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Aston Cross

Hi Folks, when I think of Lichfield Road, Aston rightly or wrongly I think of Aston Cross; but in reality the shop on the pic attached could be anywhere between Salford Sports Stadium and what became the BRMB studios. 1956 pre-dates my school journeys along Lichfield Road as I commuted from Erdington to Hockley 1960-65.

Regards,
Peg.

Shop Lichfield Road Aston.jpg
 
adap2it said:
When Peg says that it was under construction in 1952, I don't think that it meant that it was actually being built. It was there for many years before that. It was probably getting a "facelift", meaning removal of the sign.
Dave A
Click to expand...
Hi Dave A,
Ansells was present in Aston from as far back as 1858, the construction of the building we all know and love started mid 1930's but due to World War II was not finished for some 20 years later (1950's) which indicates the subject pic was taken whilst the building was under construction, albeit the project took circa 20 years.
(See: Ansell's Brewery Limited www.midlandspubs.co.uk/breweries/birmingham/ansells-brewery.htm.)

Regards,
Peg.
 
nice photo peg....as its called slade confectionary i wonder if the shop is near to slade road but thinking about it i dont know if the lichfield road ends near to slade road...can just make out who runs the shop looks like D AND R HEWITT so a simple kellys look up should give us the exact location of the shop

lyn
 
peg monkey, 'SLADE CONFECTIONERY' would suggest the shop was maybe in Slade Road before Spaghetti Junction ? there were a number of shops at the top of Slade Road opposite the pub but they were demolished when the built the motorway Eric
 
thanks eric that is what i thought...unless someone beats me to it when i have time i will do a kellys look up

lyn
 
Peg Monkey said:
Hi Folks, when I think of Lichfield Road, Aston rightly or wrongly I think of Aston Cross; but in reality the shop on the pic attached could be anywhere between Salford Sports Stadium and what became the BRMB studios. 1956 pre-dates my school journeys along Lichfield Road as I commuted from Erdington to Hockley 1960-65.

Regards,
Peg.

View attachment 113828
Click to expand...
Funny confectionery or delicatessen foods, Weights, Players please, Park Drive (twice), Senior Service, Craven A and another two that I cannot read...the PC lobby would have had a field day, then of course there was all that sugar in the confectionery and the salt in the pork pies in the deli (where they Marsh and Baxters?). Does anyone remember George Mason in Slade road with all those open biscuit tins and the big sugar sack in front of the counter not to mention the bacon on the slab at the back and the smell of smoked bacon and spices.

Bob
 
Those were the days before shoplifting became a fashion for some. :eek:
There were other items in a grocery store that were not packaged - lard, margarine, butter and cheese. I am of the opinion that WW2 was a factor in the slow down of pre packaged foods as so many brand names were submerged in the Ministry of Food directives. Boning bacon was a craft and rarely left to juniors to do. Sharp knives/cut fingers all come to mind!
Blue sugar bags were a well used item in infant school craftwork. I don't recall what items were made but wherever they were seemed of use at the time. :D
 
Astoness said:
nice photo peg....as its called slade confectionary i wonder if the shop is near to slade road but thinking about it i dont know if the lichfield road ends near to slade road...can just make out who runs the shop looks like D AND R HEWITT so a simple kellys look up should give us the exact location of the shop

lyn
Click to expand...
cookie273uk said:
peg monkey, 'SLADE CONFECTIONERY' would suggest the shop was maybe in Slade Road before Spaghetti Junction ? there were a number of shops at the top of Slade Road opposite the pub but they were demolished when the built the motorway Eric
Click to expand...

Hi Lyn and Eric,
Good, but is it Aston? First road on left on Slade Road is B23 - Erdington - I know what you are thinking could have been some license when the shop was named - Next stop Kelly's?

Regards,
Peg.
 
