Kingstanding

[irene floyd]

Lovely Pic's Phil.Have You Any Of Bendall Rd In the 60s? Irene

 

[Phil]

Irene

Sorry I can't even get close, perhaps someone else might be able to help.

 

[lesr1]

Thanks for putting the photos back on Phil...getting a lot of enjoyment from them.The second photo in post 1108(College Rd) is well before I was born.Can any one tell me if the church spire is the one in Witton Cemetary.If not can someone enlighten me where it was taken from.

 

[irene floyd]

Phil.Thank's Alot.I Hope Someone Else May Be Able To Help Me.Irene

 

[Phil]

lesr1

I seem to remember this question of where the photo at post #1108 was taken from being asked before. I can't remember if it was here or somewhere else. Though I think the consensus of opinion was it was taken from the roof of the library at the junction of College Rd & Hawthorn Rd which must have been newly built or in the process of being built at the time.

 

[cal1966]

Brilliant!!! Thanks again Phil

 

[jennyann]

Great photos Phil. Seeing those shops by the Mayfair Cinema brought back memories. I think the buildings are still there with different
shops. I loved going to the Mayfair Cinema in its day. lsr1, I think the far distant church spire is Aston Parish and the one on the right is in Witton Cemetery. Not sure if the Witton Cemetery Chapel in the photo is one of the two that were demolished in 1980.

 

[Phil]

jennyanne

A slightly better photo of the Mayfair Cinema for you.

 

[jennyann]

Thanks very much for the photo Phil. The Mayfair wasn't a top of the line cinema in it's day.
It served the area which was really growing when it was built just like the Plaza at Stockland
Green. The Kingstanding area also had the Odeon so the residents had a choice of films on a weekly basis.

 

[Tam]

Did anyone live in Charlton Road during 1955/57?

 

[golightly]

Hello--does anyone remember (and have a photograph of) a cinema in Rookery road Handsworth--(might well be named after the road), because I lived near there in the late 1940's, and, with my sibblings, went regularly to the Saturday morning kids shows. All the usual stuff was shown--Laurel and Hardy, Batman serials, cartoons--and of course--cowboy films. We'd leave there in a great rush pretending to be on horseback and firing our guns--great memories of post war simple pleasures. Golightly.

 

[jennyann]

Hi golightly: There is a photo of the Rookery Road Picture House on this link. There is also a thread on this Forum about
what happened to the place after the theatre was closed down https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/40928
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=29255
I remember the place as The Plaza Dance Hall and also remember The Farcroft Hotel further along Rookery Road where
a lot of the men went drinking before appearing at the Plaza almost at the end of the evening.

 

[golightly]

Thanks for responding Jennyann. Now that I know the buildings 'afterlife', I'm not surprised to hear it eventually became a place for religion: that seems to be the final use for many of our Cinemas in the large citys of our country. At least, this saved some from demolition. Many of the larger and more illustrius ones were beautifully designed and decorated, especially the 'Art Deco' ones. As for the 'Dancehall days' period, you made me smile, thats exactly how it was, right up till the days of disco, when men could hide their shyness, and inadequate abilities more easily. I've looked at--possibly the only surviving picture of the 'Rookery'--and it's not quite how I remember it, but I was about 7 or 8 at that time. Thanks again golightly.

 

[Vivienne14]

scotts wheelwrights no 549 kingstanding road dated late 40s...this would have been situated on the same side as the hare and hounds pubs going towards the circle..

scotts garage kingstanding road dated 1955

Found a 1930 advert for G. Scott & Sons, Wheelwrights, Shoeing and General Smiths. Might have said before, but I have an inkling that the Smithy (Scott's Garage) roots possibly go way, way back. The village of Kingstanding centred around the Hare & Hounds (also once known as the Greyhound, and could also have been called the Fox Tavern) with the Smithy being located very close by. So I don't think Scott's Smithy was where the Texaco Garage is now - think we speculated about this somewhere in this thread. The Texaco Garage seems a bit too far away towards Kingstanding Circle. I think it was closer to the H & H pub, which would make sense in terms of shoeing traveller's horses etc. Would love to find out exactly where the original Smithy was. Shall have to do some more digging around. Viv.

 

[Vivienne14]

After a fair bit of trawling around I've now got a theory about the Smithy on Kingstanding Road/Holly Lane. Here are two maps; the first of 1884 showing The Greyhound (later changed name to Hare & Hounds) pub and the second is one Astoness posted (on the "Foden Marie ?" thread here https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=39369)



The 1884 map shows the village smithy next to the Pub and Beech Cottages next to the smithy. The later map shows a smithy located almost opposite Old Oscott Hill. Now I doubt there were two smithies in such close proximity (or would there be?). So I presume the original smithy next to the pub must have ceased and maybe a new blacksmith/wheelwright set up in old farm buildings near Old Oscott Hill when the Greyhound/Hare and Hounds pub was re-built (1930 ?). This new blacksmith/wheelwright was probably Mr Scott, whose business became a garage, then Texaco's petrol station. Or Mr Scott/his ancestors might have started the blacksmith business from the Greyhound/H&H location, then re-located down the road when the Pub was re-built. Bit of a flimsy theory, I know. If anyone can throw any further light on this, please do.

