The road was constructed as part of the Sawley to Nottingham turnpike road. In the 19th century, it was on the upper side of the village of Beeston and gained its name, High Road by the middle of the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century it was the principal shopping street, and has remained so into the 21st century.
Starting in 1965, the western end of the street in Post Office Square was redeveloped. All of the buildings on the south side of the street 2-10, including the National Provincial Bank which was only 30 years old, were demolished .
In 1987 a sculpture of a beekeeper commissioned by Broxtowe Borough Council and designed by Sioban Coppinger was installed in the street.[2] In 1989 the council installed a second piece of sculpture at the western end of the High Road in Beeston Square. Water Head was designed by Paul Mason.
In 2009 the pedestrian street was refurbished[3] with new paving and street furniture.
3-5. HSBC of 1967 by Haseldine & Eales[4] formerly the Joint Stock Banking Company. Midland Bank. Architect Charles Nelson Holloway ca. 1900 (demolished 1960s)
7-13. 4 shops and houses. ca. 1900
19. NatWest Bank. (formerly Nottingham and Notts Banking Company). Architect Thomas Ignatius McCarthy. 1907-08
21/23. Two shops. Fred Hallam Greengrocer. Architect Frederick Ball 1903-04
37. Picture Palace Company Theatre. Architect Frederick Ball 1912-13[5] and was demolished shortly after closure in 1960
^Pevsner, Nikolaus; Williamson, Elizabeth; Hartwell, Clare (2020). The Buildings of England. Nottinghamshire. Yale University Press. p. 123. ISBN9780300247831.