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Aston Cross

A

Astonian

gone but not forgotten
i have just been looking on the site for other intrest on our forum
and i just viewed the golden cross pub , the demo site of park lane was , and on that picture i can see where my grand fathers drive was on the pavement which took him down behind the two shops ,on either side
where his shops was the left hand side was the chippie, the right side was the coffee shop and down the drive would have been the old house , and the two ware house,s the one on the left would have been to storey building , and the one on the right hand side of the yard would have been one storie building
and i seen hunts the pawn brokers , next to woolies , i remember when all there goods was sixpence ,
and then i seen dear old timpsons , the shoe shop ,
by golly that brought some memories back seeing those photo,s
oh and the old man running the golden cross , ,
but what started my mind flooding back to those days , was timpsons ,
because my younger brother david started there when he first left school,
it was his very first job , and he had to do some local deliveryies , on a bike
which we called an monkey basket on the front to carry shoes around
as we only lived down the road on lichfield he popped down for lunch
on this bike we fell about laughing at him , and in his brown cow gown ,
i haven,t seen my younger brother now for about twenty years ,and that got me thinking of the past ,
I suggest to our members on the forum that if you have not looked at this site before
i suggest you do it may bring back memories to you/.
best wishes everybody , astonian ,
 
Hi Aston,
You will be glad to know I am getting the hang of putting my photo's on and have even put 5 on at a time. There's no stopping me now.
I had a good mooch through our Sandra's photo's yesterday and found loads out, so I scanned them and have been busily put them one various forums all morning, look on Tower rd. Any way found this one and I think it is the dress shop by the 39 bus stop opposie Ansells. My aunts shop was next door or very close, it was Blisses record shop and my other aunt had the hardware shop her name was Marg. I can remember I always seemed to be at that bus stop, either coming from nans and in later years the coming home after going to the Golden Cross to the room upstairs were they had great groups on.
 
Hi patty, great pics the manes you are comming up with ring so many bells & keep the pics comming as I remember them well. Blisses record shop in Park road was the shop I bought my first 78rpm record by DAVID WHITFIELD, a guy who later in my life went out with my wifes cousin for a short time.
You mention the Golden Cross was that when Marg ran the midland jazz club in the rooms upstairs? HAD SO GOOD NIGHTS AT THAT PLACE.
Patty which one are you on that photo I posted of my brother pals & your Malcom in our garden 173 tower road ?
Keep posting.
ASTON
 
Hi Aton,
No it was pop music, there was a group called El Riot and the Rebels that

played there quite regular one of them went on to be in the Moody Blues
I thought I was on that photo at the back to the right but Sandra says it wasn't me, I think the other girl was Anne Brittan.
Just a quick question is there a spell check on this site I think I need one sometimes
 
Thanks again Patty Anne Brittan thats another bell rang.Iwill have to ask David he is sure to know. Re spell check I keep getting asked to down load when I hit the spell check at the top but have on luck when I do so if any one can HELP PLEASE.
ASTON
 
