Bakersfield is a small suburb of Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

 situated in the eastern part of the city. It lies near the suburbs of Carlton

Carlton, Nottinghamshire

Carlton is a suburb to the east of the city of Nottingham in the borough of Gedling. It is close to Sneinton, Bakersfield, Mapperley, and St Anns. It is near the River Trent and has an NG4 postcode...

, Sneinton

Sneinton

Sneinton is a south-eastern suburb of Nottingham, England. The area is bounded by Carlton to the north, Colwick to the south, Meadow Lane to the southwest and Bakersfield to the east.-Description:...

, and Colwick

Colwick

Colwick is a suburb in the east of Greater Nottingham in England. It forms part of the Nottinghamshire borough of Gedling, although Colwick Country Park is actually within the city boundary. It lies between the River Trent and the railway line, with nearby places being Netherfield , Bakersfield ,...

.

History

Centred around Oakdale Road (an extension of Sneinton Dale), Bakersfield was developed during the 1930s, with a mixture of private and council residential housing. A remarkable feature of the council housing (designed by T. Cecil Howitt) is the space given over to gardens and other open spaces. Other amenities added later included a supermarket (Greater Nottingham Coop on Oakdale Road), numerous smaller shops and a sub post-office. In common with most Nottingham developments of the time, housing was provided first, with other facilities being added later. The parish church of St John the Baptist at Carlton (further up Oakdale Road, opened in 1957) and St Stephen's on Sneinton Dale cover the area for the Church of England. The Church of St Cyprian is located on Marston Road, off Dale View Road, was built in 1913.

The former public house, The Oakdale that greets you as you enter Bakersfield stands on the original site of a large farm barn over the years it has been the centre of the local community and in the Second World War was a bomb shelter. The road and pub (Oakdale) get their name from a large oak tree that stood there till bad weather caused damage and it was deemed unsafe and had to be felled.
The Rio cinema on Oakdale Road opened in 1939 and closed due to the onslaught of television in 1959. It then became a night club; later still it was converted into a shop ('Supasave'). The ground floor is used as a shop, called "Nisa Local" (formerly "Oakdale Stores") with the former balcony level as a snooker club that was closed in November 2008, has since re-opened and now closed again.

Local interest

On the edge of Bakersfield is Colwick Woods, a large area of ancient woodland and green open space, leading down to the Nottingham Racecourse at Colwick. A significant area is given over to a public golf course, or perhaps more accurately deknown as a "Pitch and Putt".

A famous former Bakersfield resident and owner of the Oakdale Road Post Office was Mr Jack Burkitt. Mr Burkitt captained Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

 to their 1959 FA Cup

1959 FA Cup Final

The 1959 FA Cup Final was contested by Nottingham Forest and Luton Town at Wembley. Forest won 2–1, with goals from Roy Dwight and Tommy Wilson just four minutes apart...

 win against Luton Town

Luton Town F.C.

Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...

. On his retirement from the Post Office Mr Burkitt retired to Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 and dying in September 2003.

There are extremely fine vistas to be had from the top of Colwick Woods, with panoramic views of the Trent Valley (as far as Belvoir Castle

Belvoir Castle

Belvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....

) and across the city to Wollaton

Wollaton

Wollaton is an area in the western part of Nottingham, England. It is home to Wollaton Hall with its museum, deer park, lake, walks and golf course...

, Clifton and the Ratcliffe on Soar power station.

Mainly residential, it has a number of small businesses including a couple of public houses, a medical centre and a community centre

Community centre

Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...

. A feature of the area is that many of the road names end in 'dale' (for example Parkdale, Middledale, Langdale, Greendale and Kirkdale), which sometimes causes confusion for first-time visitors.

Schools in and around Bakersfield

Some primary students attended Jesse Boot Primary School, Hereford Road, Parkdale Primary School, Parkdale Road.

Comprehensive age students accessed schools around the immediate area, such as Greenwood Dale, Manvers Pierrepont, Carlton Road and further down Sneinton Road. Further Education was initially at the Forest Fields College and as of the late 1990s in the now defunct Manvers Pierrepont Comprehensive, Carlton Road.

Buses

Nottingham City Transport

• 43 Nottingham - Sneinton - Bakersfield

Premiere Travel

• 73A: Netherfield - Bakersfield - Sneinton - Mapperley - Arnold.
• S10: Netherfield, Morrisons - Netherfield - Carlton - Thorneywood - Sneinton - Bakersfield.