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Erdington

Robert Ensor (bob) said:
So Erdington for me, my grand parents ( pops) got moved out of Nechalls Park Road and was relocated to Erdington on the Lyndhurst Estate on the top floor of one if those blocks of flats I think they where brand new,. but these where old folks getting moved to the 10th floor ?, What I do recall was the sign for the sign company painted on the wall of a guy on the ladder paintingi the sign as you claimed the hill past the church and the park ? A little help ?
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I remember the Bloke on the ladder is it still there who ever did the painting was blinking good
 
Robert Ensor (bob) said:
So Erdington for me, my grand parents ( pops) got moved out of Nechalls Park Road and was relocated to Erdington on the Lyndhurst Estate on the top floor of one if those blocks of flats I think they where brand new,. but these where old folks getting moved to the 10th floor ?, What I do recall was the sign for the sign company painted on the wall of a guy on the ladder paintingi the sign as you climbed the hill past the church and the park ? A little help ?
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Had a great friend that lived at 30 Kentmere Tower on the Lyndhurst Estate.
 
Alberta said:
Great memories Jennyann.I went to all the same places and when we were short of money we just walked along the village and always met someone we knew to have a chat with.
Bought our first bedroom suite from the furniture shop under Carlton club, was it Hearns?

Shoe shops were fantastic,had my first pair of High(ish) heels from Dolcis.

Cinema was so affordable we went 2 or 3 times a week.

The Palace,Erdington Picture house,the Pavilion,the Plaza.

Remember the National school most of the children from Erdington Cottage homes went there.

Had a Saturday job in Woollies.

My exhusband worked in Wrensons,the one at the Six Ways end of the High street,there was another on the Green opposite the library.
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My friend and I used to work in Woollies on Saturdays in 1968 on the biscuit counter, we were allowed to take home biscuits that were broken at the bottom of the big glass topped boxes on the pick and mix, needless to say we would occasionally drop a box or too on way down from the stockroom to help the biscuits to break
 
I've just found the forum and signed up today. I feel like I've been down a wormhole looking at the past. I grew up in Stechford but went to school in Erdington 1971-1978 and worked in Littlewoods on Saturdays.

I've got strong memories of the swimming baths, the library, Owen Owen and troach drops! We had a school trip to The Highbury Little Theatre. There was also a record store - perhaps HMV? I remember being upstairs looking through the LPs and overhearing a girl ask her friend if Paul McCartney had left Wings because there he was, pictured on a Beatles album.

I remember the first disco I went to was in the High Street somewhere, I think on the left as you head away from Six Ways. A memorable night as I tripped over my long skirt whilst wearing my platform shoes.
 
FlaxleyGirl said:
I've just found the forum and signed up today. I feel like I've been down a wormhole looking at the past. I grew up in Stechford but went to school in Erdington 1971-1978 and worked in Littlewoods on Saturdays.

I've got strong memories of the swimming baths, the library, Owen Owen and troach drops! We had a school trip to The Highbury Little Theatre. There was also a record store - perhaps HMV? I remember being upstairs looking through the LPs and overhearing a girl ask her friend if Paul McCartney had left Wings because there he was, pictured on a Beatles album.

I remember the first disco I went to was in the High Street somewhere, I think on the left as you head away from Six Ways. A memorable night as I tripped over my long skirt whilst wearing my platform shoes.
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Welcome to the Forum Flaxley Girl, you will enjoy this "hole" :) I am very sure!
 
Hi Flaxley Girl, Nice to see you on the forum. I too went to Erdington but quite a while before you. There's a thread on the forum for the school. Hopefully this will take you there - if not Put Erdington Grammar in the search box (top right hand corner).

Erdington Grammar School

Just to make it clear for anyone who reads this thread later, the photos in post #5 are of the house where Penny's aunt lodged not of the school. I seem to remember that Erdington Grammar school was built in around 1926 but whether it was something else before I don't know. Part of the playing...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk

The dance you went to was probably Mother's above a furniture shop. It was originally The Carlton. Oh the days of platform shoes and long skirts!
 
Lady Penelope said:
Hi Flaxley Girl, Nice to see you on the forum. I too went to Erdington but quite a while before you. There's a thread on the forum for the school. Hopefully this will take you there - if not Put Erdington Grammar in the search box (top right hand corner).

Erdington Grammar School

Just to make it clear for anyone who reads this thread later, the photos in post #5 are of the house where Penny's aunt lodged not of the school. I seem to remember that Erdington Grammar school was built in around 1926 but whether it was something else before I don't know. Part of the playing...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk

The dance you went to was probably Mother's above a furniture shop. It was originally The Carlton. Oh the days of platform shoes and long skirts!
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I was at St. Agnes' which was in Holly Lane at the Sutton Road end - now St. Edmund Campion - which it became just before I left. I remember the Erdington Grammar girls getting off the No. 11 bus a few stops before I did at Six Ways. I hadn't thought to look for threads on schools - I might end up spending a lot of time here ha ha!

