Redhill Barracks – Ansell Terrace, Redhill Nottingham

A little local history today. ‘Redhill Barracks’ – Ansell Terrace, in Redhill. So named I believe due to the large number of ex-soldiers and their families who were housed there after World War One. Ansell Terrace is long gone now but here we remember it.

Ansell Terrace – ‘Redhill Barracks’, Redhill Nottingham (Image: unknown)

The following is an account by a lady who was brought up on Ansell Terrace as a child. She reminsces about Mr. Holmes’ grocery store which stood nearby on the corner Mansfield Road and Redhill Road. She also mentioned that in those more difficult times, her father would break up timber from the loft to burn to keep the large family warm.

‘My mum used to send me to Holmes shop for 6 penneth of pot herbs and to the butchers in arnold for bone marrow bones, my dad then started a stew on Monday ( that was delicious ) and topped it up each day to last us all week, this was all cooked on the range as we did not have an oven, just the range with an oven one side and a boiler on the other for hot water to put in the old tin bath that hung outside, we bathed once a week with the clothes horse round us with towels on for privacy, we also toasted our bread on the bars of the fire, it was much tastier than a toaster.’

Leapool, Redhill, Nottingham

The Leapool area of Redhill, Nottingham, showing Mansfield Road, in two images from the 1960s. Credit to Rachel Hawker, a member of the Hawker family who owned . W. Hawker & Son garage at Leapool. One picture shows Rachel’s aunt waving from the forecourt of the garage with a backdrop of Mansfield Road leading south up to Arch Bridge. The other has a host of interest as it shows the area before what some call the ‘Redhill roundabout’, actually Leapool, was built.

Leapool, Redhill, (Image: Rachel Hawker)

At that time it was basically a T junction with the same route to the left towards Mansfield and what was the original A614 Ollerton road before the present road, built in the 1960s. The road still stands there off the roundabout, enshrouded in trees, gated off and with some road markings still visible, lending a slightly eery feel. It remains walkable.

The far end of the road meets the present Lime Lane which I believe was once known as Lambley Road. The road currently bends to the right, then left down to the A614. Prior to this it was possible to drive directly on in a straight line to the A614 and over the farmland in a straight line to the A60, quite near Lamins Lane. The road, known as Little Lime Lane, was closed many years ago due to a prevalence of accidents.

Hawker’s Garage, Redhill, Nottingham, (Image: Rachel Hawker)

One of the other notable points in the picture was the old AA box which can be seen at the junction. There was also a transport cafe behind and to the side of Hawkers garage. Standing there now is the Banyan Tree restaurant, which was formerly a Little Chef.

Some may wonder why Leapool roundabout was built so large for it’s quite some size for the amount of exits it possesses? The reason is that it had orginally been intended as a park and ride scheme. One which would have a loop road over the fields in the direction of Bestwood Estate to link up with Edwards Lane, the ring road and the city. The notion of a park and ride in the area, as we see, is by no means a new one!

Rachel dated the picture of her aunt as 1966. I’m not exactly sure of dates for the various changes in the road layout but if asked, would say the early 1960s at some point

Redhill, Nottingham

Iiving in Redhill, Nottingham for a great deal of my life has provided a keen local historical interest in the area. It struck me that whilst writing about it variously, those words have never been collated in one place. This new Tears of a Clown category is to serve that purpose and to document Redhill whist hopefully adding new items for those with an interest. It has long felt to me that Redhill’s history deserves its stories being told. I post here from my own recollections and those of others anecdotally. In addition from readings over the years. Contributions and comments from others are very much welcomed and appreciated.

Mansfield Road, Red Hill, Nottingham (Image; unknown)