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Is this in Birmingham?

Looks rather like 'Whit Walks' which were held each year in the early 1900s in the Greater Manchester area and surrounding districts such as Saddleworth. I not sure whether it was a tradition in the Midlands.
Typical Whit Walk
WhitWalk.jpg
 
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oldMohawk said:
Looks rather like 'Whit Walks' which were held each year in the early 1900s in the Greater Manchester area and surrounding districts such as Saddleworth. I not sure whether it was a tradition in the Midlands.
Typical Whit Walk
View attachment 149579
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My image is also posted on a Facebook Unidentified photo group where I state Birmingham or Manchester area as I have seen many Whit-type postcards over the years from that area. But they do not have that street architecture in my view from many searches I have made but which screams at me from some of the great images on this site (I love some of your images). What is missing from my Birmingham searches are similar processions. It is also interesting that no one so far has spotted a possible location. I could be wrong but there is a late Victorian/Edwardian building style in Brum that does not seem to exist even locally in the Black Country & Coventry; & certainly not in my area of expertise: Worcester, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Kidderminster. I would be interested in your thoughts as to whether it could be Birmingham: images seem to be lacking from certain areas of that close-knit terraced housing belt around central Brum. I am not sure if it is worth checking this all out (but I enjoy learning more about Brum). Actually there are subtle differences between traditional Whit-type walks & my image which makes it even more frustrating. I am certain that the part of the procession shown in my image does have a Roman Catholic context.
 
Vivienne14 said:
All the hats are decorated with flowers. The collars on the men and boys look 1920s to me. The sashes worn by the girls are a unifying feature between the different groups with their specific banner. Do the sashes represent a cause or movement ? Do the flowers on the hats represent Easter ? Why aren’t there many boys in the line up? Do the girls represent purity? Viv.
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The likelihood is that this photo was taken during WW1 because of the news poster concerning the war. I would posit that it is not Edwardian.
 
i agree it does seem like it has a catholic context and also that those houses look like brummie houses but other than that i am stumped but will keep searching

lyn
 
From my childhood I know that Catholic churches held 2 processions - May (for Mary) and June (Corpus Christi for First Communions) - in my case boys and girls processed together. That was one difference - another was that girls did not wear sashes but the boys did - blue for Mary and dark red for Corpus Christi. Another difference was that we were only one parish but we did have grounds to process round. I wonder if the city centre churches joined together and processed round the streets (perhaps near St Chads) as they had no grounds to process round? The other puzzle, for me, is the banners - but I do know some parishes had a church banner and perhaps that was used to indicate the churches processing. For both I think we had flower girls - in our case we scattered petals but I imagine that might not be possible in the streets.
 
How about Devon Street, Birmingham 7 (Ran between Duddeston Mill Road & Saltley Road)

The procession could be going to - St. Anne's Church (Top left corner of map) School other side of the road.

Remember C. Lee (Charles Lee) 87 Devon Street, window name could have been advertising shop just along road.

End house by Church is No. 34 and they number 34, 35, 36 etc which I think makes 87 the end shop/house

Devon street map.jpg


devon-street-1950-400.jpg

St Anne's Church demolished in 1951 I believe

Duddeston

When it was built in 1869, St Anne's church was tucked in between rows of tunnel-back and back-to-back housing in a district increasingly being turned over to industry. This was a a small red-brick church designed by J G Dunn in a Gothic style with a chancel and nave, aisles and a bellcote. A...
ahistoryofbirminghamchurches.jimdofree.com ahistoryofbirminghamchurches.jimdofree.com
 
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great minds rob...i have been looking at devon st myself although if the photo is of catholic context i think st annes was c of e

lyn
 
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mw0njm. said:
i did my apprenticeship at a co in devon st,and was in 211 st anns scouts. i dont remember it being like that there were no flats.
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pete as we photograph collectors all know not all the locations are correct so maybe that one i posted is not of devon st...the 2 photos you posted i also have

lyn
 
The middle houses in the picture stand nearer the pavement, and there seems to be an large entrance between houses. This should show up on a map ?