Onceabrummie said:
Funny confectionery or delicatessen foods, Weights, Players please, Park Drive (twice), Senior Service, Craven A and another two that I cannot read...the PC lobby would have had a field day, then of course there was all that sugar in the confectionery and the salt in the pork pies in the deli (where they Marsh and Baxters?). Does anyone remember George Mason in Slade road with all those open biscuit tins and the big sugar sack in front of the counter not to mention the bacon on the slab at the back and the smell of smoked bacon and spices.

Bob
Click to expand...

Hi Bob, I remember those days well. especially aroma of smoked bacon, all that unwrapped food so unhygienic (?!) it's a wonder any of us are still here(?!).

Regards,
Peg.
 
cant be sure peg as i dont know that side very well..will get kellys out later on.but for now another photo of aston cross..no date but most likely taken when you were trekking around there on the no 8 and also when i was jumping the no 8 from nursery road to meet my aunt who worked at tubes..

Aston Cross Birmingham.jpg
 
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Astoness said:
cant be sure peg as i dont know that side very well..will get kellys out later on.but for now another photo of aston cross..no date but most likely taken when you were trekking around there on the no 8 and also when i was jumping the no 8 from nursery road to meet my aunt who worked at tubes..

View attachment 113848
Click to expand...

Hi Lyn, thanks almost the very spot where I used to wait at the 64 bus stop; yep, date-wise seems to be about when I would be there.

Regards,
Peg.
 
Can just see George Mason's where my Wife worked for a time, late 50,s The photo appears to have been taken against the light making detail a bit dark to peruse. Eric
 
eric i cant make out any shops names...was masons to the right of the clock near the no entry sign or was it the shops to the left of the clock

lyn
 
cookie273uk said:
Can just see George Mason's where my Wife worked for a time, late 50,s The photo appears to have been taken against the light making detail a bit dark to peruse. Eric
Click to expand...

Hi Eric,
George Mason going - a real loss to the community, I recall they favoured a corner position - good strategy to be on two roads instead of one.

Regards,
Peg.
 
Jus
Onceabrummie said:
Funny confectionery or delicatessen foods, Weights, Players please, Park Drive (twice), Senior Service, Craven A and another two that I cannot read...the PC lobby would have had a field day, then of course there was all that sugar in the confectionery and the salt in the pork pies in the deli (where they Marsh and Baxters?). Does anyone remember George Mason in Slade road with all those open biscuit tins and the big sugar sack in front of the counter not to mention the bacon on the slab at the back and the smell of smoked bacon and spices.

Bob
Click to expand...
Just blown it up on the printer and spotted Three threes and Kensitas, there are also some very interesting jars and bottles in the window

Bob
 
Re: Slade Confectionery. I think it says D & R? Hewitt below the name Slade Confectionery. Could it be located at 124 Lichfield Road? The 1939 Register shows this was the home of a Reginald J Hewitt and Emily D (Doris) Hewitt. He was a retail shopkeeper - bread, cakes and flour. She was a shop assistant and did unpaid domestic duties. They were still there on the electoral register of 1955.
 
Lyn, had second thoughts, it would have been father to the right and just off picture. I think the big shop with the light in the window was the co-op. It was over 60 years ago and I don't possess the best of memories. Eric
 
Brasscaster said:
Re: Slade Confectionery. I think it says D & R? Hewitt below the name Slade Confectionery. Could it be located at 124 Lichfield Road? The 1939 Register shows this was the home of a Reginald J Hewitt and Emily D (Doris) Hewitt. He was a retail shopkeeper - bread, cakes and flour. She was a shop assistant and did unpaid domestic duties. They were still there on the electoral register of 1955.
Click to expand...

Good work Brasscaster, looks like you've nailed it, 124 Lichfield Road puts the shop on the northern-side of the road about opposite Sandy lane (Just east of Waterworks Boulevard).

Ok folks, biggest view of the shop I can manage herewith, you'll have to print off or stand your device on end to view comfortably.

Regards,
Peg.

