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WITTON LANE ASTON

lyn Big Thanks for them, 1st pic first house my Gran n Grandad living there at that time, the 1957 pic with the Tram depot used to past walk there often Thanks
 
Great pictures of Witton Lane, on a few occasions I remember queuing from Witton Road, round the Aston Hotel, up Witton Lane, and when reaching the Holte thinking it won’t be long now before I get that cup ticket!
 
Dave M said:
lyn Big Thanks for them, 1st pic first house my Gran n Grandad living there at that time, the 1957 pic with the Tram depot used to past walk there often Thanks
Click to expand...

well i will go to the foot of our stairs dave :D it just goes to show that these photos are worth posting..never know what is going to turn up...

lyn
 
Great pix again, Lyn! Memories come flooding back.... The timber gate to the right of the wire gate in Photo 3, between the long brick wall and the old bus-garage, led up to what was a Territorial Army premises back in the 1950's. I think I've got the location correct. I delivered papers for a short time, for a newsagent on Witton Road (forgotten the name of the shop, but a Mr Allen was the manager) and had to deliver to the TA place. One morning I opened the side gate, got half way up the path, when a huge dog appeared and came for me - I dropped the paper, legged it, and just managed to close the gate. And fled. Whoever lived in the TA place complained to Mr Allen who fired me! However, for just five bob a week and the risk of being savaged, it wasn't worth it!

G
 
The white painted brick building on the left of the sixth picture is where I started my first job - as a trainee with Harborne & Grove Architects who occupied the upper floor. (In that photo the entrance door looks to have been bricked up). That was August 1966 or 67. My take home pay was £3 a week. The upper window on the front was Mr Harborne's office. Our Drawing Office window looked down into the cobbled yard of an engineering works (John Maddocks was boss there) which is just off the left of that picture but shows on the fifth picture. The old tramshed beyond was at that time a showroom for the Ford dealer Hanger Motors. A thick pane of glass from one of the trams was the surface on which we trimmed prints of drawings, using a razor blade. Miss Murray was the elderly secretary/typist. I was there about 2 years before moving to an architect in Redditch
 
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The photo of the rear of the Tenpin Bowling Alley brought back memories...the main entrance was on Trinity Road, between the Holte End and the Holte pub. For about a year during the mid-1960's this is where I spent most Saturday afternoons, and I did get a bit good, to the extent that I was once asked if I fancied joining one of their teams. Well, not really...I took girl-friends there, that was my main reason for going! I wonder why tenpin fell out of fashion - it certainly wasn't expensive to play, although the refreshments they sold certainly were. Does anyone know when the Villa bowling-alley closed?

G
 
The Borough of Aston Manor Tramways Depot (as it is now), can be seen on the left in pictures 5 and 6 of the first post. I expect this is already on here somewhere but perhaps it should be included in this thread.
 

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