Bulwell

[roger.hill 0]

i couldnt remember his name -was a nice bloke.i assume don greenwoods also dead . Norman  Shaw(Fox) also i suspect .There was a roger(call sign Oscar at a2b )and jimmy barr (think he lived in Bulwell )Trying to remember the board opeator -have a feeling the name was george gamble .

 

[DJ360 6,721]

RE: The pic above of the Crossing at Carey Rd/St Alban's Rd Bulwell.

 

My Grandad was the signalman there for many years, 1950s and early 60s. I reckon he'd have retired in 1963.  My Mum  used to take me there sometimes before getting the 17 bus from a bit lower down Carey Rd, if Grandad was 'on shift'.  He would let me wind the big wheel to open the gates.  I was fascinated by the bells ringing, indicating trains approaching or whatever.  Also by the way he always used a cloth in his hands when moving the levers.

 

Oddly, until I saw more recent pics like this.. I have no memory of seeing the 'Railway House' next door.  Also now gone.  It seems to me to be the same pattern as the recently demolished one at Bobbers Mill, where my Grandad, Great Grandad and assorted other relatives lived from around 1900 onwards.

 

Just out of sight on the left is the corner of Carey Rd and Newcastle Street.  I recall Brian Exton moving his motorcycle business from Coventry Road to that spot sometime in the late 60s.. Think he also moved into cars and to my surprise 'Exton Motors' still seems to be there, though I'd be doubtful it's still Brian running it as I guess he'd be 75-80 at least by now.

 

Mum also used to always take us to 'Lukes' Shoes further down Carey Rd.  They sold Clarke's shoes which Mum always rated.  They had a kid's shoe fitting area which was painted up like a cartoon train as I recall. They used those sliding foot measures, and also had one of those machines where you put your feet in a slot at floor level and looked down though a viewer to get an 'X-Ray' view of how your feet fit the shoes.

 

There was also a newsagents/sweetshop along there, but I can't recall what else.

 

I often got taken to the Adelphi to see various Disney films etc.  And the 17 Bus Terminus was next up Carey Rd, outside the high wall which hid The Bulwell Finishing Co.  All I knew was that the place smelled permanently of steam and bleach.  You could see very little, even from the top deck of the bus.. so always a bit of a mystery to me.

 

All looks very different now.

[benjamin1945 16,139]

Amazing Col how many memories you can have in such a small space,, ie between the crossings and Adelphi,,

     17 bus terminus,,all the mates from bestwood i caught the bus with to marble arch,, Smedleys cobblers next door to the shop you mentioned,, getting thrown out and searched from adelphi for being under age for an x film,,

  Walking down bestwood road sometime in 1961 and the factory roof exploding,,think spray and burgess,,

      buying my first "anything for the weekend sir? " and leaving the shirt I'd just bought,, in Croomes barbers,,he came out after me shouting Oi, i began to run,then realised he was. Waving the shirt at me,,i was only a boy of 15,, lol

[DJ360 6,721]

Ahhh yes Ben.  Croome's hairdressers.  Went there a couple of times.  I also remember there being a bridge over the Leen, with cast iron rails.dunno if that's still there.  There was a similar one at the bottom of Southwark Street in Basford just above the old Vernon Cinema I think.  Always used to fascinate me and I longed to be able to get down to the river in those places just 'to see'.

Do you have any idea when the Colston Rd flats were built?  Just above the crossing?  Good friend of mine has lived there since at least the mid 60s, but I have no recollection of them being built, or what was there before.

 

Col

[benjamin1945 16,139]

No Col can't recall when they were built.....also can't remember a bridge near there,,the one near the Vernon is still there,, when i was about 7 or 8 balanced across it for a 'dare'  ,,on the way to Sat.afternoon fivepenny rush, at Vernon Pictures,,,and when we came out i was always ''Hoppalong Cassidy'' or the ''Cisco Kid''

[DJ360 6,721]

 

This is the bridge on the Bulwell side now.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.0052314,-1.1919219,3a,60y,180h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPbyvBM3ieh8vrvSz0cUTlA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

Brick wall.  So maybe my memory is wrong?  Or maybe the wall isn't as old as it looks?  It certainly doesn't seem to match the wall in front of the other half of those semi detached cottages.

 

Other side of Carey Rd the river seems to be under a fairly recent culvert, probably contemporary with the new industrial/retail units on the site of the old Bulwell Finishing/Adelphi buildiings.

[benjamin1945 16,139]

Just come back to me Col,, of course theres a bridge there,, but nowadays its a brick one..........

EDIT..........Posted at same time Col............

