John, born 1943, recalls what Cottonmill Lane was like when he was a lad. This part of the story starts at the top of the lane coming from Old London Road. he recalls the old carpenter’s shop at the top,… More about ‘A walk down Cottonmill Lane 1 – John Buckingham’»
Category: Places and spaces
Living in Berners Drive – Rob Edwards
Rob Edwards was born in 1950 at 12 Berners Drive, in one of the prefabs. Eventually, when the family grew they moved into a council house exactly opposite at number 55. Rob describes where the prefabs were and talks about… More about ‘Living in Berners Drive – Rob Edwards’»
Living in Abbots Avenue West – Tony Prior
Frederick Anthony Prior, known as Tony, moved into the Sopwell area in 1958. He lived in Abbots Avenue West, opposite the shops. He saw the flats above the shops being built and also the King Offa pub. He talks about… More about ‘Living in Abbots Avenue West – Tony Prior’»
Leyland Avenue
Leyland Avenue, off Cottonmill Lane, was built in 1933 by the Whitehall Building Company of St Albans. The land was originally part of the Nunnery Farm in Sportsman’s Hall field owned by Lord Verulam. The last tenant farmer was Charles… More about ‘Leyland Avenue’»
Chris Wilkinson’s army surplus vehicles yard
The yard of the disused London Road station near where Orient Close is now, was home to a collection of army surplus vehicles owned by Chris Wilkinson. The vehicles were used in many films, television shows and local events. Rob… More about ‘Chris Wilkinson’s army surplus vehicles yard’»
River Ver from Holywell Hill to Park Street
A large stretch of the river Ver, from Holywell Hill up to New Barnes and on to Park Street, runs through Sopwell. It is an important recreation area for local residents and in the past an area for growing watercress.… More about ‘River Ver from Holywell Hill to Park Street’»
Maps and aerial views of Sopwell
Pearce’s scrap yard – John Buckingham
The St Albans firm, Pearce Recycling, started off as scrap merchants with several yards throughout the city. One of these yards was in front of the ruins of Sir Richard Lee‘s Tudor house in Cottonmill Lane. John Buckingham remembers playing… More about ‘Pearce’s scrap yard – John Buckingham’»
Making shelters – John Buckingham
John and his mates tells of digging holes in the ground and making shelters where they would light fires and cook potatoes. This was in their play area where the Sopwell Youth Club is now. They would cover them with… More about ‘Making shelters – John Buckingham’»
Prefabs in Sopwell
The years following Word War 2 saw the building of thousands of prefabricated dwellings all over Britain. Familiarly called prefabs, they provided homes for returning servicemen and their families. Many of them were built in Sopwell and some of them… More about ‘Prefabs in Sopwell’»
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