by Ann Featherstone and Beverley Kilby

A look at some of the events, people and things that have shaped the Ilkeston we know today, written to celebrate 50 years of the Ilkeston and District Local History Society.

Copies are available at just £10 (£13.50 by post).

The book follows an easily readable format. There are 50 chapters, each taking a different topic in Ilkeston’s history, from British Restaurants to Windmills to the Beauty Spot and the Mines Rescue. It delves back into the 16th century and the Weaver Pool, the 18th century for St Mary’s clock and comes up to date with the Spitfire Fund of the 1940s and the building of Kirk Hallam Infant School in the 1950s. Little known regions and buildings are uncovered: the soot factory on Rutland Street, the Empress Theatre and The Nook, a house on Wilmot Street which has become part of the former HSBC bank. Local people’s recollections of the sounds and smells of Ilkeston have been gathered using the Ilson Bygones group on Facebook, and they have also contributed to the chapter about pre-fab housing, recalling their homes on Erewash Square.

The book has proved very popular , and copies are also available by mail order – see Publications.