Unlike the impressive sprawling campus that it now is, the original Rushcliffe school on Boundary Road was a much more modest affair. A two-storey quadrangle comprising classrooms at first floor, with hall, offices, dining rooms and cloak rooms on the ground floor, complemented by a science, art, … [Read more...]
Local History: Rate Collectors
In January 1894, Beeston became an Urban District under the Local Government Act. The first meeting of Beeston UDC took place on 3 January 1894. The controversy was whether Richard Thornhill or Arthur Kirkland should be the Rate Collector. Richard Thornhill (74) had been in post as Rate … [Read more...]
Local History: The Old Trent Bridge
As they approach their one thousandth birthday the only two remaining arches of the old Trent Bridge are left to gently crumble in anonymity. Amidst the hurley-burley of incessant traffic they reside uncelebrated beneath the complex of roads leading to the West Bridgford end of the new bridge, … [Read more...]
Local History: When West Bridgford Was A Village
What did West Bridgford look like before the Musters estate was sold off and the transition to a town began? A rural idyll if two visitors are to be taken at their word. The first is an account by M H Barker, published in 1835: “I continued my walk to the village, which certainly presents a … [Read more...]
Gas explosion death 20 years remembered
Twenty years ago, a gas explosion destroyed a warden controlled sheltered housing block on Walcote Drive, West Bridgford. One person died in the explosion and three people were taken to the QMC. This afternoon the Seventh Day Adventist Church held a remembrance service at the Community Hall on … [Read more...]
Local historian unveils memorial to fallen US servicemen
A new memorial honouring the servicemen of the United States Army Airforce stationed at Langar Airfield during the Second World War has been unveiled. Funded by donations from local businesses, the memorial was unveiled during a moving ceremony on 1 October to honour the US servicemen who served … [Read more...]
You never know what you might dig up…
Members of The East Leake & District Local History Society were given an insight into one of the most exciting archaeological findings of recent times, here in the East Midlands, when Peter Liddle, former County Archaeologist for Leicestershire, gave an interesting talk on The Rutland Roman … [Read more...]
Local History: One Loughborough Road
Developers are currently busy at the corner of Loughborough Road and Bridgford Road, but can you recall the earlier buildings on that site? While the stone wall remains on Loughborough Road, you can make out the entrances to the houses that were there: numbers one and three Loughborough Road. A … [Read more...]
Do you know what’s hidden in this leafy corner of Lady Bay?
Many will have passed this small coppice at the junction of Rutland Road and Lady Bay Road and given no thought to the secret that lies beneath the overgrown shrubbery. Those locals of more senior years may remember that during World War 2 a community air raid shelter was built on the site to … [Read more...]
French School Trips return to Nottingham
On 16th May, the first French school group will arrive into West Bridgford since February 2020, 27 months since the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to overseas school travel. The children and teachers will be here on a 5 day education and culture visit that forms part of their school curriculum. They … [Read more...]