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Erdington History

Hi Christine: What a wonderful collection of Erdington, Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham memorabilia you have. I have never seen so many postcards and photos of Erdington from that era. I attended Erdington Parish Church from the late l940's through to the late l950's and shopped initially with my Mother in "The Village" from 1945 on. I remember some of the buildings before they disappeared along the High Street. I spent a fair amount of time in the High Street this time last year. The painting of St. Barnabas is excellent. I had never seen a painting of the church before. I am assuming that the painting was in the church building at the time of the fire. Thanks very much for posting the link to your excellent site. Did you and Graham live in Erdington at one time?
 
Thank you for the link to your website. I have really enjoyed looking at all your pictures.
I am not familiar with Erdington but have become interested in it since I found some of my relatives lived there.
I am still searching for a picture of the Redlands - a large manor house where my family lived in Gravelly Hill.

Polly :)
 
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Hallo Jenny and Polly

Glad you enjoyed our bits and pieces. My Father in law was born in Gravelly Hill (literally under what is now Spaghetti Junction) early last century and when leaving the UK, the furniture was sent with all the contents of drawers etc., as is/was - he was a wonderful hoarder which has allowed me to add so much to the family history and it would be hard to throw out all those funny bits and pieces. (We have more and I may try to find the time to add other sections at some stage).

The 1961 versions of Erdington photos are when my husband returned to visit the UK and the later ones in 2005 when we were there ourselves searching St Barnabus Erdington for the family graves.

No the original oil painting wasn't in the church at the time of the fire but on the other side of the world and being one of those questions we never asked we assume it was purchased about 1932 as that is when my parents in law were married there. Checking recently I found that George Willis Pryce was a local painter, a Member of the Royal Society - images of two he painted of Handsworth appear on the Birmingham Museum and Art gallery website.

Christine
 
How wonderful that all these bits and pieces left the UK in the draws they were kept in!
What would we history fans do without lifes hoarders?

The painting is lovely (I had some Pryse relatives that lived in the Handsworth area but not Pryce).

Polly :)
 
Thanks for sharing your fascinating collection, Christine. I especially enjoyed looking at the Erdington mementos, as I was born there (9 Kegworth Road) in 1949. My maternal grandparents also lived there (37 Hidson Road) for many years.
 
Christine what a wonderful site with so much interesting items. I loved looking through them all. I often went to The Barley Mow in the early 70's when I lived in Sutton it was a lovely friendly pub. I was horrified when they painted it black! Some lovely old photo's and memories thank you for posting the link.
 
Hi Thylacine: Were yourmaternal grandparents called Strothers? I lived at No.40 Hidson Road growing up and 37 was across from our house. I am in touch with some of the younger neighbours from this street.
 
G'day, Jennyann!

My Mom's parents were Isaac "Ike" Strothers (1886-1971) and Ruby Strothers née Walters (1889-1959). They were both born and bred in Wolverhampton. They lived at 37 Hidson Road between 1934 and 1959. After Grandma died, we moved to a larger house in Sutton Coldfield and Grandpa came to live with us. We all emigrated to Australia in December 1964, and Isaac re-married in 1966 at the age of 80!

I remember their house in Hidson Road very well, but not much about the neighbours. My parents were married at Erdington Parish Church in 1945.

It's a small world, isn't it? Especially on the BHF. Thanks for your interest. Peter "Thylacine" Walford. ;)
 
Hi Peter: It is indeed a small world. I remember Mr. and Mrs. Strothers very well. They must have moved into their house around the same time as my parents. Those homes in Hidson were built starting in 1934. No.40 is still in our family. I only remember ypur grandparents having a daughter named Beryl. My father's family came from Wolverhampton. My father, whose main job was with MEB, did painting and decorating part time locally and did a few jobs for your grandparents. So your grandfather Issac ended up in Australia and got remarried. My parents may have known about Issac going to Australia. Sounds as though he lived a good life. Hidson Road is still very much the same as it was. I left to live in Canada in 1963 and my parents came to Canada several times to visit over the years.My fatherlived in Canada for a few years before he was married. I am in touch with one of your grandparents neighbours who lived at 35. Josie Parker was a good friend of mine. Her sister Brenda went to live and work in Mali in the l950's and Josie married a University prof from Brum and emigrated to the USA. She lives in New Mexico these days.
 
Jennyann, thanks so much for those memories! :)

Beryl Walford née Strothers (13 November 1922 Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton - 16 March 1998 Launceston, Tasmania) was my Mom. My Dad Kenneth George Walford (born 9 February 1917) is living in a nursing home here in Latrobe, Tasmania.

I seem to remember the name Josie Parker, but that's about all. I must ask my Auntie Betty about her. Elizabeth Mary "Betty" Strothers (born 18 September 1917) is Mom's older sister, and lives in a retirement village in Sydney. My Uncle Les (Leslie John Strothers 26 June 1916 - 11 July 2005) had seven children, six of them boys, so there are plenty of our Strotherses still thriving in New South Wales and the United States.

Peter.
 
Smashing website Christine many thanks.

