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Hockley 1957

Heaton Street.jpgHarborne, there wasnt any shops as such in Ford Street, so presumably it would have been Lodge Road. Around that area would have come under All Saints. All Saints school annexe was in Heaton Street. A picture for you here.
 
lynne webb said:
Ozzy lived in Lodge Road Aston, not Hockley.
Lynne
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yes lynne thats right no 14 lodge road aston..the house is still there and lived in...until 3 years ago because it was the only lodge road i knew of i automatically thought it was the one in hockley..
 
I thought it was the only Lodge Rd around, too. Never mind, thanks for putting me right anyway.

Does anyone remember the polishing shop in Farm Street? It wasn't really a shop but a black hole with rotting floorboards. Alf Sargent used to work there and whenever I went in with my dad I used to be fascinated by the shiny silver jaguars for the Jaguar cars.

Bobbo we probably did bump into each other quite often. We never went to the Palladium mum always took us up to the Villa for the Saturday matinee (6d admission?) and we'd sit glued to our seats watching Flash Gordon or that news film that was always coming on. I do seem to remember a clock in that passage, too.

Harborne
 
hello harborne, we probably sat next to each other in the villa cross too....i have a faint memory of what we call the " polishing " shop, and that is the " polishing smells "....one of my sisters lived close by and when i used to pop down the road from villa st to visit her it was one of the first smells to greet you. mind you, i suppose in equal measure, the fish and chip shop nearby was also a strong contender as well...harborne, you mentioned DORIANS shoe shop on the brook. sometimes they would have their canvas blind pulled down above the pavement and while our mom shopped in the butchers next door i would take the opportunity to swing on the arm of the blind, this was obviously at the risk of getting a "cuff " off the shopkeeper...never did me any harm?..............................bobbo
 
Oh so it was you swinging off the flipping thing was it! LOL.

Do you remember Wacadam's Dairy down Farm St and the undertakers. I can still remember the smell of sour cream at that dairy and my sister always maintains she found a body in one of the coffins at the undertakers one day!

Harborne
 
... And McEvoy & Pinnington, a factory down Farm St... Don't know what they made there but I fell outside there while running down the road once and I still have the scar today but it was my pride that was hurt more than anything!

Harborne
 
Serving at Kenyon Street one did traffic duty on Hockley Brook. You could be posted to it for two hours at a time, on ones daytime traffic hours. On the hour for a few minutes you would be relieved by a colleague on an adjoining beat. You would reciprocate when his traffic duty time came around. For me it was straight to the dairy and a pint of Jersey cream milk to wash away the traffic fumes from the throat. Never tasted better milk before or since. Will.
 
harborne, i think mcevoy & pinninton was some sort of cash and carry type of place and later moved into hunters rd, about two or three hundred yards down from the welfare centre.
 
Bobbo we were gone before then so didn't know that, thanks.

Harborne
 
I am new to this site and its a revelation! my family lived in Hockley from about 1958-1965/66 when we were rehoused for the demolition process to build spagetti junction, we lived in guest street and had to share a back garden (patch of grass) with three families including the toilets ( 2) for 11 people with the old tin bath hanging on the nail on the wall. we also had a wash houses in the yard. opposite our house was Blooms furnture store/yard and next door to them was two neighbours the Dolphins and the beards both had lots of children mrs dolphin used to take in sewing and mr Beard used to drive a lorry full of animal skins the smell in summer was horrific but it didn't stop us getting up front for a drive around the block!. just past the entry from our house on the corner was the bookies and the pub ( dont know the names my freinds dad owned the sweet shop. it was a sad day when we left although this was done when my sister and I were away at open-air school where we had been sent for ill health we used to get the coach to take us to skilts at ickneild street clinic, we stayed there for quite a few years I was 4 when I arrived at skilts and 11 when I left, we went home to a nice house in caversham road in Kingstanding and I attended Kings Rise school then Marsh hill grammer school in Erdington.
 
