Issue No.1 October 1988
What The Council Did After They Bought Wollaton Park
For most residents to the west of the City, Wollaton Park must rank as the number one spot in which to get a bit of fresh air and the chance to stretch the legs without the need to leave Nottingham. But we might not have had Wollaton Park at all. In 1921 Sir Jesse Boot had offered to buy the Hall and grounds as a possible site for Nottingham's University College.This is the story of what happened after the City Council bought Wollaton Park.
Before The Golf Course
The parkland surrounding Wollaton Hall has long been a focus for Keith Taylor's twin interests of local and natural history. For a number of years, Keith worked in the park as a part-time ranger. In this article Keith concentrates on the south east corner of the Park, where part of the Wollaton Golf Course is now situated.
Lenton And Surrounding Parishes In 1823
A section of Sanderson's 1835 map of '20 Miles Around Mansfield' showing Lenton and the surrounding parishes.
The Golf Course
The story of Wollaton Park Golf Course.
The Crane Houses Of Wollaton Park
If you've lived there all your life it's possible you don't find the houses of Wollaton Park Estate at all odd. Certainly outsiders often tend to be struck by the slightly strange appearance of all those bungalows with their tiny walls and huge expanse of roof. You won't find anything quite like them elsewhere in Nottingham and similar estates of such homes are pretty thin on the ground anywhere in Britain. The Wollaton Park Estate was conceived as a bold experiment in new building techniques, one on which the Council ultimately turned its back. We leave it to the reader to decide whether the Council made the right decision.
Mrs. Lowe Remembers
Back in the early 1920s Mrs Anne Lowe ran a shop on Hillside. Here she shares her memories of Hillside, Derby Road, Middleton Boulevard and the Crane Houses of Wollaton Park.
Golden Jubilees - St Mary's And St. Barnabas
As one journeys in and out of Nottingham along the Derby Road the traveller passes the churches of St. Mary's, Wollaton Park and St. Barnabas, Lenton Abbey. This year both congregations have been celebrating their churches' fiftieth anniversary, an added reason for the inclusion of this brief account in the magazine.
Jubilee Tea-towels
We look at the annniversary tea towel, produced for the golden jubilee of St. Mary's and St. Barnabas.
St. Mary's - Les Berry's History
To mark the fiftieth anniversary of St. Mary's Church, Les Berry took it upon himself to produce 'St. Mary's Church, Wollaton Park 1938-1988', a thirty six page guide to the church and its history. The booklet involved Les in many hours of research ploughing through parish magazines, church records and local papers as he sought all the information he needed to piece together the story behind the church's construction, consecration and subsequent history.
The Lenton Foot-Steeplechase
Each year one Sunday morning in late September or early October spectators eagerly gather at the roadside to cheer on runners as they take part in Nottingham's marathon and half marathon races. But this is not the first event of athletic prowess to happen here, as Lenton Local History Society recently discovered. This is the story of the 1840 'Lenton Foot-Steeplechase'.
Photos Of The Fair At Highfields
Photographs of the 1988 Funfair on Highfields Park
Society Snips
News from the Lenton Local History Society.
Bryan Bailey's Lenton Research
Bryan Bailey is one of that growing tribe of people interested in tracing their family history. One of his distant relatives was William Clayton who established a business beside the canal at Old Lenton. This is the story of a 'family business.'
Editorial for this issue
Members of Lenton Local History Society used to receive regular newsletters produced by Cliff Voisey until it was decided to include Society news within the pages of The Lenton Listener. Now that the Listener has ceased publication, at least for the time being, the question arose - what shall we do now? The answer lies in front of you. This is a major departure for the Society and if 'Lenton Times' is to be a success we must quickly establish a sizeable readership. If you find the magazine interesting, do recommend it to your friends, always encouraging them to buy their own copy rather than read yours. A substantial sum has been set aside the meet the production costs and should we fail to recoup out overheads then Lenton Times must necessarily become a short-lived affair. If all does go well, then we hope to produce Issue No.2 in April 1989 and thereafter turn the magazine into a biannual publication.
Perhaps in rather perverse fashion this first issue spends much of its time at the edge of the parish and beyond. Wollaton Hall was completed exactly 400 years ago And so there have been all manner of events put on by the City Council this year to celebrate the event. While the spotlight was turned in this direction we thought it an opportune moment to recall the events surrounding the Corporation's purchase of the Hall and what subsequently happened to the Lenton side of the parkland. If nothing else it ought to stress that we have no desire to be overly parochial in outlook. Once Issue No.1 is out we shall be sending complimentary copies to a number of local firms and businesses with the hope that some of them might agree to become sponsors of one of the forthcoming issues. In exchange for a donation of about #40 we would be happy to devote a page of the magazine to a history of their business. If there are readers who are in a position to influence any decisions on our behalf then please speak up and accept our lasting thanks.
In a future issue of Lenton Times we are eager to publish an account of schooldays at Cottesmore Central School for Girls written by Mrs. Sheila Bourner (nee Carpenter). Unfortunately we don't have much in the way of illustrations to accompany her text. So if readers know of photographs taken in the Girls School, especially during the 1930s, we would be most grateful to hear from them.