Bernard, interviewed on 25th July 2024, is the son of Jack Knight who was interviewed for the project in August 2013. The family lived in Nuns Lane from 1948 until 1967. Bernard now lives on the Gorhambury Estate. Bernard remembers… More about ‘Bernard Knight: Sharing memories of living in Nuns Lane’»
Woad Mead
Most people turning into Griffiths Way would never guess the origins of the land on the corner stretching from the Abbey View office development through to Sainsbury’s supermarket. Some may remember the gasworks which occupied the site before the retail… More about ‘Woad Mead’»
The Godman family of St Stephen’s
According to Noel Godman, the Godman family have been involved with St Stephen’s for over 500 years. The Godman family were a family of skilled engineers. John Godman (1828-1908) was born in the St Stephens area and was baptised at St… More about ‘The Godman family of St Stephen’s’»
Prefabs in Sopwell
The years following Word War 2 saw the building of thousands of prefabricated dwellings all over Britain. Familiarly called prefabs, they provided homes for returning servicemen and their families. Many of them were built in Sopwell and some of them… More about ‘Prefabs in Sopwell’»
Gasworks sports – Kathy Sinfield
Kathy Sinfield, born 1929, lived at the bottom of Doggetts Way. She remembers that the gasworks had its own sports ground where they played football and cricket. Mr Ripping from the St Johns Ambulance used to come round with lemons… More about ‘Gasworks sports – Kathy Sinfield’»
Sopwell Cottages
Sopwell cottages belonged to the farm at New Barnes which is now part of Sopwell House. Beryl Whitney (nee Parrott) writes: “In 1927, my parents were able to take up the tenancy of one of the Sopwell Cottages as my… More about ‘Sopwell Cottages’»
Flint Cottages, Hedges Farm
Jack and Sarah Stratton were the grandparents of Beryl Whitney. Flint Cottages were owned by Hedges Farm where, Beryl says, Jack was head cattleman for over twenty years. He and his family lived at 1 Flint Cottages from the 1920s… More about ‘Flint Cottages, Hedges Farm’»
Park Street roundabout
The images below are of the construction of the Park Street roundabout in the 1950s. Before that it was not a roundabout but a junction between the A5 and A414 North Orbital. It was part of the construction of the M10… More about ‘Park Street roundabout’»
History of St Peter’s School
St Peter’s school in Cottonmill Lane is by far the oldest school in Sopwell. It started off as two schools, a church school for boys and girls over seven and a school for infants from two to seven. The building… More about ‘History of St Peter’s School’»
History of the Gasworks
The St Albans gas works were set up in 1826, more than 30 years before the coming of the railway. Until the coming of the railway, coal had to be transported into the city on barges along the canal from… More about ‘History of the Gasworks’»