Ilkeston Past & Present

28/10/2026

Ey up duck, used ter be proper good at Photoshop — taught me sen an’ all — but that skill’s not needed no more.

Nowt wrong wi’ embracin’ new technology, is there? Our ancestors generally walked everywhere, but we took to the car, bus an’ train without a second thought.

Wi’ today’s tech it’s only limited by yer imagination — you can do so much wi’ that one photo… whilst keepin’ the original untouched. I mean, yow wouldn’t eat the same meal every day, would yer?

Yer gotta keep up wi’ modern tech, duck. I wouldn’t wanna still be livin’ in a cave… so we should be proper thankful for the progress.

I mean, most folk dunna refuse them modern meds an’ say “I wanna die natural like in the old days,” do they?

27/10/2026

27/10/2026

Ey up ducks in this fine October Tuesday

Been thinking about our town a bit today and fancied saying summat positive for a change.

Ilkeston’s still got a lot going for it if you actually look. Proper history everywhere you turn — Bennerley Viaduct still standing proud, the old market place, str**ts full of stories if you know where to look.

We’ve got folk who still give a toss, the ones who restore old photos, dig into the past, keep the memories alive, organise reunions, support the local pubs and shops that are still hanging on. Organize the classic car show, put on the annual music festival,

Not forgetting the upcoming Halloween spectacular, regarded as the largest in England, and our Ilkeston Town Football Club, always good positive things happening down there.

Let's also not forget ta mention Ilkeston Fair, Scala Cinema, Bowling Alley, Ilkeston Baths, a load of cracking pubs for a great night out... Sure I missed a few out but hey ho, ya get the message...

The positive list is actually quite long mi duck's

Thankfully there’s a proper community spirit in the right places.

People who were born here, whose families go back generations, who still turn up for each other when it counts. The countryside’s right on the doorstep, the Erewash Valley’s still beautiful when the sun’s out, and there’s still bits of the old Ilkeston that haven’t been flattened or forgotten.

But by God, the negative folk do my head in. You know the ones — always moaning, always running the place down, never a good word to say about anything. Town’s a dump, nothing ever changes, everyone’s gone, it’s all finished. They’ll spend hours on Facebook slagging it off but never lift a finger to help anything.

They remember how it used to be but only so they can complain about how it is now. Half of ’em moved away years ago and still feel entitled to have a go at the place they left behind. The other half just sit there picking holes in everything without ever saying what they’d actually do to make it better.

We’re not perfect, never have been. But there’s still good people here, still things worth holding onto, still reasons to be proud of where you’re from.

If all you’ve got is negativity, maybe just keep it to yourself for once. positiveness will always outshine negativity.

❤️ Ilkeston

27/10/2026

Added a small clue cause some folk may struggle, what was this pub called back in the day,

And the bonus question what was this pub known as in the 1920s, another clue added

Answers on a post card...

26/10/2026

Ey up, it's that time o' year again. Mind, we 'ave to burn that reformed coal an' wood wi' next to no moisture in it these days – 'cos o' the guidelines – but you still can't beat the sound of a r**t roaring fire in the autumn. Just think back 50-odd year ago, when open fires was the only way to keep warm... Mind ya, price a gas we be going backwards soon enough...

No AI on this post me ducks all natural.....

25/10/2026

Ey up, folks!

Here’s a cracking one for yer from just down the road at Dale Abbey.This is the great east window arch of the old Premonstratensian abbey ruins, and the photo’s from about 1934.

That’s the lads from Stanton Ironworks up on the wooden scaffolding doing a bit of repair work on the arch. Proper local history – the works that employed so many round Ilkeston and Stanton looking after one of our oldest landmarks.Dale Abbey (once known as Depedale) was founded proper around 1204 and lasted till Henry VIII shut it down in 1538.

Not a huge place – only about 16 to 24 canons at most – but it owned a fair bit of land and some of the canons used to serve as priests over at Ilkeston, Heanor, Kirk Hallam and Stanton by Dale.

After the Dissolution most of the stone got reused in other buildings, and this tall Gothic arch is pretty much the main thing left standing. Grade I listed and all.

24/10/2026

AI you get lovers and haters, I'm a lover, yes it has many flaws but I'm still a lover...😍 Queen Mother's 80th 1980... It was a simple script but AI messed up slightly again,

24/10/2026

They were a well known local band back in the day, probably not many folk left in the present who will remember, but we will ask anyway....who can name the group, and name the venue they played in Ilkeston.

24/10/2026

Posing for a photo back then was a major event. It wasn't something people did every day—you dressed in your absolute best, walked into a studio, or Market Place and stood perfectly still just to capture a single moment in time.

Fast forward 100 years, and it's ten-a-penny selfies, pouting lips, and instant filters! It’s amazing how we went from capturing a lifetime legacy in one serious portrait to snapping 50 casual photos a day just to show what we're up to.

Makes you wonder what people 100 years ago would think of us if they look at our endless archives of duck-face selfies! 📸✨