This is the Grace Church Nottingham situated at the junction of Wilford Street and Castle Boulevard. Since 2010 it has been based here in a building which initially housed the Nottingham Labour Exchange. In its wikipedia entry the Grace Church is described as reformed and charismatic in its theology and is stated to have a congregation of some 400 people.

This shows the city end of Castle Boulevard as Canal Street and Wilford Street vehicles feed into on the right handside of the photo while those heading into the city centre, on the left, can access Maid Marion Way and Collins Street. The shot is primarily included in order to show the modern day setting for our next photograph.

As part of the City Transport's Jubilee celebrations in November 1947 it put on this horse-drawn bus which would took passengers between the Walter Fountain on Listergate and Abbey Bridge at the other end of Castle Boulevard. Here the bus is just starting to go along past the building shown in the previous modern-day photograph.

This building on the corner of Castle Boulevard and Castle Road was originally built as offices for the Nottingham Waterworks Company. It now serves as offices/storage area for the museum team responsible for Brewhouse Yard and the Castle Museums.

Directly opposite the grounds of the Brewhouse Yard Museum is New Castle House, now occupied by Gala Coral Group Ltd. Designed by Nottingham architect Frank Broadhead, and originally called Viyella House, the building on the left was built in the early 1930s for William Hollins and Co. who manufactured the fabric called 'Viyella'.

In the latter part of the twentieth century the building underwent a major refurbishment which involved taking down the rear of the building and replacing it with a more modern structure. However all the decorative concrete features on the front of the building, some of which can be seen here in this photograph were retained.

The clock that hangs above the main entrance is unusual in that its set of chimes play a different tune each day of the week. To sample one particular tune checkout this recording on 'YouTube'.

This is an undated shot of the original building, which was originally called Viyella House. Looking at the car parked in front of the building the photograph was probably taken in the 1950s.

In this photograph are part of the grounds of Brewhouse Yard with Nottingham's ducal palace (part of Nottingham Castle) positioned at the top of the sandstone outcrop.

This photograph was taken in 2013 and focused on the building at the junction of Castle Boulevard and Peveril Drive. At one time it was the headquarters of Rediffusion and had a neon sign with the word REDIFFUSION positioned vertically above the central doorway. In 2013 the whole building was being converted from offices which had previously been occupied by Natwest Bank into apartments. The apartment complex is now called Castle Point.

With New Castle House visible in the background, the building partly visible in the foreground was designed by the Nottingham architect, Watson Fothergill in the 1890s, and originally served as a warehouse for a local paper merchant. More recently it was used as a furniture store for Baker & Plumb, whose shop used to be on Derby Road, near Tollhouse Hill. The warehouse underwent a major refurbishment in the early 1980s a number of different occupants now share the building.

This little shop is currently [2013] unoccupied but most recently had housed an off-licence.

Pickfords Removals would later be found on Castle Boulevard in a building on the other side of the road. This rather wonderful shot shows their earlier base on Castle Boulevard. We have no date for the image but it was probably taken just after the First World War.

This modern day shot is taken at the same point on Castle Boulevard. The ground floors of the two buildings on either side of the entrance have been altered but only the modern window frames on the first floor have been changed. The entrance itself has been filled in with a completely new building.

We included the previous photograph because the building shown in it also pictured in this 1888 line drawing. When Castle Boulevard was originally opened in 1884 it was called Lenton Boulevard and the portion of the Boulevard from Wilford Street to Hungerton Street in Lenton was only given its present name in about 1908/9.

This photograph is reputed to have been taken in 1883. It shows Nottingham Castle perched on top of the outcrop of rock with the River Leen and associated footpath in the foreground. Once work started on the construction of the new boulevard the Leen had to be rerouted and so was diverted into the canal at what is now Abbey Bridge. The excess water then left the canal once it had reached the overflow point near the locks at Wilford Street. This arrangement prevailed until the 1960s until major construction work on the river saw it rerouted through the Lenton Industrial Estate where it now comes out in the Trent at Wilford.

Much the same view as in the previous photograph but this painting shows the castle, then owned by the Duke of Newcastle, ablaze after being set alight by the Reform Act rioters in 1831.

