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simong · Post by **simong** » Mon 01 Sep, 2008 11:12 am

The Parksider wrote: Simon, in the seventies I went to se my Wife at Poly and we did a "trip" underground in the nottingham sandstone caves around Broadmarsh??Fascinating - you recall that? Anyone else know about this??? Oh yes, Nottingham city centre is riddled with caves. The most famous one is probably the Trip to Jerusalem below the castle, not only (arguably) the oldest pub in the country but also built into the rock of the abutment that the castle sits on. The caves are partially natural and partially man-made and people lived in them until relatively recently. Many were threatened when the Broadmarsh was built in the 1970s but many were preserved and there is a permanent museum dedicated to them, with a tannery and the recreation of a Victorian slum built into the rock, and a WW2 air raid shelter.

sundowner · Post by **sundowner** » Mon 01 Sep, 2008 12:36 pm

simong wrote: The Parksider wrote: Simon, in the seventies I went to se my Wife at Poly and we did a "trip" underground in the nottingham sandstone caves around Broadmarsh??Fascinating - you recall that? Anyone else know about this??? Oh yes, Nottingham city centre is riddled with caves. The most famous one is probably the Trip to Jerusalem below the castle, not only (arguably) the oldest pub in the country but also built into the rock of the abutment that the castle sits on. The caves are partially natural and partially man-made and people lived in them until relatively recently. Many were threatened when the Broadmarsh was built in the 1970s but many were preserved and there is a permanent museum dedicated to them, with a tannery and the recreation of a Victorian slum built into the rock, and a WW2 air raid shelter. Hi Simon I would not mind going to see this place mind you i have allways said there are a lot of troglodyts liveing in Nottingham.

Misc · Post by **Misc** » Mon 01 Sep, 2008 1:11 pm

There is a row of "blind" back to backs at the end of the Marleys in Beeston - you can see it if you look up from Elland Road. I have just moved out of one in the next street and they are brilliant little houses! Much nicer than living in a flat and great if you're living alone.

LS1 · Post by **LS1** » Mon 01 Sep, 2008 2:25 pm

Think the problem is that they were not designed for one. Often there were big families crammed into one house.

Misc · Post by **Misc** » Tue 02 Sep, 2008 11:39 am

I often used to sit and wonder how many used to share it - A family of four could live comfortably but many more and it would be a right squash!Does anyone know what the cellars were used for? was it just storage? Mine had no windows and a low ceiling (I'm only just over five foot and had to stoop for the beams), and had a small "room" off the main room. The main room had a stone bench built in but couldn't see any evidence of a fireplace. I can imagine it would have been a good place to keep food being dark and cool, and I suppose the bath, mangle etc would have lived down there.I know that the cellars were sometimes kitchens - my friend lived on Crossflatts something and she had an old range in her cellar, but it had a higher ceiling than mine and was above street level.

Si · Post by Si » Tue 02 Sep, 2008 12:15 pm

Did the smaller room have evidence of a chute running into it from street level, Misc? In which case it was the coal hole. Sometimes cellars were used as a kitchen, or a utility room with a copper or set-pot, or a larder/pantry, or just storage. Bigger houses may have used the cellar as servants' accommodation, big families may have used it as a children's bedroom, and houses in very poor areas (eg Quarry Hill) may have had whole families living in them. Mine had a coal hole (still with some coal in it,) a stone bench and a small window with a light-well outside, until I tanked it and put a proper ceiling with lighting in it. It's exactly six feet deep.

Misc · Post by **Misc** » Tue 02 Sep, 2008 2:01 pm

Thanks Si!I can't believe I didn't think of coal hole, I'm sure it is I think there is one of the wee grille thingys on the front of the house - will have to go back and have a look! I've lived in houses with cellars before but they've been much bigger through terraces that would have housed quite well-off folk.I thought about whole families living down there a la Quarry Hill, but I really hope not. I would imagine that those houses were built round the turn of the century and had one family each, I always thought they might have been used for rehousing people from the city centre slums they cleared in the early 20th C? don't know, this is all conjecture, I think I need to spend a day in the main library learning about Beeston.

simonm · Post by **simonm** » Tue 02 Sep, 2008 4:52 pm

I grew up in a back to back, but the walls were so thin. One day I opened the oven door to find the b**t**d at the back dipping his bread into our gravy!!!!!!

FLOJO · Post by **FLOJO** » Tue 02 Sep, 2008 7:14 pm

Misc wrote: I often used to sit and wonder how many used to share it - A family of four could live comfortably but many more and it would be a right squash!Does anyone know what the cellars were used for? was it just storage? Mine had no windows and a low ceiling (I'm only just over five foot and had to stoop for the beams), and had a small "room" off the main room. The main room had a stone bench built in but couldn't see any evidence of a fireplace. I can imagine it would have been a good place to keep food being dark and cool, and I suppose the bath, mangle etc would have lived down there.I know that the cellars were sometimes kitchens - my friend lived on Crossflatts something and she had an old range in her cellar, but it had a higher ceiling than mine and was above street level. A friend of mine also lived in the Crossflatts and in the 80s her husband converted her cellar into a kitchen, with wonderful country style units,and the other side where the coal shute was he made that into a laundry room. When she purchased it late 70s she paid 4000 pounds,I wonder what it is worth now.

FLOJO · Post by **FLOJO** » Tue 02 Sep, 2008 7:18 pm

Misc wrote: I often used to sit and wonder how many used to share it - A family of four could live comfortably but many more and it would be a right squash!Does anyone know what the cellars were used for? was it just storage? Mine had no windows and a low ceiling (I'm only just over five foot and had to stoop for the beams), and had a small "room" off the main room. The main room had a stone bench built in but couldn't see any evidence of a fireplace. I can imagine it would have been a good place to keep food being dark and cool, and I suppose the bath, mangle etc would have lived down there.I know that the cellars were sometimes kitchens - my friend lived on Crossflatts something and she had an old range in her cellar, but it had a higher ceiling than mine and was above street level. A friend of mine also lived in the Crossflatts and in the 80s her husband converted her cellar into a kitchen, with wonderful country style units,and the other side where the coal shute was he made that into a laundry room. When she purchased it late 70s she paid 4000 pounds,I wonder what it is worth now.