Stapleford - Part 7 - Through The Years
w/e 25 January 2009
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490
Stapleford Town Trail title image

Saxon CrossChurch StreetAnd so we reach the final part of our walk around the town centre of Stapleford and although this is probably the shortest leg in terms of distance being only about a couple of hundred yards (or meters if you prefer) in total, it does span the centuries between one of Stapleford's oldest artifacts and one of its newest buildings. We saw the Saxon Cross (left) in the previous part and leaving the churchyard our route is now along Church Street (right) back to The Roach where we started the walk.

Arthur Mee Centre

One of the first buildings of note is on the right hand side and is the Arthur Mee Centre which is now part of the Broxtowe College, Arthur Mee of course being the celebrated journalist and author born in the town. Originally this was the Stapleford Board School and as can be seen from the date in the stonework, dates from 1880. Back then it cost the princely sum of £4,800 for the whole school but today you probably wouldn't get much change from that amount for just a section of the fancy brickwork that adds so much character to the buildings.


The Arthur Mee Centre is bounded on one side by Isaac's Lane and this image from the lane probably encapsulates better than any other the time span covered in such a small area. To the left is the nineteenth century school with its decorative brickwork; in front is the twenty first century plainness of the Stapleford Care Centre whilst to the right the concrete and glass architecture is of the twentieth century library.
Stapleford Library

The library was built in the 1980s and replaced the original Carnegie Library built in 1906 that we saw on Warren Avenue back in Part 2. The guide that we have been following for this walk intimates that more can be learnt about Stapleford's past in the Local Studies section of the library - so this is the place to come if you wish to know more.
The Chequers

Church StreetNottingham RoadThe box-like Care Centre which I have alluded to several times can be seen here in all its glory but the purpose of this image is to show the Chequers public house, another nineteenth century building that replaced an earlier pub on the same site at the corner of Church Street (left) and Nottingham Road (right). From that same corner another pub can be seen just a little way along Nottingham Road.
Horse And Jockey

That pub is the Horse And Jockey which, like the Warren Arms on Derby Road (also in Part 2), was a stopping place for the coach that travelled along the turnpike road between Nottingham and Derby. That coach service not only carried passengers but also collected and delivered mail between the cities three times a day.
The Roach crossroads

Our journey though is not broken at either the Warren Arms or the Horse and Jockey but must end as we come full circle, at The Roach. For all the changes that have taken place in the world this image above from January 2009 shows little difference to the one that started this series in July 2008. Seven months have passed but it is almost as though time has stood still if you compare the images.

The Roach

Our journey however has been one into history and as can be seen from this part alone, has been a journey "Through the Years". We'll end though where we began with another look at The Roach with a reminder of our initial delve into history where we found that the name is a derivation of "La roche" dating from the Napoleonic Wars when French prisoners were put to work excavating rocks from the nearby hillside. Little did they know then that the name would live on all this time.
Back To Part 6
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