This particular view appears to have been a very popular one with artists. This particular painting by Edmund John Niemann (1813-1876) shows the castle a derelict building many years after the fire but before Nottingham Corporation acquired it for their Art Gallery. Yet again, in the foreground, is the River Leen. The painting was put up for sale in 2014 and was reproduced on the website of Priory Fine Art Ltd.

During 1966 Bob Dylan appeared at a number of venues across England. On 16th May he was being driven in a black Daimler limousine from Leicester to Sheffield. The chosen route took him along Castle Boulevard and on towards Nottingham's city centre. Spotting something interesting he asked the driver to pull up, he got out of the car and called to Barry Feinstein, a professional photographer who was following in another car.

Dylan then posed for this photograph, looking suitably cool, in the doorway of No.18 Castle Boulevard. Afterwards the entourage would stop outside Nottingham Castle and Dylan went and had a look around the Castle Grounds before driving on to Sheffield. Both these Castle Boulevard photographs are featured in a recently published book of Barry Feinstein's photographs 'Real Moments: Bob Dylan by Barry Feinstein.'

Our third photograph shows the same view today. The bookmakers have long since departed and the ground floor frontage of the building has undergone a major revamp. But the stone tracery above the doorway is still with us and confirms that we have the right location.

A terrace of late-Victorian properties lines the southern side of Castle Boulevard at this point.

At one time 101 Castle Boulevard had housed a sub-post office. Eventually the Post Office deemed it surplus to requirements and the sub-post office closed in the late 1980s/early 90s (?) Now it is a café appropriately known as Café 101 and it has even received its own write-up on www.tripadvisor.co.uk.

The view captured in this Edwardian picture postcard shows Lenton/Castle Boulevard looking towards the city centre with Nottingham Castle on the skyline. The stanchions supporting the electric wires that supplied power to the trams that used to run along Castle Boulevard are situated in the centre of the road. This was the initial set up but it was later decided they were something of a traffic hazard and so were moved to either side of the road.

Much the same view as shown in the last photograph but this one was taken in 2013. Although the Park Estate may have kept its gas lighting, illumination along the boulevard is now courtesy of electric lights.

At the corner of Palatine Street and Castle Boulevard is this building - now converted into apartments. To make way for this development the building was vacated by the building company, William Woodsend Ltd., established in 1837, who had used the building as their headquarters since 1898. In 1911 the company built the William Woodsend Memorial Homes on Derby Road, Lenton in remembrance of the company's founder, William Woodsend. Since moving away from Castle Boulevard William Woodsend Ltd. appear to have gone into voluntary liquidation [2013].

The old picture postcard, displayed above, shows a vehicular access point into the Park via Fishpond Drive. While pedestrians can still gain entry at this point, these days vehicles have to go on to Peveril Drive before they make their way into the Park.

On the left are some of the larger houses that front on to Castle Boulevard while the office complex just visible on the right is of a more recent vintage.

Turning around and now looking westward along Castle Boulevard - on the right is the building that originally housed G.S. Oscroft and Co. Ltd, motor dealers and repair centre. It now provides a home for three furniture outlets and a car electronics business.

The eastern wing of the building, part of what is now known as Dominion House, is No.58 Castle Boulevard, houses the Nottingham outlet of And So To Bed which offers a range of luxury beds and bedroom furniture.

The central portion of the building is now home to Nottingham Office Equipment Ltd. With other branches in Derby and Mansfield this company stocks a wide range of new and used office equipment.

Most of the western wing of Dominion House is currently occupied by the Nottingham branch of Hammond Furniture Ltd., which is has branches throughout the country.

A pair of semi-detached houses situated alongside the footbridge that now provides access to the canal towpath and the retail park constructed on the old railway sidings that once lay beyond the canal. At the time [October 2013] when the photograph was taken the two properties were seeking new occupants.

At the back of the two properties shown in the previous picture is this range of old outbuildings. Until 2012 they housed the workshop and display area of Gatehouse Workshops, a small architectural Reclamation and Restoration yard, which had been in business for 25 years.

Just beyond the access point to the canal towpath is one of the more striking buildings on this stretch of Castle Boulevard.

