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Nearly, you walked past Dunn & Co and turned left into Board Marsh. where we met in the cafe every morning for the worst cup of stewed tea in the world before walking up Drury hill steps to Weekda

The Towers pub was on the way into Broad Marsh. Now that was rough! A place for picking up ladies of ill repute I believe.

To this day when talking to people who knew Nottingham in those days and referring to that entrance to the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre I still say 'Where Drury Hill used to be.'

And even years after the Victoria station was demolished I still kept referring to the other one as 'the Midland station'.

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Both street signs "Broad Marsh" & "Drury Hill" are still in place if you care to look.

There's also a plaque on the wall saying 'The Black Boy Woz 'Ere' you can have a look at that while you're passing too...Doesn't bring 'em back though does it?

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The link in Cliff Ton's post #114 takes you to Middle Hill photo: NTGM000915, notice on left hand side the window showing, 'initial' & 'towel' was this the original premise of The Initial Towel Company, also Initial Laundry in Nott'm, if my memory serves..............???

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Both street signs "Broad Marsh" & "Drury Hill" are still in place if you care to look.

The Broad Marsh one is obviously an original from many years ago

marsh-1.jpg

Whereas the Drury Hill one is obviously a more recent style added after the Hill was demolished in the 60s

hill.jpg

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  • 4 months later...

On December 29th 1952 I started work at no.4 Drury Hill as an appenticed Electrical Engineer. The first place I went to, to learn the trade was at the Sun Alliance building, situated at the top of Drury Hill and to the left on Low Pavement first door on the left.. The caretaker name was George who lived on the premises. George also doubles as what would be called a courier I supose. In this duty he would wear a smart Blue Military Style uniform. Some of you may remember a special name for this getup, it slips my mind at the moment. Company of something or other maybe. Anyway, on this day, George said to me come on me lad I have something to show you. This was my first visit of many to the wonderful underground cave network of our City. Some more on this later perhaps, whilst thinking back my mind is dodging from one event to another, but sooner or later you will get it all, want it or not .

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During my time at Drury Hill, I worked for a man who was a friend of Watson Fothergill. One day whilst walking along Thurland St. we stopped and he told me this little story. Pointing to the bank, he explained that Fothergill was the architect responsible for it and at the time of a site visit with his client to discuss additions & variations (now known as extras were the money is made), Fothergill jokingly intimated that he may be forced to put a 'monkey' on the bank. This was the slang of the day for a mortgage, as in 'monkey on my back' etc. The bank owner immediately offered a wager of £5 that this would not be so.

My Boss then pointed up to the turret on the bank saying can you see that little monkey clinging on. Watson won the wager.

If you have never seen the monkey, have a look, I am sure he will still be there.

A couple of tales about Captain Popkess later.

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A good memory there Ashley, I'd forgotten about the post office on the corner.

Can anyone remember the old boy with a small dog that used to sit outside his little terraced house on an old kitchen chair at the bottom of Drury Hill.

The Old Boy with the Dog! If that was at the bottom of Drury Hill just around the corner on Middle Marsh next to the PDSA Collection place, That would be Stan of Stans Trimmings. He did a good job, once made me a replacement Canopy for one I ripped on a Watsonian Avon Chair. I cannot remember the year but it was in February & I took it to the 1st Dragon Rally that weekend.

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Bazalways, I mentioned the mortgage monkey sometime ago on here I think the trivia thread and I said I would get a picture of it next time I was in Nottingham, when I did get there I struggled to park the car and when eventually on Thurland street the little fellow had been removed, reason for this post is "Thanks for bringing that picture up"

Rgog

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Hi Bazalways, the first Dragon Rally was in 1962. My first rally was the 1965 Dragon, my AJS 31 was having it's big end fixed, so I went on the pillion of of Pete Trueman's Vincent Rapide. Pete was from the Meadows like a lot of the original Aces. There were maybe ten of us and not a tent or sleeping bag between us.

If you still have your cloth rally badge, they are worth quite a bit, not that you would sell it of course.

BTW there is the reunion of Nottm and Mansfield bikers at the Ship at Skeggy the weekend after next, Friday 2nd-Sunday- 4th August. You will be very welcome.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Plantfit,

I know about the parking problems you had, I mentioned them in the 'Nottingham's Crap' thread. The photo in Trevor S' post is not the one that was pointed out to me. The one I saw was in the left hand front turret in one of the slits. My memory of this is so vivid that I intend to pop into The Mechanics Institute at the earliest opportunity to check the reference library or dig out one of the 'Thoroton' guys for more information, as much as anything to find out if my mind is intact.

I mentioned in my previous post Capt. Popkess & my old Boss. Two stories relating to this are as follows.

