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I used to walk from our house on Gladehill Road, up by the Nell Gwynne, down Arnold Road to Vernon Crossing and then down Lincoln Street to the wakes. As you approached the sounds and smells grew in intensity until the wakes came into sight. Now, was this a bi-annual event or an annual one? I can't remember. It's odd that daft things can stick in your mind isn't it? The two things that really stick out in my mind as if it were just yesterday are two records that were played at one particular wakes: The Beatles Eleanor Rigby and Bob Dylan's Rainy Day Women Nos 12 & 35. - no idea why.

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I think it was annual, it tied in with Goose Fair. We walked to the wakes too, from Amesbury Circus, quite a hike but never thought anything of it. It was Shank's Pony or not go at all.

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Think the proper wakes a week after goose fair? can't recall start day or for how long? do you recall the "overspill" on the shoulder of mutton car park, remember I think a waltzer there plus kiddies rides and stalls, maybe in era you talk of Compo there was 2 fairs say that as have memories of girls in summer dresses etc in 1967 (dated by motorbike I had at time). doubt 2nd one (if it happened) would not have been called the wakes though as quite a tradition thing with proper large adverts professionally bill posted etc.

Told this before somewhere here, walking home from there with "gang" of others inc girls I wanted a wee, so at church street bridge climbed over the end of bridge wall on gas light lit foggy night maybe 1960, wasn't till I'd "finished" that I realised instead of being on the edge of that little rest park I was in fact on about a foot wide (still there) wall with a long drop either side! just prior to tram era some school kid did in fact fall into the gap behind that wall when walking on the bridge parapet, quite badly injured and hard to get him out of it

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I went through all 56 pages of Basford photos on Picture the Past and not one of the wakes. Did find one of the Leen on Lincoln St, it showed a bit of Billy Bacon's field. ps. I did put Wakes and Fairs in the search engine first, nowt came up.

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I THINK NO MATTER WERE YOU LIVED IN NOTTINGHAM MOST OF US HAD OUR OWN LOCAL FAIRS SOME OF THE BIKER LADS WOULD GO TO ONE MOST WEEKENDS THROUGH OUT THE SUMMER MONTHS FRIDAY OR SATURDAY AFTER THEY HAD BEEN TO THE PUB FIRST I KNOW I WENT TO BASFORD CLIFTON NETHERFIELD ARNOLD MEADOWS SOME STILL HAVE THEM LAST WEEK IT WAS CLIFTON THIS WEEK WILL BE WOODTHORPE PARK STARTS TODAY WAS SETTING UP WHEN I PAST ON TUES DAY SO NEXT WEEK IT USUALLY MOVES TO ARNOLD KILLERSICK PARK, THESE SMALL FAIRS STILL RUN BY MELLERS FAMILY AND MEANS THE OLDER MEMBERS CAN GO HOME AT THE END OF THE NIGHT BUT STILL MAKE MONEY WITH OUT SPENDING A LOT ON FULE TRAVLING FROM TOWN TO TOWN AND IT SEEMS THERE IS SOME KIND OF FAIR ON THE FOREST EVERY FEW WEEKS PLUS OF COURSE ILKESTON FAIR STILL HELD IN THE STREETS AND OPEN SPACES AROUND THE TOWN CENTRE ONE OF THE FEW LEFT

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I remember going to Basford wakes in the early seventies when I used to visit my Grandma, who used to live in Bestwood. I can also remember going to Ruddington wakes in the late seventies, early eighties...walking over from Bridgford.

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  • 3 years later...

#10. That is the actual ground where the wakes was held - Billy Bacon's field. The road at bottom left is the bottom of Cowley Street, with the Post Office facing, on the corner of the entrance to BB's field. The 44th Battalion Boy Scouts' hut is shown middle bottom of picture. Think that must be Vernon Avenue at top left. Centre bottom is a Vedonis factory. The old Nottingham Road is slanting off at right of picture towards the railway station.

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The wakes and goose fair make our annual fair look pathetic. Just dodgems, kids rides,a few big amusements and stalls with locally made nougat. Oh for October again !

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re photo on post 10, top right can be seen the old level crossing gates and then remains of cart track cutting across Billy Bacons with bridge over the Day Brook, in main picture think only only roof of vedonis can be seen on whitemoor road which ended facing Murphy's, to the left of that about midway between Murphys and Cowley St was the bungalow that my grandparents mother and uncle lived in from early 1920's to 1939, on corner of Whitemoor Ave was a pub think called the rifle volunteer, there was also another pub The Vernon on Nottingham Rd between the railway and Lincoln St

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Those caravans parked at the corner of Fox Grove were regulars there, got them closer to the Shoulder of Mutton where their rides were.

Old Billy Bacon was quite a wealthy butcher with a few shops and a slaughter house. His son started to go through the family wealth when he took over and his son Neil finished of the process ending up an alcoholic, living on a small run down boat at Wells next to Sea.

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  • 4 weeks later...

#10. That is the actual ground where the wakes was held - Billy Bacon's field. The road at bottom left is the bottom of Cowley Street, with the Post Office facing, on the corner of the entrance to BB's field. The 44th Battalion Boy Scouts' hut is shown middle bottom of picture. Think that must be Vernon Avenue at top left. Centre bottom is a Vedonis factory. The old Nottingham Road is slanting off at right of picture towards the railway station.

I was in the 44th Nottingham for a time in the 50s, Chulla. Also in the photo is a chemists shop run by someone called Ackrill, who I seem to remember committed suicide.

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I remember Hucknall Wakes, it came twice a year........Always enjoyed it, came onto the rec on Linby Road, just around the corner from where I lived, the wakes's aren't the same any more, just like the markets, everything has gone.....

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  • 2 years later...

Taking a closer look at a few old photos of Basford, I noticed this feature on the bend at Mill Street / David Lane, near where the actual mill used to be. The area is now housing (Firecrest Way)  but back then it had a long row of caravans parked up a lane. I'm guessing they might've been something to do with the Wakes.

QbFEovr.jpg

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They don't really look big enough to be fairground caravans though, Cliff Ton. I wonder if they were "Travelling folks'" caravans?

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Great photo cliff ton............remember playing on that Pitch in the 50s.....you can just make out the old stand.........thought we were at Wembley playing there.........in front of about 6 chaps....it was Basford Uniteds home ground.........

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When at FFGS, we played rugby on playing fields just east of the field shown, and nearer to the railway viaduct next to Northern Baths. 

We accessed it somewhere near the middle of Bagnall Rd.

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