Cottee and Edwards premises in 1950. These consisted of workshops, salesrooms and offices plus the petrol filling station.

This second photograph of the Cottee and Edwards premises was taken in 1976. That year the business closed and Wickes Building Supplies and Home Charm Retail moved into the property.

The old Cottee and Edwards properties would later be demolished and the site used as part of the new Castle Quay complex as seen in this 2019 photograph.

The large central clock tower with its copper covered cupola is quite a landmark. It comes as something of a surprise to learn that the building was built merely as a base for the delivery vehicles used by a local bakery. It now houses Ocean Designs whose strap line in Conservatory and Outdoor Living.

This second external view of 167 Castle Boulevard is taken from the customer carpark and shows off the full extent of the clock tower.

Our third view of the building moves inside and shows some of the range of furniture available at Ocean Designs.

The final occupant of the main Dominion House building, the former premises of G.S. Oscroft Ltd., is Car Electronics Nottingham Ltd. seen here in this photograph. This business offers not only car audio equipment but also a range of AppleMac, iPad, iPhone & iPods.

It is quite tricky to pinpoint whereabouts on Castle Boulevard this 1931 photograph was taken. The building on the left is no longer with us. However the buildings on the right just beyond the row of advertising hoardings are still around and the roadside property now houses Zoo Interiors.

Although occupying a separate building Zoo Interiors is also deemed to be part of Dominion House. With a second branch in Derby Zoo Interiors is a recently established business which sources its furniture from all over the world - oak furniture currently comes from Vietnam, the rattan items from China while some of the sofas as made in the UK. In the adjacent unit to Zoo Interiors is the outlet for Laura Ashley, which opened here after the shop on Bridlesmith Gate in the city centre closed down. Beyond Laura Ashley is another local furniture outlet, Frank Knighton Suite Choices which also has a showroom at its manufacturing base in Ilkeston.

Back across the road in purpose-built premises is Multiyork, a furniture company. In this exterior view you see the entrance to the showrooms with the Nottingham Canal just visible on the right.

Our interior shot of the Multiyork showroom reveals some of the furniture available in 2013.

Most of this stretch of Castle Boulevard used to be given over to the motor trade. Still going strong is this National Tyre and Autocare Centre. The vibrant colour scheme used on the exterior of the premises seems a bit over the top but it does ensure that anyone passing by is unlikely to miss it.

Inside the National Tyre and Autocare Centre the colour scheme is more restrained.

Moving further along Castle Boulevard we come to the new apartment complex known as Park Rock. Completed in 2003 this was a development for Braemore Properties designed for them by Nottingham architects, LettsWheeler.

The 38-unit scheme consists of six blocks with courtyards in between which provide passersby with glimpses of the medieval cave complex that lies behind the development. Well received on its completion these buildings have won a number of architectural awards. For more photographs of the development, both interior and exterior shots, check out the architects' website.

In designing this complex the architects tried to echo something of the Victorian villas already in situ on this stretch of Castle Boulevard. In this photograph you can see one of the original properties alongside the western end of the Park Rock development.

The person who designed the set of semis in the previous photograph is as yet unidentified but we do know who was responsible for the houses next door. These two houses, shown here, were designed by the celebrated Nottingham architect, Watson Fothergill. On the left of these properties is a footpath, which provides pedestrian access to the Park Estate.

Apart from the National Tyre and Autocare Centre mentioned earlier there are other outlets on Castle Boulevard focusing on the needs of the motorist. The one at 66 Castle Boulevard, shown in this photograph is ATS Euromaster which also offers a replacement tyre service along with a range of other products. After this outlet and just visible in the photograph as an orange painted unit, No.76-78 Castle Boulevard currently houses Floors-2-Go, Nottingham which offer Laminate and Hardwood Flooring.

Across on the other side of the road there is a narrow triangle of land alongside the canal. For a while it was used for car parking but recently [2013] work has started on the erection of student accommodation. Our photograph shows the footings for the property under construction.

Moving along Castle Boulevard to No.80 we come to a Majestic Wines warehouse.

Majestic Wines have recently [2013] extended their Castle Boulevard outlet which suggest it must be doing quite well. Here you see an interior shot of the premises.