Is this in Birmingham?

I have had this circa 1912 postcard for some time & I feel the style of building is sometimes found in Birmingham, particularly in Ladywood. It appears to be a Roman Catholic procession, proceeding slightly downhill. The shop window in the middle appears to be that of C. Lee or Clee at No. 120...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
i am not that certain about photo 2 on post 42 being devon st.... although i could be wrong but looking at this scottish map site i dont think you would get that view of the gas works.. also the right hand side of devon st did not have many houses...most of that side of the st was taken up by the gas works and a school...click on link below..dont forget if you slide the blue dot the maps will fade out to show you what is there now..i am addicted to this site..its a great little tool when researching


 
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Astoness said:
i have my doubts about photo 2 on post 42 being devon st....looking at this scottish map site i dont think you would get that view of the gas works.. also the right hand side of devon st did not have many houses...most of that side of the st was taken up by the gas works and a school...click on link below..dont forget if you slide the blue dot the maps will fade out to show you what is there now..i am addicted to this site..its a great little tool when researching


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yer lyn. true i remember if you walked up devon st from saltley rd. on the left was the gasworks wall. right up to the school.
on the right were the offices a small car park,then simms motor units, then a scrap yard, then the houses started. a small shop ie front room of a house mr and mrs pimms. the rest houses and the church and then summerset .rd on rhe right.
the pic #42 i got off the www i too dont think it is devon st, more like cato st
 
if you move the map pete ive just noticed there are 2 more gas cylinders at nechells place which would be visible from either cato st .will do a bit more research later on...work to do now :rolleyes:
 
This doesn't answer the question but......Just asked my Dad if he remembers a Catholic procession round the streets (would be much later than the photo but thought we might get an idea). He says he thinks there was one round the streets from St Chad's but can't remember why it took place. He thinks the ones I referred to were just in parishes.
 
The only word I am sure about on the banners is 'League'. The other words I can only guess at. Searching the web, I have seen some slight connections between the word 'League' and various Methodist movements.
 
I pointed out in an earlier post that this had all the makings of a No,8 bus thread :D

Reflecting on the scene there is a very large number of young girls, which could suggest a school procession - a church school procession, hence the minister and banners. Unusually, if for something Catholic, I cannot see a crucifix anywhere and Catholics more than denominations are seldom without a crucifix being evident somewhere. I remember the old St. Catherines, the No.8 bus passed by but this is not a major road; if it was, trams or early type buses would have used it. The lamp posts might be 'Brummy' but I have seen similar all over the realm - even on railway stations. But Birmingham's area, as it became, was not the same in then as it was still expanding its territory. High church Anglicanism does copy many Catholic traditions, particularly ritualistic ones, so that is another possibility.
 
pjmburns said:
This doesn't answer the question but......Just asked my Dad if he remembers a Catholic procession round the streets (would be much later than the photo but thought we might get an idea). He says he thinks there was one round the streets from St Chad's but can't remember why it took place. He thinks the ones I referred to were just in parishes.
Click to expand...

In May 1919 there was a Catholic procession carrying the relics of St. Chad from the Cathedral.
 
Taken in the timeline 1910-1920 there was a lot of controversy about Catholics parading with the statue of the Madonna and Child.
 
Could the parade have been anything to do with the Feast of Assumption. If so it would have been in August. And it could also account for the men wearing boaters. Viv.
 
I did wonder about the relics but they are not in the photo and I would have expected them to be just ahead of the celebrant.
I tried to see if the leading server was carrying a crucifix but side on it is hard to tell. Usually this would be carried by the person leading the procession.
Agree many high Anglican services might resemble RC services.
 
Pedrocut said:
In May 1919 there was a Catholic procession carrying the relics of St. Chad from the Cathedral.
Click to expand...
That's a possibility. Maybe the front of the procession - which for our research would be the important part - is not in the photo. A procession carrying such an item would be carried by a clergyman of rank, suitably attired attended by a canopy and acolytes carrying large poles carrying candles at each corner. An very important event.
 
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