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St Mary's church Aston

mikejee

Super Moderator
Staff member
Found this cutting relating to the demolition of St mary's (from Ev. Mail 20.6.72)
Mike

s_church_2.jpg


s_church_1A.jpg
 
Hi Mike: Thanks for posting this cutting about St.Mary's. I remember how the church lingered on in a sorry state with the fund raising signs on the building for what seems like years. It was very sad. That was my Grandmother on my Mother's side church and she also attended the school. I wasn't exactly sure when it was demolished but now I do know.
 
That is very sad isn't it - but I suppose if they had no funds to leep it going they had no choice. Do you know what is on the site now? Is there anything to mark there was ever a church there?
 
My Dad and siblings as well his father and most of his family, my cousins etc went to St Marys School and church. They lived in Whitehouse St. I have some books from St Marys school as well as some certificates from the church Sunday school that belonged to my Aunt. Dad will be very interested in your photo and cutting, thanks very much for posting them Mike.
Amanda
 
Polly
It was on the corner of avenue road and aston rd north. From street view it looks like the present occupier is something called CapeGemini. All modern and boring.
mike
 
They should have put something there to mark the fact there was a Church there. Was there a Churchyard/graves? Do you have a picture of the Church before it was demolished?

Amanda - perhaps you could post some of the things you have from the Church? You could conceal the name out of the family member if needed, by putting a piece of paper over it before scanning. it would be a nice way of remembering the Church.
Polly
 
My Dad and siblings as well his father and most of his family, my cousins etc went to St Marys School and church. They lived in Whitehouse St. I have some books from St Marys school as well as some certificates from the church Sunday school that belonged to my Aunt. Dad will be very interested in your photo and cutting, thanks very much for posting them Mike.
Amanda
Hello A S Wood,
I used to go to St. Mary's in the 1950's and I used to play soccer with twins John and Kenny Wood who lived in Whitehouse Street virtually opposite the school. Also living near them was Roy Whitmore who was a mate of mine when at the school. If your dad or their relatives are the same two brothers, I would be very interested in hearing about them and also if they remember me. They were a year or maybe two, behind me. I remember them well.
 
Thanx Mike I also have pic's of the church, as it was where I was Christened in 1947 and I was in touch with a chap a few years ago who was even able to find out for me the name of the vicar who would have done the deed .
 
Hi Dave
sorry for the delay in replying but my keyboard decided to only issue ????? instead of letters. Most strange! Anyway, my Dad is Albert Millington and there were his friends the Fosters. He may be older than you, he is 76 now, so he was possibly a few years ahead of you.
regards
Amanda
 
I attended St Mary's Church, Aston for many, many years, I'm now 78 and joined the choir as a 6 year old. attending St Mary's school then meant that you had to go to church on all the 'feast' days, the bonus to this was, the school closed for the day after the service. St Mary's, although Church of England, was what was called 'High Church' which meant that the type of service's were very similar to the Roman Catholic style. when I first started attending the vicar was a 'Father Rhys', anyone remember him? he'd adopted the 'low church' style but about 1941/2 a new vicar was appointed --- a 'Father Hobson' ('Pomgolian', he would have christened you, and if your parents had 'the full works' I would have sung as you screamed!!) as the church was damaged in the bombing it received money from the government and with Fr Hobsons determined 'Scrounging when the repairs and decorations were completed the interior of the church was beautiful. for many years the congregation attendance was marvelous, even the Aston MP of the time, Woodrow Wyatt was a regular attender, but unfortunately, when all the re-building in Aston started, especially in the area around the church numbers fell away, in fact I myself moved to Stockland Green and became a member of St Marks, but thats another story. Don Clive.
 
Thanx for that Don...yes 'Father Hobson' that was the name I was told by the other chap. Yes my Mom would have insisted of the 'the full works' as you put it, as we were a 'High Church' family and in later years my elder brother sang in the Choir at St Albans High Church in Highgate. This site never ceases to amaze me, yet another connection to my past and family... fancy hearing from someone who sang at my Christening almost 63 years ago.

Thanx again Don.
 
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Don l have a question while you were a choir boy at St Marys,did you have a member David Tozer?? David went to my school Burlington St and l remember him telling me he was in St Marys choir l'd say this would have been in the early to mid 40's Brenda
 
Hi, Brenda, YES I remember David, I feel sure he was a fairly tall, slim lad with 'spiky' ginger hair, as I wrote in my 'post' the vicar went to lots of local schools to enrol lads for the choir. incidentally, my wife's brother went to Burlington St. school, 'David Hall' my wife's family lived in William Street.
 
Don, thank you for info on David Tozer,l remember him as a tall lanky boy who wore glasses,David was in my class at Burlington st sch l remember him as a very quiet boy, after we left the juniors l lost any contact with him as we all went our seperate ways....wonder what happened to him....l think he belonged to the well known Tozer family mentioned in Birminghams fire dept??...Btenda
 
hi there amanda
yes i went to that school and church as well am being a native of aston like your father
whom lived n white house street as i did live in the back house with my auntie maud and my nan
and next door to the lloyeds family whom we spoke abou in those days that hee mother and father had blue blood connections with the royals as it was known around the street in those days
and carl chinn mom and dad lived along the rd in white house st at the time of day
like me and one or to others your dad would or should remember mr fletcher
whom lived across facing the the church in h avenue
selling bits and bobs ; spares parts for the cars in those days like the baby austins
he used to tick about a dozen boxes of parts out side is house selling from 6d to half a crown
bulbs and head lamps and basicically thats where he big fletchers started there business before going to
the darthmout ring rd car spares bussiness at the school and he uch we used to get cocco for driksand the mlk in e afternon
have a nice da best wishes Astonian ;;;;
 
hi
yes there was a small churchyard and graves you could cut through to get to and from the school.I wondered myself what happened to them.My parents were married there and my brothers and myself christened there,also my nephew.My mom and her sisters went to school there.
pauline green
 
Hello dave
i know the name roy whitmore very well also the twins,were did you go after st marys.Can you jog my memory about Roy W.
Pauline
 
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