Rosemary Street, looking towards Broadmead – 1950, c1956 and 2014 Rosemary Street was another road name to be lost in the Broadmead Shopping Centre Development, although the line of the street survives as the eastern part of pedestrianised Broadmead. Originally Rosemary St, Old King St, Broadmead and Merchant St met at the crossroad which is now the site of the Hub. The 1950 view shows a rather narrow cobbled street with an interesting collection of houses and shops of varying age, including some Georgian and some from the 17th century, many in need of repair and refurbishment. On the left pavement is the old fashioned “Torch of Knowledge” road sign indicating a nearby school. In this case it indicated Rosemary Street Nursery School which was founded in 1924 by the Quaker’s Society of Friends. Its headmistress in 1950 was Miss Eleanor King. The entrance on the left just beyond the road sign led to the Friends’ Burial Ground. The building on the extreme right was on the corner of Leek Lane which ran between Rosemary St and Milk St. The second photo shows Rosemary St almost completely cleared to make way for the Broadmead Development - only the building on the right, on the corner of Leek Lane, is still standing, although it too will soon be demolished. The stone setts of the roadway are being lifted in preparation for the new road surface. In the distance, in the centre of the photo, can be seen the newly built Marks and Spencer store in Broadmead. To the left the surviving 300 ft chimney of Frys Chocolate Factory in the Pithay appears over the top of the buildings which will form the Hub - it will be demolished in 1961. The final photo shows today’s pedestrianised eastern extension of Broadmead - all traces of Rosemary St have been obliterated and most shoppers today are unaware of the history of the area through which they are walking. The name of Rosemary St has gone but it is remembered in the Rosemary Early Years Centre in St Jude’s, which is where the Nursery School moved when the original buildings were demolished.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 08:24:49 +0000
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