Ainsley Estate


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Hi Babs.

I think the school was the "Robert Shaw" school. I lived in Vale Crescent South. I remember a group of us used to meet every night outside the old co-op. We just used to stand around and talk but I can't remeber the names of any of the others.

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Welcome to Nottstalgia, Happy Jack. I hope that your posts are going to be as good as your last two. I had to smile when I saw your name because it brought back memories of when I had lots of foster k

For me, the 'Ainsley Estate' thread sums up what Nottstalgia is all about and what a great site it is. On the 3rd November 2008, riff, who lived on the Ainsley Estate until 1994, asked if anybody had

Hi Radford Boy..I lived at 63 Vale Crescent South from 1961 to 70...Ann Crowley and her sister lived next door to me and John Dudley lived next door but one..knew Russ as well..he was in the police fo

Greetings, I used to live on Ainsley Estate, on Vale Crescent North between 1986-2001, I was actually hoping someone could maybe point me to some internet based info on the history of the estate itself? (I live in Wales now, so popping down to the Nottingham central library is a bit of a challenge) Does anyone know when the estate was first built? who the principle architect was? and what was on the site before?

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This is a map of the area in 1916 and it hadn't changed much by the late 1920s.The estate appears on a 1938 map.So as the boulevard was built around 1932 I would expect the estate was built too in the early 1930s.

On this map the railway line going South to North on the left is more or less the route of Western Boulevard.And the open fields below the words Wollaton Ward are where the Ainsley estate is today.To the north of this those parcels of land were allotments...and included a windmill more or less where Grassington Road is today.

d2ae53b6.jpg

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Western Boulevard being built 1931 looking towards Aspley Lane from the south.The railway bridge is yet to be built in the foreground.Ainsley Estate was built on those fields to the right.Beechdale Road is roughly where that tree is in the photo.

658ec719.jpg

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poohbear has answered a lot of the questions, so I'll dive in with a couple of extra bits.

Looking at the Old Maps site, on the 1938 map the roads for Ainsley Estate are marked as dotted lines, which I guess means that they were planned but not yet actually built.

True, there is a total lack of information on the web about the area; not surprising really, because it doesn't have anything unusual or different or historic. There used to be quite a bit of information and photos of the area on Chris Richards' Radford website, but that has been offline for a few months so obviously isn't much use now.

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For me, the 'Ainsley Estate' thread sums up what Nottstalgia is all about and what a great site it is. On the 3rd November 2008, riff, who lived on the Ainsley Estate until 1994, asked if anybody had any memories of the place. Many people posted their memories and found that they had friends and acquaintances in common. People have added their posts on the subject over a period of 4 years, the latest query coming from a newbie named RadfordBob on the 7th September 2012. He'd lived on the Ainsley Estate from 1986 until 2001 and now lives in Wales. He was interested in finding out the history of the Estate itself. Over the next couple of days, poohbear and Cliff Ton had posted much info and old photos and maps of the area for which RadfordBob was well pleased. Nottstalgia is extremely lucky to have people like poohbear and Cliff Ton who are very knowledgeable on many topics. Since joining Nottstalgia I've learnt so much about the great City of Nottingham and it's surrounding area and long may it continue.

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Thanks for the thanks :)

I somehow accumulated a vast amount of semi-junk knowledge over the years, and maybe now I've found an outlet for it.

And there's also the realisation that getting older does have at least one advantage - I can remember some of the things people are asking about!

And of course, it's better than being a housewife gossiping over a garden fence :tongue:

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But you will find the expression...'When I were a lad this was all fields' a bit outdated nowadays.Thanks to Thatchers lot and the last two recessions you're more likely to hear a Grandad talking to Grandson conversation going....'When I were a lad this was all factories' :tongue:

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Yes, and the loss of proper industry, with proper jobs - including a good proportion for those not of an intellectual bent - is also down to That Woman, for whom stirring the banking cauldron and living on the froth was the be-all and end-all of everything.

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Hello Everyone,

I lived on Ainsley Estate for 20 years during the 50s & 60s,

Radford Bob, I think the Estate was built in the 40s by Simms Son & Cooke, ( a well know Nottingham Builder at that time)

Radford Boy, the school was indeed Robert Shaw,

Can anyone remember the shops on the estate,On Grassington rd there was the Co-Op next door Mr Hirst (Newsagent) then a Hardware shop (can't remember the name),

On Ainsley rd, Mr Howes (Greencrocer), Meadow Dairy, chip shop, & Butchers,

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Cheers Mick,

It's kick started the memory banks of the old place,

On Southfield Rd was (the Pitch) as we called it, Goal posts would go up in the season, and a game of football would go on all day at weekends, the teams constantly changing as some went home and others joined, I remember the winter of 62/63 the pitch flooded, we made rafts from anything we could get our hands on, then it froze,and you could walk on it, no one i knew had any ice skates so we adapted our old roller skates as best we could, the pitch by the way was where the two rail lines split on the old map, it was triange shape,

We also used to play on the waste ground over Western boulevard where Beechdale baths and ambulance station are now, the only building there was the Library across Beechdale rd,

Can anyone remember winter warmers?

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Welcome to Nottstalgia, Happy Jack. I hope that your posts are going to be as good as your last two. I had to smile when I saw your name because it brought back memories of when I had lots of foster kids. In the summer I would take them all to the seaside in my minibus. After they'd exhausted themselves in the sea and on the beach we'd have a meal sat outside the hired beach chalet. As my wife was washing the dirty pots I'd get all the kids sat round and I'd spend ages telling them stories. One of the stories that they loved was 'Happy Jack'. He was a swashbuckling pirate but he was a good guy and a hero. I used to make the stories up as I went along and they used to last for ages. You could see the kids sat there totally engrossed in the story and they'd always be asking questions. "When Happy Jack found the bones how did he know ...?" "How did his mate, the one with the wooden leg, walk in the sand?". You may not believe me but I can remember the kids asking these questions. Great memories from times gone by. Before I go, I must ask you. Your not related to Happy Jack, are you?.....lol

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Hi Radford Boy..I lived at 63 Vale Crescent South from 1961 to 70...Ann Crowley and her sister lived next door to me and John Dudley lived next door but one..knew Russ as well..he was in the police force for years.

pete c...no longer riding a vespa....

pete c sorry for the`delay josie and jane are still living in nottm,josie asked me to remind you that you gave her and roy a puppy "skippy"
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josie jane and myself are still living in nottm,l moved back here 8 years ago after retiring from the police,it was great reading about the estate,some of the things l remember ....the 4 shops on ainsley road kirkes the butchers, the chippy, then the spar and the fruit and veg shop,playing hide and seek behind the shops, hedge hopping,ghost tapping,seeing who could walk all the way around the coop wall with falling off,walking to players sports ground and climbing between the bars so we didint have to walk all the round,l remember setting fire to the grass bank by the side of western blvd by accident,kevin paul roland and elaine scales john dudley he had a sister but l cant remember her name, steven beeching playing football between the shops in the garage area between ainsley rd and vcs

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My cousins lived on Vale Crescent (North or South) I think it was number 45, the family name was White; Paul, Philip, Deborah, Beverley & another sister whose name I don't recall, lived there through 50's 60's & 70's, my uncle Jack White was a lovely man who resembled Lionel Jeffries, they had a corgi dog that nipped everyone it could catch!!

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