Wilford Toll Bridge area

[Smiffy49 590]

 

Also in the background is the GCR Railway Bridge over the Trent.

In the late 1950's we would watch trains along this stretch from the riverside.

Many hours spent also watching the trolley buses come and go.

The traffic island was later replaced with a round one, but do not know the date of this change.

Anyone know what type of trolley bus is approaching the terminus, would this type have still been running to the end?

Smiffy

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

I'm impressed with that photo. I have never been able to see it from that angle. By the way, did many of your dad's pics appear in Picture the past?

[Smiffy49 590]

Hi Bilbraborn, the photograph was taken from the top floor of my Grandparents house.

Most of his other photographs are either family & friends but are still very interesting, some later ones are when he was in the army.

He is 90 now and uses his PC for the internet & email.

I am currently scanning all of his original negatives, anything of interest to this site I will post (now I've cracked how to do it!)

None have been put on "picture the past"

Smiffy

[Cliff Ton 10,457]

the photograph was taken from the top floor of my Grandparents house.

Can you see it here?

I've zoomed in on 'Britain from Above' and hopefully it's pointing the right way. The Toll Bridge is on the right, and you can even see a trolley bus at the roundabout.

[Smiffy49 590]

I did have a look previously on the Britain from Above site but could not quite see it.

I have however found this picture on the web, I can't remember where I got it from, but apologies and full credit to the original photographer.

The house was right outside the 40 trolley bus stop.

The photograph was taken from the top window of my Grandparents house, the window above the roof of the bus.

You can't see their house in this view, but my other Grandparents lived next door, it was the house with the "Wilford Road" sign above it. The other sign to the left said "Colliery Road"

Smiffy

[Smiffy49 590]

Odd that my last post should be #40 with a number 40 bus at the stop !

My Grandfather used to keep the golden privet hedge on the left in an immaculate condition.

He was out most weekends with his shears, I can hear the sound of him clipping it now.

Posting a letter was easy too, with the post box outside their gate.

Out of view, hidden by the bus was a corporation green square clock on a pole.

Smiffy

[Smiffy49 590]

Here is another photograph taken by my Dad looking across the traffic island towards the gates of the embankment.

To the right is Walsall Conduits and in the far distance the GCR railway bridge over the Trent.

This is his old Hillman Minx in grey & white.

If you look closely over the top of the car and into the distance, you can see a building just through the gates of the embankment on the right.

Until I scanned this image I had forgotten about this, was it some sort of sub-station or perhaps water-works, anyone know?

Smiffy

[Trevor S 2,003]

Help....Where have all the photographs gone????

The only photos are those posted by Cliff Ton, the flower picture by Ayeup and the last post by Smiffy49.

As to the identity of the building in question, there is some type of sign on the front wall above the arched window but I cannot decipher it. Perhaps someone can play with the photo and cause the lettering to be more visible/readable and solve the mystery.

[Smiffy49 590]

Trevor,

If you mean the area just above the car windscreen, then that is not an arched window, it is the concave bricked entrance (with railings) to the Vic Embankment.

You will see another one to the left hand side, just to the right of the ice cream van.

From memory the building was rectangular and (I think) had no windows.

Smiffy

[Trevor S 2,003]

Smiffy,

I was referring to your original photographs showing the view from your Fathers window. There was an old brick building to the right of the picture and you questioned if anyone knew what it was and one post suggested a laundry.

As these photos are no longer on site, I cannot describe further except that the building had wording on the front walls above the arched window.

[mary1947 2,079]

What excellent pictures Smiffy just passed the bay window is Headon Terrace where my dad was born, he went to Bosworth St school is there any chance that your granddad went there as well. From the 40 terminus in the opposite direction their was the Royal Ordanance factory and the engineering firm Midco also Pork Farms factory Blackburn and Starling. The ice cream van sold the best ice cream in Nottingham the man who had it was called Sallarey. The Laundry and Walsall place later became a baby clinic. Looking at the pictures of the Trolley buses, did one take the second road next to Wilford rd which if I remember was Queens Drive as I can never remember the 40 or 47 Trolley bus having two wheels at the back. Maybe some one can throw some light on this.

Keep up the good work Smiffy love looking at your photos

[Smiffy49 590]

mary1947, thanks for your kind comments.

My Grandad did not go to Bosworth, but my Dad did, I will ask him which year and let you know.

He always referred to the school as Boz Eyed Kippers, or something like that.

Smiffy

[StephenFord 866]

No - the trolleybuses never went up Queens Drive. All went up Wilford Road. You are right that 6-wheelers were not often used on the 40 and 47, although they did at the very end. They were awkward to get round the sharp bend from Parliament Street onto George Street, and also the turning circles at Wells Road (40) and Ransom Road (47). However it may be that the earlier (1930s) 6-wheelers, as on the photo, were not such a problem - they were quite a bit shorter than the 1950s 70-seaters that many of us remember so well on the 43, 39 and so on.

[Smiffy49 590]

Re#42, anyone know what the building was in the centre background of the photograph?

Smiffy

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Mary1947, I think the baby clinic was the "art deco" style building in the corner of Wilford Road and Queens Drive, my Doctor moved into that building and had his day and night surgeries in there. It had a kind of "bull nose" entrance to it.

I never saw the laundry, as when we moved into the area, it was waste land, then Walsall Conduits warehouse was built on the waste land, and as far as I'm aware, was that right up to Clifton Colly closing in 1968, the last time I walked past on my way to work.

[Mess 616]

I think the pipes with the cast iron openers were the showers drains from Clifton Colliery, they were set into the high concrete wall that supported the main road above, all near the power staion inflow grates.

I'd bet that pond, Iremonger's, was owned or once owned by the family of that name, one of which was a face overman at Clifton Colliery, Ron Iremonger.

Probably relates to Albert Iremonger Notts County's legendary 6' 5" goalkeeper who played for them from 1905-25. He was landlord of The Ferry Inn until his death in 1958

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

I'll bet that was Ron's Dad.

[denshaw 2,871]

We used to nip through the field with the pond, we always called it George's.

[... 1,411]

Mess # 41 I think you are right ,after all iremonger road next to notts county ground was named after him.Albert played with my grandad George Charlesworth a picture of them both can be found in the notts county book ,my brother recently donated an original team photo to the club.

[Mess 616]

I've looked up your grandad in my Notts County book. 1917-1920. Those were the days when Forest had to play second fiddle to Notts. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottingham_derby#mediaviewer/File:Notts_graph.JPG

I presume you're a County fan.

[... 1,411]

Mess I am a meadows lad that lives in derbyshire ,but am a proud forest notts Mansfield fan ,just love my nottingham roots,by the way grandad swept the streets to subsidize his 1st division wages,how Times change,they kicked a real football an all in those days.don't think he had to buy much of the beer he consumed.

[Mess 616]

My Notts County book states your grandad was born in Bolsover so, like me your family has strong links to Derbyshire.

[Smiffy49 590]

Here's another view of the area around Wilford Toll Bridge.

The building just through the gates in my picture #32 can be clearly seen.

Smiffy

[Cliff Ton 10,457]

That's good, not seen it before. At a guess I'd say pre-1950s or earlier. The road going towards the colliery is still Colliery Road; the extension of Queen's Drive hasn't happened yet.

[Smiffy49 590]

Cliff Ton, it's around the mid 1930's.

You will notice that the steps along the Embankment have not been started yet.

I've still not found out what the building in the middle of the picture is, but it was certainly there in the late 1950's.

Smiffy