HI EVERYBODY ,
I Wonder How Many People Born And Bred In And Around Aston Have Have The Pleasure Of Travelling Back And Through Aston , - Particular Aston Cross , Especialy The Older Generation , Whom Have Stuck With Old Brum , And Still Continue To Live In B,ham
I Know There Is Alot Of People And Members Of This Forum Are Scattered All Over The World . And I There Say That They Could PutIn Put On Old Aston Cross The Hub Of Aston , I Went ThroughAston Cross The Other Week , I,m In My Sixties Now
And I Parked My Car UP Around The Staples Car Park ,And Walked To The Excact Spot Of Aston Cross And My Memories Came Flooding Back To Me When I Was A Little Lad
I Walked Down Lichfield Rd Towards White House Street Where My Grand Mother Lived Up A Terrace And My Aunty Maud And Uncle Bill Smart Lived With Her And My Uncle
Joe ,My Dads Brother , Whom Never Got Married And i Remember He Kept A Dog A Big Dog, Called Nipper And Recalled How He Bit My Back Side My Dad Went Barmy At Him
And My Grtand Mother Went Ballistic At Uncle Joe ,
Then I Walked Back To Lichfield Rd Back Towards Aston Cross In Doing So I Kept Stopping And Trying To Place What Was Therte The Little Garage The Big Broom , Then The Pub Names The Royal I Ithink It Was Then The George And Another One And The Golden Cross Pub Where My Dad Used To Run AS Head Barman From The Age Of 14 Yrs Ols Right Up Till He Died In 1958 At The Age Of 42 Yrs Old And HE Used To Tell Me About The Dances And The Trouble With The Teddy Boys In Them Days
And How He Through Them Out Of The Pub And Some Of Them When Fighting Would Knock ThemOut And Have Them Itting In The Corner Waiting For A Black Maria To Come And Pick Them Up And Take Them To Steel House Lane, My Dad USed To Do All The RELEIFS oF All The Pubs Around Aston Cross For All The Pub Managers ,My Dads Name Was Bill Stevens ,And He Was Well Known In The Pub Ciruit
From The CCross Which Is Now Known As Oriellys Is By A Guy Call Occonnor,
IStarted To Think How Noiseie It Was And How Busy It Was People Hustling And BUSTLING Around The Cross There Was Masons ,There Was Timpsons The Pawn brokers And The Fish And Chips Shops And The Coffee Shops Owned By My Grand Father And His Brothers HeSold The One On Park Lne To A Little Man By The Name Of
CYRIL And Behind The Shops Was a Drive And Down There Was A Large Ware house Full Of Supples For There Shops And A Little Terrace All These Memories Was Flooding Back To Me I Stood Out Side The Radio House The Brm Studios Which Once Was ATV And The Picture House Where Aunty Maud Smuggled Me In Under Her Coat And Sat Me In The Back Row Aunty Maud Was Working In The Box Office That Saturday Afternoon I Went To See My Hero , Roy Rogers And When I Came Out Of The Flics As We Called It I Was Petending To Ride Trigger His Horse, I Was So Engrossed With Roy Rogers And Trigger That I Thought I Was Riding Trigger I Walked AFEW Yards From The Picture House And Stood On The Kerb Ready To Nip Across To Grand dads Shops
I Said To My Self WHOA Trigger , Theres A Car Coming And Then We Left The Kirb Almost Got To The Other Side When I Got It By A Car ,It Was A Busy Saturday Afternoon Hundreds Of People Gathererd Around And Also To My Luck The Surgon Whom Operated On Me Seen Me Get It By The Car The Driver Drove Off And Never Stopped ,Any Way To Continued I Walked Past Ansells Brewery Remembering The Old Front Of The Place All Along The Lichfield Rd Before They Started To Remodernised
In The 50.S And I Got To Mattys Radio And I Got To Our Old Terrace Would Have Been And Started Thinking About The Old Neibours And There Names And How We Used To Challenge Each Other Up And Around The Block Racing Down Lichfield Rd Up Victoria Rd Pas Pugh Rd And Down UPPER Upper Thomas St Down To Old Man Matties And Back To Cromwell SquareWe Lived At 5/92 Lichfield Rd Next To Astons The Cake Shop And Thompsons The Butchers , It Certainly Brought Alot Of Memories Flooding Back My Growing Up In Aston And I Thought When I Got Back To Aston Cross The Way It Has Become A Ghost Town And The Widening Of The Road But It Was Good To See They Ain,t Touched The Clock Which Will Always Give People There Memories Of Aston Cross If Only But Its Sad To See What AS Happenend If Only That
Clock Could Talk If Only People Could See It Now It Is Ghostly .
Thats My Memory , Alan Stevens, [ astonian ]
 
Great memories Astonian, I lived in Clifton road from 1943 until 1961 my life centered around aston cross,I havnt been back for over 40yrs, I had thought about making a memory lane type visit before popping my clogs, but after reading your account I doubt that I will bother, best I just keep thinking about how it used to be.
Nutter.
 