Mothers sounds like an amazing place! I was 10 years too young so would have missed all that fun, but so many bands I would have like to have seen. It is possible it was where I went in 1971, but I'm not sure. I just remember the disco being a long hall. I think it was upstairs - boys round the edge and girls dancing, as we did :)
 
I found this photograph some time ago but the quality is not very good. Perhaps someone will be kind enough to sharpen it up please? It shows the celebration for Queen Victoria's Jubilee. I think it also shows the old post office in the background. I seem to remember a discussion with Lyn about the plaque on the wall. I suppose that would be the ideal place for the P.O. as it was near to the turnpike road and toll gate.
 

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  • Erdington Celebrations.jpg
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Lady Penelope said:
I found this photograph some time ago but the quality is not very good. Perhaps someone will be kind enough to sharpen it up please? It shows the celebration for Queen Victoria's Jubilee. I think it also shows the old post office in the background. I seem to remember a discussion with Lyn about the plaque on the wall. I suppose that would be the ideal place for the P.O. as it was near to the turnpike road and toll gate.
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I've had a go at upsizing it and sharpening it... not brilliant!

Erdington Celebrations-gigapixel-scale-4_00x.jpg
 
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Pedrocut said:
Whereabouts in Erdington was the picture taken ?
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These photos show the 'village green' at a later date as it was enclosed to celebrate Victoria's jubilee in, I think, 1887. There used to be a plaque which you can see on the column in the coloured picture but it was moved during 'improvements'. Janice posted the black and white photo in 2014 and remarked on the plaque. The shops in the celebration photo are those on the right. The buildings on the left are still there.

The Green Erdington.jpgErdington High Street.jpg
 
Astoness said:
will need to check this but i think victorias diamond jubilee was june 1897
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Firstly, I forgot to say thanks to everyone who had a go at improving the picture. It wasn't a good image in the book in Sutton library but worth putting in and much improved by everyone's efforts.

Lyn, It was her Golden Jubilee in 1887 so that dates the picture nicely. There is a picture of the plaque by ellbrown on flicker
https://flic.kr/p/nG7BVj
. By the time I remember it, all the railings had long gone.
 
PS. I don't know how I managed to insert that picture - I just put a link to flicker. It must be magic - or the wonders of technology!
 
thats great pen so 1887 dates the photo...just goes to show we cant alway believe what google says

lyn
 
Hello Green Genes. Nice to meet you. I'm not going to be of much help with the title of the book I'm afraid. Sorry. I took the photo from a book in Sutton Library and although I thought I'd written the title down, I can't seem to find it. I will continue to look for it though. It was a book purely of photos of Erdington and the last time I went to the library I couldn't find the book which was really frustrating. Many of the reference books have 'gone missing' but as soon as we're able to get into the building I will definitely look for it again.

Is it this building or the spiritualist church you are interested in?
 
Lady Penelope said:
Hello Green Genes. Nice to meet you. I'm not going to be of much help with the title of the book I'm afraid. Sorry. I took the photo from a book in Sutton Library and although I thought I'd written the title down, I can't seem to find it. I will continue to look for it though. It was a book purely of photos of Erdington and the last time I went to the library I couldn't find the book which was really frustrating. Many of the reference books have 'gone missing' but as soon as we're able to get into the building I will definitely look for it again.

Is it this building or the spiritualist church you are interested in?
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Thanks Lady Penelope, that's really helpful. I'm itching to get back into the library, I have a long list of stuff to read up on!
My interest is a little weird, I am looking into Arthur John Leeson, who lived at Leaholme on Short Heath Road. He was a photographer friend of Benjamin Stone. He took the Parochial House photograph (the one most people were pointing to - not the one from the book). Just thought there might be some more of his images in it/there might be one of him in there. There are thousands of photographs in Central Library but they are predominantly glass slides and fragile. He's an interesting chap, was in on lots of organisations and worked as Secretary for the Council.
 
Pedrocut said:
Staffordshire Advertiser, November 1933. If you want me to look for further references just say.
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Thank you so much, I totally forgot to look at Staffordshire news articles, forgetting there lots more papers in those days.
You've given me loads more to look at!!!
 
Hi Again Green Genes, I think I've got confused (it happens a lot!) and I thought you meant the other picture. In your post #618 you mention Leaholme and I used to live just round the corner from there. I expect you have seen the picture in 'Images of England, Erdington, Volume II'. If not there is a lovely picture of Leaholme and also one of the garden with croquet on the lawn. Let me know if you haven't seen these and I'll scan them for you.
 
Lady Penelope said:
Hi Again Green Genes, I think I've got confused (it happens a lot!) and I thought you meant the other picture. In your post #618 you mention Leaholme and I used to live just round the corner from there. I expect you have seen the picture in 'Images of England, Erdington, Volume II'. If not there is a lovely picture of Leaholme and also one of the garden with croquet on the lawn. Let me know if you haven't seen these and I'll scan them for you.
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Oh, I can't remember seeing it. Yes, I live very close to Leaholme, or the patch where it used to be, it's very interesting. The Erdington one that is, there are a few jotted around the West Midlands - seems the Leesons named several houses Leaholme!
 
Hi again, I've had a new printer and scanner so I'm afraid this is the best I can do at the moment. Hopefully somebody can improve it for you. They usually do - very nice people on this forum.

I understand that the man in the picture is a Mr Davis.

Leaholme 001.jpg
 
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