Unfamiliar Geography
One of the challenges of understanding my grandfather’s and mother’s diaries has been mastering, what to me has been, the relatively unfamiliar geography of Kirkby in Ashfield. This is because although I was born in Kirkby, we moved away when I was a baby and I have never lived there. I have described some of these challenges in other posts including “Finding the 44 Steps“, “Cowpastures” and “Kirkby Street Names“.
Walking on Sutton Back Lane
At least twice, grandad noted taking a Sunday walk on Sutton Back Lane. The first time was in May 1925 with the second occasion being in May the following year.
I confess that I did not know where this was or why he decided to walk there.
A Location in Sutton?
I thought it might be a location in Sutton and found two possibilities, one in Huthwaite and another in Skegby. The one in Huthwaite runs from Chesterfield Road towards Brierley Forest and Brierley Forest Golf Club. The one in Skegby runs from the junction of Old Road and Low Road to the junction of Dawgates Lane and Pleasley Road. However, neither of these are fully in Sutton plus it is not clear to me why grandad would go to either of these for a walk.
Help from Facebook
I therefore asked about this on both Kirkby Living Memory and Sutton Living Memory Facebook Groups. I received quite a number of responses and suggestions. These can be divided broadly into those, a small number, who identified a place in Sutton and those, the majority, that suggested it was one of a number of routes between Kirkby and Sutton.
Back Lane in Skegby?
In terms of locations in Sutton, at least one contributor, Oliver Newstead, thought that the reference might have been to behind where the Greyhound pub was in Skegby. This was in Mansfield Road and behind it would be roughly where Back Lane in Skegby is located today.
High Pavement?
Some contributors, such as Darrell Kemp and Mark Hibbert, noted that what is now High Pavement in Sutton was known as Back Lane in the mid-nineteenth century. However, Mark Hibbert noted that it would be surprising if this was what grandad was referring to as late as the 1920s.
Routes Between Kirkby and Sutton
In terms of routes between Kirkby and Sutton, there are a number that could be considered.
Sutton Middle Lane
There is currently a Sutton Middle Lane in Kirkby that runs from Rowan Drive towards Sutton but ends in a dead end. Some contributors on Facebook, including Bryan Naylor and Rob Hoult, wondered if this might have been what grandad was referring to as Sutton Back Lane. The route of this lane continues as a footpath, follows Webb Ellis Road before again becoming a footpath which crosses the A38 at a crossing before joining Clare Road in Sutton close to Leamington School. Various contributors on Facebook, such as Peter Wright and Carol Marshall, suggested that parts of this route may have been the Sutton Back Lane to which grandad was referring. However, others, including Bryan Naylor and Royce Holmes wondered if the name Sutton Middle Lane meant it was distinct from Sutton Back Lane.
Three Routes
Mel Brown noted that there had been three main routes/lanes between Kirkby and Sutton. These were Sutton Road, Sutton Middle Lane and Sutton Back Lane. Sutton Road is the main road between Sutton and Kirkby. It passes Ashfield Fire Station just before it crosses the A38. Sutton Middle Lane is the one identified above whereas Sutton Back Lane was further east crossing the A38 close to Taylor Crescent Recreation Ground. This could potentially tie in with a 1938 map I have, see extract below. In that extract, the red arrow marks the location of Sutton Road, the green arrow of Sutton Middle Lane, which is labelled. The blue arrow marks a place which could potentially correspond with this description of the location of Sutton Back Lane. However, it is not labelled as such.
Coxmoor Road
However, other contributors, including Terry Allen noted that the road further to the east, between Coxmoor crossroads and where Newstead Hospital was, was always referred to as Sutton Back Lane. This is the road that goes past Thieves Wood and Coxmoor Golf Club. On current maps, this is labelled as Coxmoor Road.
Evidence from Newspaper Archives
I found multiple references to Sutton Back Lane in newspaper archives spanning a wide period from at least 1881 to 1999. It is clear from these articles that cars were using Sutton Back Lane from at least the early twenties until the late nineties. This suggests that these articles were describing the road which is named Coxmoor Road on maps.
This suggestion is endorsed by an article from 1976 which describes Thieves Wood as near Sutton Back Lane, one from 1984 which described a two-car collision on Sutton Back Lane near to the Derby Road crossroads, an advert from 1990 for something called “The Secret Life of Thieves Wood” which noted, as did a number of other articles, that Thieves Wood car park was on Sutton Back Lane and a description of a serious crash in 1992 which was said to have happened on Sutton Back Lane between Coxmoor Golf Course and Newstead Hospital.
Irene Newton
I found extensive coverage of the stabbing of a six-year old girl, Irene Newton, in 1948. She had been found in Thieves Wood which again was described as close to Sutton Back Lane. Based on an article from the Nottingham Journal, it seems that a man on a bicycle had taken her from Titchfield Park in Mansfield. The article noted that the police believed that the man had ridden along the main Nottingham-Mansfield Road, turned right at Larch Farm along the Kirkby Road before turning right again into the “lonely” Sutton Back Lane. The assault was thought to have occurred in Normanshill Wood.
Conclusion
On balance, it seems most likely to me that grandad was describing a route that went between Kirkby and Sutton. This might have been the path that now crosses the A38 close to the Taylor Crescent Recreation Ground. This might best fit the fact that grandad chose this as a walking route. However, there is a strong weight of documentary evidence, particularly from newspaper articles, that what is now called Coxmoor Road was known locally as Sutton Back Lane for more than 100 years. It seems likely that in 1926 there was very little traffic using it so this might also have been considered a suitable walking route.
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