Lenton Times

The Magazine of Lenton Local History Society

The following series of photographs of Triumph Road were taken in April 2003.  The shots were principally taken in order to show the present day location of the wartime firestation photographs shown below.

Although Players' production of cigarettes is now confined to the Horizon factory at Lenton and the Radford factory complex is no more there is still a Players presence on Triumph Road.  This is primarily because the bonded warehouses, visible in the background, are based here.

Raw tobacco leaves imported from abroad are, we believe, still stored in these warehouses and the company is not required to pay excise duty until the tobacco is actually taken from here to the Horizon factory.

In among the Players warehouse complex is this building which appears to predate the rest of the site.  Quite what its original purpose was we don't actually know.

Pulling back from the view of the gasometer the entrance to the new Jubilee campus, built by the University of Nottingham on part of the former Raleigh factory, becomes apparent.  The residential block shown in the photograph is known as Southwell Hall.

Another view of the Triumph Road entrance to the Jubilee campus - this time with the Newark Hall residential block shown in the photograph.

Much the same view but this time the viewer can see another portion of the Raleigh factory complex in the far distance which is shortly to disappear to make way for an extension to the Jubilee campus.

The Radford gasometer which features so prominently in one of the wartime photographs shown below is still a major feature of the local landscape as seen in this 2003 shot.  

Since the previous photograph was taken the adjoining site has been used to accommodate the new Jubilee campus sports centre designed by the Nottingham architects Franklin Ellis.

The sports complex consists of a main sports hall, part of which is shown in this 2005 shot, along with a set of squash courts.  

The view looking towards the teaching complex on the Jubilee campus site which now houses the faculties of Computer Science & Information Science, Education and the School of Business Studies.

The new Jubilee campus cost £50 million pounds to build and was designed by Sir Michael Hopkins.  It has since won several architectural awards.  The campus was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in November 1999.

The glass structure in the foreground houses a restaurant while off in the distance Player's bonded warehouses still dominate the skyline.

Going through to the back of the building you emerge on to the lakeside, a focal point of which is the library or, as the University likes to refers to it, the learning resource centre.

Looking along the walkway which runs alongside the back of the building with the library just visible in the background.

Stepping away from the walkway you see the various little bridges that provide access to the island area created within the lake.

In the previous shot the vegetation looks highly 'manicured' but as you move away from the buildings you see a more natural habitat taking over which helps sustain a range of wildlife.

Moving further southward and looking back towards the previous set of buildings you get a view of part of the Business School complex with the Triumph Road gasometer to their right.

Walking round the edge of the lake you finally come to the buildings which house the National College of School Leadership built on the site of the old Sturmey-Archer factory.

Continuing round the edge of the lake this photograph provides another look at the Nottingham Business School buildings.

Back on the lakeside walkway looking southward you can just see the buildings shown in the  previous three photographs in the far distance.

Moving northward and coming round on to the front of the complex some of the houses situated on the Ilkeston Road can just be seen in the far distance on the right of the photograph.

In the run up to the Second World War Nottingham's Fire Service established several additional bases in addition to the main fire station on Shakespeare Street.  Triumph Road was one of them.  Its story was featured in Lenton Times Issue 12. 
 

 Click on each photograph to discover more information about them

Extensions to the Jubilee Campus under construction