Stapleford - Part 6 - Body and Soul
w/e 28 December 2008
All this week's pictures were taken
with a Kodak DX6490
Our walk around Stapleford so far has shown how much
it has altered over the years and in this sixth part we shall
see further examples of this. I had thought of titling this section
"Old and New" or even "Ancient and Modern"
but settled on "Body and Soul" as both are well catered
for in this part of the town.
We pick up the route on Nottingham Road and turn right into Albert
Street where a block of flats now stands on the left hand side.
Previously this side of the street was occupied by the store
and offices of the Sandiacre and Stapleford Co-operative Society
with transport and coal depots behind. There was also a library,
a large public hall, educational and recreational facilities
all provided by the Co-op. At the far end of the street the new building that was only
completed and opened recently is the Stapleford Care Centre which
contains two GP practices, a pharmacy, a walk-in centre, a café
and also caters for a wide range of community health services.
So both in the past and today the wellbeing of the "bodies"
of the Stapleford population is looked after here.
On the opposite side of the street (right) it is the "souls"
that are the priority with the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's
Witnesses standing next to the Stapleford Baptist Chapel.
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A
right turn at the bottom of Albert Street leads almost immediately
to a building that caters more for the body than the soul - the
Old Cross pub (left). The pub however whilst not specifically
significant historically does take its name from the old Saxon
Cross that now stands opposite in the churchyard of St Helen's
Church. The Stapleford Care Centre may be one of the newest constructions
in Stapleford but the Saxon Cross is is believed to be the oldest
Christian memorial not only in the town but also in the county
of Nottinghamshire. It pre-dates the church and may have been
responsible for the name of the town which means "a post
near a ford".
The information board at the foot of the cross reveals some of
its chequered history which briefly is as follows:
It was erected between 680 and 780AD to mark the establishment
of a new Christian settlement but between 1200 and 1760 it was
dismantled and lay neglected in the churchyard during which time
it lost its transverse arms. In 1760 it was re-erected on a stepped
base outside the churchyard, the base being replaced in 1820
with the stone plinth on which it still stands. Lightning struck
and dislodged the stone ball breaking it into pieces during a
severe storm in 1916 and the increasing traffic in 1928 resulted
in the Cross being moved to its present position in 1928. Following
a public campaign a new stone ball was added at the turn of the
millennium.
Several old photos exist showing the Cross in its former position
at the junction of Church Street and Church Lane and these are
available for viewing at the Picture The Past website. These links below
are to just three of them but there are more available by using
the search facility on the Picture The Past site.
View along Church Street showing the pub on the
extreme right.
Church Lane and Church Street with old cottage
behind circa 1900.
View along Church Lane with cottage and church
behind circa 1913.
The Cross is now a Grade 1 listed ancient monument of national
importance.
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Two of the linked images show an old cottage at the corner of
Church Lane and Church Street but this had gone by 1920s when
the wrought iron gates from the former Wellington College were
erected at the entrance to the churchyard. The banner currently
strung across the gates is advertising an Alpha Course.
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The church itself dates from the thirteenth century but there
have been many alterations and additions since. In fact when
we walked the route as a precursor to starting this series, the
building was shrouded with scaffolding and builder's vehicles
were parked nearby.
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The external work on the church now looks to be complete but
internally refurbishment work is still ongoing. It is anticipated
that this will be ended by March 2009 when services that are
presently held elsewhere will return. Underfloor heating is being
installed and a light coloured stone floor being laid to replace
the existing wooden one. Audio-visual systems, electrical rewiring
and new lighting will also bring the church building into the
twenty first century and provide a refurbished venue for use
by the whole community for a variety of purposes in addition
to the usual church activities. The two images above show the
main body of the church on the left and the memorial chapel on
the right which was added at the same time as the wrought iron
gates in the 1920s.
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As we leave the church to return to Church Street for the final
leg of our walk back to The Roach, a couple of cottages are apparent
on the far side of Church Lane. Previously there were more cottages
like these nearby and it was in one of them that another famous
name from Stapleford, Arthur Mee was born. The journalist founded
the Children's Newspaper, was the author of the Children's Encyclopaedia
and had in excess of eighty other books published. Perhaps I
should have included "the mind" as well as "body
and soul" in the title of this part.
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