Tiger Feet

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National Trust properties are thin on the ground in North Notts. Mr Straws House in Worksop is billed as a time capsule from 1932. There are others that might say not a lot else in town has changed elsewhere in the town since that date. Harsh! The Other Half has never really ventured to this part of the County, except as part of my avoid one of the traffic jams on the A1 or M1 missions. She was obviously excited. I threw in the National Trust property and casually mentioned the 4th oldest football club in the world and we were off.



The Robin Hood Line links the big city to Worksop. I have never had any reason to travel on this train line, so this was a good excuse. The princely sum of £8.70 changed hands for an off peak day return. We amused ourselves on the first part of the journey talking to Paul. He didn't really have a lot to say, but 12 month old Boston Terriers are not known for their conversation. He was very friendly and excited, as he was going on a 8 mile walk in Derbyshire. His owner explained he was making his train debut, so he wasn't 100% on what to make of it all. A whole new world opens up beyond Mansfield, as the train makes a small detour into not so deepest Derbyshire. The Kingdom of Mike Ashley aka Sports Direct loomed on the left hand side as we approached Shirebrook. A group of football fans joined the train and had a lengthy debate with the conductor about how much a fare should be via Sheffield. "It is never more than £26". A quick on the Internet showed a £22 fare, so we concluded the conductor was fighting a losing battle. She left the debate to the Worksop ticket office. Shirebrook these days and the team in question could well have been Lech Poznan. It wasn't though and the team in question run with the prefix "dirty". If only Internet booking had been within their grasp!



We arrived at Worksop and headed to Mr Straw’s House, a National trust property just off Blyth Road in the north of town. The Straw family arrived in town from another Nottinghamshire town, Sutton in Ashfield, in 1896. William Straw Senior purchased premises in the Market Place to open a grocery and seed business and for many years lived above the shop. He later married Florence from the butcher shop across the road and in line with his position as prominent businessman, eventually bought a house in the up and coming Blyth Road area of the town. Blyth Grove was and is a prosperous neighbourhood, once favoured by doctors from the hospital round the corner at Kilton Hill. Florence decorated the house with the latest fashions of 1923 and with one or two upgrades, it is largely untouched since then. William Senior died in 1932. Florence died in 1939. Her request was that the house should be altered and Walter, who had taken over the shop, pretty much followed these instructions to the letter. William Junior was originally a teacher in London, but subsequently returned to live with his brother followed suit after Walter's death. The house remains a cluttered time capsule. A 1932 calender still hangs on the wall. Pipes remain in the same place, as do the coats in the hall. The shop closed down in 1962 and in modern day world, a closing down sale would have seen the stock dispatched at cost. The brothers opted to repatriate goods back to Blyth Grove, where some remains stored away for possible future use or consumption. Walter was a qualified tea blender. There were tea chests in the greenhouse and tea measures in his bedroom. The parents bedroom is untouched. The rosewood piano owned by Florence takes pride of place. The greenhouse is a collection of cactus plants, just as it originally was in the day.



We plodded off down Carlton Road towards town. The North Notts College campus was all quiet. The old Worksop Council Offices are now a collection of vintage shops. A tardis of a building that appears small from the exterior, but opens into more space on the interior and the courtyard. The goods ranged from the not so vintage shabby chic to collectables to steampunk wear for that next trip to Whitby. An old fireplace sat in the yard and a vintage caravan, although I am not sure it was for sale. We crossed the Chesterfield Canal at the top of Bridge Street. It opened in 1777 and started the arrival of big scale industry to the town. The original market town grew and expanded further with the arrival of the railways. Coal mining was the big employer providing many jobs in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. The big pit at Manton Wood on the east of town closed in 1994, leaving a huge void in the jobs market. Today, Manton Wood features the new industries of today - the Wiko distribution plant, Greencore and Premier Foods. The Retford Road is often a mass of people heading towards their shift - some probably on zero hours contracts - more in hope than expectation.



We crossed the River Ryton, which almost goes unnoticed under the road bridge on Watson Road. The new Bus Station sits on the corner of Newcastle Avenue. The new Library complex is opposite on Memorial Avenue. The old art deco version sits neglected next door, facing the War Memorial. The flowers blossomed in the unseasonably warm temperature for late September. The Avenue ends with the imposing West entrance to Worksop Priory. The imaginatively named William de Lovetot established the Priory in 1103. A few ruins lie behind what is now a more modern church. The gatehouse at the south end of the complex is largely intact, but seems out of place as it fronts on to Cheapside.



