4:15AM I’m standing in the central area car park, completely empty, obviously, I’m in the middle of what feels like a shouting match between birds at opposing ends. The empty car park makes for an excellent opportunity to capture a clear image of the church, usually the views are cluttered by cars.
Tomorrow I’m visiting the church to have a look around and capture the interior so it seems apt to start here. I’ve always sort of overlooked the church, I think because of the tight site it sits on, wedged in between a car park, a side road and the shops it’s hard to stand back and observe. During my research I found the original letter from the architect (Robert Potter) accepting the commission. Before the church was built the congregation were meeting at their houses and then the local primary school. The plot of land was kindly gifted by Ideal Homes but was not large enough to accommodate the needs of the church, leading to the multi-level design with the upstairs dedicated to worship and the lower levels for communal spaces/offices.
I moved on and took a few images around the shopping precinct, it’s a bit cluttered now with an outside seating area for Costa Coffee, play park and benches. I feel like the play area has been replaced about 10 times in my lifetime. There’s a takeaway called “The Flamin’ Chicken” that I don’t remember opening, it used to be Herbies Pizza, though I think it burned down…
I decided to wander towards the little side roads near St Johns which are technically part of Goldsworth Park but are not part of the main bulk, I guess they are infill. First up once I cross Langmans Bridge is Pantiles Close, these houses are not like any others I’ve seen on the Park, double fronted, detached, big driveways, kind of a square footprint. I continue to explore the others, Dale View, Goldsworth Orchard, Martin Way, once in each road it feels like Goldsworth Park but you’re not getting the fully immersive vibe, it feels like your outside the park. It’s hard to explain but when you step over the border in to the park there’s a different feeling, I think it’s a new town feeling, everything is planned out rather than organic, it’s organised and fluid. The outside world is somewhat more chaotic which is less pleasing to my mind. I went down one more road, St Johns Rise, before returning to the park proper.
I crossed St Johns Road, which seems like a natural barrier for the park, and into Winnington Way. When I was 16 I undertook my CBT so I could ride a moped to college (my first vehicle and therefore freedom), it’s a one day course and when we finished the day the instructor took us to his garage somewhere near Winnington Way to hand out the pass certificates. It was always my aim to move on to a motorbike but it didn’t happen for another 17 years!
After 4 hours of sleep last night I was feeling a little weary, so I meandered back across the park towards home. I stumbled across these cute little bungalows, they’re the same as the design opposite my house but detached they look tiny!