[DJ360 6,721]

Just checked with my mate.  He and his Mum were first occupants of one of Colston Rd Flats.  51 years ago. So 1967.

[loppylugs 8,427]

Ben!  Your exploits never cease to amaze me and I grew up in Netherfield.  

 

You just put a smile on my face with my coffee on a cold wet morning.  Even the dogs don't want to go out.

 

Thanks.  

[Jill Sparrow 10,304]

Loppy, Ben probably holds the world record for putting a smile on people's faces...mainly females! And we'll leave it there!  

[DJ360 6,721]

Here's the Leen Bridge at the bottom of Southwark Street opposite Basford Crossings.  That's something like what I recall also at Boowul Crossings.  Building to the right has a stone plaque 'Pearsons'  Dyers and Bleachers etc.

 

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@52.9854501,-1.1812074,3a,75y,139.36h,94.99t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3pM1K41I25PDV3sRTrX5QA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

Building on left has 'Bridge Works'.  Fab old buildings.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@52.9854501,-1.1812074,3a,75y,96.2h,97.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3pM1K41I25PDV3sRTrX5QA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

[loppylugs 8,427]

Tried to take a look, Col.  I got an error message.  "Your client has issued a malformed ori illegal request.  That's all we know."   'Ere!  what you been up to then?  It's not like Google to not know summat.  

[benjamin1945 16,139]

The very bridge Col and the same buildings,,the drop to the river leen below was about 15 feet,,its a wonder none of us ever fell,,

[DJ360 6,721]

Remember the bridge over the Great Central on Kersall Drive just south of Boowul Common Station?  The top was close to 2 feet wide, but sloped towards the drop and was made of blue engineering bricks which can be pretty slippy.  One of my mates regularly walked across that. I couldn't watch...

[FLY2 10,108]

Pass the bridge regularly Col. Still in perfect condition too. Those bluies were made for ever I reckon.

[benjamin1945 16,139]

Still there is it fly,,,,,,,you know pass it probably 5 times a week ,must have a look next time.....funny how little curiositys (sp) stick in the mind......one i often think about from when i was very young is just a little way up from the old Marble Arch on Hucknall road,,going toward Arnold road, it was a drain that went under the Railway embankment between Andover road and Hucknall road,,you could actually see daylight looking from one end to the other,, a gang of us when i was about 10 decided to go thru it,, bad idea,about 10 yards in there was mass panic and we all eventually scrambled out.

                            Over the years it disappeared got over grown i would imagine,,but when passing still think about it.

[benjamin1945 16,139]

All the way along Hucknall road between Arnold road and Moor bridge there are so many memories for many of us,,already mentioned many tales of Bulwell common,,golf club,, even ladies Golf club steps that Enigma took a photo of.

 

Edit,, did i miss sumat,,thought many photos have come back..........seems more have disappeared.........shame really.........

[Cliff Ton 10,457]

50 minutes ago, benjamin1945 said:

Edit,, did i miss sumat,,thought many photos have come back..........seems more have disappeared.........shame really.........

 

It depends on which system was used by the person who posted them, and how they reacted if the system played silly buggers.

[DJ360 6,721]

3 hours ago, benjamin1945 said:

Still there is it fly,,,,,,,you know pass it probably 5 times a week ,must have a look next time.....funny how little curiositys (sp) stick in the mind......one i often think about from when i was very young is just a little way up from the old Marble Arch on Hucknall road,,going toward Arnold road, it was a drain that went under the Railway embankment between Andover road and Hucknall road,,you could actually see daylight looking from one end to the other,, a gang of us when i was about 10 decided to go thru it,, bad idea,about 10 yards in there was mass panic and we all eventually scrambled out.

                            Over the years it disappeared got over grown i would imagine,,but when passing still think about it.

 

There was at least one more Paul.  Ran from the fields opposite Southglade Road, under the embankment and out on the other side towards Boowul Common.    I'd say roughly halfway between Southglade and Rigleys.  Corresponding to the hollow that still exists on the top end of the Common.  It was never passable in my time.

[Cliff Ton 10,457]

Even I can't find some of the aerial photos I posted earlier so I've done this again. It shows at least two footpaths under the railway embankment.

 

[DJ360 6,721]

Heck of a lot to be spotted in that pic Kev, If you know what you are seeing. Be interesting to know the date.  I'd guess late 1940s, early 1950s.

Field bottom right is where Gala Bingo now stands and the streets to the left are parts of Bestwood Estate, bounded by Southglade Rd, next to field, and Andover Road, curving around parallel to the Leen Valley Railway line.