Hi i lived off Hunters Rd in Wretham Rd from 1950-1966 and went to Harry Lucas school some evennings my friend and i would go on our bikes down to Hockley Brook to meet /chat-up/etc a couple of girls who attended Harry Lucas one girl was Joan Perrins (whose parents owned Perrins newsagent/sweet shop and her friend Maureen Potter,also went to the Palladium cinema for the kids on Saturday mornings 6d downstairs 9p upstairs Happy days eh?
 
hi littlemilly;
just been reading your thread with great intrest and i liked your story and when i seen you lived in caversham
my aunt and uncle ans teo cousins lived in cavesham they was the smart family ; the cousins was peter and janet smart ;
and my aunt was maud ; and bill smart they both died living up there about four years ago and my cousin peter used to work at walter smiths the butchers in the circle and my no 1 Cousin christine lives around the corner in hurlingham rd she as ben there for donkeys years
her husband was wilf;timmons he was the double glazing up hurlingham rd he used to have his big van out side ;
and my nephews they are market traders down in the bull ring and on corporation square ;
best wishes milly ; astonian;;
 
my sister jeanette and brother peter went to Harry lucas school with not so fond memories I was a bit younger so went to farm street school and kings rise in between my term at skilts and cropwood even though guest street was classed as slum housing we did have some really good times and long hot summers. we lived in caversham road until 1970 when my dad got a job with timkins and we had to move leaving my brother behind living in castle vale many floors up a tower block and no working lift he worked at the clock garage for some years and then became an ambulance driver. my dad used to work at highcroft hospital as a medical hairdresser ( leave that to your imagination) we lived on the corner of caversham road over the road lived jack the fireman with his wife, further down the same side as us was a lady with one daughter called vicky there may have been others her husband died quite young. there was a young lady called doreen who my brother was sweet on for a while and he married yvonne burroughs who also lived in caversham road.
 
my elder sister jeanette married a boy from caversham road one of the staits and my middle sister married an irish bus conductor on the 33 route terminal at stones. I'm afraid I dont remember the smarts if my parents were alive they may have done I will have to ask my sister-in law. my dad was also part of the kingstanding community players. my mom and dad also worked at lucas and my mom later on worked at boots on the kingstanding circle. my middle sister worked at douglas construction as a secretary. my elder sister worked for boots and woolworths. The one thing I remember is when we left cropwood for the holidays and we came to our new house in caversham road it was thick snow and there seemed an awful lot of corners being used to terraced houses.
 
Hi Littleemily.Do you know the Floyd's my dad was brought up in Bendall Rd.My aunt still lives in Twickenham Rd and my cousins worked at Douglas Construction im sure a couple still work there.
 
I dont recall the floyd's I will have to ask my brother-in-law as he lived in caversham road longer than us . I am suprised that Douglas construction is still going my sister was only 16 when she went to work there and she will be 60 this year! time certainly flys.
 
Your right about RAYBONE , it was on the bus depot side of what is now Hockley flyover , My brother worked there briefly , they made spirit levels etc . I was born at 3 back of 213 great king street , then moved to Anglesley st until we moved to the new maisonettes in summer lane in 1967
 
hello harborn

when we were kids we lived just down from the benyon pub. remember the dairy and the undertakers and the oueens pub on the corner. went to st marys infant school in brougham st.then we moved to geach st of summer lane.. happy days
 
Just got back online after ages off. Thanks to everyone who joined in this topic and for all the lovely pictures. Bobbo was it you who asked if there was a clock around somewhere between Hunters Rd & Soho Rd (might have got this wrong but I've been scanning all this for ages now & my eyes are crossing!) Anyway, I seem to remember a clock hanging from H Samuels but I could be wrong. There was also a blue clock-looking thing that the police on point duty on Hockley Brook used to use. Can't think of anything else.

That photo of Izons the chemist brought back memories. They used to sell fruit juices in plastic fruit shapes like the Jif Lemon now, but they were about four different fruits I think. Further up from them used to be a shop that smelt of coffee beans & cheese and I used to love going in there. That shop is probably responsible for my present coffee addiction! Slightly further up from that was a cafe or something where mum used to fetch dad's lunch from on a large plate with a metal cover on it.

