Lenton Times

The Magazine of Lenton Local History Society

 

Castle Boulevard - Lenton



 Photographs | Lenton Listener Archive | Family Memories | Street Map



Photographs
Click on each photograph below  to show the enlarged version

 

 

 

 

Photograph courtesy of the Local Studies Library

 

Photograph courtesy of the Local Studies Library

 

Photograph courtesy of Lenton Local History Society

 

 

This shows the city end of the Boulevard before it was renamed Castle Boulevard.  The photograph shows the posts carrying the electric wiring for the trams positioned in the middle of the road.  This means that the shot must have been taken prior to 1908.  After this date the stanchions were repositioned at the edge of the road.

 

A 1931 snapshot of Castle Boulevard looking towards Lenton.
From the cover of The Lenton Listener Issue 33 - March to April 1985.

 

A 1979 photograph taken from the towpath of the Nottingham Canal by Stanley Wilson showing a set of properties built behind those fronting on to Castle Boulevard.  These subsequently came down to make way for the bridge that provides access over the canal to the Castle Marina developments.

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph courtesy of Lenton Local History Society

 

Photograph by Paul Bexon

 

Photograph courtesy of Ray Teece

 

 

The property in question, known as Rose Cottage, is the one shown in the middle right of the previous photograph.  In 1979 it was occupied by Tony Apperley, a local inventor, who was well-known for an array of useful innovations.

 

Taken in 1989 this section of Castle Boulevard comprises Nos. 171-177 plus the premises of W. Appleby & Sons, building & joinery contractors.  The whole site was subsequently cleared and now houses one of the Nottingham bases of the opticians, Dolland & Aitchison.

 

Castle Boulevard at the point where Castle Bridge Road, off to the right, gives access to the Castle Marina site.  Photograph taken in 2007 by Ray Teece.  For other photographs by Ray Teece see his City of Nottingham website

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph courtesy of David Ottewell

 

Photograph by Paul Bexon

 

Photograph by Paul Bexon

 

 

This stretch of Castle Boulevard was originally named Lenton Boulevard.  The renaming took place about 1908.  

 

A 2004 shot showing the block of Castle Boulevard properties adjacent to the junction with Chippendale Street.  These houses also feature in the previous 1908 shot.

 

Moving along the Boulevard to the junction with what is now called Alderney Street. Formerly this side road was known as Marcus Street.

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph by Paul Bexon

 

Photograph by Stephen Zaleski

 

Photograph courtesy of Arthur Lane

 

 

The history of this shop and the one that used to stand on the adjacent corner is detailed in a Now & Then feature that appeared in Lenton Times No. 16.

 

Photograph taken in the early 1980s.  Universal Engineering and the vacant shop next door were both demolished to make way for the Castle Gardens development.  Rowland's Cafe survived and is now the takeaway pizza outlet shown in the previous photograph.

 

This is a photograph showing the workforce of Glovene's taken in the late 1940s.  The occasion was a visit by Sir Stafford Cripps then in the Labour Government who is to be seen on the centre of the front row. The same building later housed Steada Raywarp.

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph courtesy of Ann Swabey

 

Photograph courtesy of Ann Swabey

 

Photograph courtesy of Ann Swabey

 

 

1960s photograph of employees of Elastic Yarns.
Click on the photo above for more details.

 

 Elastic Yarns 1963.
Click on the photo above for more details.

 

 Elastic Yarns 1963.
Click on the photo above for more details.

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph courtesy of Chris Richards of www.radfordgallery.fsnet.co.uk

 

Photograph by Stephen Zaleski

 

Photograph courtesy of Lenton Local History Society

 

 

This 1981 photograph by Chris Richards shows the demolition of the Steada Raywarp factory.
 A brief history of the factory was included in Issue No. 16 of Lenton Times, while it's predecessor features prominently in Issue No.12. 

 

A 1980's view of the Grove Hotel.  To the left is the corner of the Steada Raywarp factory that came down to make way for the Castle Gardens development.

See also Grove Road Gallery

 

This photograph, taken in 1977, offers viewers a coloured version of the previous shot.  Given the slightly different angle Lenton Primary School is just visible at the end of the Boulevard.