PS. To get your bearings on the 1884 map, the main road on which the Greyhound/later H&H stands is on Holly Lane/later Kingstanding Road. The road bearing off to the top left is Old Oscott Hill. The footpath coming into view (left) is from Old Oscott College and would have met Holly Lane/Kingstanding Road somewhere near Tresham Road is today. And I expect the walk up that footpath from Old Oscott College was a killer, must have been very steep! Viv.

 

[paul stacey]

I never really knew exactly where Kingstanding was, only that my sister Marilyn went to Archbishop Mastertons RC School, this was every morning from Weoley Castle.paul

 

[Vivienne14]

Hi Paul. Do you know what the connection was of Archbishop Masterton's School (I assume in Kings Heath) with Cardinal Wiseman School (or Maryvale ?) on Old Oscott Hill? Viv.

 

[paul stacey]

Hi Viv, I don't, its proberbly me getting it wrong.paul

 

[Brummie Teen Forever]

Hi Irene. Unfortunately we didn't live in Bendall Road until 1978/79 (and we didn't have a camera either!) Unfortunately, the people that will have lived there in the 60's that we knew will have long departed this world. I have Googled for you, but I see that Phil has posted a photograph taken from Bendall Road for you already (the same one that I found). This is very typical Bendall Road, exactly as I remember it, and how it still looked in 2008, the last time I had a look up there. Several of my friends lived in the houses that are in the picture, the houses are after the first bend, with numbers ascending. It was a fantastic road on a pair of skates, or a bike!

 

[G G Jean]

Do you remember the Mansell family from Bendall road?.

 

[Brummie Teen Forever]

Hi G G Jean. I am not very good surnames, as I quite young, but if you have any Christian names of adults and/or children, I may recall, or if you know approximately where on Bendall Road they lived? I lived opposite Sudbury Grove. There was a lady and her daughter on one corner (the name Michelle springs to mind, but can't remember if that was the lady or her daughter) then there was Ted, his wife and daughter on the other corner. There was the black Christian family. Their granddaughter Ebony used to visit during the holidays, she was my good friend. There were the Butterleys, the family next to them, Mrs Alexander, us, the old man next door who was Harold, but he passed away and I can't remember who moved in, Nell, the the Gibsons. I remember a family right around Bendall Road, about No. 108, the mum was Cora, she had children Andrea and I think Michael. I remember the Mills family, but not too many other. I remember some families from Sudbury Grove, and the other Grove up the hill.

 

[nickcc101]

Hi G G Jean. I am not very good surnames, as I quite young, but if you have any Christian names of adults and/or children, I may recall, or if you know approximately where on Bendall Road they lived? I lived opposite Sudbury Grove. There was a lady and her daughter on one corner (the name Michelle springs to mind, but can't remember if that was the lady or her daughter) then there was Ted, his wife and daughter on the other corner. There was the black Christian family. Their granddaughter Ebony used to visit during the holidays, she was my good friend. There were the Butterleys, the family next to them, Mrs Alexander, us, the old man next door who was Harold, but he passed away and I can't remember who moved in, Nell, the the Gibsons. I remember a family right around Bendall Road, about No. 108, the mum was Cora, she had children Andrea and I think Michael. I remember the Mills family, but not too many other. I remember some families from Sudbury Grove, and the other Grove up the hill.

Hello
Do you remember a Thompson family, from 1966 it would have been May and Pauline, who lived in Sudbury grove towards the top on the right hand side looking from the main road.

 

[Brummie Teen Forever]

Hello
Do you remember a Thompson family, from 1966 it would have been May and Pauline, who lived in Sudbury grove towards the top on the right hand side looking from the main road.

Hi Nick.

Yes, I do remember May, she lived next door to my friend (approx. 1979 to 1984 when I lived there). She was a lovely lady, and she kept her front lawn very green! I remember Glynis who lived the other side of my friend as well.

 

[nickcc101]

Hi Nick.

Yes, I do remember May, she lived next door to my friend (approx. 1979 to 1984 when I lived there). She was a lovely lady, and she kept her front lawn very green! I remember Glynis who lived the other side of my friend as well.[/me QUOTE]
Thanks for the info. The last time I saw May would have been in 1967. I remember Mays husband Bill, who passed away in 1966, was a keen pigeon fancier and also worked at Fisher and Ludlow, they were a very nice family.

