The residential area of Mapperley extended away from the city in phases. New housing developments were mostly built on what was farmland. Some of the original farm names have survived. Middlebeck Farm, Plains Farm and more recently the Chase Farm development. The name Crosslands Farm is less well known though. That was until we were sent this image of a bottle that a resident found in their 1930’s house.
We asked the community:
We found this old milk bottle under our 1930’s house.
The label appears to say:
CROSSLAND’S DAIRY FARM MAPPERLEY
Does anyone know any more about them?
Isobel told us:
Near where I live was a dairy building named Crosslands, opposite the top of Private Rd, It still has metal hoops in the wall where they tied the cows up.
Another person commented:
Crosslands Farm was next to Arnold Hill House – now the Tree Tops pub.
Ray Green posted these images on the Mapperley Local History and Preservation Group.
Crosslands Farm – July 1959
The flattened tree is not the famed horse chestnut tree we all loved so much. That tree had a much wider girth and the lower branches were very substantial. From memory, I think someone might even have hammered in a few 6″ nails to aid climbing to the first level.
Ray Green
The father of the young lad (JH) at the front, had a small mushroom ‘farm’ on Clipstone Avenue Mapperley, or it might have been Clumber Aveinue. He later moved (after a fire?) to a small unit just past the junction of Arnold Lane and Gedling Road.
On the city side of the junction, Canadian “Chick” Zamick, a Nottingham Panthers ice hockey star, built the squash club. Back then I don’t think many of us were even aware of squash as a sport.
The land known as Crosslands became what many refer to as the ‘W’ estate built between Mapperley Plains and what would become Arno Vale Road. The land looks down over Arnold, and the housing was a contributory factor in the provision of the Ernehale schools. I believe the children would be playing upon what is now Walsingham Road. The horse-chestnut tree was probably pushed over by a large civil engineering machine being used to flatten such areas in preparation for housing. The machines would include machines from Cripps of Lenton Lane.
Paul Key
Yes there was a pond called “Crosslands Pond” further along Plains Road, past Somersby Road on the left. The whole class went there and caught sticklebacks and other pond creatures. I cannot imagine that happening today. The headteacher then was named Smith. Happy days
David Sheath
We asked Ray Green about the separate dairy premises and he recalled.
Yes, of course. I wonder if that was the tiny little dairy run by Mr Worsley who lived at 141, next to what was then Wardle’s garage? He operated from a tiny outhouse at the rear and ran an old Singer van. He probably got his milk from the farm that encompassed Crosslands. The bottles had cardboard tops and he gave us a handful and we used them for ‘skimming’ – like miniature frisbees. He and his wife were a lovely couple. I seem to remember him wearing a flat cap and always wearing wellington boots.
Ray Green
Map Of 1958
This section of an Ordnance Survey Map from 1958 helps us to work out that the land bordered by Arno Vale Road, Somersby Road and Gedling Road. (Image credit to the National Library of Scotland).
Here’s a screenshot from Google Maps showing most of the ‘W Estate’ that was built on Crosslands. Walsingham Road and, Willerby Road were also joined by Whitby Crescent and Weaverthorpe Road, to add to the theme.
Crosslands Dairy
There could have been more than one dairy supplying milk from Crosslands Farm. The Crosslands Dairy opposite Private Road was confirmed by a book titled In Search of Mapperley by John Tanner and published in the 1990s.
This was at 576 Woodborough Road and about a mile from the farmland of Crosslands Farm itself.
Up to that time of course there were many shops on that stretch of Mapperley.
These were replaced by what we now refer to as Mapperley Top.
The building has survived and is now apartments named Jason’s Court
