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An area - and estate - hardly mentioned anywhere in Nottstalgia.

Is there a difference between Bestwood Estate and Bestwood Park Estate? (I think the answer is Yes)

I was trying to discover when the area was developed, and Wikipedia says Construction was commenced in the 1930s and by 1938, some of the roads had been established including Andover Road, Gainsford Crescent and Landcroft Crescent. Work was interrupted by World War II, after which the bulk of the housing stock was constructed ...... but that isn't the area I was interested in.

I was thinking of the roads around Beckhampton Road and Cherry Orchard Mount, which I always knew as Bestwood Park Estate, and I'm certain that area wasn't built until the late 50s/early 60s.

So eventually the earlier part joined up with the later part, and now they are both normally just referred to as Bestwood.

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I moved onto Southglade Rd. (No. 40) around 1951/2, when I was barely 3. Prevously we lived at 76 Glaisdale Drive, Bilboro. Back then, there was no Beckhampton, no Rise Park, or Top Valley, or Bestw

SWMBO lived on Beckhampton Rd in the early 1960s and says the houses were "newish" then and called Bestwood Park Estate .

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I have vague memories of cycling along Arnold Road in the 1960s and seeing extensive building works where the present Bestwood Park Estate is. Put the clock forward to late 1974 and I am a milk roundsman on Bestwood Park Estate. We used to do the top of Beckhampton Road, Belleville Drive, Broadwood rd and the roads within these circles. Also part of Bestwood Park drive and Treegarth Square. At that time it was a very nice estate and many tenants were buying their homes. I have had friends living on the estate recently and one of them had to put a padlocked grilled over the front door of their apartment.

When I was on the milk round in the 70s they were still building Top Valley and Rise Park.

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re: poohbear in #3

That's what I thought. I didn't expect the Bestwood area to be full of hidden history and architectural gems!

This map of the early 50s shows my point about the Andover Road area already existing, but empty fields in the Beckhampton Road area. And note how places like Top Valley, Glade Hill, and Hazel Hill were used for the "new" roads.

best2.jpg

And I've just noticed the legendary Rigleys wagon works is shown here.

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The four way junction to the south west was the site of the "Marble Arch" under the railway and discussed elsewhere on the forum.

The new site for High Pavement Grammar School was in the semi circle of Gainsford Crescent.

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The whole area is a bit of an hotch potch.

Bestwood Estate i.e the area around Gainsford Cres., Raymede Dr. etc. was built first. I have a friend who is 65 and she lived on Handover Rd when she was born.

This was followed shortly afterward with the area whose boundaries are Hartcroft Rd. Holmewood Cres. Kinlet Rd., Stevenholme Cres. and Beckhampton Rd. This is when the difference between Bestwood Estate and Bestwood Park Estate started.

After this they moved on to the right hand side of Beckhampton building up the hill and eastward towards Glade Hill. (Used to go there for wild strawberries when I was a kid.) That area was bounded by Beckhampton Rd, Oxclose Ln and Queens Bower Rd. Even here there is a glitch as we change local authorities from Nottm City to Arnold & Carlton somewhere near Gladehill Rd.

Then in the middle 60's they built the area east of Queens Bower Rd Mildenhall Cres Milverton Rd etc. I was fitting gas meters into the new properties in 1965.

This was followed by the area south of Southglade Rd opposite the park its self, These were built mid 70s. I moved into a brand new house there in 1976.

Top Valley was a mix of council housing and spec built private. Whilst Rise Park was all spec built as far as I know.

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Interesting map Cliff Ton. I had relatives who moved to Arnside Road (between Arnold Road and the railway line) about 1955. This doesn't seem to be on that map, but from memory I would have thought the area was early 1950s (maybe even late 40s) council houses. It included Arnside Road, Arnside Close and Torbay Crescent.

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My knowledge of the area started with relatives who had lived at Garden Street, Radford. When that area was cleared they were moved to Eversley Walk, just off Hazel Hill Crescent. That move happened in the early 1960s, but I don't know if their place was new when they moved in.

I don't suppose there are many photos of the area before building; this is the only example I can do of a "Then and Now".

bestwood.jpg

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Drifting slightly from the Bestwood topic, I was given a book last week Radford Colliery the Bread and Herring pit.

The book almost looks home made, there is lots of pictures but they all seem to be poor photocopies. If it did'nt have a proper bar coded price ticket on the back I would have said it was self done.

One of the articles is about a struggling miner, who was given a brand new house at Aspley.

116 wendover drive

rent 6s.6d per week

rates and water charges 2s.8d per week

tenancy starting 4th may 1931

That might have been a lot of money then as they soon got behind with the rent and had to move out

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I think a lot of that area was owned by the Duke of St. Albans. The story goes that Randy old King Charles 2nd used to take Nell Gwynn to Bestwood Lodge for a bit of 'How's yer father'. She was notorious for staying in bed all morning, so one day he told her that all the land she rode a horse around before breakfast would become hers. So she called his bluff and did a nice long ride dropping hankies every so often. When she gave birth to Charles's son, the 1st Duke of St Albans, he inherited it. I think Sunrise Hill comes into the equation somewhere. Whether this story is true or part true I don't know.

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  • 10 months later...