 

[irene floyd]

My Aunty Margaret n Uncle Ted (lagoe) Lived In Wardour Grove In The 70s Anyone Remember Them.Irene x

 

[Brummie Teen Forever]

My Aunty Margaret n Uncle Ted (lagoe) Lived In Wardour Grove In The 70s Anyone Remember Them.Irene x

Irene, did they have a daughter? Did they move to the corner of Bendall Road and Sudbury Grove at some point in the 1970's/80's?

I remember my dad's friend being Ted. I used to go over their house quite a lot. His wife and his daughter taught me to knit.

 

[irene floyd]

Hi.Im not sure if they lived Bendall Rd /Sudbury Grove.They had 2 daughters Jackie n Anglea and they had 3 sons Colin n Keith were twins and Mark.Don't know if it's the same people you know.Irene

 

[oldMohawk]

Greenholm Road probably the 1950s and the second shop from the left is the Marlborough Cafe. In my early working days I used to cycle past it four times a day. I worked in Witton and went past in the morning, back home for lunch, then back to work, and finally back home after work. I was very fit in those days!

On Google Streetview I notice the cafe is still there and appears to have steel roller shutters as do the shops next to it.
Today on streetview https://goo.gl/maps/NAsTJ

 

[Vivienne14]

This photo brought back a lot of memories for me. Corner of Kingstanding Road and Dyas Road. I remember (usually) queuing at Clarkes for fruit and veg. But they also sold cod roe which was a treat I loved from there. It was an incredibly popular shop in the 1950s/60s. In front of the shop was a long slope, the stalls used to be perched on the slope usually with the awning pulled out over them. Then there was Lathams next door, occupying the whole of the shop units to the left of Clarkes. Mum got her fancy net curtains from there (or 'nets' as they were always referred to). It was a very well stocked shop, can still smell the new material smell as you walked in through its doors. Didn't realise it was called Lathams Warehouse. Only ever knew it simply as Lathams. Then to the right of Clarkes there was Kirton's, owned by the footballer. Mum worked at Bywaters next to Kirton's. Consequently we were never short of bacon, chops or pork pies. What an unhealthy diet I must have had in those days. I remember the ironmongers off to the right, all his stock would spill out across that spacious pavement in front of the shops. But the line of demarcation between the ironmongers and his neighbours was clear from the red hoarding alongside each side of his shop. There was a dress shop along there somewhere too with dresses for the more mature lady. Think I said earlier on this thread that the shops to the right were all thriving shops in the 50s/60s. They would have set up there in the early 40s and by the 60s would have benefited from the boom in spending. There was Littlewoods, Woollies and Geo Mason over on Hawthorn Road opposite, but in the 60s there was room for everyone on the High Street. At the time this would have also have been a modern local High Street with every amenity but that still didn't stop us from the regular visits to the 'Town' shops at the weekend. Viv.

.

 

[Ray Griffiths]

Interesting picture I remember the greengrocers was Haynes before Clarks took over.

Kirton's newsagents was the pop in shop before and after school at Cranbourne Rd not that we had a lot of choice with rationing on.

Over the other side in Hawthorne Rd used to be Toy's sweet shop And Gwens across the road thi was the pop in shop from Seniors School In Dulwich Rd.

Lathams was the "House of Jack built" of Kingstanding

This photo brought back a lot of memories for me. Corner of Kingstanding Road and Dyas Road. I remember (usually) queuing at Clarkes for fruit and veg. But they also sold cod roe which was a treat I loved from there. It was an incredibly popular shop in the 1950s/60s. In front of the shop was a long slope, the stalls used to be perched on the slope usually with the awning pulled out over them. Then there was Lathams next door, occupying the whole of the shop units to the left of Clarkes. Mum got her fancy net curtains from there (or 'nets' as they were always referred to). It was a very well stocked shop, can still smell the new material smell as you walked in through its doors. Didn't realise it was called Lathams Warehouse. Only ever knew it simply as Lathams. Then to the right of Clarkes there was Kirton's, owned by the footballer. Mum worked at Bywaters next to Kirton's. Consequently we were never short of bacon, chops or pork pies. What an unhealthy diet I must have had in those days. I remember the ironmongers off to the right, all his stock would spill out across that spacious pavement in front of the shops. But the line of demarcation between the ironmongers and his neighbours was clear from the red hoarding alongside each side of his shop. There was a dress shop along there somewhere too with dresses for the more mature lady. Think I said earlier on this thread that the shops to the right were all thriving shops in the 50s/60s. They would have set up there in the early 40s and by the 60s would have benefited from the boom in spending. There was Littlewoods, Woollies and Geo Mason over on Hawthorn Road opposite, but in the 60s there was room for everyone on the High Street. At the time this would have also have been a modern local High Street with every amenity but that still didn't stop us from the regular visits to the 'Town' shops at the weekend. Viv.

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