I well remember the Villa matinees Bobbo but never went to the Palladium ones as mum used to do her shopping at Villa Cross.
 
Just remembered the name of the woman who worked/owned the outdoor in Hunters Rd - Mrs Messenger. I well remember staring out of our window at the word Walpamur too, wondering what kind of word it was. They were advertising Dulux and Dulite paints.
 
harborne said:
Just remembered the name of the woman who worked/owned the outdoor in Hunters Rd - Mrs Messenger. I well remember staring out of our window at the word Walpamur too, wondering what kind of word it was. They were advertising Dulux and Dulite paints.
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Walpamur-The name was made up from the "Wall Paper Maunufacturers" name.
 
harborne said:
Several generations of my Burgesses were in the metal industry and worked at Bulpitts including dad before he went to Buncher & Haselers. I still have some of the stuff he made at Bulpitts and it's all still in good working order; thick-based goods and you can see the spun pattern on the bases.
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Did your Burgesses live near the old Hockley bus station? My Gran had a cousin who married a Fred Burgess, and they lived in a "back to back" next to the bus station.
 
Bryn Meurig said:
Did your Burgesses live near the old Hockley bus station? My Gran had a cousin who married a Fred Burgess, and they lived in a "back to back" next to the bus station.
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Hiya Bryn, yes there were Burgesses dotted all around that area, I now understand. At the time though I don't think mum or dad knew because they were never in touch with them. Having traced that family back several generations though, they all started with one or two who suddenly appeared in Brum I don't know where from but the line continued from there so the Hockley & central Brum ones were all from the same family. We lived in Hockley ourselves until I was 8 and often passed that bus station.
 
hi bryan;
my aunt and cousins lived directly across the rd in the back houses entry facing the bus garage i wonder if you knew them bryan and barry phelps
bryan was always playing foot ball in the street and in the big yard where you could come out in ford street he was a popular kid
and may i add your name sounds familiar to me as i met with a kid called burgess and i am sure he was a bryan; as well ;
still that part of the question does not matter just to asked really if you knew the two lads bryan and barry phelps
i recall one years they had a huge bon fire in the big yard up the back to back houses
best wishes Astonian;;
 
Astonian said:
hi bryan;
my aunt and cousins lived directly across the rd in the back houses entry facing the bus garage i wonder if you knew them bryan and barry phelps
bryan was always playing foot ball in the street and in the big yard where you could come out in ford street he was a popular kid
and may i add your name sounds familiar to me as i met with a kid called burgess and i am sure he was a bryan; as well ;
still that part of the question does not matter just to asked really if you knew the two lads bryan and barry phelps
i recall one years they had a huge bon fire in the big yard up the back to back houses
best wishes Astonian;;
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Nice to hear from you, Astonian, but I'm afraid I didn't know the boys you mention.

The place you describe is exactly where I remember, and I sure it was Ford St, although trying to find it on a map recently, I wondered if it was Heaton St. What do you think?
I only know it from visiting my grandmother's cousin and her family who lived there when I was quite young. Their names were Elsie (nee Yates) and Fred Burgess, and they had a daughter, Carolyne. They were moved to Gypsy Lane, Witton in the late 1950s (when the back to backs were cleared?), and I think Carolyne still lives in the Witton area.

Elsie was my Gran's first cousin, and they were from the Hollins and Holland families - I believe they were all jewellers. The Hollins's lived in Gt. Hampton Row, Richmond Terrace, Bridge St. West, and Whitehead Rd, before moving to Handsworth, and the Hollands in Hampton St. and Barr St.
My Gran's father was a Farrell, from another jewellery family, who lived in Great Hampton Row, New John St. West, Guildford St, Victoria Rd,and Lennox St. They originally came from Ireland about 1800, and ended up in Brum via Liverpool and Massachusetts, USA (they regularily went back and forth across the Atlantic in the 1800s!)

Best stop now before I go right off thread!!
 
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