Bestwood Estate

[Cliff Ton 9,449]

1 hour ago, benjamin1945 said:

Bit of a squint Trogg,,but recognise most names on there,,

 

I recognise your name in there Ben.

[Jill Sparrow 9,183]

Think that's his grandad, CT.

[benjamin1945 14,886]

MY LOVELY POP..............

[DJ360 6,116]

17 hours ago, trogg said:

I have attached 2 lists of roads in Bestwood  Estate with the residents names from 1953, I think 2 of our members families are on these lists. They may have memories of these people, I am sure some of them were characters and memories like these should not be forgotten.

I have the disc with most streets in Nottingham if anybody wants me to post them .

 

 

Fab stuff Mick! I only remember a Manser from the first list. I was at HP with a Graham Manser who lived on Andover. Last seen at the HP Bicentenary Dinner in 2008. He was living in Girvan, Scotland and working in textiles.

 

Southglade.  Bear in mind that as far as I can work out.. we moved from Bilborough to Bestwood in 1952 or 53. I was born Feb 3rd 1949, so in Feb 1953 I was 4. I suspect we moved in in '52. I recall moving in.  The family moving out were called 'Potter'.  Also recall one day wandering up and down the street 'lost' because I knew there was a '4' in there somewhere.. but was it 40, 42, 44 ? I wasn't in school.

 

 I remember Jaycocks, nice family.  Carlin? Nope.  I'm sure they were nice people but I have no memory. Wakefields? Yes. I was pals with Reggie Wakefield Jr for years.  They got all posh and bought a house somewhere....

Bowlers. Nice

Morris.  Alfie and Co.  Loveable rogues.  I think Ben told us a while back that Alfie had left us?

16. Town.? Nope

18 Rowbotham. No.

Where is 20?

22. Johnson. No.

24 Hollifield. Yep.  Ray was my age and his younger bro Derek.  Still about as far as I know but I haven't seen the since 60s.Part of our 'gang'.

26. I vaguely remember Willoughbys.

28 is Mitchell..who I don't recall. They were succeeded by Chambers. I was at school with their lad and he was one of our gang.

30 'Mayes' Nope.. That was later Armstrong. Dave was also part of our gang.

32. No. I recall a chap called ..maybe 'Simms'? Whatever his name. he didn't like us kids much.

34. Abbot.  Nice family. Dad was a Textile Designer in lace factories. Son was Peter. He was very into arts/crafts etc. He made models. He was fascinated by American Indians and their 'stuff'. He made copies.  Went to the cinema with hm and also rode to Southwell with him on bikes. Genuinely nice people.

36 Barber's.  They had a daughter as I recall.  Ben may recall better.

38. Dunno. Later it was Girling.. Son David and daughter Lynn and a couple more families after that.

40. Yep.. Guilty as charged.. That was us..

42. Gambles.  Yep. Kids were our friends. Christne, Graham and Susan. They got all posh and bought a house on Valley Rd.

44.  Quinney  I don't recall. They were replaced by Sanders.. who took me to Blackpool for a week as a 'companion' to their son Gerald.

46. George Bramley.  Remember him well. Also his kids. I think we've been in contact on here but my memory is so crap these days.

 

Getting fed up now but I recall most names lower down the list.

 

[benjamin1945 14,886]

What year did your family leave Col?

[DJ360 6,116]

We didn't leave, so much as fade away Ben... .

 

My late Sister Pam got married and left in 1967, though after moving around a fair bit she ended up on Leybourne from the early 70s and my Brother in Law still lives there. Pam died in 2012.

I started to drift away from about 1969/70 and was gone for good by 1971.

My Dad died relatively young in 1976.  He was 56.

My brother got married a couple of years later and moved up to Warren Wood.

So Mum lived alone there until she needed residential care which would be around 2009.

My brother moved back into the house for the best part of a year while his was repaired after a catastrophic flood destroyed almost the whole of the interior.

When it was obvious Mum was not returning, we sold the place about 2011.

Mum passed in 2015.

[benjamin1945 14,886]

The reason i asked col was i had a cousin move onto southglade and couldnt recall whether it was 40 or 44,,it was about 1960,,and must have been 44 then,,their names were Humphries Ron and Brenda do you remember them?

[DJ360 6,116]

Hi Ben, I don't know that name. Around 1960 it would still be Gambles in 42, Sanders in 44 and Bramley's in 46. 48 was Smith.  I'll ask our kid if he remembers the name.  No. 42 changed early 60s to Beardsley. I think Sanders were still there in 1969 when I got my first car.

[benjamin1945 14,886]

On 1/26/2014 at 10:41 AM, Cliff Ton said:

An area - and estate - hardly mentioned anywhere in Nottstalgia

Think thats changed a bit now cliff ton.........

[Cliff Ton 9,449]

It also reminds me that I've been around here for quite a long time. Nearly seven years ago since I said that !

[benjamin1945 14,886]

On 2/28/2017 at 10:16 AM, benjamin1945 said:

Peter Bowles the actor went to High Pavement..........and mentions in his book (although not by name) Bestwood Estate,he lived on Kersall drive,.......and says he..............''Had to go through a rough estate on his way there''................cheeky git.......lol.

 

On 2/28/2017 at 10:37 AM, DJ360 said:

 

 

Peter Bowles.  As you say.  Cheeky Git!!  Kersall Drive/Saxondale area in my memory was little different to Bestwood except not as good 

 

I imagine he would have walked either through Marble Arch or over the crossing at the end of Southglade, neither of which led to particulary 'bandit infested' routes to school.

