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Great site that Stu , I've just spent another hour plodding through stuff !!

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  • 2 years later...

That's right, Den. the garage was called Hawkers and had that name for some decades. The cafe became a Little Chef for many years and fairly recently the empty building has been turned into an Indian restaurant of all things.

The old privately owned garage has been a petrol station for many years also.

The little old road became a bit of a 'lovers lane' until it was barricaded to vehicles. It's still possible to walk up there. Feels a little bit strange and eerie actually.

Down off the roundabout on the A60 Mansfield Road has seen a change as well. The old Bestwood Pumping Station (many wrongly believe it to be to be Papplewick Pumping Station) is now a restaurant, bar and health club called Lakeside. It's very nice and uses the old cooling pond outside as an attractive feature

lakeside_470_470x326.jpg

LAKESIDE

My Grandpa was Peter Hawker & it was his father that started the garage business Hawker & Sons in the 1940's I think. My Grandpa worked at the garage with his Father & brothers. My Great Grandfather also built the house opposite 'Hurley House' originally named after his wife (my Great Grandmother) Eliza Hurley. I doubt it's called that now but my Mum lived there in the 1950's-60's & remembers playing at the garage & stealing cigarettes when she was 15! The house & garage were sold in the 60's but my family kept the land next to the house (next to the roundabout) until the 90's, I used to play there in the 80's 7 there was an old air raid shelter my Grandfather built in WW2 that the family filled in to keep us safe. My Mum has some old pictures of Leapool & Hawker & Sons garage from the 50's, will try to put them on.

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Thanks for coming along and offering the information, Rachel, very interesting. I actually knew an elderly man who was, I think, apprenticed at Hawker's garage as a mechanic after the war. Living just a mile down the road I'm that way often.

A bit of further information about the old Red Hill road (A60) was forthcoming at the local Arnold history course last week, some of it I knew. The cutting was dug, by hand, in 1812, as mentioned elsewhere to provide work for local Arnold framework knitters. The area was suffering badly, partly due to the closing of Arnold Mill around this time. Apologies for any info that is repeated from elsewhere here. There was no money to pay them so they were paid in kind with bread. The aim was to bring greater prosperity to the area with improved traffic along the A60 which was nothing but a track at that time and very difficult to pass. Going over the hill it was described as not only extremely steep but also very muddy and rutted. The road was wide because carriages ventured further and further outwards to try and avoid the ruts and mud.

The first Arch Bridge, built of stone was actually built on top of the hill and the cutting then cut out beneath it. The stone construction, which would have been approximately half the width of subsequent ones, collapsed eventually and was replaced with a steel one. This itself was replaced some years ago to make a third Arch Bridge. The bridge was required to provide access to the farm at Bestwood.

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Arch Bridge, 1870

http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?action=printdetails&keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;NCCC000169&prevUrl=

Much of the earth and rock dug out to make the Arch Hill cutting was used to build the road up to a higher level further down the hill. This could be seen clearly at the old Guide House where you went down into the front garden from the main Mansfield Road, and stil lin the present property succeeding it.

The framework knitter must have had a hard time as they were described as craftsmen and not particularly up to the rigours of hard physical labour. It is not known whether explosives were used to blast the cutting and these may have been available considering the war on around that period, but it is thought not. It was said that upon experimentation it could be seen that it is possible to 'lever' the large chunks of sandstone out. Still a massive undertaking though and it is not known how long it took to complete.

It was a busy area in those days as the main route between London and York and the Redhill area supported seven inns at the time for passing traffic and the project was an 'everyone's a winner' one in many respects.

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TALKING OF FRAME KNITTERS I JUST RECIEVED MY NOTTINGHAM ARROW WHATS ON AND THERE WILL BE A TALK ON27TH APRIL ADMISSION 2 POUNDS AT NOTTINGHAM CASTLE STUDIO ONE 2PM

23RG MARCH THE CENCUS

18TH MAY SHERWOOD FORESTERS

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WAS LOOKING FOR THE POST I READ THE OTHER DAY ABOUT FRAME WORK KNITTERS BUT I COULD NOT FIND IT SO THOUGHT I WOULD PUT THIS HERE

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WHEN I WORKED FOR CITY COUNCIL WE HAD A FEW CONFRENCES HERE BUILDING TO ME WAS AVERAGE BUT FOOD WAS ALWAYS RUBISH. WE ALL MOANED ABOUT THIS VENUE TOO AS IT WAS GREAT FOR THOSE WITH CARS BUT NUT GOOD IF YOU HAD TO GET THERE FROM OTHER SIDE OF TOWN BY BUS

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  • 3 months later...

Hi,

My name is Rachel & I posted on here a couple of months ago regarding Leapool Island. My Grandfather was Peter Hawker (one of the Hawker & Sons) from the privately owned garage at Leapool. My great grandfather started the business way back in the 1940's I think & also built the house directly opposite which was then called 'Hurley House' named after my great Grandmother Eliza Hurley. The family sold the business in the late 60's but kept Hurley House for a few years after that. I have found quite a few images of the old garage, Leapool Island before the renovations etc. post-5108-0-79895300-1369739452_thumb.jp

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Hi micktome Administartor,

Yes I 'googled' Hawkers garage leapool & was surprised to find a link here. Am so pleased people remember the Hawkers & I am very proud to be one of the family. 'Hurley House' was sold way back in the late 60's early 70's I think but we kept the land at the side until the family sold it to the Highways in the 90's....I miss that place :(

I have quite a few images of the old garage & Leapool island but am having problems uploading to this site (grrrr) but watch this space !

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Hi Michael - no that's my aunt waving in the pic, she lived opposite with my mum & grandparents. I think the photo was taken around 1966 when she was a teenager. I was born in the mid 70's & the garage was sold by then but we still had the land at the side of the house opposite & we used to play there as kids. We often went over to the 'abandoned road' as we called it then & ride our bikes there & then over to the old derelict pumping station. My family eventually sold the land in the very early 90's & that is my last link to the place :(. I have a photo that shows the whole frontage of the garage so will post that too.

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I have some memories of the area too - I was born in Redhill and lived there until I was seven. In the summer we would walk over the hill to Leapool - often taking a picnic with us! In those days (I moved to Long Eaton in 1958) there was little traffic - but we considered it "busy"! Happy days - I doubt the kids today make the same excursion!

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Hi Limey - yes I loved it around there but as you say I bet most teenagers in Redhill & Arnold have ever bothered venturing that way, to busy on their laptops etc ! Good to hear you enjoyed it there as a kid too, did you know my Grandfather at all or any of the Hawkers?

I would love to hear from anyone who knew them & the business in the 1940-60's so if anyone did please get in touch it would be lovely to hear anything at all.

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I cannot say that I knew any of the Hawkers, however, it is possible that my dad, or my uncle who lived on Roscoe Ave. would have known them. Unfortunately, they are no longer with us!

My dad was Stan Marshall, and my uncle was George Martin.

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My dad was a painter and decorator.

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  • 1 year later...

I too knew Stan the cobbler on Winchester St. He was very interested in firearms. I believe he had also been a prison officer and he told me he actually performed some hangings during this time. He always had a good story to tell and I spent many hours listening to him.

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Methinks Stan was pulling your plonker with the hangman thing...he could do that. :laugh: He was however a prison officer/cobbler in Dartmoor prison for years when younger...he taught the prisoners his trade. He was also a registered firearms dealer.

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  • 1 year later...

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