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Town Walk 2026 - Part 19 - Bottom Of Town
w/e 07 June 2026
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Nikon D3300 camera.
This part equates to Stage 31 from the original
Town
Walk from 2005.
There's an information board at the lower end of Bath Street
which is titled 'Bottom of Town' (see above). In 2005 I wrote
that "the English and the Americans are two peoples separated
by a common language" and pointed out that in Ilkeston
'Uptown' meant the area around the Market Place, 'Downtown' was
the lower part of Bath Street but the level part of Bath Street
at the bottom of the hill, and the surrounding area, was known
as 'Bottom of Town'. The small inset photos on this page are
taken from the information board plus some of the historical
information.
There are two ways to reach Bath Street from where we ended Part
18 on Rutland Street. One is by way of crossing Chalons Way and
the other, which we will follow, is by crossing Heanor Road.
But first we will leave Rutland Street by turning right into
Lower Granby Street where this building stands. As in 2005, it
is still "occupied by a local business, Orchard Kitchens."
The information board shows that it was once a temperance
church but was bought in 1909 by "the proprietors
of the New Theatre Royal on Lord Haddon Road" and became
the Hippodrome "offering a mixture of variety acts and
silent films twice nightly."
To record this photo as your favourite
from this week's selection vote for "Orchard Kitchens"
below.
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These two images scanned from a special edition of the Nottingham
Evening Post used in the original Town Walk series in 2005 and
again here, show the views up Bath Street from the bottom of
town before the alterations due to the construction of Chalons
Way.
This image is very similar to the one from 2005 and both show
"how much the area has changed since 1887", the
date of the earlier Evening Post image.
To record this photo as your favourite
from this week's selection vote for "Bath Street" below.
Shortly after the construction of Chalons Way, there
was a slight anomaly here which I found quite amusing if a little
confusing at the same time. Bath Street ended, and still does,
at the former three way junction where it continues as Heanor
Road. The road alterations meant that Granby Street was diverted
to join the new traffic island together with Rutland Street.
Bath Street was split into two sections with part either side
of the island. Even though the road names on the old corner of
Granby Street and Bath Street still show the road names (see
above) the addresses of at least one of the properties was shown
on the internet as Heanor Road. It now appears the anomaly has
been corrected and the addresses are shown as Bath Street.
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However, facing the new island but in line with Bath Street is
the Aldi store but as access to it is from Manners Road, that
is where you will find its address. Prior to the store being
built this was the site Kristies Night Club housed in the former
Rutland Hotel which was "built about 1820 as a stagecoach
inn (inset right). The information board also includes a
picture (inset left) of Spa Baths which were adjacent to the
hotel from "about 1830 where people were able to take
the waters, both internally and externally, until the end of
the century". The Baths were the cause of the name change
from Town Street to Bath Street which persists today.
To record this photo as your favourite
from this week's selection vote for "Aldi" below.
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"Prior to 1850, at the rear of the Rutland Hotel and
Spa Baths were the Vauxhall Gardens that were named after the
famous London pleasure gardens" and in 2005 I included
a triptych of photos showing the approximate access to the former
Gardens. One of the three images showed a grassy area at the
side (or should that be back) of Aldi but this area has now been
converted for use as a car park for the store.
To record this photo as your favourite
from this week's selection vote for "Back Of Aldi"
below.
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A second image showed a flight
of steps up from Aldi to the Dunelm car park. Steps are still
there but access has been blocked for the public presumably due
to health and safety issues. The damaged barrier at the upper
end (inset) suggest that they are still used by people who are
willing to take the risk.
To record this photo as your favourite from this week's selection
vote for "Steps To Dunelm" below.
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The third image from the top of the steps (I didn't take
the risk but went round the long way) is across the car park
at the Dunelm store. Dunelm is the third business to occupy the
site after two supermarkets. Before that, when the Vauxhall Gardens
closed, the site was used for football and became known as the
Manor Ground. There have been several incarnations of the Ilkeston
Town club which played here until 1992 when it moved to the New
Manor Ground on Awsworth Road. One incident worthy of note is
the 'White Ball in a Tree' F.A Cup match against Rochdale in
November 1951. Although Ilkeston lost the match to their opponents
from a higher league, the match has gone down in history due
to the only white ball available getting stuck in a tree. This
led in a F.A enquiry but you can read much more about the incident
which played out in front of 9000 spectators in an essay on the
A Tree By A River website.
To record this photo as your favourite
from this week's selection vote for "Dunelm Car Park"
below.
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As we return to Bath Street, there is another link to the history
of the town in "the coal wagon that sits on the traffic
island at the end of Chalons Way. This serves as a reminder of
two of the area's major industries - coal mining and ironmaking."
I don't know whether this is true or not but I heard some
time ago of complaints being made by visitors to the town being
confused. They thought they were in nearby Stanton By Dale because
of the name on the wagon and not Ilkeston!
To record this photo as your favourite
from this week's selection vote for "Stanton Wagon"
below.
The wagon of course, is also a reminder of the town's railway
station that stood at the bottom of Bath Street "at the
end of a branch line from Ilkeston Junction", the entrance
being where Bespoke Funeral Directors now have their office.
It opened in 1847 but closed in 1870 before reopening
nine years later. "It remained open this time until 1959
but it had closed to passengers during 1947. In 2005 I wrote
"No railway stations remain in the immediate vicinity
of Ilkeston" but since then a new one has opened at
Ilkeston Junction.
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Another triptych in 2005 showed three photos from the bottom
of town and I've decided to repeat them here as three separate
images. The first shows one of the ornately decorated facades
on one of the buildings. 'What have the Victorians ever done
for us?' you may ask but they left us with a legacy of craftsmanship
and artistry rarely seen in modern day buildings that are often
designed with bricked up windows.
To record this photo as your favourite
from this week's selection vote for "Ornate Decorations"
below.
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The third image in the triptych was of this shop which, in 2005,
was a coffee shop called 'The Ilkeston Coffee Bean'. This business
now has new owners and has relocated to other premises a few
shops away. The old shop is now occupied by one of many barbers/hairdressers
in the town, several of which are located on Bath Street. In
the early part of the century various factors had caused many
small businesses to close and since then, major national chains
have also either closed or moved to out-of-town retail parks.
Premises now are often occupied by local entrepreneurs striving
to make a living in today's challenging economic environment
and it is not surprising to see shutters at the windows of several
shops. It's a far cry from the days of the "coffee bar
of the late 1950s" where one near here "was
called the 'Mountain Top'. In those days when juke box music
and frothy coffee were strictly for the young, the 'Mountain
Top' was THE place to be seen." That place has long
gonne but is still fondly remebered by the older generations.
To record this photo as your favourite
from this week's selection vote for "Barbers" below.
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The middle image of the triptych showed "the bottom of
the hill" where funding had been made available
"to renovate the area". The contrast between the
renovated buildings and the others is still apparent today. From
here we'll continue and start the uphill part of Bath Street
as we head back towards the museum.
To record this photo as your favourite
from this week's selection vote for "Lower Bath Street"
below.
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