There was a way over the railway at the end of Southglade Road, because Southglade was originally just a track to Southglade Farm.  In my youth farmer 'Jarve' Goddard brought his milk to  the railway by horse drawn cart and took it over to the Hucknall Road side, where it was collected.  He must have had the keys to the padlocked five bar type gate.

 

Immediately opposite Southglade across Hucknall Road, is the 'top' of Bulwell Common, with its footpath (still there) curving round and running (out of shot) alongside Boowul Common Station and up to the old station approach where the 'new' Golden Ball pub was built approx 1960.Just to the left of the Common is an area of allotments.  This was much reduced later by the building of Nottingham Commercial Vehicles (NCV) which is also now gone and the site seemingly on hold as someone (Aldi?) tried to build a supermarket but 'discovered' an old well.  If they'd asked Me, Ben, Trogg etc.,, we could have told them about that because we used to play around it as kids and it seems only to have been 'lost', when NCV extended their car park out to partially cover the filled in cutting where the Great Central ran until closure early 60s.   The remaining bit of allotments to the left were abandoned and later became the site of the short lived 'Goose Fair' pub,  Whole area now housing.

 

Moving left along Hucknall Road is Kersall Drive, (As mentioned earlier) running towards top of pic, over the Great Central and over St Alban's Rd, before heading off down to Highbury Vale.  Incidentally, top right corner shows 'Alnwick Close', Highbury Vale Est. where I only recently discovered my paternal Grandparents lived (No.6) during WW2 and which was my Dad's address according to the Census (Thanks again to David W) while he was a P.O.W. in Germany/Poland.

 

Coming back to Hucknall Road. Follow it around to the left, as it matches its curve with both the Leen Valley Line and Andover Road and you see the 'A' or '*' shaped outline of the paths leading down between Andover Road shops, and the famous Marble Arch.  'Marble Arch' was of course just a brick built tunnel under the railway.  There were more  (out of shot) further along towards Boowul. One where the big Tesco is now, and the other where  Bestwood Drive West starts.

There was at least one more, giving access to a farm off Bestwood Road.

 

Above Marble Arch on the pic is a triangular area which looks a bit like a building site. There are a few houses there now.  I think they were 'council' built.  They were cartainly there late 50s, because my uncle lived in one.

Immediately left of that area ia the start of a row of housing which runs all the way up Hucknall Road to it's Jn. with Arnold Rd.  I believe our friend Fly lives in one of them.

 

Back to Kersall Drive, where it crosses the Great Central.  Great Central runs more or less horizontally across the pic, but just by Kersall you can make out the curving link which ran along under St Albans Rd/Park Lane and round to Basford North station.

 

I could pick up on a few more details.. but I don't want to get boring.. 

 

Col

 

[loppylugs 8,427]

22 hours ago, loppylugs said:

Tried to take a look, Col.  I got an error message.  "Your client has issued a malformed ori illegal request.  That's all we know."   'Ere!  what you been up to then?  It's not like Google to not know summat.  

Hi Col.

Tried those links on my laptop and they worked ok.

I noted it did say 'Streetview' so maybe that was the issue with the Ipad.   Just thought I should let you know. 

[denshaw 2,871]

On 26 October 2018 at 11:09 AM, roger.hill said:

i couldnt remember his name -was a nice bloke.i assume don greenwoods also dead . Norman  Shaw(Fox) also i suspect .There was a roger(call sign Oscar at a2b )and jimmy barr (think he lived in Bulwell )Trying to remember the board opeator -have a feeling the name was george gamble .

 

 

The name George Gamble rings a bell, think he worked for DG at one time. I knew a Steve that worked on the board at A2B

[philmayfield 6,115]

27 minutes ago, DJ360 said:

Here is about as close a match as I can get to Kev's picture.. but as it looks now... 

 

 

Think I preferred it before.. even if it was all black and white back then..

 

That picture brings back memories. To get to Mellish in the 50’s we took the train from Daybrook station to Basford North. On some mornings, instead of going directly through the estate to Kersall Drive, we would go on what was known as the ‘Cutler Way’. We took a path alongside the railway which came out, up some steps, on Park Lane. Towards St. Albans Rd. we could observe the railway line and watch the Master Cutler come from under the bridge on its way to Victoria Station. From there it was a walk down Kersall Drive to arrive at school just as the bell was rung.

[trogg 2,010]

• Looking at the photo of Cliff tons  on the railway embankment running along Hucknall road you can see only a few trees growing , I always remember it with loads of trees, then look at the google link provided by DJ360 you can see how nature has taken over. With the rail lines gone in the 60s wild life must have also taken over , it looks a good place to explore again.