The Blueprint

I visited the Nottinghamshire Archives to investigate the history of the sites. Records were thin regarding the Powerhouse although I found blueprints for other NTU buildings. However I discovered original documents about the building of the Church on Rise Park.

In September 1968 the church opened as a member of the Bestwood diocese. Churchgoers were both Anglicans and Methodist. In 1969 the church became a place of ecumenical worship. In 1978 the Drama Group started rehearsing and performing on an annual basis.

I found planning records submitted on 16 March 1966 for the patch of land on Rise Park Farm set aside for a commercial centre, church, public house, a car park and petrol station. The artefact itself - hand drawn in black ink - has an air of personal history to it. A pencil-written note on a blue slip of paper is clipped to the plan of the building site.

'The site officer considers these details to be satisfactory and he recommends that they be approved.'

This is where I grew up, the church I attended, the pub I was scared of, the car park where someone ran over my parents car. Literally. And left dents in the roof. The petrol station has now gone. The tangible lines of ink and pencil seem to connect with the narratives of nostalgia that I am threading through the texts.