Potter Street is a mix of architecture – Georgian houses on one side faces the concrete jungle that is the District Council building. The old French Horn Hotel lies boarded up opposite. the beautiful exterior tile work shows the prosperity that once existed in the public houses of the town. The Market Place has been redeveloped in the last few years, underpinned by the Savoy Cinema with a striking red front section. This is the area that Mr Straw opended his grocerery shop. It lies directly opposite and is now Piccolo Expresso Bar. We popped in for a flat white. It was almost full and most seemed to be visitors. The success of the National Trust premises certainly doesn''t do business any harm. Alas, the Old Ship a few doors along is another victim of the Spoons on Newcastle Avenue. It goes by the name of the Liquorice Gardens in hommage to it being grown nearby in yesteryear. Bridge Street links back down into town. The market has relocated here. Footfall was slow. A few happy chaps wearing green and white spilled out of their local, after watching the Old Frim derby on TV. We nipped in the local Wilko in the Priory Centre to make the odd purchase from the home of the retail giant. The queue was too long for a lottery ticket in Wilko, so we ended up buying our lucky dip in a Polish deli on the way to Worksop Town. A lucky dip for Satrurday transpired to be for the mid-week draw, so the Other Half concluded her accent had not been grasped by the Polish shop assistant. Oh well, we'll see what our luck is like by Wednesday.



Tiger Feet were dancing up at Sandy Lane. After a fall from grace and some serious financial issues, Worksop are back as tenants. The fortunes do not quite go towards signing ex-pros like they used to - Chris Waddle made this one of his final stops on his journey from sausage factory to continental superstar (via Top of the Pops) to Radio 5 - but they are competitive in the world of Toolstation leagues. As the website says, the 4th oldest club in the world are geting back on track. We walked through the WTFC gate - the yellow letters in the small black garden gate wasn't quite Anfield, but then there is more history here. The tidy main stand provided a good view, although the quality of tannoy was far too good for the size and enough to blow your ears. The club programme and souvenir shop was still trying to sell all orange replica shirts emblazoned with Westwood - the local golf pro - but the team sported ablack and amber striped passable impression of the current Hull City. The visitors from Leicestershire arrived with confidence and were unlucky to be 1-0 at half time. The locals ate their chips and gravy as an aid to concentration, whilst waiting for the 2nd half. We noted others dreaming of their next holiday behind an advertising board that featured deck chairs and whitby seafoods. The Tigers strolled to victory after a towering header in the 2nd half put some distance in the scoreline. We retired to The Mallard. A real ale pub in a railway station. I sank 2 pints of product from the Well Drawn brewery that I later noted came from Wales. The Other Half was impressed by the remaining walk to the train home - through the other door of the bar and on to the platform.



Appendix 1

F A Vase 2nd Qualifying Round

Worksop Town FC 3 Kirby Muxloe FC 0

Date : Saturday 23rd September 2017 @ 1500 Hours

Venue : Sandy Lane, Worksop, Notts

Attendance : 339 plus 1 Non League Dog

Scorers : 1-0 Denton 37 Min (Worksop), 2-0 Jordan 65 Min (Worksop), 3-0 Jordan 82 Min (Worksop)



Worksop Town FC : Alexander, Woolley (capt) (Davies), Chapell, Jepson, Liversidge, Phillips, Higginson (Hodder), Barnett, Denton (Turner), Jordan, Bishop



Kirby Muxloe FC : Butlin, Leon Fray, Levi Fray, Cupwell, Sheahan, Burniston. Love, Aidan Black, Barber, Palfreman, Aaron Black

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Photos

Worksop Market Place
Piccolo Expresso Bar in the Straw's Grocery Shop

Worksop Priory Gatehouse
.........old Market Cross stands in the foreground

Worksop Town FC 3 Kirby Muxloe 0
....Non League Dogs welcome at Sandy Lane

The Mallard
..... real ale emprium on the railway station

Comments

[Rainyb]

It's sad the bottom floor windows are blocked??