Ilkeston Town Walk - Stage 21 - Albert
Street and the URC
w/e 18 April 2004
Briefly leaving Wharncliffe Road in this
stage of the Town Walk we turn our attention to Albert Street
where the architectural style of the Co-op car park built only
a few years ago on a site behind the old Police Station, owes
much to the appearance of the United Reformed Church (URC) that
stands nearby.
|
Directly opposite the exit to the car park
is the Flamstead Centre (left) and looking back up Albert Street
we can see the Drill Hall and the United Reformed Church. The
Centre is the base for the Ilkeston District Council for Voluntary
Service and is used by several organisations while the Drill
Hall is home to 348 Squadron of the Air Training Corps, the Hallcroft
Division of the Derbyshire Army Cadet Force and, as the lintel
over the door shows (below), provides another link between the
town and the Sherwood Foresters.
|
One of the joys of living in Ilkeston is
that, even though rural residents would most certainly refer
to us as "Townies", there are numerous places in the
town where views of green fields and the surrounding countryside
are visible. One such place is the upper level of the Co-op car
park where this view over the the Drill Hall is towards Kirk
Hallam in the middle distance with Dale Village, Ockbrook and
Derby just over the horizon.
|
From the same vantage point it is easy
to see the unique construction of the three levels of the URC,
built as it is into the side of the hill. The green spire is
a familiar landmark from afar on the Ilkeston skyline but from
this distance, more of the construction of the church can be
seen. The lower level comprises mainly of a large hall surrounded
by schoolrooms and other ancillary rooms. The next level up has
more rooms including the minister's office and also features
a balcony overlooking and surrounding three sides of the hall.
The main body of the church fills the third level with access
via a flight of steps from Wharncliffe Road. the large window
on the extreme left of this picture is immediately behind the
altar.
|
That same window is seen here from the inside whilst the right
of this composite image shows one of a number of foundation stones
outside the church bearing the date 1904. Documentation states
that the church was designed by H Tatham-Sudbury, a prominent
architect of the time and responsible for many buildings in the
town. It also gives the date of the building as 1905 (which was
probably the completion date) and states that the design is in
the Arts and Crafts Gothic Revival style.
|
Another smaller window in the church is dedicated to the memory
of the men of Kensington Mission, a satellite of the Congregational
Church later to become the URC, who gave their lives in the First
World War. Kensington Mission stood on Nottingham Road and was
where I attended Sunday School as a child, helped found and run
a Youth Club as an adolescant and was a member of the Chapel
until its closure and eventual demolition. For more of my memories
of the Mission - with music - click
here to view some revised pages from my original web site.
|
