Description
Hodgkinson Road is a fairly long road that runs from Station Street to Kingsway Park. At the start, it passes between the new leisure centre on the right and a car park on the left. Three streets come off Hodgkinson Road to the right. They are Alfred Street, Cobden Street and Festus Street. All are dead-ends. Prior to 1969, New Street ran between Hodgkinson Road and Kingsway but now it is a dead-end from Kingsway only. There are houses on both sides of Hodgkinson Road. On the left, they are immediately after the car park and are odd numbers. On the right, they are further along towards Kingsway Park. Then, on approaching Kingsway Park, the houses on the left stop and Outwood Academy is visible.
Origin of the Name
According to the 2018 Kingsway Park Management Plan, “the park was laid out in 1930 on land sold to Kirkby in Ashfield District Council by a Miss Catherine Hodgkinson of Kirkby House.” So, presumably the name of the road derives from her or her family.
Catherine Anne Hodgkinson was born in July 1851 and died in October 1928. She and her brother Frank Hodgkinson are listed as Kirkby Hardwick residents in the 1899 Kelly’s Directory. Based on the 1861 census, their parents were Edmund and Mary Hodgkinson and there was another brother Thomas Clark Hodgkinson. Edmund was described as a farmer of 1170 acres employing 19 agricultural labourers. They had multiple servants although the number of these decreased over time. From 1911, Catherine was living in Kirkby House with companion Elizabeth Thompson. The two were still there in 1921. .
Market Hall/Festival Hall/Leisure Centre
Perhaps the most important building on Hodgkinson Road was the old Market/Festival Hall which has now been demolished and replaced with a brand new leisure centre. Initially, I included some material about these buildings here but it was in danger of overwhelming the material about other aspects of Hodgkinson Road. For this reason, I have created a stand-alone post for the Market Hall/Festival Hall/Leisure Centre.
Mrs Skillington’s Shop
Mrs Skillington had a sweet/grocery shop on the corner of Hodgkinson Road and Alfred Street, see photo below. Based on Facebook comments, it seems that she also had a shop across the road either before or after this. Most contributors seem to think it came after the shop shown in the photo. For example, Heath Linacre explained that it moved there when the houses on the corner of Hodgkinson Road and Alfred Street were knocked down to expand the Festival Hall car park. He thought that it later went on to be a photographer’s studio, a view confirmed by Nicola Barnfather.
Nan’s Sweet Shop
Jaycee Taylor recalled that they called the shop Nan’s Sweet Shop. Tom Bonser recalled that he “used to drop in there for my sweets, on the way down the quarries“. Betty Doody recalled living in the house opposite at 1 Alfred Street. She commented that she went to the shop every day. Kathleen Timmons and Tracey Wright recalled going there when coming out of school. Cheryl Keeton recalled that she used to go at break times.
The Skillingtons
Some contributors recalled the Skillingtons. For example, Stephen Nuttall noted that he was in the same class at school as Tony, one of their sons. Jonathan Evans also recalled a Tony Skillington in the fifties. Tricia Machin and David Johnson recalled that Mrs Skillington’s husband was David and that they also ran the Sportsman’s Club. Lindsey Foster commented that her boyfriend was Mrs Skillington’s grandson, Andrew. Mrs Skillington’s first name was Nancy, hence Nan. She had four children, Richard, Bob, Tony and Pip. I was able to confirm these details. Nancy’s maiden name was Kirk and the four sons were Richard W (b1947), Robert W (b1949), Tony (b1950) and Philip (b1953).
Betty Hensby
Christine Evans commented that her Aunt Betty (Hensby) had run the shop and she thought it was after Mrs Skillington. But, it seems on balance that it may have been before. I found details of a shopkeeper called Elizabeth Hensby at 16 Hodgkinson Road in 1941.
Craft Station
Craft Station was located between the Festival Hall and the buildings of Station Street. I don’t have much detail about this. As far as I know, it was not linked to Craft ‘E’ Corner that was at 18-20 Station Street. In comments on Facebook, David Pepperday thought this might have been the craft shop that his wife recalled. Jane Howlett recalled that she had bought a Lowry print and had it framed at the Craft Station. But, she noted that she did not go in much, She did not think it was linked to Craft ‘E’ Corner. Judith Wells noted that the Craft Station was owned by Helen Fearn. Dot Grice recalled it as a framing shop. She took a cross stitch picture there and “the man framed it me I also went there for him to photo copy my cross stitch patterns for me he was very good but don’t think it was connected to Daynes“.
Band Hall
There was a Band Hall on Hodgkinson Road. I came across this photo which is said to show Kirkby Old Band in front of such a band hall. For more details of Kirkby Old Band see Kirkby Carnival blog. In comments on Facebook, Frank Ball confirmed that the hall was a wooden building just beyond Alfred Street going south. He also noted that the band used to practice there. Kip Herring noted going there with his grandfather, Alf Herring, to make fires. He recalled people playing cards there, whist perhaps. Dot Grice recalled going there a lot as her father was a member of the band. She recognised Jack Jordan on the back row playing the flugal horn. However, she commented that many of the people she knew from the band were not on the photo.
Memories of Hodgkinson Road
In a comment on Facebook, Daryl Lees noted that his mother had been born at the very end house on Hodgkinson Road, next to the Acre entrance, in March 1933. Garry Ward noted living on Alfred Street in the early nineties.
Jill Taylor commented that her family had lived at 5 New Street when she was little, They had paid £12 per week rent. In 1963, they moved to 42 Hodgkinson Road. Her paternal grandparents lived at 38 and moved to 40 at some point. When her parents moved out, her sister and husband made 40 and 42 into one house. They moved away from there a few years ago. She recalled, “lots of family memories living next to the park“.
Phil Nock’s friend Colin Richardson lived on New Street. Phil thought the family had emigrated when it was all knocked down.
Residents of Hodgkinson Road
Labour councillor in the forties, Cyril Ernest Sargent, lived in Hodgkinson Road with his wife Irene.
The number of households registered as living in Hodgkinson Road rose from eight in 1901 to 21 in 1911 to 32 in 1921 to 41 in 1939. In 1901, the only numbers were even, 2-16.
Beyond Hodgkinson Road
Beyond Hodgkinson Road, there is another continuous terrace of shops reaching down to what looks like a new B&M store opposite Portland Street/Factory Road where we started.
