Broxtowe Lane (old railway)

[jackson 301]

Ashley, re your last posting; would the air raid shelter in the photograph be the same size as the one that stood at the end of Melbourne Road / Nuthall Road - eventually becoming a Police Station?

[jackson 301]

Cliff Ton, thanks, it's great you put the above map on; I'm engaged in some writing on this area at the moment, so thanks doublefold.

'Dark Lane' at the back of the 'Red Lion' was well renowned as a lover's lane when I was a child.

Of interest to me are Thomas North's 'Babbington Cottages'; on the map: the block above Christ Church and a little to the left. Taking a look at a photograph of these on 'Picture the Past' the other evening, immediately I remembered them and felt an utter disgust that buildings of such historic and architectural value had been demolished! An act of Vandalism!

[Ashley 288]

I could have sworn the old police station was as per the photo (that IS the one at the former Capitol Cinema) but now after looking at loads of photos of air raidshelters and thinking of it not so sure? seem to recall brick wall with an air vent in it as part of it as per "death trap public shelter" (a nearby bomb blast would lift the concrete roof, when it dropped back the walls collapsed and all inside crushed).

Far as I know Dark Lane was the route of the "Ripley Rattlers"? and maybe other trams? Stockhill Lane at bottom of map looks then to be a very minor road, maybe just an unmade track? Sorry re all the ????, but I just don't know for sure, just going on memory and what I've heard/read of things before my time

[Cliff Ton 10,479]

think theres still one at end of terraced houses on Prospect Street Radford

Been past there quite a few times and never noticed it before.......

http://maps.google.c...328.62,,0,11.31

[Ashley 288]

yes that's the one Cliff Ton. I got that view up but couldn]t copy/post or whatever, how do you do it

[Cliff Ton 10,479]

Ashley, to get those Streetview links up, this is my method (others may be available)

When you get the location, click on the arrow at top left corner

That will give you this box on the left. Click on the symbol which is supposed to be a "link"

Then you will get a reference which you cut and paste from there, into the "Link" box on the Nottstalgia page

Hopefully, that made sense

[philby 21]

Looking at an other older map, the tram lines are shown. I didn't know the area then (I'm not that old) but it looks like the tram terminated on Dark Lane just behind the Red Lion. Is that the siding you are thinking of?

yes and no!

the remains i'm talking about go across the playing fields almost to the fire station, but this map does answer the question as to where this track went/came from in the first place.

it has to be a single track continuation of the tramway

i had always imagined it was a long gone branch line coming off the mineral railway, across nuthall road by either a bridge or level crossing, the terminating on the playing field, just like the coal wharves did on melbourne park.

[Cliff Ton 10,479]

the remains i'm talking about go across the playing fields almost to the fire station, but this map does answer the question as to where this track went/came from in the first place. it has to be a single track continuation of the tramway

i had always imagined it was a long gone branch line coming off the mineral railway, across nuthall road by either a bridge or level crossing, the terminating on the playing field, just like the coal wharves did on melbourne park.

I've never seen the feature you're referring to (maybe I ought to have a look) but I think Ashley has possibly answered the question, re: trams

Far as I know Dark Lane was the route of the "Ripley Rattlers"? and maybe other trams?

The map is from the 1920s but it's slightly odd because I don't think the line stopped dead where it it shown. I think it continued all the way along to the other end of Stockhill Lane, and then to Nottingham. Sometimes on these old maps, two different maps from different time-periods have been joined together and it produces odd features like this disappearing tramway.

[philby 21]

here are a couple of pics from google you can clearly see the outline of the old track bed -

[poohbear 1,360]

In the early fifties Dark Lane was just an unmade track like those you saw going into any allotments.In the field north of the Red Lion was a small muddy pond that the cows used,and a small trickle of a stream lined with hawthorn heading towards what is now the fire station.We used to cross this field and to the rear of Basford Hall to get to Fowlers Pond.There were two large depressions to the rear of the hall that we called bomb craters...more likely old quarries.

Talking of bomb shelters earlier reminds me there was one just inside the Stockhill Lane gate of Cinderhill Park near the bowling green..a ramp of concrete with a door in the end that of course we used to slide down...this is now levelled and grassed..but the stairs down and the shelter are undoubtably still there.

[jackson 301]

Pooh Bear, for years I've asked people if they knew what the wedge shaped building was at the entrance / back of the Bowling Green on Cinderhill Park and non of them could tell me. Now I know, thanks for the information.

As kids we used to play on the concrete wedge, grazed my knee on it many times attempting to slide down!

As for 'Dark Lane' we kids knew this as 'Lovers Lane'; all sorts of thing used to go through our young minds about its reputation as we sat on the Cinderhill Park swings!

