Spring Close / Commercial Street - Lenton
 
Photographs | Family Memories

Photographs
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Family Memories

Alan Foster
Mr Colin Hardy (see below) mentions a natural spring adjacent to the canal overflow. I think it was probably a leak from the canal.  We used to drink from that spring and when we scooped sand out of the spring small snail shells could be seen but the canal was unused at that time and the water was crystal clear and many times we lay looking at the sticklebacks with their bright red chests building nests in the weeds.

Colin Hardy
Something that wasn’t mentioned in the articles on Spring Close in Lenton Times No.20 was the natural spring that used to rise at the back of 53a Commercial St. It appeared near a small dyke close by the canal.  There was a small waterfall-like construction - an overflow from the canal - and a wooden walkway that allowed people to cross it.  Water went down the overflow and into the dyke and then went into a small tunnel, which went back to where the spring was situated. I think the water ultimately flowed into the river Leen.  As a youngster I used catch newts in the dyke.

David Vinter
In the 1940s my father was a maintenance foreman working for Simms, Sons & Cooke, when they constructed the Binbrook aerodrome, a bomber base situated near Louth Lincs. As a very small boy (born in Louth in 1936), I was 'smuggled' into the wartime base and shown around the dozens of Lancaster bombers. I can remember the sound of their Merlin engines as hundreds nightly flew over our small bungalow, fully 'bombed up' on their way to Germany! Not exactly a Lenton memory but it provides a snippet of information about the activities of Simms, Sons & Cooke during this era.

Glenys Carter (nee Schoolar)
Between the houses on Commercial Street and the canal were the allotments. My dad had one of these and grew flowers and veg on it. In our back garden dad used to keep ducks and periodically would let them out on to the allotments. From there they would make their way to the mini dyke, swim along to where it ran at the end of the street, get out and waddle in single file back down  to our house.  Then they would go up the entry and back into the garden ‘’There go Bernard’s ducks!’ was a regular comment of the watching neighbours.

We all learned to swim in the canal and every little community had their own ‘patch’. The kids of Dunkirk named their part, Dunkirk Lido; the Abbey Bridge and Gregory Street locals swam at Clayton’s Wharf,just up from the Red Cow pub; and our lot swam in between the two locations at a place we called by the rather macabre name of ‘Coffin Locks’.  Whole families would make a day of it in the summer, building a fire on the canal bank alongside the towpath and taking a picnic lunch.  I recall that after a heavy downpour of rain the water was always warm for some reason.  One of the local lads I grew up with was John Cunnington and I bet a few people will remember him. He and I were bitter rivals, always falling out and vying with one another. One day he challenged me to a swimming race, starting at Dunkirk Lido, passing through Coffin locks and on to Clayton’s Wharf. Somehow I managed to keep up with him and he was so enraged to find me still there at Clayton’s Wharf he promptly pushed me under and sat on my head!  It wasn’t that bad though as I’m still here to tell the tale. Another memory is of myself at a very young age sitting in the gutter in the summer and picking out the melting tar from between the cobbles to play with. Mum later had to use some of her precious butter ration to get the tar off my fingers. It was a very safe street to play in as no-one owned a car. So no traffic! I remember a man dressed in full Scottish costume used to come and play the bagpipes in the street and people gave him money, likewise a man with a fine voice would come of an evening and literally sing for his supper. Can anyone remember the ‘Donkey Man’? This curious misnomer was given to the greengrocer who brought his fruit and veg down the street on a horse and cart. There was always someone ready with a dustpan in case the horse deposited some free manure before leaving.

Some of the people I remember very well were Doug and Gerald (Butch) Hardy, Ray Meese, Jimmy Elson, Terry Belfield, Sandra Gabbitas, Barbara Redgate, Janet and Beryl Cunnington, Linda Howitt and Geoff, Alan and Ray Shepherd. These latter youths were some of the ‘Big Lads’ who tended to keep us younger ones in line. Very happy days all in all.

Glenys Carter (nee Schoolar)
I was born at No.35 Commercial Street in 1942.  My dad, Bernard Schoolar was the local chimney sweep and I expect lots of people will remember him. I remember Carter’s factory very well as our house was exactly opposite it, while further along the street on the same side  was The Danish Bacon Company. On the corner of  Commercial Street and Spring Close, opposite the Traveller’s Rest pub, was a shop run by a Mr and Mrs Hopkinson and known to us all as Hoppo`s!  None of the previous recollections mention the sand hole. I can`t believe this as this was where every kid in the neighbourhood went to play. We had some great times up there and a huge communal bonfire would occur every November 5th. At the age of 17 we had to leave Commercial Street when the houses were demolished.  One link with the Queen’s Medical Centre that now occupies this area is that my brother, John Schoolar, worked on its construction. I have good memories of a great childhood spent here. I initially went to Lenton Church School and then on to Cottesmore and sang in the choir at Lenton Church for five years. I stopped once I left school when work and other interests took over!

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