Lying between Majestic Wines and the Floors-2-Go outlet is another tyre outlet. This one is called Mr Tyre Ltd. and is one of 26 retail fitting stores situated across central England.

Another view of the new student accommodation in the early stages of construction [October 2013].

After Majestic Wines comes the IMO Car Wash which offers attended car washing, vacuum and valeting services.

On the opposite side of Castle Boulevard at 171-177 is the Dollond and Aitchison Opticians which has now been converted into a Boots Opticians outlet.

This photograph taken in 1989 shows what was on the site before the arrival of the opticians outlet. These premises belonged to W. Appleby & Sons, building and joinery contractors. The properties were later demolished.

The set of buildings in the previous photograph also feature on the left of this photograph which was taken in the 1960s. Almost everything visible in this particular photograph has been demolished except some of the properties in the far distance on the left-hand side of the boulevard. The white van which has already turned off the boulevard is probably heading into Charlton Street. Much of the complex of industrial buildings seen on the right of the photograph dated from the nineteenth century.

Next to the Boots Opticians' site are the premises shown here. Initially they were occupied by Eurohire Vehicle Rental (Nottingham) Ltd. However after the closure of the business the premises were put up for sale and are currently [2013] unoccupied.

This photograph shows the junction of Castle Boulevard and Castle Bridge Road. The latter road now provides access to the Castle Marina Retail Park. In order to construct the bridge over the canal it was necessary to demolish the short cul-de-sac of properties that made up Charlton Street. As yet we have no old photographs of Charlton Street.

This is the section of Castle Boulevard at the point where Castle Bridge Road, off to the right, gives access to the Castle Marina site as it looked in 2007. Visible on the left is a portion of the MFI showroom. The photograph was taken by Ray Teece. A showcase of some of Ray's other local photographs can be accessed by clicking on his City of Nottingham website.

This is much the same view as in the previous photograph but we have now moved forward to October 2013. Halfords Autocentre Nottingham (Castle) at 84 Castle Boulevard is present in both photographs but what has now changed is that the MFI buildig has made way for the new Cornerstone Church.

In 2002 before construction work began on the Park Rock development Colin Harris took a series of photographs showing what still survived of the Rock Chapel of Chapel of St Mary. These are some of the photographs he took along with more recent shots showing what it looked like after the buildings had been completed.

There is a Lenton Listener article about the history of the Rock Chapel available elsewhere on this website. Click on the link here if you would like to learn more. There have been lots of suggestions as to what the multitude of holes in the rock, shown here, were for but the most convincing one is that they served as a dovecote providing the occupants of the chapel with a source of fresh meat in the winter.

Most of the rock structures making up the chapel complex have collapsed but there are still surviving rooms built into the rock as can be seen in this photograph. During the Second World War they were pressed into service as air-raid shelters for residents of the Park Estate.

In this photograph the cave entrance has been bricked up presumably to prevent them being used as temporary residences.

This route provided access to the higher ground where, at one time, there was a bowling green within The Park - now built on. The bowlers would use one of the caves as their clubhouse.

A general view of the rock face as it looked in 2002.

This photograph shows the extent of the site before work began on the Park Rock apartment complex.

One of the courtyard between the apartment blocks which were designed in part to provide the general public with views of the rock chapel complex.

Another of the courtyards. The developers spent quite a lot of time and effort ensuring that the rock chapel complex was left for posterity in as good a condition as possible.

In the 1950s and 60s George E. Cartwright built cabin cruisers on a plot of land alongside the canal on Castle Boulevard. The first of these three photographs, all supplied by his daughter Sue Hutchings, features a finished boat on display at the boat yard. The second shows George Cartwright at work and the third in the sequence is a completed boat about to be launched into the canal. In the last mentioned photograph the Cartwright's house boat can be seen to the left - at one time this would have been the family home for George, his wife and their four children.

These images, showing sections of Castle Boulevard and the surrounding area, were taken by Aerofilms. The photographs come from English Heritage's collection of aerial images covering the period 1919-1953. The website in question is Britain from Above, launched in 2012 by English Heritage and the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Wales, which offers free public access to more than 15,000 aerial photographs. Click here if you would like to check out more of the images on the Britain from Above website.

