Sign of Four Magic Emporium, Derby Rd


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Derby Road/Chapel Bar Nottingham C.1963

As a kid I was fascinated by this this shop, spent hours in there looking in the glass cases.

Now this picture has some stuff in it I just dont remember? The garage and pub for example?

Then looking at the two more recent images, we can see how much of the city end of Derby Rd

was lost to build the traffic island!

Incidentally I remember 65'ish Sign of Four Being somewhere in the front of the arch in the first image below?

Was it moved or is my memory playing tricks on me?

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Derby Road/Chapel Bar Nottingham C.1963 As a kid I was fascinated by this this shop, spent hours in there looking in the glass cases. Now this picture has some stuff in it I just dont rememb

No your not http://nottstalgia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1819&page=2#entry485214

Following recent comments in another thread, I've now repaired most of the missing photos earlier in this thread, so it makes a bit more sense.   There is also a separate thread specifically

Don't recall sign of 4 in that arch, but in later years wasn't it somewhere in theatre royal/concert hall complex? Remember buying stink bombs, a crayon to draw cracks in windows and some "metal discs" that quote, when dropped sound like a window smashing! last 2 items total rip off but tells you what I liked as a kid! Wasn't that garage/petrol station part of Skills? or some other bus company? Anybody remember the car accessory shop that was in the shop shown in 3rd picture? can't recall it's name but I knew the manager Jeff/Geoff? Price when I was 18, had a souped up Stanhdard Companion car, lost touch with him after his brother started dating my ex (my fault!)

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I must've been along that road loads of times in the early 60s but I can't remember it at all now. Here's a slightly different angle on the same location, with a wider view and the other side of the road

Kko8e5P.jpg

And I don't remember Sign Of Four being in that location, but as Ashley has mentioned, I remember it being somewhere around Goldsmith Street near the old Selectadisc. As this photo shows.

pZiZhhd.jpg

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I well remember the sign of four being under the snooker hall on Goldsmith Street , I too used to buy a few things from there , usually on a Saturday on my way over to Clifton to visit with my Aunty.

The only shop i recall in that area of D*rby Road was Clements pianos and I'm sure that white shop behind the white Merc van in Micks pic 3 was a ship chandlers! IMMSC I bought a fog horn (For use at footy matches) from there.

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Rather intrigued by the thought of a Ships Chandlers located 90 miles+ from the sea, and several miles from a river!

Wonder how the projected Business Plan was presented to their Bank Manager? :)

Cheers

Robt P.

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Recent pic 2 the shop behind the white van in the 70s was a car type showroom that specialised in arranging purchase of cars from europe. British cars at cheaper prices that you could get them by buying in the UK?

Either around the corner on Derby Road or on the bottom block before it was demolished, on the left was a cleaners shop.

Passing it on the 43 trolly bus mid 60's, I remember there being a person on a big steam press in the windows.

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Cliffs Picture shows that The depot was not that of Skills but Bartons Coaches.

Yes SoF did move to Goldsmith Street, But after Derby Road, What year did it move, and what year did it close?

I remember travelling on the 43 Trolly bus DOWN Derby road and straight across on to Chapel bar, stopped outside Pearson brothers and then routed via OMS down wheeler gate/Albert St/Lister gate/Carrington Street/Arkwright Street.

Anyone got a map showing Derby Rd/Chapel Bar prior to the change?

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so SO4 moved vice versa to what I thought, just know I saw the 2 shops, re DOWN Derby Rd, yes remember that too and a barmy biker who used to hang about with us on the forest overtaking a bus going down, and on seeing a bus coming up went wrong side of that between it and pavement outside cathedral! re chandlers shop, it's only 60 miles to the sea, but I take your point, however there used to be a marine engineer who repaired and sold sea going boat engines, 100hp outboards and big inboard diesels in one of the former GCR arches off Popham St

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The "Chandlers" would have been there around 1980. Maybe a bit earlier, I remember going past on the way to work one morning and seeing "Fog horns" (Compressed air canister type, as opposed to compressor driven) on sale for £4.50p and just had to have one! I went back to get a replacement cartridge after a couple of weeks to be told they were not available to buy from them on their own , only the whole system. But they could order me a replace set of 2 at a cost of £10.00 !!! I think the words "p155" off may have uttered from my mouth as I left the shop !

