The Way We Were Marking its 50th anniversary, Ilkeston and District Local History Society has published a new book looking back at the fifty or so years since the end of the Second World War in 1945 to when Chalons Way, Ilkeston’s long awaited relief road was opened in 1995. As chairman Stephen Flinders remarks in his foreword, “some may say the changes were for the better, others for the worse.” But change is inevitable; times change and we have to change with them. Who would have thought fifty years ago that Stanton ironworks, the local coal mines and Ilkeston’s many small manufacturing companies like Charnos, DIP and Andriesse would all be gone today? Or who would have foreseen the demise of Woolworths, British Home Stores or Ilkeston Coop? Gone too are local schools like Hallcroft, Gladstone and Bennerley, as well as cinemas, pubs, clubs and corner shops. Ilkeston’s largest and most controversial of all the developments since the end of the war was the construction of the inner relief road, Chalons Way beginning in the early 1990s; a development which effectively split the town in two. Many properties and streets had to be demolished to make way for it, including this writer’s first childhood home on Byron Street. The house where we lived stood right in the middle of today’s dual carriageway. Admittedly, many of the properties of the time were in a fairly poor state, but they are still remembered fondly through the pages of this book. As always, Ilkeston and District Local History Society has come up with a photographic journey which will be enjoyed by many who can recall the way we were. It’s loaded with pictures and text to remind you of bygone days and you may even recognise someone! Society members are always keen to
New book from Ilkeston Local History Society
talk to people with memories of the town and surrounding districts. If you have an old photo or a memory, why not drop into the U Choose café on the last Saturday morning in any month and chat with them? Years of Change, price £6, is available from Ilkeston Library, Erewash Museum, Blinkinks, U-Choose café and The Coffee Bean.
Above: Ilkeston outdoor swimming baths. School swimming lessons were not looked forward to on cold days—the water was freezing!
Station Road. looking towards Bath Street. All these properties are now gone.
Ilkeston North railway station on Heanor Road, now the site of Ilkeston Police Station.
Above: Another page from the Trade Section of the Ilkeston & District Directory of 1965/66
Ilkeston Life, August 2016
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