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The junction of Castle Boulevard and Castle Bridge Road. Castle Bridge Road, going off to the left over the Nottingham Canal, now provides vehicular access from the Boulevard to the marina, to the Castle Marina retail park and to the housing development erected there in the 1980s. Photograph taken in 2008.

Part of the new Cornerstone Church's frontage takes up the right of the photograph while some of the original Castle Boulevard properties line the other side of the road.

The same portion of Castle Boulevard as in the previous photograph but looking back towards the junction with Castle Bridge Road.

Charlton Street as it looked in 1975. The Castle Boulevard properties along with all those on Charlton Street itself would be compulsorily purchased by the City Council in order that an access road (Castle Bridge Road) to the new marina development could be created.

Among the properties that were eventually demolished were some of these making up Rose Cottages which lay behind Castle Boulevard and fronted on to the canal. Photograph taken in 1975.

This colour photograph taken by Stanley Wilson in 1979 shows another view of the properties making up Rose Cottages.

The demolished section of Castle Boulevard included this property known as Rose Cottage, also featured in the previous photograph. In 1979 when the photograph was taken the house was occupied by Tony Apperley, a local inventor, who was well known for an array of useful innovations.

This picture postcard was taken when this stretch of Castle Boulevard was known by its original name 'Lenton Boulevard.' The change to Castle Boulevard took place about 1908, which means the picture postcard must have been taken before this date.

A 2004 shot showing the block of Castle Boulevard properties adjacent to the junction with Chippendale Street. These are some of the houses that feature in the previous picture postcard.

In this photograph also taken in 2004 we have moved further along the Boulevard to the junction with what used to be Marcus Street. With the redevelopment of this corner of Lenton, and the demolition of all the properties on Marcus Street the thoroughfare became incorporated into Alderney Street.

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.

Photographed in the early 1980s the premises of Universal Engineering and the vacant shop next door were both demolished in order to make way for the Castle Gardens development. Rowland's Café survived and became the takeaway pizza outlet shown in the previous photograph.

The previous photograph showed the location of the Universial Engineering premises on Castle Boulevard. This advert taken from the 1949 Nottingham Handbook shows some of the products the company produced.

In the same 1949 Handbook was a shot inside the Universal Engineering works showing men hard at work in the 'Fettling department.'

Sharing the Universal Engineering premises a sister company 'The Steeplejack and Engineering Co. Ltd.' also had this advert inserted in the 1949 Nottingham handbook.

The rather stark exterior of the Castle Gardens complex is shown on the right in the photograph taken in 2012. On the left construction barriers are still in place on what would become the carpark area of the Cornerstone Church. To learn a little more about the history of this site see below.

The junction of Castle Boulevard and Grove Road as it looked in the early 1980s. While the photographer was clearly intent on getting a shot of the Grove Hotel just visible on the left is a portion of the Steada Raywarp factory that also came down to make way for the Castle Gardens development. To learn more about this factory site see below.

This is much the same shot as shown in the previous photograph but this time we can offer a colour version of the scene taken in 1977. Off to the right you can see the continuation of Castle Boulevard with Lenton Primary School just visible at the end of the Boulevard.

Probably taken at the same time as the previous photograph we get another view of the Grove Hotel with the factory complex just visible on the left. The Grove Road property just visible on the right of the photograph would have also been demolished in the 1980s.

When the pub's most recent refurburbishment was undertaken, a brief history of the pub was erected on an exterior wall of the pub. This is it. However there are a couple of errors which need correction. The relevant Beer Act was 1830 and not 1930 and the Grove Hotel was not built on the same site as the Grove Tavern. The site of the original building was much closer to the canal.

Looking along Grove Road from its junction with Castle Boulevard in 2013. The right-hand side still has its original houses lining the street but just visible on the left is another portion of the Castle Gardens housing complex. By now the Grove pub had closed its doors, seemingly for ever, and in 2013 it was still up for sale.

Patrons of the Grove Hotel, Lenton c.1950 on a day trip to an unknown destination - possibly Bridlington, Scarborough or Blackpool.

