Ilkeston - Iconic Buildings
- Part 01
w/e 27 March 2022
All of this week's pictures were taken with a Nikon D3300
There have been many changes
in Ilkeston during the last half century but imagine you grew
up in the town and then moved away for about that length of time.
Now, all those years later, you see images of some iconic buildings
or structures and immediately think "That's Ilkeston."
I've been trying out a new camera this week and whilst wandering
around the town I've captured some images of those iconic buildings.
Recent refurbishment of the pergola and bandstand has changed
their appearance slightly but together with the pillars from
the old Nottingham jail they will immediately say "Victoria
Park" to Ilkestonians wherever they are.
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Two pubs framing St Mary's Church
when seen from Pimlico will also be instantly recognisable.
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As will the impressive facade of the Scala Cinema.
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The Italianate features of the Town Hall and the fountain in
the corner of the Market Place are also identifiable as being
two iconic structures in the town centre.
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And of course the 1930s building on the corner of Wharncliffe
Road with the other adjacent buildings on South Street will bring
a chorus of "That's the Co-op corner" even though the
Co-op is no longer present in Ilkeston.
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Those imaginary Ilkestonians who haven't seen the town for fifty
plus years will also recognise the Police Station and Congregational
Church on Wharncliffe Road but the Police Station is now a business
centre and the church became part of the United Reformed Church.
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St Mary's Church still overlooks the town centre as it has done
for centuries but apart from the addition of the Cantelupe Centre
and the fact that buses no longer park on the Market Place, it
looks pretty much the same as it did fifty years ago.
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A familiar sight at the end of the Market Place is the Carnegie
Library and of course the town's main War Memorial.
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The name Hogarth's and Beacon Ritz may not be familiar but the
buildings on South Street will be. Back in the day Hogarth's
was the main Post Office and the former Bingo Hall which closed
recently and is currently undergoing some restoration work was
one of the town's four cinemas. The King's on Bath Street and
the New Theatre on Lord Haddon Road have disappeared altogether
and the Scala is the town's only surviving cinema.
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The road layout at White Lion Square has changed a lot but the
familiar iconic building on the corner of Stanton Road and Derby
Road that once served as the EMEB offices at No. 1 Derby Road,
is now a business centre in the renamed Toll Bar House.
Sadly many more of the town's iconic structures have been demolished
and in Part 02,
we'll take a look at some of the "Not So Iconic" replacements.
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