Does anyone have any information on 'The Drive' or who lived there early on. Say 1850's. (Turn left off the top of Gravelly Hill go just past the Station/railway bridge and its on the left.

I'm guessing it was actually a drive that served a couple of 1820/30ish houses before some later victorian and inter wars development. Turned up a blak elsewhere and the grand houses have now gone.
 
Robert , The area was really country back in 1820/30's. I can't see a street in my old or modern maps actually called 'The Drive' - do you have any more information?

Do you have particular names you are after as I could look and see if I could find anyone? Christine





Christine
 
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Hi Christine!

I've just been reading the fascinating Gravelly Hill reminiscences of Arthur Ellis on your website. Thanks indeed for pointing us to these wonderful memories! :)

One of my main interests is the history of public transport in Birmingham and the Midlands, so I was particularly interested in Arthur's account of cab proprietor Mayner of 41 Gravelly Hill. The description of the vehicles and the "pub crawl" outing is absolutely priceless!

The Mayner family were involved in horse-drawn transport in Birmingham from a very early date. William Mayner started a Birmingham - Handsworth bus service in 1853, and in the 1860s he and his son (also William Mayner) ran buses in furious competition to Handsworth and Lozells. William Mayner junior moved to Brighton circa 1877, having done very well indeed from the bus business. By 1908 he was living in retirement at Hove, where he established the Anti Dangerous Motor League! The Mayner cab business at Erdington must have been run by a branch of the same family. Do you happen to know the full name of the proprietor?

I am in the process of preparing a detailed account of the Mayner family's involvement in public transport, which I will post in the "Buses" section of this Forum. I'll provide a link here when it is finished. Would you be so kind as to allow me to quote from Arthur Ellis's reminiscences? Such a colourful account would really brighten up my article.

Any additional information about the Mayner family would be most welcome. A picture would be the icing on the cake! ;)
 
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Hello Christine

Thanks for the reply. I attach a modern street map to show where The Drive is. The name of the road that escaped me is Hunton Hill. Going out of town, turn left onto Hunton Hill, over the railway bridge past the station on the left and its on the left.

Looking at google earth its clear that the much of the victorian development has gone, the houses that I'm interested in went to provide the new development around the loop at the end of the road. (The interwar houses still remain) Sorry I dont have names I'm looking for, I'm hoping these are bound up with the early development.
(Replacement map )
 

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Hallo Robert
Now you listed Hunton Hill I can now see The Drive on my modern map. I have attached a 1902 map of the area and it would appear that the un named road is what is now called The Drive (in red) Now I have located it I will try and see if I can find the occupants of the houses for you. - Christine
(Replacement map) Original map in post was originally incorrectly dated 1902. this was later corrected in post 25 to c1914
 

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Hallo Thylacene ( what an appropriate non de plume for someone living in Tasmania! )

Glad you enjoyed my Father in laws jottings and we are happy to allow you to quote from his reminiscences about the Mayners - I can send you a plain typed copy if you wish. With your interest in public transport I don't know whether you got as far as the 'Erdington & surrounds section'on the website and the pages from the book commemorating the opening of the Erdington by-pass in 1838 with the picture of 'shewing the congestion' at the village green High Street Erdington! Makes you wonder what they would think if they could see the traffic these days.

Anyway to the Mayners - I did some checking for you and I notice that William Junior did run buses in Sussex after leaving Warwickshire which you obviously know and I presume from the census entries he retired sometime after 1881 - I presume you know he died in 1924.
The Cab Proprietor living at Number 41 Gravelly Hill is George Mayner born abt 1868 in Handsworth (died 1927) and he is the nephew of William Junior being the son of Williams' brother George. (Most of George's siblings were born in Aston)
Next door to George at number 39 is his brother Wallace who is a cycle manufacturer toolmaker. Interestingly George appears to be a late comer to the transport business as in 1901 he is a Engineers Turner.
Their Father George (born about 1846 is a Cab Proprietor/Omnibus driver on various census (he dies in 1905). John (born abt 1837), elder brother of William Jnr and George (1846) also dabbled as a Cab proprietor at one stage. Let me know if you want more detail.

Christine
 
Robert a bit more information for your quest. Surnames of the eight houses in The Drive Hunton Hill circa 1911
1 Read
2 Smith
3 Read
4 Madeley
5 Sharp
6 Holland
7 Uninhabited
8 Perry

Hope they help - Christine
 
Christine,

Many thanks for your permission to quote, and the additional facts about the Mayners (almost all of which are new to me).

It seems that William Mayner senior was "a bit of a lad". In March 1855 he was caught red-handed melting down jewellery and convicted of receiving stolen property. He was sentenced to five years in prison, though by 1858 he was back "on the buses" in partnership with one William Tolley. I would love to know more about the elder William. Do you happen to know his dates of birth and death?

