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Guildford Street Lozells

Attached - the Electoral Register for part of Guildford Street 1962.
(I notice that the Wells' neighbours were the Keens - The Keelings must have moved out by then to Rubery where Pat Keeling still lives I believe)
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Paul, I am puzzled that I didn’t know your family but around 1957 I had left school and then spent most of my spare time with friends in Handsworth, Erdington, Sutton Coldfield and the centre of town. My main friends around Guildford Street were Barbara Clark who lived under God Bless Our Boys, Valerie Hale and others from Eden Place, Paddington Street, Geach Street and Lennox Street.
Was your mother’s maiden name Witherington?
Yes Michael
violet witherington was her maiden name , originally from Perry common
she also came from a large family , 10 children in all 4 boys 6 girls
 
yes i thought it would show your entrance and it was taken just before you left ...as said there are loads more photos of the street on this thread so enjoy...my nan lived in paddington st from 1900 and they had to drag her out kicking at the end of the 60s..she just did not want to leave

lyn
Hi Lyn,
Now I have finished the work on Furnace Lane I am looking to process Guildford Street & Porchester Street.
I have found around 37 photos for Guildford Street on this thread but some that you posted have been ruined by photobucket, is there any chance you could post the originals of these please.
 

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Hi Paul, my mother and I left Guildford Street around 1964 after my father had died and my brother and sisters were all married. Your house was was where I thought. It was the Keelings who lived next door to the Wells. Mrs Keeling was Pat, the daughter of the Rudhalls (the shop at number 24). The shop next door to the Rudhalls was number 26 where I lived. It hadn't been a shop since the thirties before my family moved there in the late thirties. I think it was a drapers shop.
The shop part was at the front of our house and my father used it as a workshop - he mended neighbours radios and later tellys. In the late forties My parents let the Rudhalls renovate the shop as they planned to reopen it but they did not get a licence. They did use part of it for a store room as there was a door between their shop and ours.
Jack Rudhall died around 1963 and Molly moved moved out. The door between the two shops was sealed and someone else took over.
If you played dart in our shop it would have been after we moved out. If we moved out in 1964 you would have been about 8, I was 23.
The girl I remember living in your house was perhaps from the previous tenants family. When I knew her I would have been around 10 or 11 when us kids played together in the yard. That would have included me, the girl from number 15, Johnny Wells and his cousin Duncan Bagley who live up the street at the back of number 14 (Eden Place) and Christine Trotter who live at number 16 in the Barracks.
The last time I saw number 26 was around 1968.
I was a student in London then and had been visiting my mother who lived in West Heath then. Mush of Guildford Street was demolished then including the Barracks. Number 26 and 24 (Rudhallls) stood in isolation amongst the remains of the demolished houses.
The next time I visited there was a new estate; the geography had changed and it was now Guildford Drive. Somewhere on this forum is a copy of a short story I wrote about that visit. The story tells of me finding the base of the tree which was opposite the Trotter's house which was next to the brew house, behind your house.
Fascinating story Michael, great recall!
 
hi john not forgotten you but busy with the grandson today free day tomorrow so will sort out those photos you wanted

lyn
Hi Lyn, it's not a problem, I have at least 25 others from Guildford Street to work on and I've got those from Porchester Street to do too. Thanks
 
here you go john...double check them...

lyn
 

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I would think 1860/70s certainly in Furnace Lane the houses were built c. 1870
I'd be curious to know just how many houses there were on Furnace Lane. I'm referring to houses with an actual Furnace Lane address. If my memory serves...and it's not what it used to be, I don't recall any houses on the first section of Furnace Lane, just the back yards of Porchester St.
Dave A
 
I'd be curious to know just how many houses there were on Furnace Lane. I'm referring to houses with an actual Furnace Lane address. If my memory serves...and it's not what it used to be, I don't recall any houses on the first section of Furnace Lane, just the back yards of Porchester St.
Dave A
Hi Dave,
I did this very exercise when I was adding Furnace Lane to the map, in the end I couldn't figure out what numbers referred to what area apart from around Guildford House. The images are from the 1881 census, it's a bit clearer on the 1911 census. Starting at Gower Street, these are the houses on Furnace Lane:
Nos. 1 & 2 Newbold Place,
Nos. 2 to 5,
No. 2 Ct. 6,
No. 7,
Nos. 1 & 2 Ebenezer Cottages,
No. 1
No. 3b (The Elms)
No. 5 Elm Cottage
No. 7, Sedan House
Nos. 9, 11 (near Gerrard St.)
No. 13 with a repeated No. 13
No. 15 with a repeated No. 15
Nos. 17, 19 & 21
 

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My Great Grandfather, on my mother’s side and his family at number 1, recently back from a few years living in New York and some people from my fathers side living further up
 
Could somebody tell me which corner on Guildford Street this was located, please.
 

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Sorry, I don't think that is Farm Street. At the bottom of Guildford Street on the corner of Farm Street on the right there was a pawn shop. On the other side was a similar looking shop (not always in use). Looking at the photo it is higher up the street towards Lozells Road; you can see it sloping down on the right. It is possible Gerrard Street or Gower Street
 
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