Driving up the 614 from the White Post junction towards Nottm., a slight incline in the middle lane as it was then, doing about 25 mph in a 1930's Riley, other vehicles passing us on both side hooting, the last one to pass was a Police Car, stop light switch on motioning my boss to pull over and coming to a stop then driving off at speed. "What did he want then" he related. Being a young lad and not wanting to tell him his driving was atrocious I replied as best I could. He then spoke of a previous encounter with a young constable in The Market Square at traffic lights near 'Tug's Tardis'. This young copper jumped in the road and made him reverse no more that six inches because he was over the line at the traffic lights. This young copper was the current Chief Constable.

Some years later I went to the commissioning of a new alarm system at Camera Thorpe of Pelham St. which had been installed by London Company, 'Relyabell', for whom we were the Midlands Agent. This was the first of its type in Nottingham whereby it called the police on the 999 system but delayed the internal & external sounders until the police had time to attend the incident. The installing engineer had calculated that the time lapse should be 2 minutes and explained it was necessary to call the police to take no action in testing the system. Capt Popkess was in attendance that Thursday afternoon showing interest in this new system. He interrupted the engineer stating that 2 minutes was far too long, make it a minute and don't call the police, this will be a good exercise for them. The engineer split the difference and set the delay at 90 seconds. The alarm was triggered and the 12 inch record began its message that was repeated every 12 seconds. As the delay had reach 55 seconds a familiar Wolseley pulled up at the door carrying four of Nottingham's Finest.

Bearing in mind that Thursday afternoon was half day in Nottingham with most if not all shops closed and the route taken from Shakespeare St. was Right to Milton St. straight down Clumber St. and left up Pelham St., this was an amazing timing. Thinking about it, if still in use today, the record arm would have returned to its rest before the end of the "All our operators are busy" message.

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  • 2 months later...

http://nottinghamhiddenhistoryteam.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/streets-places

Just found this on the Nottingham Hidden Histories website. It was taken before I was born but thought it might appeal to the young and the older members who may have some interesting stories of that older area of nottingham. While on this subject has anyone ever visited the caves beneath that area containing Tanneries and the underground slum housing. I know at one time there were guided tours of the area starting near to the entrance in Broadmarsh Centre just off Lister gate

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I remember using Drury Hill a lot to get to Broad Marsh when I was a child. I believe there was a toy shop on there at one time. I never thought for one moment that this great street would be taken from us.

I have been in the caves beneath Broad Marsh Centre twice and also photographed quite a lot of it.

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A friend here in oz sent me this yesterday :-

Very interesting reading and more memories of home.
I actually did a fair bit of work in the Broad Marsh centre fitting a new phone system, and got to see lots of things not open to the general public including some of the caves.
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  • 4 weeks later...

The destruction of Drury Hill was a sin, a crime by the City Council.

If they had kept it, and the Black Boy, and Flying Horse had been saved - what an attraction for tourists along with Salutation, Trip to Jerusalem, the Caves etc, all within easy walking distance from each other near the Castle... sigh!

So sad!

Rant over for now.

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One of the things I failed to mention in post 123# was that most of the 'Fothergill' buildings in the town, according to my old boss were designed by Fothergill Watson and he believed the first one he built under his change of name was at the time his offices on Clinton street were demolished & his new one was built on George Street.

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  • 3 months later...

I remember using Drury Hill a lot to get to Broad Marsh when I was a child. I believe there was a toy shop on there at one time. I never thought for one moment that this great street would be taken from us.

I have been in the caves beneath Broad Marsh Centre twice and also photographed quite a lot of it.

Yes, you are correct. After Beecrofts shut down in Pelham Street, David moved the shop to Drury Hill. It was never going to work as a shopfront because hardly anybody walked past it, but most of their business after that time was mail order. I contacted David and his wife a couple of years ago and the business is still going strong and into its third generation.

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  • 2 months later...

My father was 30 years older than my mother and so grandma on dads side was born in 1856 dad was born 1885.Why am I telling this just painting the picture my grandma was born in the Jessamine cottages Castle Road (I believe) it was the original Nottingham workhouse before it closed down and made in to separate cottages so if you go to Cliff Tons post and click on cottages you will see what I'm talking about.You can of course Google Jessamine cottages and there is a photo there.I believe they were knocked down in the 1930's to make way for the Peoples College and ironically I studied there for my apprenticeship as a motor mechanic,I also have a painting in oils on my lounge room wall of Jessamine Cottages a family heirloom.

Bazza123

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I think I,ve related this before but met an old lady 40 years ago who had lived as a child in a pub called The Gate Hangs Well http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/articles/tts/tts1909/brewhouseyard1.htm

She told me they lived in caves at the back, she also told me she remembered the Great Central Railway being built and after school would go to the site of Victoria Station to see what progress had been made

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There's a very good account of "Victoria Station" & the Great Central Railway being built in Victorian Nottingham(Iliffe & Baguley) vol 5.

Featuring some nice photos of what was demolished( "lost" ;)) when the station was built.

A copy of this book may still be available from Blores book shop.

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