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph courtesy of Lenton Local History Society

 

Photograph courtesy of Lenton Local History Society 

 

Photograph by Stephen Zaleski 

 

 

An undated photograph of The Grove Hotel but probably of similar vintage to the previous two shots.  Just visible to the left is the Steada Raywarp factory and to the right one of the Grove Road properties that also underwent demolition in the 1980s.

 

Part of the factory units situated at the end of Castle Boulevard as they looked in 1978.  In the 1980s these buildings were later to suffer a serious fire which prompted the buildings subsequent demolition.

 

This photograph was taken in the 1980's.  The site had been cleared prior to the construction of the M.F.I. furniture warehouse.
See also Willoughby St Gallery  

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph by Paul Bexon

 

Photograph courtesy of Lenton Local History Society

 

Photograph by Bruce Bradley - Lenton Listener

 

 

Part of the row of properties on Castle Boulevard situated between Abbey Bridge and Broadholme Street.  Visible in the photograph, taken in May 2004, are the premises of K. B. Insurance Brokers (Nottm.) Ltd, which had just ceased trading.

 

This photograph would appear to have been taken shortly after Clement Pianos moved out of the old 'tin' in 1979.

 

After Clement Pianos moved out Trent Upholsteries, who had previously been their tenants occupying the basement premises,took over the whole property and in the early 1980s had the entire property refurbished.  This photograph shows the results in October 1983.

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph by Paul Bexon

 

Photograph courtesy of Trent Upholstery Ltd

 

Photograph by Paul Bexon

 

 

Although Trent Uphosteries carried out their extensive refurbishment of the building they later decided to rebuild the entire upper storey.  This photograph, probably taken in the late 1980s, shows the building before the appearance of the new upper storey.
See also Hungerton Street Gallery

 

This photo shows the property after the rebuilding programme.  Trent Upholsteries later moved to alternative premises in Radford and in mid 2002 the entire building was demolished to make way for more student accommodation in Lenton.

 

This photograph taken in May 2004 shows what chas taken the place of the Trent Upholsteries premises - a building designed to be in keeping with its near neighbours.

 

Lenton Listener Archive
Articles from 'The Lenton Listener' Magazine

The Story of the Tin Chapel - Issue 27 (Nov - Dec 1983)
The Birth of the Boulevard - Issue 33 (Mar - Apr 1985)
The Rock Chapel of St Mary - Issue 39 (Apr - May 1987)

 

Family Memories

Sonia Mann
My husband’s great uncle, Alfred Woolley, lived at 309 Castle Boulevard.  He owned the row of houses from Abbey Bridge to Broadholme Street having made his money during the Klondyke Goldrush.  He was also the owner of the Lumley Castle public house at Hyson Green while having other business ventures on the go in Nottingham.

We don’t know quite when Alfred Woolley first came to Castle Boulevard but my husband’s family moved in next door to him in order to care for Alfred during the second half of the 1930s. His hobby was bee keeping although he used to keep the hives elsewhere at Mapperly Plains.  He gave talks about beekeeping at Nottingham University (this would be in the 1930s) and my husband, Ronald Mann, who would be then be aged about ten or eleven would go along with him.

My husband’s family lived at 307 Castle Boulevard from 1937 until 1950 and then they moved to Park Road Lenton having bought the corner off licence there.  In 1956 they also bought the greengrocery shop next door so they had Nos. 2 and 4 Park Road and the shops were known as Mann’s.  My parents-in-law, Albert and Frances Mann, retired in 1965 and then went to live at Gunthorpe.

Julia Pearl - Perth, Western Australia
On the corner of Castle Boulevard  and Abbey Bridge was a textile factory known as Gloveens in the 1960s. I think it's the building which was burned down. I used to pass it each day on the 4a or 5a bus route from Dunkirk to the city.

In the early '70s, while Ted Heath was leading the Tories, there was a bus strike during the winter. For some reason the clocks weren't put forward that year either and I would walk to Mundella School (near Trent Bridge) from Beeston Rd, along Abbey St and Abbey Bridge, Castle Boulevard, Arkwright Street and through the Meadows to Mundella. It took about an hour or so. We didn't have a car at the time. It was OK on a normal day but on sport days two bags and a hockey stick were a bit cumbersome. The worst part was setting off in the dark and arriving home in the dark.

