The name of one of our former shoe manufacturers will live on, as it has now become the home for sixteen residents who will enjoy assisted living in the centre of Rushden.

The building next to the bus stop at the ‘Lightstrung’ (now Skinners Hill) is now appropriately called Claridge Court named after J. & C. Claridge.

All of the building work was carried out by J. Tomlinson of Beeston in Nottingham.

No sooner had the dust settled from the demolition of the old Stromag building at the bottom of Skinners Hill in Rushden, than workers were digging out the footings for the new building to take shape.

The actual construction side of things started in early December 2015; the concrete was laid in the trenches for the footings prior to Christmas break of 2015.

	Roof Trusses	and felted

When worked commenced again on Wednesday 4th January, the brickwork was started on; much activity was seen on the site, and rapid progress was made.

By mid April 2016 the wooden roof trusses were put in to place by a giant self contained crane.

And moving into the summer and on to the month of August 2016, it looked as if the finishing touches were well under way, with landscaping and paving slabs being completed on the front and rear of the building next to the bus stops next door to Orbit Tyres Ltd.

Fortunately the weather conditions had been very kind to the builders, as we enjoyed extended periods of dry weather, with highs of 30C.

Moving on to mid November 1916, and the chilly weather has set in quite naturally, but the finishing touches were taking place, with tarmac becoming the surface choice for the car parking etc.

As January was coming to an end in 2017, the final touches were being taken care of in the shape of "snagging". This is a builders’ term for sorting out any wrinkles with the building before the handover to the new tenants.

Previous use of the site was for the Wm. Claridge shoe factory (later J. & C. Claridge), J. H. Oberman and, last but not least, Stromag.

The building is now being used  by "Lifeways" assisted living, and was ready for the new occupants in early 2017.

They offer high level of care in eight other locations in the UK, these include London, and the nearest one at Peterborough.

	Inside a kitchen	the rear view

We were very kindly given access to Claridge Court, and were fortunate enough to be shown the high standard of accommodation that will be enjoyed by so many.

For the better weather conditions there is a fully enclosed garden, this includes clothes drying facilities and a very nice lawn.

Access to the upper floor is by means of the staircases, or maybe you can take advantage of the lift instead?