My Thursday Door this week comes from a small Midlands town called Nuneaton. It’s a town I’ve been to many times – it has an excellent market and, when I was a child, Saturdays usually included a visit there. When I was three, I was even briefly lost at the market – I remember standing between two stalls and a tall young policeman bending down to talk to me. He asked my name and address, then took my hand. He bought me an icecream before my mother, who had been looking for me, found us, and apparently the following week at the market I kept running off in an effort to get lost again, hoping for another ice cream.
This past week I took my own daughter there. She’s older than three and capable of asking for her own ice cream, so I didn’t worry too much that she’d run off. We did some shopping and had lunch, and it was a very pleasant day. On the way through I spotted this rather lovely old building. I especially liked the doors – wooden doors like these are my favourite types, especially with the big ornate hinges.
This is the United Reformed Church. There has been a church here since 1714, but the present building was built in 1903. Designed by Birmingham architects Ingall & Son, it cost around £8000, or £8,000,000 in today’s money! The building has some lovely architectural features, including carving around the doors and windows, as well as leaded stained glass. I didn’t get to see inside, sadly, but apparently all the period features are still there, which is nice to know.
This was my response to this week’s Thursday Doors Challenge, courtesy of Norm 2.0. For more doors, or to add one of your own, visit Norm’s site and click the link.
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I’m trying that when the farmer’s market opens. “I’m lost, does anyone have ice cream?”
Haha – I would love to see you try that! Let me know if it works 🙂
wow Helen! thank you for posting such a nice impressive post, the photos are really amazing, the time-honored buildings are stunning also with these detailed ornate textures.
Thanks so much for your comment, Yaman – really pleased you liked the post 🙂
I love the ice cream story with its image of the kind young policeman. It reminds me of one of Nicholas Rhea’s tales (the original “Heartbeat” cop), who once was detailed to take a lost little city girl to the seaside for the day so she could paddle and built sandcastles, until they could get her back to town.
Thanks, Angelika 🙂 It was really nice, and I was lucky he found me rather than anyone else, I think! Still, I doubt police would be allowed to do that these days, health and safety and all that. It’s a nice memory – I don’t remember feeling scared at all about being lost, just being quite happy to have an ice cream haha!
Woolworths, Maidstone in Kent…aged two. Standing on the haberdashery counter lost and hoping to find my mother…odd how these things stay in memory!
Oh, how cute! I mean, it must have been scary at the time, but the image is quite lovely. And it is funny how these things stay with us – I suppose being lost is a significant event, especially for a young child. For me it might have been the ice cream, too 🙂
I didn’t get ice-cream… just a panicking mother 🙂
Ah, what a shame – it should be de rigeur for a lost child, I think ;-D
I agree entirely, Helen 🙂
When I was just a rookie cop working the State Fair, we would bring lost children to the Headquarters building where we kept ice cream in a freezer for the little ones, while the dispatcher would call out on the Public Address system for their parents to come get their little ones at the State Police HQ…
Ah, that’s lovely 🙂 Would they be allowed to give kids ice cream these days? I do wonder whether it would be a health and safety thing or something. Because I think it’s a lovely thing to do, and I imagine quite a comfort for a lost child.
What marvelous dark hinges wrapping around those doors – perfect with the window details and little stone carvings.
Thank you 🙂 They’re lovely, aren’t they? I dream of having doors like that in my home one day…
Lovely captures. I’m glad the policeman was able to help you find your mother! I remember the process of teaching my kids to memorize our address and phone number when they were little.
Thank you 🙂 Yes, me too – apparently my mum saw us walking past hand in hand, me with an ice cream. I remember him asking me my address and me reeling it off, parrotlike, so my mother must have done the same with me too 🙂
Thatlooks like our water palace!
It does! I remember that photo, I think your water palace is a lot bigger though 🙂
I absolutely love this series – you always visit such interesting places!
Thanks lovely Suzie 🙂 And this one isn’t too far from you…