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On 02/07/2011 at 4:24 PM, mick2me said:

I remember travelling on the 43 Trolly bus DOWN Derby road and straight across on to Chapel bar

Like this...............

uyMYHgb.jpg

Same viewpoint as the earlier photo but turned 180 degrees

 

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Thanks, very interesting.

Raises more questions, on the map what is the wording on the corner part of the coop (I worked there as electriciam 60/70s)

Is that a bartons bus, what is the motor bus entering chapel bar?

On the map can be seen the Coop Garage/Car dealership, What was it called, I am sure it had a name other than Coop?

What was the hall on East Circus Street?

What was there before The Playhouse?

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Thanks Kev now that is interesting?

There is also work being carried out on that part in the image.

In the 70s I wired the Coop Radio and TV showroom there.

I think it was later the chemist dept?

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I'm going for the record in the greatest number of answers to questions in one post.

On 03/07/2011 at 9:46 AM, mick2me said:

Raises more questions, on the map what is the wording on the corner part of the coop (I worked there as electriciam 60/70s)

Fynger beat me to the answer on that one

On 03/07/2011 at 9:46 AM, mick2me said:

Is that a bartons bus, what is the motor bus entering chapel bar?

Looking at the original in the book I've lifted it from, yes it's a Barton single decker. The double decker going the other way is an Atlantean operated by Trent. The caption in the book says The Albert Hall Institute can be seen to the rear of the Skills Booking Office but I can't make that one out. The left edge of the photo is too dark to be clear.

On 03/07/2011 at 9:46 AM, mick2me said:

On the map can be seen the Coop Garage/Car dealership, What was it called, I am sure it had a name other than Coop?

FH6qoOm.jpg

That's the extent of the photo and it seems to be called Chapel Bar Garage

 

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Can remember all the buildings recently displayed, also when "Chapel Bar Garage" was demolished I was amazed at the depth of what was excavated, not sure if underground parking or baements from when garage built or whether they had to dig to below some caves level? memories fade with time but still impressed by that depth, deeper than victoria station "hole"

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As I remember it SO4 was in that little parade of shops just down from Clement's Pianos until the early 1970s. They then moved to Goldsmith Street and after that they had a unit inside the Royal Concert Hall for a short time.

You could never miss their shop windows - they were always lined with a kind of yellow cellophane to protect the merchandise from being damaged by sunlight.

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On 04/07/2011 at 8:53 AM, mick2me said:

Thanks Cliff.

I dont suppose you have an image a little further down Maid Marion Way showing the 'Silver Knight Grill'? (As mentioned in Food for Thought)

Not a place I remember, although maybe I went past it when I was young without knowing what it was.

Digging around Pic the Past there's one photo which might show it (although I don't really know what I'm looking for)

The white L-shaped building here ....... although it looks more like a builders hut.

FBt7RRg.jpg

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Thats looking across Maid Marion way towards the back of the Odeon Cinema.

Silver Knight was left on Maid Marion Way then immediately on the right.

Its was a temporary building but not the one shown.

 

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I well remember the sign of four being under the snooker hall on Goldsmith Street , I too used to buy a few things from there , usually on a Saturday on my way over to Clifton to visit with my Aunty.

The only shop i recall in that area of D*rby Road was Clements pianos and I'm sure that white shop behind the white Merc van in Micks pic 3 was a ship chandlers! IMMSC I bought a fog horn (For use at footy matches) from there.

was that shop a dive shop either as well as a ships chandlers, or afterwards? i'm talking late 70's early 80's and the reason i remember is that at one time there was a notice in the window about the dangers of scuba diving when you don't quite know what you're doing, which had a couple of photos of a pair of divers who had drowned somewhere and not been found for months or years, it was a pair of skeletons in diving gear basically, and at the time the scariest thing i'd seen apart from Dr who!

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I think you may be correct, I seem to remember seeing one of the first JetSkis on sale in there too.

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