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69 Bromsgrove St

kjbaron

Brummie babby
Wondering if anyone can tell me what kind of an area Bromsgrove street was back in 1820s-1850s, what kind of people lived there and what was the standard of living ? I had GGG grandparents living at 69 Bromsgrove St who were wheelwrights and milkmen. Were the houses rentals or did people own them ? and what were the houses like? was it a high crime area ? I have 2 ancestors who were transported to Australia who lived there, any info is appreciated. thank you
 
Welcome

You’ll find many references to Bromsgrove Street on the Forum. Try a search - magnifying glass top right of this page. To get you started here’s an image posted by our late member Phil. It’s a view from 1957 but it will give you a fair idea of the type of street buildings in the 1800s. Viv.

430FE977-16B6-4E3B-9153-2CE38BC23A51.jpeg
 
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There are a few glimpses of Bromsgrove Street’s past. There’s the former Rose & Crown pub at the junction with Lower Essex Street (From 1958 it changed use to become the trades union Unity HQ). A very imposing building which must once have also served as an Hotel above the pub.

There’s a few more buildings at the junction with Henstead Street (the Diskery 99-101) which look to me to be late Georgian, early Victorian. Next door is the Wellington pub - Victorian. Images from Google Streetview.

Viv.

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CA7FE5BF-475B-41C6-BC2E-37C4D65291DD.jpeg
 
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The corner of Bromsgrove Street and Pershore Street in October 1957 - the ‘Stag and Pheasant’ pub, where the two constables were attacked by peaky blinders in 1895, was by now a shop advertising tiled surrounds

The corner of Bromsgrove Street and Pershore Street in October 1957 - the ‘Stag and Pheasant’ pub, where the two constables were attacked by peaky blinders in 1895, was by now a shop advertising tiled surrounds
 
If he was listed as a dairyman in the directory then I think he would have had a business run from that address and , from the census data lived there also. In the Whites 1855 directory he is also listed as a dairyman there, though the 1855 Post Office directlory does not list that address. The Whites directory does seem better for very small traders. However in the 1862 Corporation directory he is listed at that address as a well sinker.
 
Wow that is fantastic info, I hadn't looked at the Whites directory only the various Post Office directories or Kellys and had lost track of George after 1858 so I haven't been able to find a definite death date. William Johnson (Georges father) lived at that address from 1819 as first a wheelwright and then a milkman (children's birth records), George first appears at Bromsgrove St in 1844 as a sailor on a wedding certificate (he got his convict ticket of leave from Australia in 1839), in 1848 his father dies and he is on the 1851 census at Bromsgrove St with wife and mother and has taken over his fathers business. I am trying to find evidence for George and William Johnson living at Bromsgrove St from 1819 until they were transported, George in 1830 and William in 1833. I have found newspaper accounts of their crimes but nothing states a home address, George was a gold chaser and William a shoe maker. Any ideas of how to find a criminals address at that time ? or even who was at that address between 1819 and 1841 when the first census came out ?
 
If he was listed as a dairyman in the directory then I think he would have had a business run from that address and , from the census data lived there also. In the Whites 1855 directory he is also listed as a dairyman there, though the 1855 Post Office directlory does not list that address. The Whites directory does seem better for very small traders. However in the 1862 Corporation directory he is listed at that address as a well sinker.
Thank you so much, are the 1862 or later corporation directories available online anywhere ?
 
I don't think there were any other corporation directories. Certainly not online. The 1862 one is a bit peculiar as a few of the entries in the names section are different to the equivalent in the places section
 
I don't think there were any other corporation directories. Certainly not online. The 1862 one is a bit peculiar as a few of the entries in the names section are different to the equivalent in the places section
I don't suppose you could tell me where you accessed the file as I cant seem to find it online anywhere ?!
 
I don't suppose you could tell me where you accessed the file as I cant seem to find it online anywhere ?!
1862 is on Ancestry
1868 Kelly's does not have him listed under trades at all. Had he died by then?
 
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Nor is he mentioned in the 1867 edition.
I purchased the corporation directory (and its contents are now on a hard drive. Offhand Icannot remember which firm I purchased it from, though it very wel l may be one that does not now seem to exist. I will try and find the original disk
 
Nor is he mentioned in the 1867 edition.
I purchased the corporation directory (and its contents are now on a hard drive. Offhand Icannot remember which firm I purchased it from, though it very wel l may be one that does not now seem to exist. I will try and find the original disk
thanks so much for the help, hard doing this from Australia with not much chance of getting to Birmingham !
 
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