Shop Lichfield Road Aston L.jpg
 
Rowntrees and Polo seem to be in that window but the picture is not easy to see - I gave up hanging upside down from the ceiling quite a few years ago. :D Although not in the pic I remember there being 555 cigarettes as well as the 333 ones. It is truly amazing the advertising that was done in past times to promote cigarette and tobacco sales, especially compared to today when those products are kept in closed cupboards. Not being a smoker I do wonder if the clandestine efforts to hide tobacco products are counter productive. after all it makes it seem like you are buying something illicit i.e. under the counter or in a plain wrapper. :eek:
I must ask my local corner shop guy and a superstore sales person about how sales are these days. The price per packet should be enough to deter sales I would have thought.
 
HI There guys,
just going back a thread or two regarding our peggy sweet shop with a attitude of saying it could be any where on the lichfield road and between Aston cross and salford bridge, well ,,
I had to laugh and smile to myself ,because that shop ,that sweet shop she as put on is in fact on lichfield road
and it is four shops passed mr robinsons fruit and veg store on lichfield road
and the shop in question my friends was mr whetton,s sweet shop, whom was there in the fortys may be a litte further back i cannot be sure on that but from the fortys i was a little whipper snapper whom woluld buy my penny sweets and a fizzy bottle of lemade from one of his pumps on the counter this his 1946 onwards and every sunday when the old man finished is work at the golden cross
as head barman for the dodds family the managers at that time every sunday , he and mr dodds
whom would walk there huge st bearnards dog with a barrall around its neck for a walk from the pub
to give the dog exercise would take us to mr whetton,s and buy us a load of sweets mainly pinapple rocks for us
and that shop was across the road from an old shoe cobbler namel albert Lloyed a one man bussiness for lichfield road
and of course the gully oppersite to take you down into wainwrighht street aston
to help peoples minds to recall the dents hardware shop one before old robbos
and just before dents therre was frenchie mr french another fruit and veg but he was noy as popular as robbo
and of cours a little way along on the other side of the road was my grand parents familt cooffe shopp
where alot of people including kids and myself 1953 ceelebrated the queens coronation
where the brm studios was the picture house then there was a shop or two one was a coffee shop
then the hollond road and lichfield road corner the general post office
i was knocked down and hit an run by a driver in one of those baby austind it took them three months to trace the driver
there was no legal aid in those days so i never got a penny only a metal plate in my leg which bridges right leg bone as
it completely smash it to fine powder and on my weekly follow ups after spending time in the general hospital
so i missed out on all those lovely indian summers we used to get on school holidays
best wishes as always ,,, Alan,,, Astonian,,,,,
 
Hi Guys
As a follow up on this case regarding the peggys shop and possibly brassworks
I have dived straight into my libary of books and dug out mr whetton,s shop on lichfield road aston
as i have just previously reported on my thread as a kid born and bred yards from the shop
and as you see its now slade confectory sweet shop 1956
which i agree its states slade confectory sweets 1956 so thats when he changed hands for some reason nor other
but at least from the 1940,s to 1956 it was mr whettons shop
i have e,mailed ray giffinn to night whom weall know as a long standingmember of this site to confirm to me i am correct in
saying yes it was mr whettons shop like me ray lived along from the shop at that time on the corner of sandy lane
by the vine pub
Also i have down loaded another picture for our other member making statement of Ledsam street
regarding the irish community and the painting and decoratiung shop in ledsam street
making and storing dynomite explosives and beein raided
so if you do not mind me asking the moderators to put the opicture of that particlar shop on his thread
for him and may be any other member would like a copy of it
especialy if they are from ledsam street or even ladywood
best wishes to every one Alan,, Astonian,,,,
 