Patrons of the Grove Hotel, Lenton c.1958 on a day trip to Skegness posing for their photograph outside the Lumbley Hotel, Skegness.

As we approach the junction of Castle Boulevard with Abbey Bridge we see the original junction with Willoughby Street coming in on the right. Of course, nowadays, those travelling along the Boulevard and wishing to access Willoughby Street have to do so via the Abbey Bridge roundabout.

Taken in 1951 this photograph taken from Abbey Bridge focuses on the junction with Castle Boulevard with some of the Sherwin Road properties, including The Albion Hotel, on the far side of the street.

Our 2014 shot is also of the junction with Abbey Bridge but looking the other way to the previous photograph. The construction of Abbey Bridge in the 1920s required the demolition of a number of properties that fronted on to Castle Boulevard.

Part of the row of properties on Castle Boulevard between Abbey Bridge and Broadholme Street. Taken in May 2004 the end property used to contained K.B. Insurance Brokers (Nottm.) Ltd. but they had just ceased trading there. The premises are now [2014] occupied by a letting agency

This is the Lenton end of Castle Boulevard. Off to the right is Sherwin Road. There is also a further section of Sherwin Road off to the left just out of the picture. So you have the unusual situation where the two sides of what appears to be the same road have different names. On the southern side it is Castle Boulevard while the northern side as far at the junction with Willoughby Street is Sherwin Road. The building on the right is purpose-built student housing - to learn what was on the site before it was built - click here.

In the mid 1880s two brothers, Walter and Thomas Sampson, had a huge six-storey factory built at the junction of Castle Boulevard and Grove Road. Their lace business only occupied a couple of floors in the factory so the rest of the space was sublet to other commercial concerns. This building burnt down on 13th January 1902.

About 7 a.m. that day a workman had been using a naked light to 'tie-up' threads on a lace curtain machine belonging to G.H. Holmes located on the ground floor. Some material on his machine caught fire and the flames then spread from one machine to another. Unable to bring the fire under control Mr Holmes' workforce vacated the premises and the fire brigade was summoned.

By 9 a.m. the fire brigade brought the fire under control and soon afterwards all but one of the fire tenders returned to base. The contents of the basement, ground and first floors were a write-off but the rest of the building was relatively unscarred. The remaining fire crew directed water into the basement as the large quantity of Jacquard cards stored there continued to smoulder.

Many of the employees in the remaining parts of the building had returned to work when, at 5.30 p.m., fire suddenly reappeared in the roof of the building. There were still firemen around but their hoses couldn't reach the new source of the conflagration and all they could do was stand and watch as the whole building proceed to burn down.

By the following morning the fire had more or less burnt itself out. These seven photographs show what was left of the building once the fire had done its work.

The full story of the fire, along with an explanation of how the fire came to start up again, can be found in Lenton Times No.12.

All the businesses previously operating in the building now had to move elsewhere in order to resume operation. Walter Sampson set up as a lace manufacturer out at Ruddington while his brother Thomas chose to retire. The factory site remained derelict until 1912 when the Sampsons commissioned a smaller building to be constructed on the site. On completion this was then occupied by Debenham & Co., blouse manufacturers.

Debenham's continued to occupy the building until the late 1930s when they moved to premises in Hyson Green. The building remained empty until Elastic Yarns/Fine Wires Ltd moved in. This photograph shows the workforce posing for their photograph outside the building in April 1945. It was taken when Sir Stafford Cripps, then a member of the War-time Government, paid a visit to the factory while attending an exhibition being held there featuring local businesses; Cripps is the man on the front row in the centre of the photograph.

Elastic Yarns made elastic webbing, surgical hosiery, corsetry, foundation garments, and knitting and sewing elastic sold under the trade name of 'Gloveen'. This 1960s photograph shows four Elastic Yarns' employees. Their names are given on the larger version of the photograph.

Two Elastic Yarn's employees at work in the factory in 1963. More details are given when you click on the photograph.

