I can't seem to find much info on this...I was in Shrewsbury in 1979. When did the Rolls Royce factory close? The only thing I could find on the net was a story about a guy working there in the 80s. If it did close up, what did they do with the building? My mom's cousin worked there and lived on Grasmere Road which was within walking distance.

The Sentinel Works?

I live opposite there and it's now "Doncasters". Well, one half has gone (now a Morrisons super market), but the other half is still operating.

I'm sure somebody else will be able to tell us more... (I hope) we had a few family members working there.

If you remember all the old fabricated shed type buildings they where demolished and replaced with Morrison's supermarket! I always remember when they took the large chimney down bit by bit, that must have been in the early 90's.

I used to live at No. 11 Grassmere Road during the 80's, nice little street.

The cricket club changed it's name to Perkins C.C. in 1984,so it changed from Rolls-Royce at about that time.

as a child who had a father working there I went to their sports days,christmas parties and pantos at Wolverhampton and Belle Vue circus in Manchester.

one year I was too poorly to go to a christmas party but they still sent me a present(all the children got one in those days)

s.g.d.

I used to go to the sports days on the cricket field and the Christmas parties, not sure how old you are s.g.d. I'm 28 but did you ever go to the Saturday night kids disco's!

Chris,
My Aunt Nellie (Perry) lived at 5 Grasmere Road. Not sure when she passed. I think around 1992. Thanks for the info, guys.

those discos were after my time.

I can remember some employees playing in a group at the parties and then father christmas would turn up on the factory's fire engine.

s.g.d.

They where good times..

I don't remember your Auntie Mark but I was only young, we moved out in 1986 to our present house by Sentinel Gardens which was a Sentinel built house in 1913 I think!

The houses where built in blocks of six with the terrace houses for office workers and those on the ends of the terrace like ours used for more important managers as they where larger!

Not sure what type you live in Proud Salopian as some near to the entrance of the old Sentinel are brick, I don't know if they where built at the same time.

They even had their own heating system which was supposed to be run by the factory hence the water tower in Albert Road. I don't think it worked that well if at all but we do have the old pipes in the floors upstairs walls. The road was called Battlefield Road at the time.

If anyone has more info on Rolls Royce of the Sentinel I'd love to read it.

they gave up on the water tower in about 1920.

I was worried that the tower might be going as a "cherry picker" was on it on Wednesday but I think that it was just removing a loose plank.

The car park opposite has been fenced off and cleared,are they going to build on it or just re-surface it?

I was really upset when they built the bungalow on the car park at the bottom of Albert Road - it was great for pulling skids on my bike.

s.g.d.

The water tower does look in a sorry state maybe they will restore it soon.. although I don't know who looks after it these day's.

I wondered what they where doing with the car park, they surely can't be building on it, its bad enough for parking in Albert Road during the day with people going to the doctors without loosing the car park. I try and avoid driving down there unless I have to.

I would take a look at the planning registrar on-line but it seems to only work during office hours.

did you see the article in the Shropshire Star,last year,telling how, the actor Kenneth Moore,was an apprentice at the factory lodging at what is now 96,Whitchurch Road?

s.g.d.

No, I missed that what day was it in? I'll see if I can get a copy.

last year!

http://www.shropshirestar.com/show_article.php?aID=38633

s.g.d.

That will teach me to read things too quickly...

Thanks for the link.

I live in one of the original Sentinel estate houses, right opposite the main entrance to the Sentinel Works. It had central heating supplied from the factory and such like. Nothing that fancy any longer though!

An interesting feature of the Morrisons supermarket which I suspect nearly no one noticies is the large image of the Sentinel on the railway side of the supermarket building. (The same image as the one that stands over the main entrance on Whitchurch Road.)

Sentinel Gardens lives on in name with the Post Office that still calls itself by that name. Sadly most would now say that we live in Harlescott, despite that being half a mile, if not more, up the road.

