Last gasp - Players factory demolished


Recommended Posts

Whatever your opinion of cigarette smoking, Players provided employment for tens of thousands of Nottinghamians and gave them a very good standard of living - and, don’t forget, at one time doctors recommended cigarette smoking to clear bronchitis!

 

Players (or more correctly, Imperial Tobacco’s) Horizon factory is now being demolished.

 

 

  • Like 3
  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 102
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

On my visit to the area this week, I had a wander past the old Player's sites.   Paid a visit to St Peter's church.     I can remember when this was full of higgledy pig

Some things have survived. The Pheasant on Prospect Street!

Should make it law to have this painted on all UK pubs       

I must be getting old.

 

During my lifetime I've seen two sets of Players factories demolished. My grandad spent all his working life at Players in Radford, and those factories went several years ago.

 

Now the replacement has gone as well.

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes Doctors often recommended Smoking.........after a particular traumatic time,,my Doc asked me if i smoked,,and offered me one in his Surgery,,obviously took it and we both lit up and had a nice chat.,,Yes Fags were good for Nottingham............oh yes,, he also told me to give up with women,, get a Dog and buy a house in the woods..........needed another Fag when i left him............lol

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
16 minutes ago, Cliff Ton said:

I must be getting old.

 

During my lifetime I've seen two sets of Players factories demolished. My grandad spent all his working life at Players in Radford, and those factories went several years ago.

 

Now the replacement has gone as well.

 

Yes you are cliff ton,, it happens to all of us,, My Girlfriend Katrina from the 60s worked at players..........God i loved the smell of her,,still miss it................

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I started at Players in 1969 and in 6 months I was earning twice as much as I had before. Worked at Radford until about 1981 and then down to Horizon Factory. I left taking advantage of a non-contributory, two-thirds final salary pension! A great employer.

 

I vaguely remember the name Bob Coote, Phil, but knew his replacement Norman Lord (also known as the Clock Man) quite well.

 

I hope to visit the site regularly until it’s all gone, and will post more photos if anyone’s interested. I took some of the empty factory a couple of years ago and gave copies to the University as they maintain a Player’s archive. Hopefully they’ll keep a few of these for posterity.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Phil, I knew Bob Coote fairly well from my time at Players.  All the factory clocks were sent an electrical impulse every 30secs, triggered from mechanical master clocks which Bob used to maintain.  Whenever we altered any wiring to the clocks we had just the 30secs to disconnect and reconnect.  If we missed a pulse, all the clocks in factory would be out so we had to go back to the master and send an extra pulse.  When the clocks changed (BST), we had to go in on the following Sunday and either switch the master off for and hour or send another 120 pulses down the line.  Spent many an hour adjusting the public clocks which most of the Player's buildings had.

 

He was quiet and well respected and I'm pleased to say that I did know him.

 

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

During the Winter months the Continental professional road racing cyclists turned their attention to the indoor tracks for the Six Day races. The indoor stadiums were busy round the clock for 6 days and nights of racing. These events were more of a beer festival and most were held in Belgium, the home of Europe's largest population of cigar smokers. There were times when you could not see across the track for cigar smoke. During the riders rest periods when the stadiums was quiet, they would have a cigar to keep acclimatised :rolleyes:

Link to post
Share on other sites

One of the most vivid memories of my childhood is walking up Radford Boulevard en route to Garden Street, running up and down Player's steps, gazing up at the clock and the smell of tobacco that permeated that section of the road.  All of it, long gone.

Link to post
Share on other sites
10 minutes ago, Jill Sparrow said:

One of the most vivid memories of my childhood is walking up Radford Boulevard en route to Garden Street, running up and down Player's steps, gazing up at the clock 

 

This one ? the clock is still there, but slightly downgraded.

F36KWh7.jpg

(I posted this in another thread a couple of years ago)

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

If I remember correctly, when the Horizon factory was built, didn't someone drive a John Player Lotus around the factory?

Link to post
Share on other sites
45 minutes ago, AfferGorritt said:

Beware image posters! Learn from my mistakes (wish I could!)

 

If you want to replace the missing photos, create a new post in the relevant thread and I'll delete the old (empty) posts.

 

Otherwise it gets complicated.

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Waddo said:

didn't someone drive a John Player Lotus around the factory?

Mario Andretti

 

Rog

Link to post
Share on other sites
6 minutes ago, plantfit said:

Mario Andretti

 

Rog

Really?!! A really good friend of ours knew him well, they both lived in Nazareth in Pennsylvania as kids. The story goes that Mario used to take our friend Adam for a hair-raising spin around the neighbourhood.  I believe him, he doesn’t tell porkies!  

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Correct Lizzie, he has some sort of two seat racing car similar to formula one/Indie car that for a fee he will drive you round a race track at frightening speed, I have a signed post card of the Lotus JPS car somewhere when he came to the Horizon factory, at the time my SiL worked in the offices there and she got it for me

 

Rog

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, plantfit said:

Mario Andretti

 

Or was it Emerson Fittapaldi (sp) can't find the post card so can't be sure. Think it would be around 1974/75 ish

 

Rog

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I think it was Fittipaldi but could be wrong. I seem to remember it was driven by a F1 champion, and Andretti didn’t win that title until the late 70’s. If the photo is 73/74 I believe it would have been Fittipaldi.

 

Another memory has just bubbled to the surface. Believe the driver was Brazilian and Andretti was American,

 

All of the above may be wrong!!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Just to through a bit of confusion into the thread, the lotus in the picture is carrying ayerton sennas number!!

Link to post
Share on other sites

All I can remember from what My sis told me was "He was a small bloke" bothe Emerson and Ayerton were small, wish I could find the autographed post card,that would confirm, still looking

 

Rog

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...