Reincarnation

An advert from the 1925 publication Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Past & Present

I'd not been of drinking age for many years when the Old Corner Pin served its last beverage in 1989 - the end of a fairly lengthy era.

I don't remember being bowled over by the place. I'm pretty sure I'd have had a far superior experience when footballer Jimmy Cantrell was the proprietor.

Born near Chesterfield, Cantrell played as a forward for Aston Villa, Notts County and Tottenham Hotspur, winning the 1919-20 Second Division title and 1920-21 FA Cup with the latter, before finishing his playing days with Sutton Town.

A skilled golfer, after his time as licensee at the Old Corner Pin (from 1921 onwards) and a couple of other local pubs, he became steward at the Chilwell Manor Golf Club before retiring in 1947. He died in 1960, aged 78.

The building that once housed the Old Corner Pin, meanwhile, has played host to a Disney store, Etam and Miss Selfridge, and is currently occupied by the Nationwide Building Society.

Time marches on. I wonder what its next incarnation will be?

The Old Corner Pin building in 2024