And here's a juicy piece of news about William Mayner junior. On 17 May 1898 he was granted a "decree of nullity" regarding his marriage to Charlotte Ann Matthews on the grounds that she was "his deceased wife's sister". He had originally married Louisa Eastman on 5 February 1867 at St Pauls Church in Aston. Louise died in 1887 and William junior married Charlotte Matthews on 15 December 1888 at Lambeth (Charlotte's previous marriage to a Mr Matthews having been dissolved). I'm pretty sure this bit of "gossip" relates to WM junior. Can you confirm any of these facts? And WM junior's date of birth would be useful if you happen to have it handy.

I now have to sort through my collection of Mayner facts and assemble them into some kind of coherent narrative. Thanks again for your help: in future I will perhaps communicate with you by "Instant Message" rather than clutter up this Erdington thread.

Peter "Thylacine". :)
 
Another thanks Christine.

The map shows the two older houses at the end of The Drive on the left. The buildings between the houses were the coach houses and stables. It appeared 'on the ground' (1950's) that The Drive originally came to the front of the houses with a 'turning circle'. The houses faced over the valley rather than onto the road. (The access to the coach houses would have run along the back of the houses.)

I had assumed that this change had been made when the 1930's houses were built, but your map puts this earlier, possibly when the the victorian infill on the right was built. I am again assuming that this infill was down to land purchased for the railway but I could be wide of the mark here as I'm not good with railway dates.

The land attached to the houses going down to the Slade extended to the terrace marked with hash lines on the map. For the first house (the uppermost one on the map) this terrace was occupied by tennis courts with steps down from the main gardens. The boundary beyond the terrace extended southwards to also delineate the garden for the last house. Along the high boundary wall between the houses there were large glasshouses built down the slope. Again these looked contemporaryy with the houses but they are not on the map, so must have been constructed later or missed on the revison.

Beyond the boundary that bordered the terrace was a field that was crossed by a path that gave access to the Slade. Traditionally this was said to have been used as horse pasture. (There were still horses on it in the 1950's) In the 40's, 50's and into the 1960's the first house was occupied by the Coopers, their married daughter and her husband.

Thanks again for the map it fills in a few more blanks.
 
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Robert - Have just realised that I made an error with the dating of the section of the map I sent - it is actually 1913 (see attached corrected copy) - have also attached a copy which shows the last two houses in The Drive and this map is of 1902. If you wanted to obtain full copies of these old Ordnance Survey maps which I find fascinating they can be bought from Alan Godfrey Maps (https://www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk/) I think they are £2.50 each . The 1913 one is titled Erdington (West) & Stockland Green Warwickshire sheet 8.10 and the 1902 is titled Gravelly Hill and is Warwickshire sheet 8.14
My apologies for my original error - Christine

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I wonder if I could ask a question - I have searched high and low but cannot find the answer to when exactly Tyburn Road was put through off Gravelly Hill - anyone any information please?

Christine
 
Thanks for the additional map detail Christine, I will also order copies of the full sheets. I have some earlier ones but they are far from clear or as detailed.

Tried the 1851 census for the Hunton Hill section accessing through the enumeration summaries with no joy and will go the the 1861 next, buts it takes a bit of time. I'm also not sure I will recognise the houses if I find them as The Drive was probably only a drive to houses with a name now lost!
 
Hi RobertS: I am pretty sure that one of those houses on The Drive became a Nursing Home at one time. I remember being taken there in 1946 to visit my Mother after the birth of my brother. Ten years later I used to catch the diesel from Gravelly Hill Station into Brum every workday and remember some of those large houses in that area.
 
Thanks for that JennyAnn although I had actually looked at that particular section previously (fantastic site - I have Bills site listed as one of my 'other links' on my website and now he has listed my website ) but I am trying to find out slightly more accurate dating - one because I wanted to try and see exactly where it comes off Gravelly Hill as in what houses were affected and also I have a photo of the first tram on Tyburn Road as well as an Alldays map which must be sometime prior to 1920 as there is no Tyburn Road and also no South Grove where the earliest listing I can find of households is 1920.

Many thanks
Christine
 
Thanks for information Jennyann.

If I had to make a guess I would think it might have been the second one, furthest down The Drive. Will see if I can confirm (although I'm not sure how at the moment!)
 
Christine;350502.....because I wanted to try and see exactly where it comes off Gravelly Hill as in what houses were affected and also I have a photo of the first tram on Tyburn Road as well as an Alldays map which must be sometime prior to 1920 as there is no Tyburn Road and also no South Grove where the earliest listing I can find of households is 1920. [/QUOTE said:
Well firstly it helps to put glasses on when looking at old maps - Tyburn Road is on the map in question - it wasn't the canal as assumed without looking further along and finding the well spaced out letters of the name ! Secondly have found that South Grove certainly existed prior to 1901 but on this map appears to be just shown as a gap on Short Heath Road. Thirdly I asked a question on the tram forum and Ray answered very quickly - it appears that the tram photo we have is 1920.

By the way RobertS this map circa 1920 I mention has a different configuration of your The Drive but perhaps that is one you already have - let me know if not and I will see if I can scan this rather delicate map.

Christine

PS Thylacine - I hope you received my reply regarding the Mayners' using the off forum system you suggested.
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