Does anyone remember the little printing shop at the bottom of Park road owned by the Hardwicks. My friend Patsy Sintarvers dad owned the jewels on Litchfield road opposite Ansells but we lost touch many years ago. Marion was the daughter of the printers and now resides in Basingstoke so does my other old friend Ivy Price. Jean.
 
Hi Dave [nutter] follow that lead re Hilliers in my im to you Sissy would be delighted to hear from you. I will phone her in the morning and say someone may be phoning her. The same person gave me info about a little shop in Park Lane too. Jean.
 
Ok Mike i am mellowing. I too loved aston cross as a child watching the bottles go round at Ansells and eating chitterlings in my pushchair from Thompsons. Bye. Jean.




 
As you know Jean, I am not from round these parts but I do recall at Aston Cross in the 60's at peak times they had a bus conductor on foot collecting fares from the queues of passengers waiting to get on the Inner Circle buses. They were there on Saturday afternoons when Villa were at home as well.
Mike
 
I know Mike youre over where we spend most of our time in the summer. I used to mind cars for people who went to the match. Used to earn a few bob. Do you remember Catherine street?. Jean.
 
Hi Everyone,
Great thread. I too have a lot of memories of Aston Cross from the 50s onwards. Masons grocers, Co-op with the "hydraulic" system for sending your money and change to/from the cashier. After leaving school at 15 I spent a lot of time in the snooker hall on The Cross along with some kids I went to St. Mary's with as an Infant and Junior, namely Roy Whitmore and the Wood twins John and Kenny. They all lived in Whitehouse Street opposite the school. Also Dennis Broadmoor. I often wonder what happened to them since those days in the 60s? I walked that stretch from Bracebridge Street to The Cross and back so many times in my life......
 
Dave the Jennings family on your bowling photo's lived in Catherine street. Have you any photo's of the street?. When i stayed over all you would hear all night were the thumping noises coming from a factory over the road. I wonder what it was called. I thanked my lucky stars i lived in Holte road and could just about hear the stamps at Halladays drop forgings.
 
Sorry Jean, I only have a school photo of some of the kids from that area on it. Freddie Martin, Malcolm Brooks, Michael Taber, for instance. I can post that for you if you like? I'm off to bed now. It's 2.30a.m. here.
Astonian, you may also have known them?
 
ASTONIAN, I THINK YOU MY FIND THAT CLOCK (WHICH WAS THEY ERECTED ON THE ISLAND ) IS NOT HE ORIGINAL CLOCK THAT STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OLD ASTON CROSS.
WILL ANY ONE CORRECT ME IF I AN WRONG?
Thanks for the memories. Was your granfather Mr Jelf? from Park Lane?
THE BARON (ASTON )
 
Dave I was reffering to your bowling alley photo's with Tommy and Jackie Jenning on. They lived in Catherine street. Sorry the other names do not ring a bell but thanks all the same. Jean.
 
Astonian. You certainly stirred some memories there my friend. Its great to wander back through time like that isnt it? So many things you almost forgot, only to be brought back to life again for a short time. By the way mate, thats the first time I have seen your actual name. Now I know I have a friend called Alan. See you buddy. Barry.
 