The main entrance of the Sentinel Works, about 15 years ago. (Note the Vickers logos - it's now Doncasters)



Fortunately the works have been smartened up since then, with this part of the buildings now offices.

is this at the bottom of Albert Road or on Whitchurch Road?

http://www.shropshirestar.com/show_article.php?aID=16506

s.g.d.

That is Albert Road - before the next wave of Sundorne's suburban development.

I.ve always wondered what the history of that water tower was. It looks like a shed in the sky !!

It,s a bit small to be converted to a trendy pad like the concrete one they filmed on Grand Designs! :D

Hope this works

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...6lr%3D%26sa%3DN

s.g.d.

Unfortunately my Czech isn't very good.

My dad used to work there in the 70's and early 80's.
I cant say much about the history of the site - and cant ask him as hes no longer with us - however I do remember the Xmas parties held in the canteen at the north end of the site.
At the end of the party all the tables would be snaked around the room so the kids could follow them to Santa to receive their present. Every year this was done to the same music!
After reaching a certain age you stopped going to these parties and instead went to a panto. These were no way an equal substitute for the party and because of this only went to one - Cinderella I think staring Lionel Blair at Birmingam.
Also I remember when ever sweets were bought home from the canteen - they never tasted of sweets - only of oil!
The only other thing I recall is the amazing site of what seemed like thousands of men coming out of the factory at shift change time - they all seemed to wear the same uniformr - namely black donkey jacket and wolly hat! And most of them seemd to be on cycles. They seems to swarm on Whitchurch Road.

Not any more they don't - the (fewer) workers mostly travel by car and merge quite inconspiculously with the traffic coming in and out of Morrisons!

but the chimney sticking out of the roof makes me think that it is Whitchurch road - no 78 possibly.

s.g.d.

Both myself and Chris live in this area - I think we'll have to go out and do some investigating!

What I'll do one day (soonish) is try to find that spot today and take a photograph of it. :)

I've looked down Albert Road and First Terrace and I don't think its any of those houses so it must be Whitchurch Road.

I'm thinking the gap you can see with the fence could be where the flats are.

cheers, it is only a small detail,but it is bugging me.

s.g.d.

that is where I thought, I think the houses at the other end are lower than the road.

does anyone remember the hedge that you could run behind?

it was between the sentinel gates(noow at the rear of the building) and a modern looking office block( I think that had a grass bank and a little wall to daringly walk along)

the hedge had corrugated tin behind it,i think.

s.g.d.

The truck in the old photo is standing in front of Number 78, Whitchurch Road. :)




Is someone going to tell the Shropshire Star that they're wrong?

well done P.S. you have taken the "now" picture from virtually the exact same spot.

It bugged me when it was in the paper.

thanks for taking the time.

s.g.d.

I was talking to a mate about this sentinel post, and he said has anyone said about the 4.30 swarm of bikes.

they did just seem to appear en masse,happy days!

s.g.d.

Okay, some more photos of the Sentinel area:



The front of the Sentinel works - they're looking after this building now, after a couple of years of neglect in the 1990s. It's used for offices mainly.



The Sentinel. There's a new one of these on the rear of Morrisons supermarket too, but you can only see it from the train.



The post office at the Sentinel Gardens row of shops. A very hand row of shops, with a booze store, chip shop, computer shop, newsagents, post office, women's hairdressers, men's hairdressers, cafe, pharmacy, dentists (correct as far as I can remember - maybe Chris can help add/subtract some businesses found here).



The water tower thing on Albert Road. Behind is the entrance to the Perkins bowling green and cricket ground.

I found out today that the Perkins Social Club have sold the car park and new houses are to be built there.

Two things:

1) The car park is much needed with the amount of people visiting the doctors surgery. Its a nightmare trying to get down Albert Road at times with people trying to find parking spaces.

2) I hope the new homes are built tastefully to blend in with the area.

the community centre's mini-buses also use it for parking,any idea how many houses?

s.g.d.