 

In all honesty, the only area I was a bit wary of as a kid was 'Raymede Steps' because unless you were actually visiting one of the houses you had no real reason to be there and I always felt like an unwelcome intruder.

 

Col

 

[DJ360 6,116]

Peter Bowles died at 85 yrs. That's approx 12 years older than me. I was at High Pavement from 1960-1965.  Bowles' first year must have been 1948, so he would hardly have gone to  the Bestwood site which only opened in 1955.

[benjamin1945 14,886]

Living on Kersall drive and walking thru a council estate to HP Grammar school sounds like Bestwood to me....i'll find it in his book again....You probably right Col...i did say he didnt mention it by name...i just assumed.....

[DJ360 6,116]

Paul. He was born Oct 1936 so would probably have started school Sept. 1941. ( The Sept after his 4th birthday.) Six years in primary would end in 1947..so he would start at HP Sept. 1947. His basic 5 year secondary would take him to 1952 and 2 years in Sixth form doing A levels would make it 1954.

However..it looks like his family moved a lot so his entry to school could have been delayed. Also his school career could have been extended for any number or reasons..re- taking a year or whatever, and it's not unusual for people to do A level re-sits which would take him to 1955.

Finally..I'm fairly certain the HP Bestwood site opened formally in 1955, but I suppose I could be wrong..or it could maybe have been occupied and in use before the official opening.

It's all very intriguing.

[benjamin1945 14,886]

My first memory of any school was the 'Huts'' which i started at in 1950...on the site of what was to be HP....Was there until 52 or 53....before going to 'Whipple'' across the road........

               Back in those days before HP the whole site right down to Arnold road was our ''Little Paradise'' for football and cricket...it was known as ''Back Wall''.........After HP was built we still used it and refused to believe it wasn't ours..........lol

[benjamin1945 14,886]

On 3/15/2020 at 3:03 PM, benjamin1945 said:

Grandaughter got this photo on for me,,,twas about 1951 Infant school Bestwood estate,,,May day i think,,,remember most of the names,, Marian Perry,,Roy Burton,,Ann Shelton,,yours truly,,Michael Laurence,,Beryl Hughes,,Roy Wyers,,Val Biddolph...........happy days   

 

 

Made a mess of this.......should have been on Bestwood Estate thread ..........wanted to say this photo above or below i'm confused... was taken at the ''Huts'' school about 1951 on the site that was to become ''High Pavement school''..............

[Cliff Ton 9,449]

1 hour ago, benjamin1945 said:

Made a mess of this.......should have been on Bestwood Estate thread .........

 

Now sorted.

 

 

[DJ360 6,116]

Ben, when I was at HP, there were two..or maybe 3 huts just inside the main gate on the left. Could well have been the same huts. As I recall they were used as changing huts for sport and also for a 'Tuck Shop' for break times.

[DJ360 6,116]

https://secure.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/rollofhonour/WarMemorials/Details/360

 

On a quick count..approx 100 pupils and 'masters' of HP perished in WW1.

 

What a waste.

 

https://www.highpavementsociety.org.uk/index.html

[benjamin1945 14,886]

Those 3 huts on the left as you went in were our class rooms Col............the bottom one i remember so well.....it was my ist class..1950.....it had a Coke fired heater in the middle with a long thin chimney up thru the roof............

           Our Teacher was Mrs Taylor a quite old lady who was lovely......but she insisted on kissing us every day on leaving......

            The Huts were there for many years even when HP was operating......you may also recall also on the left when going in...our open roofed toilets which were up a long alley...

            

[Cliff Ton 9,449]

These 'Huts and High Pavement School which you're referring to, were they alongside Arnold Road ?

 

The site is now housing - opposite Belconnen Road.

[benjamin1945 14,886]

No cliff ton opposite end.... top of Gainsford crescent which is a long hill.............makes me sad every time i drive past the bottom end and see all the new housing.........which compared to the old council houses are Rabbit hutches........

An interesting feature of Gainsford crescent is a wall of Bulwell stone'' that runs the length of it and backs on to what was the HP site...must be half a mile long.......

[Cliff Ton 9,449]

Not an area I know. So for the first time ever, I've had a drive up there.......on Streetview

[benjamin1945 14,886]

See my edit Cliff ton........ref the Wall........also on my dancing photo you can just make out a bit of the Wall..............

[DJ360 6,116]

Right... Here is the area formerly enclosed by Ben's 'Back Wall'. It was the site of High Pavement school..mostly clutered close to the Gainsford side.. with extensive playing fields 'terraced' on several levels and stretching down to Arnold Road. The Houses adjacent to Gainsford Crescent, to the south..are the original Council Dwellings, which had the 'Back Wall' to their rear. Inside the wall, the huts were to the left of what is now 'Pavior Road', which itself is more or less where the HP entrance was. To the right of Pavior Road as viewed.

The rest of the housing within the curve of Gainsford Crescent is newish and at least some of the roads are named after former teachers who I knew. Those names I don't recognise might also be of teachers from before or after my time.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.9934138,-1.1658769,607m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

The names I recognise are Murray, a dour old Scot who taught History, Davies, who was Head for my first couple of years and went on to be Director of Education, Jackson, who was my House Master, Blackburn, who I recall taught Metalwork and Engineering.  I recall Crossland, Millidge and Mardling, though none taught me.