Another 1963 photograph of Elastic Yarn employees. Click on the photograph for more details. In 1973 Elastic Yarns sold the building but transferred operations to Sandiacre. The new occupants were Steada Raywarp Ltd., textile manufacturers. Shortly afterwards, Steada Raywarp were taken over by Courtaulds. Courtaulds soon decided the Castle Boulevard factory was surplus to requirements and, unable to find new occupants, eventually had the building demolished.

This photograph was taken by Chris Richards in 1981 and shows the building in an advanced state of demolition.

Barratt's, the builders, moved in. They acquired the Steada Raywarp site, bought the adjoining site occupied by Universal Engineering, along with the portions of land on Grove Road, Alderney Street and Marcus Street that had fallen within the City Council's clearance programme.

Barratt's erected the housing complex shown in these three photographs. The complex was designed for them by the local architectural partnership of Cullen, Carter and Hill.

The complex, now known as Castle Gardens, was completed in 1982/3. Alderney Street, which bordered the western portion of the housing complex (shown in this photograph), was extended to link into Marcus Street. Whereupon the name, Marcus Street, disappeared from the map as it became subsumed within Alderney Street.

Part of the factory complex occupying the northern side of Castle Boulevard on its approach to the junction with Park Road and Willoughby Street as it looked in 1978. At the beginning of the century the factory was occupied by Alfred Cleaver, a bleacher, dyer, lace dresser & finisher. By 1912 Hicking Pentecost had taken over the building and they carried on much the same activities there.

We catch another glimpse of this factory in this 1955 view looking along Marcus Street to its junction with Castle Boulevard. Hicking Pentecost remained the main occupants of the factory for many years. Quite when they moved out is unclear but by the late 1970s the factory has been subdivided into a number of separate units. In the 1980s the whole building was destroyed in major conflagration and the property had to be demolished.

This photograph shows the site, after the demolition of the factory along with some neighbouring properties and before construction work started on the M.F.I. retail furniture complex which then occupied the site.

The M.F.I. complex consisted of two large buildings. One comprised a showroom which can be seen in this photograph. The other, which stood at the far end of the customers' carpark was a warehouse unit where the selected items would await collection the furniture once they had been paid for.

In 2008 M.F.I. got into financial difficulties and was placed into administration. It ceased trading at the end of the year when the administrators failed to find a potential purchaser for the company. The Nottingham premises were eventually put up for sale but also failed to find a buyer until the Cornerstone Church stepped in. They had the existing buildings demolished and a new church erected on the site. This photograph taken in 2013 shows a portion of the church's extensive car park on the right.

The Cornerstone Church opened the new building on 30th September 2012. For more information about the Cornerstone Church and its activities check out its website.

Dissatisfied with their premises on Park Street, New Lenton the United Methodist Free Church decided to build a new chapel at the Lenton end of what is now known as Castle Boulevard. Unable to afford a complete brick-built church it commissioned a building which had a brick base but an upper storey made of metal sheeting. This was opened in May 1887. The intention was to build a brick superstructure once funds permitted. Damage to the foundations caused by flooding meant this plan was never carried out. Instead the congregation preferred to move to a new building on Derby Road - the church now situated opposite the Savoy Cinema. The move took place in February 1914. This undated photograph of the old tin chapel was taken after it had ceased to be used as a church.

The old 'tin chapel' was now occupied by John Compton, an organ builder. However a fire in 1920 caused extensive damage to his works and, although the building was subsequently restored, John Compton moved his business elsewhere. Instead the Clement Piano Company moved in and stayed until 1979 whereupon the business moved to premises next to the Radford/Lenton branch library on Lenton Boulevard. This photograph shows Clement Piano's staff in 1956.

Towards the end of Clement's stay in the old tin chapel they had acquired a sub-tenant in the basement in the form of Trent Upholsteries. When Clements moved out Trent Upholsteries took over the whole building using the upstairs area as a show room.

In the late 1980s Trent Upholsteries decided to rebuild the upper storey and this photograph shows the building before that work got under way.

This photo shows the property once the the upper storey had been rebuilt. Trent Upholsteries later moved to alternative premises in Radford and in mid-2002 the entire building was demolished to make way for new student accomodation.

Our final photograph taken in 2004 shows Chapel Place, the new student accommodation, designed to be in keeping with its near neighbours.