Erdington High Street was my complete "universe" growing up. I started attending St. Barnabas Children's Church services on Sunday mornings when I was eight. Before that I attended the Baptist chapel in George Road and was entered on the Cradle Role when I was born. My Mother thought the Baptists were too strict and so we, my youngest brother and I, went to Erdington Parish, as we knew it. We could have gone to St.Mark's at Stockland Green where I was christened but the Minister at the time was quite strange.
That photo, which I imagine was taken in the early l950's, was typical of the High Street on Saturday, packed tight. As Alberta said, "Going to the Village" was the thing to do on Saturdays. Sundays, the street was totally empty. The High Street was also known as the local "Monkey Run" for quite a few decades. My father talked about walking over to Erdington Village from the Witton area with his brother and often mentioned what a lovely village Erdington was. This would have been in the early l920's.
I believe Littlewoods is still there, at least it was in 2004. My friend and I used to look under the sweet counter on Saturdays to find the wrapped sweets that had been dropped by the assistants.
I can remember the old National School that was across the road from Littlewoods, long gone now, a small precinct now stands on the site.
I also remember Hazel's the Undertakers, which is still there and also Mr. Hazel, who used to march down the High Street wearing a fly-away collar and as Alberta says he was very tall and thin. He had an assistant who dressed in the same style. Mr. Snape was his name.
I ended up going to St. Barnabas three times on some Sundays, well, to the Church House, which you can just see in the photograph opposite the Church, on Sunday afternoons to Sunday School and when I was in my teens I went to the evening service. Many of my friends from school used to go as well so it was my out of school social life in a way. My parents were very strict about where I went and what I did in that respect. I attended Discoverer's on Thursday nights, it was a mixed group and I learned how to dance the Gay Gordans and the Valeta! Lovely memories of dancing in the Carlton Ballroom above the furniture shop that eventually became the famous "Mother's" Rock Club. Things were great until the Teds arrived and the fights started! Good entertainment. :knuppel2:
I remember going to the Ladies in the Acorn pub on the corner of Church Lane and the High Street, visible in the photo but never going into the pub itself. Went to The Roebuck pub later on. The Palace Cinema, The Palace Ballroom and the Erdington Picture House were well attended. I also remember when the El Toro Coffee House opened up in the late l950's. It was a great hang out and people used to line up to go in. Espresso Coffee was all the rage then for teenagers. They had a juke box on the ground floor. I met my first serious boyfriend in there. :smitten:
The shoe shops in the High Street got a lot of my wages years ago and I remember my Mother taking me and my brother to Dick's Coffee House. Upstairs they had a tea room and downstairs they sold coffee and coffee beans. The smell was heavenly. We were only allowed to have one cream cake even though a cake tier was brought to the table with several cakes on it. :-\
The High Street is much changed now, of course. The trees in front of the church are still there.
The wall was lowered many years ago so that the churchyard could be seen. The old Vicarage was pulled down and a new one built. So many memories in that High Street for me.
