IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Woodborough Road, NOTTINGHAM, NG3 4JA

In ascending this section of Woodborough Road (B684) towards Mapperley this first building is the former coach house associated with the residence of John Player, the tobacco giant, that is situated further up on the road on the left where the cars are parked. The coach house is currently used by a light industrial enterprise. The former Player home now houses the Nottinghamshire Hospice. The road branching off to the left behind the lamp post is The Crescent and the property with the tall chimney was formerly a gatehouse.

A view of Alexandra Court from the opposite side of Woodborough Road, NG3. The older building in its shadow appears to have been converted into a number of small flats/studios although at present the access door at the side of it is gated and locked. The skylight on the roof of this smaller building suggests that if it was not originally built or used as a coach house for a nearby house it could, perhaps, have served as a utility building in the past e.g. a laundry or public baths? An unmade (and unadopted?) road extends along the side of this older property, leading to several very large Victorian houses in extensive grounds. One of the houses has planning permission for a number of smaller houses on it.

Ordnanace Survey cut mark benchmark described on the Bench Mark Database at http://www.bench-marks.org.uk/bm47857

There is an OS benchmark Image on a stone in the wall (pointed to by the lamp post shadow). The pillar box is Victorian.

A view of the first section of The Crescent, that is off Woodborough Road at the side of the Alexandra Court block of flats. In August 1853 John Hine, the brother of T.C. Hine the well-known Nottingham architect, bought Thomas' 27 acres known as "Mapperley Hills Common" with the intention of developing an exclusive residential estate on it. However, it seems that cash flow problems arose and apart from a small number of properties on The Crescent, "Alexandra Park" was never developed as extensively as had been planned. The road remains unadopted and is currently in a poor state of repair, although planning permission exists at the moment for several modern properties within the grounds of the large house nearest to the Alexandra Court block of flats.

Although the dominant feature on this section of Woodborough Road as it descends towards the city centre is the modern apartment block called Alexandra Court, immediately in front of it - with the pitched roof and cupola - is the former coach house associated with the home of John Player, the tobacco giant. Apparently John Player and his family lived in the large house that now accommodates the Nottinghamshire Hospice and the "out" sign on the right indicates one of the entrances/exits that would have been used by carriages conveying people and goods to the 'big house'. The coach house is currently used by a light industrial enterprise.

This section of Woodborough Road hosts the Nottinghamshire Hospice, whose entrance and exits gates are seen on either side of this stationary car. Apparently this was once the home of John Player, the tobacco giant and his family. His former coach house, with the pitched roof and cupola, sits opposite the two cars ascending from the city centre, adjacent to Magdala Road.

Occupying a corner plot where Lucknow Drive joins Magdala Road (in the Alexandra Court/Woodborough Road area) is another house designed by Thomas Chambers Hine the Victorian Architect. He drew up the plans for this property, a private residence, in 1886 when he was 73 years old, 5 years shy of his retirement. Architecturally, this one has the shaped gables and decorative strapwork (i.e. patterns and moulding - in stone - on the exterior of the house) of Hine's Jacobean revival style. At present the property appears to be a retirement home.

A view of one of the large houses on The Crescent, an unadopted road off Woodborough Road at the side of the Alexandra Court block of flats. In August 1853 John Hine, the brother of T.C. Hine the well-known Nottingham architect, bought Thomas' 27 acres known as "Mapperley Hills Common" with the intention of developing an exclusive residential estate on it. However, it seems that cash flow problems arose and apart from a small number of properties on The Crescent, "Alexandra Park" was never developed as extensively as had been planned. The road is currently in a poor state of repair, although planning permission exists at present for several modern properties within the grounds of the large house nearest to the Alexandra Court block of flats.