In the '70s I would sometimes miss the final bus service at 11.15pm from town and again walk home - a bit dicey especially along by the canal, and past all the petrol stations. As a young twenty-something you're invincible!!

See also Memories of Abbey Street , Beeston Road, Dunkirk Road & Priory Street

Anonymous Contribution
The old photo of Castle Blvd. shows the house where I used to live, number 221, the last house in the block, next to a shop which was on the corner of Chippendale Street. The iron railings on the low wall were, I believe, removed during the war.

As far as I can tell from the few documents available, my parents moved there in July 1946. It was rented from a firm called "Jas. Holroyd & sons", 15 Wellington Circus. I have no idea whether they were owners or agents. The rent at that time was 12s 1d  (60p).

An elderly couple, Mr & Mrs Jackson, lived at 219, he worked at Raleigh. There was a common backyard entered through a gate on Chippendale St, and if I was playing there after school I always got a, not unfriendly, smack on the head from Mr Jackson's Evening Post (or News) as he walked through the yard, I still remember the smell of machine "suds" on his overalls. He picked up the paper from the newsagents "Jackson's" (I don't think they were related) on the corner of Marcus St. on his way home.

220 was a butchers' shop, run by Harry Ledbetter when I was a child, and later by his son John. They lived, I think, in Beeston, or Lenton Abbey. It had been run - perhaps owned - by Mr & Mrs Wakeling from before WWII. When Mr Wakeling retired, probably after the war, they continued to live in the house at the back and let, or leased the shop to Mr Ledbetter.

Mr Wakeling died in the early 1950s, and his wife continued to live there alone; dying, I think, in 1962. I remember her with great affection, a very "proper" lady. Button shoes, one with a built up sole - she had a very pronounced limp - print dresses, buttoned right to the throat, in the summer. Her house was always spotless (they had no children) and smelled of lavender.  Over the years I became very familiar with her biscuit barrel!

The other neighbours on that block, next door to Jackson's so number 217, were a family by the name of Martin. Quite a large family I think, but apart from one of the girls of my own age I am unable to remember more.  The back yard accessed only the four houses. A painter and decorator ran the shop on the extreme left of the picture I can't recall his name. I don't ever recall seeing anyone enter or leave the place, and it may have been just a showroom or storeroom. He had a large - to my eyes then - shed and office at the end of Chippendale St on the right, through double wooden gates, it backed onto the canal. I remember he had a large pre-war Austin car and a larger, wooden sided trailer to carry his ladders etc.

On the other corner of Chippendale St. was a beer-off, I can only remember the name of the last proprietor before I moved out of the area – Mr Shakespeare. A very nice man. He once introduced me (I was about 10 at the time) to a big well-dressed man who ran a caravan business on Castle Blvd. on the stretch where the road runs alongside the canal, and explained that the gentleman had been a Texas Ranger. You can imagine the effect of that on a young boy!

On the "town" corner of Marcus Street was a grocer's shop run by Mrs Harding. Sugar was weighed into blue paper bags, biscuits bought by the ½ lb. loose. That sort of thing. When sweets came "off ration" in the early 1950s that shop was my favourite.

When I was very small, around 1947 - 1950, I was always frightened and fascinated by the traffic along the Boulevard. I remember lots of military vehicles and indeed tanks using the road (not on transports). They had probably come from the Royal Ordnance Factory. They backfired a lot, and I thought they were firing their guns!  There seemed to be a number of livestock wagons as well, I clearly remember the noise of the cattle, the smell, and the effluent.

 There was a transport cafe about 100 yards towards the city that was well patronised. Other memories of Castle Blvd. traffic - the British Rail mechanical horses. They were I think Scammed vehicles. A three-wheeled tractor unit pulling various types of trailer. They did local deliveries and these quite large vehicles could turn round in the width of the road.

Across from our house was the factory of Hiking & Pentecost. The main works entrance was roughly opposite Marcus St. and used to house Mr Pentecost's Daimler car when he visited the factory.

 

Let us know your memories of Castle Boulevard

 

Do you have any historical information or other photographs of this road?  If so, email us with the details or write to us.