HI Barron
Many Thanks For Your Reply To Be Quite Honest I Can Recall Them YearsAgo
Removing The Clock For A Long Period, And I Agree With You Now Yes Its Not The Same Clock As To When I Was A Kid That Is For Definately I Would Also Say There Is A Slight Dezine Around The Shape Mind You ItDoes Look Quite Fancy Whilst It Painted
I Can Remember When Every Sunday Evening Around 6 Oclock The Salvation Army From Victoria Rd Used To Meet Up Underneath It And All Or Most Of The Kids From Cromwell Terrace Would Scurry Down To The Clock Stand Watcth And Listen And Sing With Them ,-Then We Would All Fall In Behind Them And March Down To The Hall In Victoria Rd Just Before You Got To Pugh Rd And WE Would Go In And Listen To The Captain Telling Us About Jesus Christ Waving The Tamberines When Finish We Would All Run Back Up The Lichfield Rd To The Terrace And Tell Our Mom And Dads All ABOUT IT.Barron Getting Back To The Clock ,It Definately Ain,nt The Same Clock That Stood There In The Forties ,The More I Think About It I Can Recall Saying To My Best Mate
At The Time When We Was Kids Theyve Change The Clock But I Cannot Be Sure Of What Year It Was , Colin Gaskin ,Lived At No 1 At The Botton Of The Terrace Is Father Was An Ex Army In The Signals , And When He Came Out Of Service He Was
A Regimental Uniformed Commisionair Some Where With All Is Stripes
You Asked If Mr Jelf Was My Grand Father , Yes He Was If We Ever Had Him Visit To Our House UP The Terrace He Was Always Wearing A Big Posh Mohaired Over Coat And A Bowler Hat With A Big Posh Car And All The Neibours Always Addrees Him And Said Good Morning Mr Jelf , Or Good Afternoon Mr Jelf He Never Stayed More Than 10 Mins And He Was Always Off On His Rounds Checking And Collecting His Taking From All The Bussiness He Had Around You Name It He Had One There In Total There Was Thirty Three Shops My MomWas His Only Child , Her Mom Died In 1953 [ Bertha Hinton ] My Memories Of Her She Looked Like Gracie Fields , The Man Whom Created All The Bussiness Was His Father George William Jelf , Is Empire Started At 901
Ivydene Tyburn Rd Before The War And He Set All The Sons Up In Bussiness
He Was About 25 Years Old When He Inherit Is First ShopAnd Built Up A Total Of Thirty Three Shops Over The Period But It Was Bertha HintonHis Wife My Grand Mother Was The Brains And The Instigater Behind The Bussiness She Kept And Organised The Finances In Control And The Saddest Thing Was When All The Brothers Was Alive And One By One They Died , But They Never Spoke To Each Other
And One Or The Other Would By Or Inherit The Brothers Shop At Death
To Me , The Cleverist One Was Charles He Had A Book Making Bussiness AS Well
Coffee Shop And Two Booking Officies One Was On Alma St And The Other Tyburn Rd
At His Fathers Ajoining The Coffee Shop And Ware house ,
Out OF All The Family There Was Only One Girl That Was Ivy She Never Had A Bussiness She Was The Secretaary Up To 1946 When She Inherit Tyburn Rd From Her
Mother Mary Ann Jelf ,[Nee HUGHES] And Ernie, Mr Jelf From Park Lane Aston
Fell Out With Ivy Over That Shop And He Vowed Never To Step Over The Thresh hold Wich He Never Did But Strangely When My Mother Took Him In In His Later Years
He Told Her Do Not Worry Joyce You Are Well Provided For But What He Did
Told Her Lies , And Left His Will Ti His Sister Whom Never Spoke In Thirty Years
And At The End Of The Day Ivy Collected All The Brothers Wealth From There Shops
But The Only Brother She Did,nt Get Was Bill,s Because He Had One Shop In His Life For A Short While And Packed UP And Never Had Another One Till He Died ,
Well Barron Thanks For Your Response To The Thread Best Wishes ASTONIAN ,;;
 
G G Jean said:
Fantastic photo Mike. Jean.
Click to expand...
Hi Jean,
Sorry about the Catherine St photos (lack of). Maybe this is the right thread to ask for some?
Just to clarify the "photo" posted by Mike. It's actually a drawing/painting from the lid of a jigsaw box. My cousin in Bristol sent it to my brother (who also lives in Port Elizabeth) and my wife Barbara did the jigsaw and we framed it for my brother. I still have the box. Excellent picture though.
 
Baron that photo dated 1008, I didn't know they had cameras then..nor bus stops come to think of it. Ain't history amazing! The things yer learn...
 
Hi Dave do you remember Chris Byrne at the Snooker Hall or Keith or Martin Cheese Dinky Parker Roger Keys Regards Geoff
 
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