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To confirm, 124 Lichfield road in 1939 is listed as Slade bakery. In the 1956 Kellys it is listed as James R Hewitt, baker, and in 1965 as Mrs D Hewitt, baker. None of th Kellys seems to list it as Slade confectionary
 
well mike are you saying that its not a sweet shop when it clearly see the sign above the shop windows stating confectionay
so may be then this people have taken it over and may be gona chang trade but in the mean time whom ever taken the picture was to eager
regards i aint to bothered about bakery or sweets all i am saying prior to them moving in
it was whettons shop , sweet shop and i know some where even in the past of the forum it been on here years ago a picture of whettons shop , it makes me smile some time on here about some things i lived next door to a pub and you get some body saying i am wrong
which of course i amreferring to another bussines on lichfield roa right at the bottom of our terrace the widdows arms
this is afew years ago and ray at to step in to confirm it was before they changed the name in mid fiftys
i do not go by refence books or records i only go by what experience i have and frequenting these premises for years
you know your self these guys whom go around and take records of yesters years
but all i am stating is in the early years it was whettons and i will find that record from some where in the history that particular shop until 1955 was whettons best wishes Alan,, Astonian,,,
 
Lichfield Rd Electoral Register 1955.JPG

Re: Slade Confectionery
Looking again at the Electoral Register for 1955, it shows a John and Rose Wetton living two doors away from the Hewitts.
 
Alan. I made the mistake of looking for a sweet shop at first, and it was not until I saw Brasscaster's post that I remembered that in the 19th, and early 20th century, confectionary often meant fancy cakes and other items, rahter than sweets.
 
Hi mike
If it was not for the fact that i lived yards from there shop and spent every penny as a kid in there shop
and getting the penny bottle of pop from is little machine that pumped out the drink
and as i said mr whetton was the one and only true sweet shop specialist
meaning he specialized in sweet and chocolate only he was the only sweet shop along lichfield road
closest to our houses and terraces unless you traveled down to the aston cross and went into woolies
across the road from our terrace was greens the news agent a tiny shop where you would step down into the shop counters which if there was three customers you could not get in until one comes out
along from him heading towards whettons oppersirte site was mrs cox sold provisions and a hand ful of limited sweets but pricey
at the very bottom of our terrace entrance was a mrs barnes yet again limited on the counter
main shop dealer as a provisions grocery payable by food books one token if you arre lucky
But i will also say that whettons was running the shop up until the year i said and i do know that years ago on here
and i know i have a photo of his shop and seen it in reality the name whettond was on the shop window in proper print
also in a book of old birmingham history which i am trying to search through my old er boks in the loft
and he was a grumpy old man as well at time
I often think over the years if only we had more members from my end of lichfield road
whom could an input on many things in aston and the surronding area
i did EMail ray githfinn last night he was close to us as neibours as well but i do not know whether he got alright
i know he will e mail me when he gets it as he always does and to be honest ray knows alot more than me
regarding the early years of the twentys and thirtys because of his age
he most certainly knows his history around brum with out looking at records or charts
thanks mike for sending the thread of correction not just for my sake but other members and puting the records straight
And thanks for your hard work you do for us all and i do follow your threads when i come on
Even into the late evengs early mornings as you do , best wishes Alan,,,,Astonian,,,,
 
Hi Sticher got to say thats the best picture i have sen on this forum for many years as it,s a close up shot brillient
That would be the old guy selling is last remaining mails each used to stand outside the golden cross pub and when he got down to about a dozen he would cross over and stand by the billiard hall and the litle shop next door to catch loads of people coming off the number eight bus stop which was a hell of alot of people coming off they was workers my old man used to get off there when he worked in hockly there used to be a metal sign there and it would be where they can get the saturday buses to villa park
If you look across the picture to the right centre of Ansells you will see the number 39 bus stop and the little white wall i used to get that 39 bus there to take me to my grand parents in new cannal stret next to the dogs home and i would get off at Henrys dale end and walk down crooked lane i used to stand on the wall whatching men an ladies picking out the odd bottles on the track that was going around and around great stuff sticher best wishes Astonian,,,,Alan,,
 
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