When it comes to Sneinton, we are all familiar with the market square and nearby streets such as Southwell Road and Hockley. However, there are many side streets and alleys that conceal decades of local history - if you look hard enough.
One such area is Roden Street which was once the heart of the 'needle industry' as many of the red brick buildings housed clothing manufacturers. The street is now home to Roden House business centre, a gym and apartment buildings rather than anything connected to its industrial past.
Many of the buildings here sprang up as Nottingham's lace industry boomed causing immense overcrowding in the lace market. Business owners began to look towards the suburbs to build bigger factories and warehouses with the intention of increasing workforces to cope with growing demand, especially now that international trading has increased.
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The most notable is the William Bancroft building which occupies most of the right side of the street. While it has been renovated in 2003 to become a series of 64 apartments, there is one side of the building which is seemingly abandoned. The roof appears to be collapsing in on one side with faded signs above the door announcing that it was once a lingerie manufacturer.
The building was built in 1869 for William Windley. Windley was a silk thrower who purchased land in different parts of Nottinghamshire renovating and developing buildings that may need new churches or schools to be built. In the building, his employees dried, wound and spun raw silk for lace, hosiery and glove fabrics.
The most striking part of the building is the corner elevation which includes a two-storey oriel window with a gabled weather vane which resembles a clock. The factory was placed up for sale in 1918 after Windley left Nottingham for Derby in 1902.
The advert noted that 'Windley's factory' was very 'valuable' as it was a 'two-storey brick offices and warehouse and basement' and that it had three separate entrances on Robin Hood Street. It was joined by another one-storey workshop with frontage on Liverpool Street and several commercial tenants remained in the building at that point.
When the first world war broke out, many of those involved in the factory joined the forces to be able to fight. This sadly meant that some, such as Herbert Ullyatt never returned. Ullyatt had worked for a lace drying firm on Roden Street and was killed in action in France on Good Friday 1917 after he joined the Sherwood Foresters.
By 1916, George William Bancroft had taken over the factory on Roden Street. He is listed in an Evening Post article thanking local businesses for donating to the Nottingham War Hospital Depot which was on Derby Road. In November, over 36,000 articles had been sent to British and allied forces abroad but there was a big demand for clothing.
Many notable Nottingham businesses donated including Rayleigh but Bancroft appears to have donated £1 and 15 shillings. The size of the factory meant there was an almost permanent advert for machinists in the local paper to help construct women's and children's 'frocks, blouses and neckwear.' In 1939, the going rate was advertised as 6p.
In the 1990s, the factory advertised 'a real factory shop' where you could buy clothing at a fraction of the cost of the high street. You got a 10% discount for taking a copy of the Nottingham & Long Eaton Topper with you where the advert was listed.
The warehouses remained quiet but were given a short lease of life when This is England chose them as a location for the movie. Since then, half of the building has been developed into flats while half remains derelict. It is unclear what the future may hold for it.
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