Pre-war Watnall in colour

c.1935 - Watnall Hall from the garden looking up the ancient stone steps. Note the small dog sitting at the top, the Rolleston's pet terrier Prinkey. (Courtesy of the Rolleston Estate).

These colour photographs help illustrate an article published in 1938 about Watnall, on the cusp of great change. Pre-war; pre-RAF camp; pre-widened, busy, tarmac road; a Watnall of thatched cottages, still predominantly agricultural and still with old squire Rolleston up at the hall. The white, dusty road is quite clear in the pictures. Further on past the hall and around the bend is the Queen's Head pub leading on towards Watnall Corner. The new road to Greasley church did not yet exist and the "lovely mile" referred to in the article is the old Church Hill, still peaceful and lovely today. This same stretch of road, driven by horse and trap, gets a few of mentions in local boy DH Lawrence's work which I’ve added at the end…

----------~~----------

"WATNALL, a charming village which we remember for its neat cottages, stately trees, and the fine entrance to the drive of the great house, all in happy company on a lovely bit of road with holly-crowned walls. Well worthy of admiration are the great iron gates of Watnall Hall, shaded by mighty trees. Probably wrought by Huntingdon Shaw, the Nottingham blacksmith of renown, they bear a gilded eagle's head, the crest of the ancient family of Rollestons, who have lived here since the time of Queen Elizabeth. Formerly these same gates occupied a different position. They served to guard a flight of ancient and worn stone steps, almost immediately in front of the house. To that time belongs part of their house, standing on high ground in a park of 60 acres with fine old timber. It looks across to the hills of Annesley, where lived Mary Chaworth, Byron's first love; and from there she came to dance at Watnall's famous balls. We remember the village, too, as the beginning of a fine little ride down the hollow and up the hill to where the bells in Greasley's lofty tower call the folk to church. It is a lovely mile, with beauty all the way."

Source: Arthur Mee, The King's England: Nottinghamshire, Hodder & Stoughton, 1938

c.1935 - Watnall Hall in its prime with Colonel Rolleston standing guard. (Courtesy of the Rolleston Estate).

c.1930 - The main B600 road with the Trough Road junction on the left. Watnall Hall's entrance gates are under the "mighty trees" just beyond. The cottage on the left is part of The Hollies which is still there but all the right hand houses were demolished for road widening. (Source: Nottinghamshire Archives).

c.1920 - The pre-tarmac main road outside Watnall Hall's gates on the left. Only the gate pillar with its stone ball on top and part of the wall remains. This older picture is a little closer to the Watnall hall gates on the left. The thatched cottage on the right was demolished for road widening. (Source: Nottinghamshire Archives).

The same thatched cottage from the previous picture with scaffolding in order to make repairs or replace the thatched roof; possibly taken c.1920s-c.1930s (Source: Nottinghamshire Archives).

A coloured postcard of the Watnall Hall's entrance gates c.1903. The "bike" is a Humber Forecar motorbike made in Beeston, Nottingham. (Source: Peveril Series postcards).

c.1900 - A little further round the corner, this coloured postcard shows the Queen's Head pub, main B600 road and Watnall Hall's retaining wall opposite. The road is considerably wider today. The landlord at the time was local auctioneer Mr. Graham Holmes. Read his story here. The landlord after c.1906 was the legendary Joe Haywood. Read his story here. Along the other side of the wall, on the Hall side, was a large golden drop plum trained to grow along the wall. The village lads knew of these fruits too, and often would climb up and sample the plums. Mr. Peart, Watnall Hall's gardener said that he suspected the village policeman would help himself on occasion too, but he could never prove it! The postcard cation says... "The Queen's Head stands alongside the old coaching road to Nottingham. Its first recorded licence dates back to 1801 when it was operating as a coaching inn." The B600 road is the old Nottingham to Newhaven turnpike created in 1759. Chain Cottages at Watnall Corner is so called as there was an actual chain across the road and a toll house where stage coaches and road users paid to use the road. (Source: Peveril Series postcards).

Looking from Watnall Corner back towards the Queen's Head. Watnall Hall's large retaining wall is evident on the right. This wall was knocked down, lowered and moved further back when the Rolleston Crescent houses were built in the early 1970’s. (Source: local Facebook group user)

30 Oct 1933 - Watnall Corner - schoolmaster and local history teacher Mr. John Hobbs's old cottage on left, now replaced with a brick cottage. Road is now tarmaced. A right turn would take you down the old Church Hill. (Courtesy of Stanton Ironworks collection).

Possibly mid 1940s - This final photo shows Watnall Corner under tarmac with the RAF camp behind. The horse and cart is heading down the old Church Hill to Bogend and Greasley Church. The newer "bypass" road which today goes directly to the church would be built on the right. (Source: Nottinghamshire Archives).

This same stretch of road, driven by horse and trap, gets a few mentions in DH Lawrence's work...

"We were swinging at a good pace under the beeches of the churchyard which stood above the level of the road. Meg, having settled her hat, bent her head to the wind, too much occupied with her attire to weep. We swung round the hollow by the bog end, and rattled a short distance up the steep hill to Watnall. Then the mare walked slowly."

- The White Peacock 1911

"But I’ve gone many times down Hucknall Long Lane to Watnall - and I like Watnall Park - it’s a great Sunday morning walk. Some of my happiest days I’ve spent haymaking in the fields just opposite the S. side of Greasley church - bottom of Watnall Hill - adjoining the vicarage."

- Letter to Rolf Gardiner 1926

In April 1912, it was also the scene of Lawrence's final farewell to his teenage girlfriend Jessie Chambers as he prepared to depart to Germany with new love Frieda Weekley. He was spending the weekend with Jessie's married sister May Holbrook in Moorgreen. Not knowing he was to be there, Jessie drove over in the trap from their Arno Vale farm with her father on the Sunday morning..

He rode part of the way [from Moorgreen] toward Nottingham with Jessie and her father, speaking “with a forced brightness" of his forthcoming trip to Germany. Jessie imagined that he was uncomfortable because of her father's tone of casualness, which contrasted with the warmth of former times. Lawrence got out of the trap by Watnall Hill and walked back across the fields to the Holbrooks' cottage... But the parting with Jessie had been moving, as if each of them had known it was final. When Lawrence got out of the trap, he stood in the road looking after it as it drove away. Jessie remembered, “I turned and saw him still standing where he had lighted, looking after us. I waved my hand and he raised his hat with the familiar gesture."

Sources:

Pictures courtesy of local Facebook group, Nottingham Archives, Picture the Past website; THE INTELLIGENT HEART The Story of D. H. Lawrence by HARRY T. MOORE; The King's England by Arthur Mee 1938 - http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/books/mee1938/introduction.htm