Regarding my earlier post, I was told today that they moved in 1939. 24 Gainsford crescent.

What was there name Ray? i knew most who lived that end of Gainsford.

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What was there name Ray? i knew most who lived that end of Gainsford.

Sorry for the late answer, the family name was Baker. I will speak to the mother in law later for more details.

One of the sons lived in a house at the Hucknall rd- Arnold rd junction it backed onto the railway and was known as the railway house, He emigrated to Oz in the 60s or 70s.

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Thanks Ray,..........yes i knew Kenny Baker hucknall rd/arnold rd,..........but did'nt know his family lived on Gainsford.

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Their near neighbours on Gainsford must have been,the Offilers,Parrots,Crowle,Wallheads,Tomlinson and the Ingalls.

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Thanks Ray,..........yes i knew Kenny Baker hucknall rd/arnold rd,..........but did'nt know his family lived on Gainsford.

It would have been Kennys grandparents that lived on Gainsford. They were moved there from Cherry Orchard.

Kenny is still in Australia, they live in Perth, his mother and sister Jacky came over a few years back.

The house on Arnold road is occupied by my wifes brother in laws brother Ralph Ramsdale, you will know him.

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  • 9 months later...

I moved onto Southglade Rd. (No. 40) around 1951/2, when I was barely 3. Prevously we lived at 76 Glaisdale Drive, Bilboro.

Back then, there was no Beckhampton, no Rise Park, or Top Valley, or Bestwood Park. There was just Bestwood Est. It was bordered by Andover to the east, Arnold Rd to the South, Landcroft, Gainsford and Padstow to the west and Southglade to the north. It was a sort of paradise.

I could cross over Southglade on a spring morning and pull green Hawthorn shoots out of the hedge. We called them 'Bread and Cheese' and they were quite edible.

At the bottom of Southglade was Southglade Farm, run by Gervaise( Jarve) Goddard.

At the top, was the crossing over the Leen Valley line, where the Gala Bingo is now. Jarve used to bring up milk on a pony and trap every morning and take it over the Leen Valley line to leave it on the side of Hucknall Rd. One morning his horse was spooked by a passing train and ran back down Southglade scattering milk, bottles, crates and churns all down the street.

Rigleys was there, almost opposite our house. But the rest was just fields. My Dad came from Bestwood Colliery and his Mum kept the Bestwood Hotel, next to the pit baths. Dad would walk us kids over the fields to Bestwood Colliery three times a year, collecting Bluebells from the woods, Blackberries and then Chestnuts. Grandma was a 'wizz' with preserves and kept them in the cellars under the Bestwood Hotel

Those fields, and later the area around Bulwell Common, were my world as a kid. Fields, hedges, trees. birds, wild flowers, etc., mixed with steam engines, train spotting and watching all the 'Boy's Own' jet aircraft over Hucknall all combined into a pretty amazing time. I had no idea how well off I was, in terms of interest and excitement. It was a brilliant place to be a kid.

I've hardly even skimmed the surface in this post.. but it was a terrific place to grow up. Most of those who live there now, despite the dodgy reputation, are decent enough folk. But they will not recall what Bestwood was like in the 1950s and early 1960s.

There's a place called 'Emmanuel Church' It is just as few yards from the Duke of St Albans pub. I first saw it at about age 6. around 1955. My Dad showed it to me as he walked me through the fields from Bestwood Est. to Bestwood Colliery. One thing which struck me was a red marble gravestone.

The next time I saw Emmanuel Church was a week or so back. It's now totally surrounded by housing. But the red marble is still there.

Emmanuel Church has some sort of 'twinning' thing with St Marks Church in Bestwood Colliery. Despite spending many hours and every Christmas in Bestwood Colliery as a kid, I never went into St Mark's Churchyard until a year or so back. When I did, almost the first grave I saw was Samuel Berresford 1846-1897. My great, great Grandfather.

Makes you think.

Col

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Agree with all you say about Bestwood estate and growing up there in the 50s Col,i have nowt but but great memories of the place and the people,like your Mam mine lived there best part of 60 years,Dad was on his own after Mam died in 94,and when he was ill in 2003 and could'nt really look after himself properly it took us all our time to get him to come and live with us,glad he did eventually and we had some lovely times and laughs with him.

I'm amazed i can't remember you Col,because i'm sure if you lived that end of Southglade i knew everyone else around you.

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You might find this interesting (if you aren't already aware of 'Britain from Above').

The road running horizontally across the lower part is Arnold Road; the junction with Hucknall Road is the X on the left side. The big empty space is now Top Valley and Bestwood.

bd4p6HK.jpg

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Great pic. Cliff ton,never seen a pic of the pre old bestwood estate area,.....where all the fields are i could pencil in the roads that became Bestwood estate,including the house where i was born.

The line of Trees a third of way up and running off to City Hospital i believe is still there tho behind some white houses that were built 60s or 70s,previous to those houses there was allotments,where we went scrumping,we called that area 'Rhubarb' for obvious reasons,at the road end of the line of trees is still a big spreading tree that we used to climb,and everytime i go past the memories come flooding back of the lads that climbed that tree with me,

I could go on, but it would be neverending,.......thanks again Cliff ton.

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