Mapperley Park is a conservation area and one of Nottingham’s most prestigious residential locations. It is noted for its distinguished Victorian and Edwardian properties, set along attractive tree lined avenues. It seems though that not all of these mansions survived. One of them was named [ … ]
Category: History
Where Did The Name ‘Porchester’ Come From?
It is well recorded how the area of Mapperley known as Porchester Gardens took its name from the Porchester Freehold Garden Estate, the allotment gardens that were established in 1887. But where did the name Porchester come from? How about the names Stanhope Road and [ … ]
Our Champion Jockey Who Married a Baroness
Local historian David Dunford has unearthed a fascinating story of a Nottingham jockey who married a Hungarian Baroness and lived on Private Road in Sherwood. George Williamson was born in Nottingham on 25th November 1867. His father, John, was a horse dealer and a successful [ … ]
David Whittingham and Porchester Garden Estate
Whittingham Road in the Porchester Gardens area of Mapperley takes its name from David Whittingham, one of the founders of the Garden Estates that were created for local people in the 1900s. On his death in 1918, his obituary included the words: It is no [ … ]
Mapperley Memories 1945 – 1960
Angela Grant was born in Mapperley and went to Carlton Cavendish School. At the age of fifteen she moved to Newmarket in Suffolk to be a stable-girl working with horses. She shares some memories with us. I was born in 1945 and lived on Kenrick [ … ]
Mapperley’s Golf Club
Mapperley Golf Club has existed for over 120 years, long before the urbanisation of the area. The club has grown into a beautiful parkland course, only four miles from the centre of Nottingham. Its rolling fairways present the golfer with an interesting challenge from the [ … ]
Birth Certificate Found Hidden In Mapperley
We were contacted by Olivia who has been renovating her home on Kenrick Road in Mapperley. After removing an old electric fire, they found a birth certificate hidden deep in the chimney breast! It was an original birth certificate from 1882 and related to a [ … ]
Wild Days Lodge – Mapperley’s Forest School
The magnificent former gate-keepers lodge on the Wells Road is to reopen as a Forest School in the summer. We have posted several times about this building, that was disused for many years. In February, the modernisation work was starting to show what a beautiful [ … ]
Navarra – Our Favourite Italian Deli
Navarra Italian Shop at 92 Oakdale Road is our favourite Italian Deli. The restaurant may not have reopened after the Covid pandemic, but we are pleased that the shop is still serving and delivering the finest Italian products to doors of Mapperley. Here’s an article [ … ]
Mapperley Says Farewell To Actor Peter Bowles
Mapperley can proudly lay claim to the career of actor Peter Bowles, who died recently at the age of 85. Bowles was best known for the hugely popular sitcom ‘To The Manor Born’. He made a success of playing the posh villain or the cultured [ … ]