Page 26 - Thrapston Life September 2024

The first is a view of the gravel pit in winter 1991 before the Sea Cadets had their new clubhouse and landing stages erected. That winter was
very cold, the trees around the gravel pits being covered in hoar frost for many weeks and the ice covering them being several inches thick at the edges These are followed by two more shots from 1991.
The first is of the football field with the old changing rooms and before floodlights and hard standing around the pitch were installed.
Below shows what the Nine Arches estate looked like with the old Thrapston Wharf buildings behind trees and before building work was even contemplated. These were the days just
after when an unguarded conveyor belt took gravel from the far end of the pit to the ARC site beside Bridge Street. Look closely and you can make out the traffic lights over Nine Arch Bridge.
Finally, a picture showing the Smith & Grace’s ironfounders frontage taken from the corner of Grove Road in July 1992. The company has its roots in the old Neneside Ironworks which dates from about 1840 and continued production for 150 years. The premises are now the site of the Foundry Walk estate.
Thrapston and area has changed a lot during the comparatively short time we have been here, and this will no doubt continue and hopefully be recorded photographically. Since the very early days of photography, images of both buildings and people in town have been taken. May this continue in building our community’s rich heritage.
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Please let me have any suggestions about future “Glances at the past”. To contact me please email at ericfranklin2@hotmail.com