New book: 'Lowdham, Caythorpe & Gunthorpe Through Time'

Another attractively produced volume in Amberley Publishing's 'Through Time' series has arrived for review. The book focuses on the large village of Lowdham which is located in the Trent valley, some 8 miles north-east of Nottingham, and also covers the neighbouring villages of Caythorpe and Gunthorpe.

The book has been compiled by members of the Lowdham Local History Group and the selection of photographs is both interesting and varied. Each page is a 'then and now' illustration of the ways in which the villages have changed over time.

One of the most intriguing set of photographs is the one covering the development of the house with the misleadingly understated name of 'The Hut'. The house was originally built in the early 1920s to the north of Lowdham and incorporated two American Pacific Railway coaches that the owner had bought after they had been displayed at the 1926 Great Exhibition in Paris. In the 1980s this unusual building was replaced by a grandiose country house.

I also enjoyed the images of 'Gunthorpe on Sea', a popular destination for locals and Nottingham residents in the mid-20th century. Apparently, the nearby lock on the River Trent was a tourist attraction (particularly for children who enjoyed watching the boats being raised or lowered) and this was often followed by a picnic on the extensive common between the Unicorn pub and the Trent.