Nottingham Civic Society - Viva Bagthorpe

As ever, Stephen Best's article on the changes
in Nottingham's street and place name changes
was witty as well as informative. He raised the question, 'And whatever became of Bagthorpe?' Some people think it is still a viable area: a friend of mine had a letter addressed to him at the City Hospital, Bagthorpe quite recently. I am happy to say that the name is still used in two places, both to be seen on recent street maps of Nottingham. The earlier is Bagthorpe Gardens, the later Bagthorpe Close, bungalow retirement homes (for people with disabilities), which were built at the north end of Quorn Road in 1996. The area is close to the site of Bagthorpe Farm, now long gone, which was often referred to as Bagthorpe Hall in the 19th century. On Bacon's Map of Nottingham c. 1910* the name Bagthorpe occurs seven times, but only one feature has survived.

Bagthorpe Gardens (allotments) are to be found at the corner of Haydn Road and Hucknall Road. They have been continuously cultivated since c.1840, possibly earlier. In 1918 The Sherwood and Carrington Allotments Association was formed to promote and maintain their use, but sadly many were later neglected and became overgrown. Then, in 1997, a group of enthusiastic owners and tenants formed the Bagthorpe Gardeners' Association. There are now 60 members and they, by sheer hard work and co-operation, have begun to transform this unique site. This year (2002) their efforts were rewarded when Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust presented the Association with the Green Guardians' Award for the most Environmental Community and a cheque for £1,000.

One evening in July I was fortunate to join a guided tour of the Gardens. These are normally securely locked to keep out vandals. Apart from the various uses to which the plots are being put I was glad to see that work has begun on restoring the brick sheds or 'bothies', which have been here since c. 1840. In fact, I reckon they could be some of the oldest buildings in Sherwood and Carrington. One of them, a sort of Show House, had already been delightfully renovated, complete with a poster of Charlie Dimmock!

Before 1910 the Gardens stretched to the north side of Haydn Road. The latter has had several other names including Cross Road, Basford Lane, Occupation Lane and even Cavendish Vale, now still in use elsewhere in Sherwood. Bacon's map shows Elvaston Road, Morse Road and another unnamed road crossing Bagthorpe Gardens, but none of these were constructed as shown, although part of the latter appears now to be Ravensmore Road.

As for altering pub names, I agree entirely with Stephen Best. But is it an entirely new trend? On Mansfield Road, Carrington, stands The Grosvenor, originally called The Black's Head Inn. In 1877 it became The Grosvenor Hotel not, as it says on the information panel above the front door, because 'The Grosvenor' was the last horse to win on the The Forest racecourse. There was no racehorse by that name at the time. Nor is that the only error on the panel. After the name was changed to Squires c.15 years ago its fortunes plummeted so it was re-vamped a few years ago as The Grosvenor and appears to be thriving. Unfortunately it now bears the huge numbers 291 and 293 (Mansfield Road), which have been the actual numbers of the old semi-detached houses next door for about 100 years.

I do wish that breweries were not so sloppy in their research when they put up display panels on their pubs. There is another classic example above the door of The Robin Hood, Mansfield Road, Sherwood. It boldly declares that there has been a pub on the site since c. 1723, which is about 100 years too early.

My final plea is that The Sherwood Manor on Mansfield Road should revert to its original name The Garden City Hotel. It was converted from a private house in the mid- 1920s primarily to serve residents of the new Sherwood Estate, then proudly known as the 'Garden City'. As far as I know there has never been a Sherwood Manor other than the pub.

Terry Fry
January 2003

*See T. Fry, The History of Carrington a Nottingham Suburb p.46 for part of Bacon's Map, 1910.

VIVA BAGTHORPE!