As you were local to the area at one time, do you recall 'Napoleon Square'? Also, 'Babbington Cottages' and 'Holden Square'? - Thomas North's colliery houses.

[poohbear 1,360]

That was out of my territory.. Funny as kids how we used to have our own areas and rarely ventured into other streets.Looking back there are many places I rarely explored.

Cinderhill Park and Fowlers Pond was on my 'route' but over the road in Broxtowe I never knew and rarely entered.I think I could count on one hand the number of times I even crossed the road.Yet in the areas I used I knew every tree and birds nest.

[jackson 301]

What makes the 'Nottstalgia' site worthwhile to me is: when I can read Pooh Bear's description of the area at the bottom end of Stockhill Lane - back in the 1950's - and his words work on my memory; and that particular moment back in time readily enters my imagination and I can return to a landscape loveliness that once was. . . .

[Ashley 288]

Phil, you wrote

"i had always imagined it was a long gone branch line coming off the mineral railway, across nuthall road by either a bridge or level crossing, the terminating on the playing field, just like the coal wharves did on melbourne park."

I'm assuming you do know the line DID (before our time) continue on to a wharf on the old Nottingham Canal on Ilkeston Road?

By the way, remember the old shelter on Whitemoor Park? that was one of the "death trap" crushed by falling roof type,

[katyjay 5,091]

When you look at Bells Lane/Nuthall Rd island nowadays, hard to imagine that the middle of it was where Fowlers Pond was, with a big stone wall infront.

[jackson 301]

Katyjay, I found a wonderful photograph of this area, plus Holden Square on 'Picture the Past' the other evening - memories.

[katyjay 5,091]

Was it on Picture the Past? I've seen a few of Cinderhill on there.

[jackson 301]

Yeh, 'Picture The Past'. There was a wonderful one of 'Babbington Cottages', whoever decided to pull those down was mad!!

[philby 21]

Phil, you wrote

"i had always imagined it was a long gone branch line coming off the mineral railway, across nuthall road by either a bridge or level crossing, the terminating on the playing field, just like the coal wharves did on melbourne park."

I'm assuming you do know the line DID (before our time) continue on to a wharf on the old Nottingham Canal on Ilkeston Road?

By the way, remember the old shelter on Whitemoor Park? that was one of the "death trap" crushed by falling roof type,

i certainly do know the original route ash, i recently picked up some re-printed o/s maps from the train show at harvey haddon, however because i went on sunday the only ones left that i was interested in were central nottingham 1899, radford 1899 and new basford 1913.

the fella selling them told me that all the bulwell area ones had gone the day before so i did wonder if members of this forum had been there!

as for the old park shelter, i did spend some of my teenage years in it drinking underage woodpecker from don's shop!

and as a side note on these type of buildings, there was a similar shelter near the old goods shed (by then the only part left) at bulwell and basford station, when the goods shed was being demolished in the early 80's i watched some older lads from my school bashing the bricks away with a huge metal bar

....while they were stood inside!

it didn't fall then (luckily) but the next night it had been completely knocked down by the demolition guys, presumably because it was now dangerous.

[jackson 301]

Piggy's Yard

Remembering the huge, smelly but fascinating pigs kept at the back of Brefitt's garage and car sales, Nuthall Road.

We'd take a short cut up at the side of Brefitt's to get us into Melbourne Road Park and passing through take a look in at the pigs kept in a huge sty, mud and straw lay all around. It was muddy outside the sty too, so our school shoes got caked in the sticky, grey mass whilst we were peering over the wall at the huge porkers.

"You've been up to see those pigs again haven't you?" grandma would scold us when we returned home, "what have I told you about going that way!" she'd say, pulling a stern face at our sludge caked shoes.

And we were made to take the shoe cleaning kit: Cherry Blossom shoe polish, brushes, lots of newspaper and some bits of rag out into the back yard to clean our shoes.

[Paulus 541]

Jackson................what memories that evoked!! all at once i was taken back to the very area, & the track on to Melbourne park, that you speak of. I can't ever recall encountering the 'grey' & silvery looking mud anywhere else in the area, no clue what the source could have been, no doubt someone on here will know...............it was very slippery clay like & stuck like the proverbial!!

[katyjay 5,091]

Hopefully if I've done it right, below is the link to Babbington Cottages.

http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;NTGM007802&pos=1&action=zoom&id=59247

[jackson 301]

There the ones Katyjay: now if I could just download images!

What do you say to 'Nottstalgia' running a day school where we could learn all these things?

[katyjay 5,091]

If I tried to teach you, the saying 'the blind leading the blind' comes to mind. It's shear luck I get anything to download. [and holding my mouth just right]

[jackson 301]

Katyjay, you seem to have been successful downloading just recently.