Old hyde park, now castle court.

[neabitts 10]

hi.

did anyone live on the hyde park flats before it was done up?

what was it like, what were the floors called,

[britmom 10]

We used to live at Hyde park late 60's I think at Chaucer row, and I seem to recall the name Bevis Row:)

[neabitts 10]

hi.

in the red and cream ones that are still there?

[Pele 10]

I lived on Dacre Row...

There was Roland, Chancel, St Johns, Bevis on the big block..

I also recall Link Row...

[Plain Talker 11]

britmom, do you mean Chancel row? (the other option would have been chequers row.. chancel seems likelier, bevis row was below chancel on the biggest block)

 

pele. which bit of dacre did you live on, and when?

 

i lived on Dacre, above the target pub, until about 1986.

 

i am sure that I have answered neabitts on this in this thread, outlining the names of all the rows, on all the four blocks that made up hyde park, but it seems to have disappeared.

 

PT

[Pele 10]

Plain Talker, I lived above the Target pub also until 1981 or 2. Number 83 to be precise.

 

Were you there in '81. If so I must know you me and vice versa, Mick Brown..

 

Cheers

[koritsi 10]

I lived on Bevis Row I seem to remember names of other rows in my block were, Chancel, Dacre, Lord?, Rowlins? and St John.

 

I also remember many a happy hour playing on the concrete slide and the bars

[segasonic 11]

I lived on High Pavement Row (in what is now the green block of Castle Court), number 47 I think in around 1981, I would have been 5.

I remember running into the (urine scented) lift ahead of my parents and the doors closing, I was terrified of lifts for some time after that. There were some concrete vents at the end of the row, but I wasn't allowed to play there because of the broken glass.

I do remember a fantastic view of Park Square 'Kamikaze Roundabout' and the town centre on bonfire night, and the walk to St. John's school in the morning (I used to make my own way there, at age 5! It was before the modern day hysteria. Nice one Daily Mail/NOTW) I was in Mrs Godbehere's class. The 'Castle' in the playground was ace!

Another memory is getting a Spiro-graph from the jumble sale at St John's church.

The place had a bad rep, and I suppose in some ways it was deserved, what with the glue sniffers and people getting hurt or killed by falling furniture, but I don't ever recall being unhappy while I lived there, in fact I've got some fond memories of the place.

[Plain Talker 11]

Sega, in the early days, the lifts on HPF were even scarier than that ! (although i was terrified of lifts, too, with or without getting trapped in one!)

 

You may remember the lift shafts had glassed exteriors, and you could see the lifts going up and down..

 

pre approx 1980 (well, pre 1975, definitely) the lifts themselves had windows in:- the whole of the upper half of the back wall was glassed.

 

I tell you, that journey up to my aunt's flat on Lord row, on the biggest of the blocks, was terrifying. I absolutely hated it, especially if my mum insisted on using the lift shafts nearest the crows nest pub, because that was the "higher" side of the flats, and the ground used to fall away from you so fast, you would feel queasy1

 

Koroitsi, I did a post in reply to this, when this thread was first put up on here, detailing each block, and the names of the rows, in ascending order, but inexplicably, it dissapeared.

 

so I will repeat the information.

 

the rows were (largest block)

high pavement row (where the shops were)

Bevis row

Chancel

Dacre,

Lord,

Rowland

and the highest one:- St Johns

 

red block (the one that had the pub called the Samuel Plimsoll on it)

 

Bungay Row

Chequers Row

Derwent Row

Ropery row

Cricket Inn Gardens

 

the green block:-

link row, (which had a bridge link to the smallest of the blocks, seee below)

Rubens (Reubens?) Row

High pavement row

and the top row which I think was Hyde Park Gardens (I stand to be corrected, if I am wrong)

 

and the smallest block which was nearest town, on broad street)

Stepney row,

Snow hill row,

and link Row

(stepney and snow hill were each only about a dozen or so properties long; it was a very small block. there were less than forty flats on the three rows, combined, IIRC)

 

as with PHF(Park Hill), and Kelvin Flats, the rows were named after the streets of the district, (lord street, dacre street, bungay and bevis street... etc,

 

same as PHF named for Gilbert street, Hague Street, Long Henry St, and Norwich, and Kelvin was Woolen Walk, Edith Walk, Kelvin Walk and erm... erm... (wracks brain, cos she can't remember the name of the fourth row:- pehaps fetish fairy could remember, on my behalf? Asort of "memory by proxy", lol. it wasn't industry, but i am sure it sounded industrial!")

 

PT

[Timbuck 10]

When I lived on "No 76 Rowland row"35 years ago, I was approached one day, by a lady employed by the Council..She was collecting information from residents to find out if we liked living in the Flats..I told her that I would prefere to be living in a detached house overlooking the "Mediteranian"..and She was taken back a bit..I am like that a bit on the sarcastic side..I prefer to call it "Dry Humour"..But She did admit that She prefered living in a house with a garden....on the positive side hyde park had some good points eg: the heating was excellent...Rent was £4.50 per week..Close to the Town Centre..The view was good ( if you liked dog racing) and err I can't remember any more at the moment.

[segasonic 11]

PT - I'm glad the lift I got shut in wasn't like that, although it might have been better as I think it was the claustrophobia that scared me most!

 

Timbuck - Don't suppose you've got any pics of the dog track? Seems only Kirky and I remember it - even my parents aren't sure if it was there, I thought I was going mad for a while.

[Plain Talker 11]

Originally posted by segasonic

PT - I'm glad the lift I got shut in wasn't like that, although it might have been better as I think it was the claustrophobia that scared me most!

 

Timbuck - Don't suppose you've got any pics of the dog track? Seems only Kirky and I remember it - even my parents aren't sure if it was there, I thought I was going mad for a while.

 

I remember getting trapped, with my dad, in a lift on PHF on our way to visit my gran.

 

It was pitch black (no windows) I seem to remember the power had gone. I think it was probably the time of the power cuts of the early 70's.

 

I was totally terrified, even though my dad was with me. I have never liked the dark, anyway, and this situation was not much help. We were stuck in there for ages.

 

I started crying, and in my fear, saying to my dad "we aren't ever going to get out!". My dad got really cross with me, I think it was probably because he was getting scared, too! lol.

 

I remember the dog track. You aren't imagining it. It really did exist

 

I can't remember it being closed down, I only remember it being there when I was a child, and I remember watching the races from the upper landings late one cold night, then, my next memory is of it "not" being there, and a kiddies park being there, instead.

 

it was situated between the back of the flats (manor oaks road side) and St John's school, when I was living on there.

 

PT