Rolls-Royce Derby Works, Nightingale Road

Thanks to the magic of Google® Street View, we can now "drive" past the old Nightingale Road works where Rolls-Royce built so many cars between the Wars. This factory was the home of the Silver Ghosts, the Phantoms, the Derby Bentleys, and the "small" Rolls-Royce Twenties and Twenty-Fives.

Today it is boarded up, although it seems to be still in use for some storage purposes. Headquarters is now around on Victory Avenue not that far away, and the vast new factories occupy an area much larger than the Nightingale Road site, which will probably be demolished in due course.

The Nightingale Road Works from space. The yellow line is Nightingale Road, and the image of the main office building was taken about halfway along, near the X. (Google®)

The old entrance to the Nightingale Road office block. The statues of Rolls and Royce used to stand inside the main entrance block. In the distance you can just make out the original Aero Engines buildings. (Google®)

Closeup of part of the Aero Engines buildings on Nightingale Rd, taken at about point Y on the space photo. (Google®)

Panorama from the bottom of Nightingale Road, corner of Addison Rd, showing the rather grim and grimy Edwardian buildings. (Google®)