Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
As you can see Spondon has changed massively in the 78 years that have passed between these two views, quite a lot to take in. I knew the A52 had changed how it looks but until I made this video I hadn’t appreciated just how much it has changed. Also it’s great to finally see exactly where the Derby canal used to flow through this area.
Ive made this fading then and now video showing how Spondon has changed using a top-down view from 1948 lined up with a 2026 view, hope you enjoy my video and please leave a comment if you do.
It took me quite some time to line these two views up, a lot simpler with two maps as maps are always oriented North at the top.
I had to rotate the 1948 view to match the 2026 view, the area covered, match the scale, line up the roads and crop to exactly the same pixel dimensions before making my video. This means you can see what has changed between 1948 and 2026.
These are based on vertical aerial photos taken looking straight down from a plane.
The main change is that Spondon was cut in half by the A52 and the Spondon Roundabout (ASDA island) was built.
Construction of the A52 (Derby Borrowash bypass extension) was started in 1977, The section of the A52 through Spondon opened on the 29th of May 1980.
The next major thing is that the Derby canal which was abandoned and filled in.
In the 1948 view you can still see two canal bridges, Megaloughton bridge (near where Looms used to be) as well as Station Road bridge, this second bridge is still in place over the former route of the Derby canal.
The Midland Railway (Trent jct to Derby) railway line passes through both views at the bottom.
It looks like several houses were demolished on Derby Road to make way for the new roundabout.
Spondon railway station is still there at the bottom centre of both views but the extra tracks off to the Celanese site are removed.
Albert Looms far left middle of 1948 view:
Albert Looms began trading as a scrap metal and vehicle breakers and established their business on Megaloughton Lane in the 1920s, occupying the site formally of Leach Neal's paint works.
The company ceased trading in August 2024, Ivygrove Developments intend to redevelop the site as Looms Business Park as a nod to the former business.
View A : 16th April 1948
View B : Google Satellite view 2026
Streets covered by this view :
Derby Road, Nottingham Road, Cambridge Street, Station Road, Lodge Lane,Willowcroft Road, Vancouver Avenue, Stoney Cross, Towpath Way, Bridgeside Way, Megaloughton Lane, A52, Oakfields Grove, Willowside Gardens, Leeway, Greenbank, Dury Avenue.
To get your bearings of where you are, Spondon Railway station is at the bottom, ASDA's car park is top left, Railway line at the bottom, The A6005 is in the middle.
Hope you enjoy it and feel free to share the link to my video to anyone interested.
Best viewed on a large computer screen or smart TV as this is recorded in 4K resolution with great music so a real waste watching it on a small phone screen. Did you know you can cast it to your smart tv from the YouTube app?
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Music Credits :
'The Restoration' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
youtube.com/watch?v=22KHaYz8Row
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you can see Spondon has changed massively in the 78 years that have passed between these two views, quite a lot to take in. I knew the A52 had changed how it looks but until I made this video I hadn’t appreciated just how much it has changed. Also it’s great to finally see exactly where the Derby canal used to flow through this area.
Ive made this fading then and now video showing how Spondon has changed using a top-down view from 1948 lined up with a 2026 view, hope you enjoy my video and please leave a comment if you do.
It took me quite some time to line these two views up, a lot simpler with two maps as maps are always oriented North at the top.
I had to rotate the 1948 view to match the 2026 view, the area covered, match the scale, line up the roads and crop to exactly the same pixel dimensions before making my video. This means you can see what has changed between 1948 and 2026.
These are based on vertical aerial photos taken looking straight down from a plane.
The main change is that Spondon was cut in half by the A52 and the Spondon Roundabout (ASDA island) was built.
Construction of the A52 (Derby Borrowash bypass extension) was started in 1977, The section of the A52 through Spondon opened on the 29th of May 1980.
The next major thing is that the Derby canal which was abandoned and filled in.
In the 1948 view you can still see two canal bridges, Megaloughton bridge (near where Looms used to be) as well as Station Road bridge, this second bridge is still in place over the former route of the Derby canal.
The Midland Railway (Trent jct to Derby) railway line passes through both views at the bottom.
It looks like several houses were demolished on Derby Road to make way for the new roundabout.
Spondon railway station is still there at the bottom centre of both views but the extra tracks off to the Celanese site are removed.
Albert Looms far left middle of 1948 view:
Albert Looms began trading as a scrap metal and vehicle breakers and established their business on Megaloughton Lane in the 1920s, occupying the site formally of Leach Neal's paint works.
The company ceased trading in August 2024, Ivygrove Developments intend to redevelop the site as Looms Business Park as a nod to the former business.
View A : 16th April 1948
View B : Google Satellite view 2026
Streets covered by this view :
Derby Road, Nottingham Road, Cambridge Street, Station Road, Lodge Lane,Willowcroft Road, Vancouver Avenue, Stoney Cross, Towpath Way, Bridgeside Way, Megaloughton Lane, A52, Oakfields Grove, Willowside Gardens, Leeway, Greenbank, Dury Avenue.
To get your bearings of where you are, Spondon Railway station is at the bottom, ASDA's car park is top left, Railway line at the bottom, The A6005 is in the middle.
Hope you enjoy it and feel free to share the link to my video to anyone interested.
Best viewed on a large computer screen or smart TV as this is recorded in 4K resolution with great music so a real waste watching it on a small phone screen. Did you know you can cast it to your smart tv from the YouTube app?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music Credits :
'The Restoration' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
youtube.com/watch?v=22KHaYz8Row
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
