stuff was happening. I remember that the typical Saturday morning tour of duty was; Jack.s Cafe, Billiard Hall opposite, round the corner to 'The Shovel' on Union St for a half pint of shandy, then back to Jack's.

Return home around 1pm, pick up my football kit. then walk all the way down to the Weir Field in Beeston Rylands.

Bill W.

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yes i know benjamin but out of 25 or more couples who all went to skeggy together 68/69 only 4 couples still together many of them were much closer than than we were then and when some of them latter split it came as quite a surprize to many of us..

william robins cafe was opposit where the garage is on queens rd it what is now the shop that sells fires and solid fuel boilers today just before you get to the bingo hall some of our friends lived in the flat above it.

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#38 After looking at Google Earth, I believe Robins Cafe was at the junction of Queens Rd and Dallas York Rd. If my memory serves me right the shop used to be Cromwell Tools (during the 1980s ) .

Soon after my marriage we lived in a flat on Station Rd near the junction with Queens Rd. We had a dog called 'Raggy'.

He was a right loony. One day he sprang from the upper flat window, onto the pavement, shot across the road , under a Corpo bus, came out on the other side and ran along Queens Rd. We finally collared him near the garage opposite Robins Cafe.

Bill

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yes thats he shop william as i said some of our friends sheared that flat above the cafe they were all bikers one bright spark and i wont mention his na,e desided to rebuild his motor bike up in his bed room it went up ok as it was in bits but getting it down again was a bit more difficult eventuall after trying to man handle it down the stairs because it was so heavy he decided to ride it down the stairs onto dallas york rd dont ask me how but he somehow managed to get it down with some one watching the road and piggy holding the door open some he got it down with no damage to him the bike or the buiding.

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Oh how I remember Queens Road in particular number 200 my mother (Vera) had a hairdressing salon there from 1947 to the early 1960's when she sold out.Does anyone remember Roses corner store and home made faggotts on fridays,Bobby Dyer the chemist,The Co-op on the corner of King Street and Queens road,Tony and his dad the cobblers and over the road Mussons the butcher.During that time army tanks would rumble along Queens road from Chilwell army depot and driven in to Nottingham to be serviced and some repairs,god the noise and poor mum would think the shop was going to be shaken from its foundations.Ericcsons telephones were somewhere nearby as was Sellars who used to make foundation garments and nylon stockings for women,and Boots the chemist not far away the girls from these factories were the mainstay of mums business when a shampoo and set would cost 7/6d a perm 15 shillings a trim 2/6d.On saturdays my sister and I would be taken to the shop as we called it then allowed to go to the park up the road and play and given sixpence to go to the Essoldo picture theatre to watch Roy Rogers etc in the afternoon.Oh Queens road how I remember you!!!!!

Bazza123

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  • 1 year later...

#41

I also remember Queens road my Grandma and Grandad had a shop on the corner of Henry road for many years they sold it to the Marsden family. My dad grew up in the shop he was Maurice Cooke his two sisters were Jean and Marge Cooke, his neighbours were Shepards and the Platt family. the shop is no longer there they turned it into flats.

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  • 1 year later...

#27

 

Missed that one until now! Claude Sparrow is my uncle.

 

Just found my 1932 electoral register notes for Chapel Street

 

Odd numbers:

 

1. MITCHELL H. E and Ruth

3. HODGKINSON Mary Elizabeth and Hannah KNOWLES

5.GARRATT Ben and Flora

7. OLDHAM Eliza

9.HIGGIN Clara

11. WARNER Charles and Clara

13. KIDDIER Ellen

13a.JOHNSON Sid

15. OLDHAM Louisa

17. REDDISH William and Annie

19. SHEPHERD George

21. SHELTON Charles

23. SAUNDERS Arthur & Eliza

25. COX Alf and Grace

 

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Chapel Street 1932 even nos

 

2. CULLABINE Louis & Frances

4. WHEATLEY Mary

6. CUTTS Alfred & Elsie

8. TOWLSON Samuel & Eliza

10. HEARD Alice

12. HUDSON John Samuel, Eva, Harold & Lily...John S. was my great grandfather!

14. THOFNHILL Henry & Frances

16. TAYLOR Charlotte & CUTTS Albert

18.HARRISON Arthur & Annie

20. HANCOCK Ann

22. BELFIELD Henry & Mary

24. MOODY John William

26. DEXTER William & Mary

28. LANDER Alice & Thomas

30. HADLEY Edith & BALL Phoebe

32. FOULDS Hannah & PEBERDY Ann

34. CROWSTON Walter

36. KITSON Arthur

38. WILDEY George

40. JONES Arthur

42. GUY Andrew

44. CORDON Henry

46. PLANT William

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#32

 

Ben, I was talking to my 86 year old aunt about Chapel Street when she mentioned a George Tacey. I recalled you mentioning the name so asked her who else she remembered. She recalled Mrs Tacey's children as Wallace, George (who was with the Torreadors, whoever they were) and Elsie. Elsie married and had a daughter named Jean Patricia but as her parents separated, was legally adopted by her grandmother and named Pat Tacey.

 

She is still alive and has always been one of my aunt's best friends.

 

George Tacey is believed have married a lady named Edna.

 

Wallace Tacey had children named Terence, Sheila and June.

 

My aunt also knew the Wardle family as mentioned by William Wardle and she especially recalls his sister, Joyce.

 

Small world!

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Only recall George Tacey from what my Grandma told me,think he was her brother,and they had a sister Beatrice,probably some connextion somewhere,..........

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  • 6 months later...

Looking at the photos being posted on another thread reminded me of my paternal great grandmother, Eva Burns Hudson, nee Avery, who lived in Chapel Street Beeston.

 

Born in 1864 to Samuel Avery and Marina, both school teachers, Eva married John Samuel Hudson, a 6 foot, handsome, volatile lace designer. Eva stood no higher than a pennorth of coppers but bore her husband 8 children who were all such large babies they nearly killed her. 

 

In old age, Eva was trotting down Wollaton Road, Beeston when she spotted a young woman pushing a large pram towards her. Eva halted the woman and peered under the hood of the pram at the twins inside. The beaming mother, bristling with pride, didn't expect what came next.

 

"Twins?" chirped Eva, in horror. "They're no good to you! I should drown them!"  And off she trotted.

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