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Digbeth

HI HUMP3
I can recall that cafe during that period it done very well for customers
and later on in the years they had a small hatch applied to the side of the shop ; for late night trading where upon all the late night dwellers
would stradle out of the tower balloom and we would all be queing up at the hatch to get a hot dog or burgerfrom the hatch ;
and after a while a year down the line the friend of my brothers from ickneild sqaure set a couple of hot dogs stands on the gate
and down at the naggs head pub ;at the bottom of iclneild port rd and just down the rd from resservoir rd
and one at spring hill by bulpitts charging one shilling and six pence he had four home made carts on pram wheels a box and a cake tray lids
with he burners inside he box on wheels all painted and decorated in appropiate colours white and red ; very smart looking indeed
a friend and my two brothers helped him out we took them carts out and we wore the white cow gounds and a hat
we had the burners with in the box below along with was facilitys ;and towels ;
;
hav a good day best wishes astonian;
 
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The Minerva cafe.

I worked at Smithfield Garage in the early seventies. Sausage and Tom sarny was the norm every morning. The Minerva was exactly how it has been described except for one small detail; It was always full!!
 
That's funny Wendy. I suppose wearing them gave women a sense of power and strength! Viv.

I am sure you are right Viv. It looks to be the hierarchy or older women who wore the caps. We know they had to be tough and maybe waring a cap gave them more courage, as it was usually a mans attire.
 
Hi all, I have come across this picture of The old woolpack in Digbeth? as I have never heard or seen this pub before I wonder if any of you have any knowledge and where about it was? thanks.

The old woolpack digbeth.jpg
 
pudding

According to this photo taken in 1897 it was somewhere along the High St, I have no idea where at th moment.
 

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  • Digbeth Woolpack High St c1897.JPG
    Digbeth Woolpack High St c1897.JPG
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McKenna gives two possible sites for a Woolpack, one based on Westley's map, where the Rea crosses the high st, and th eother , more recent at no 124, which would be in the middle of the Old Cold Storage building near Allison St. however I cannot find any reference to no 124 being a licensed premises , having looked in directories of 1892, 1890, 1880, 1873 and 1855. So it may be just a McKennor error.
 
Thank you Mike, and Phil, for your replies.


Mike the location that the cold storage warehouse is on a slight hill but the picture of the woolpack appears to be on a flat piece of land?.

Phil I don't know if you have notice on the photo there is a name plate but I can't make out what it says (side street/road or alley)
 
Phil & Pudding
Sorry to put the dampers on things, but I was looking in the newspapers site to see if I could find a mention of the woolpack and found the following advert. On examining Pudding's drawing, if you enlarge the title at the bottom left , i think it says Walsall underneath Digbeth . I think it most likely , seeing the great similarity, that Phil's picture is the same pub. Mr Pitt was later charged with receiving stolen money from his wife, but was released under dubious cercumstances as he said he & his wife were off to the US

BP_18_2_1864_woolpack_walsall.jpg



The2520old2520woolpack2520digbeth_name_walsall.jpg
 
Digbeth is apparently the bit that joins Park st to High St in Walsall (though google maps sent me to Bloxwich when I put in digbeth, walsall) The woolpack can be seen, and its position and shape fits pictures. the sign on the side of the pub which was poibnted out would say "The Square"

map_c_1885_Digbeth_walsall_showing_Woolpack.jpg
 
Mike, thanks for doing the research on the woolpack pub,so it was in Walsall sorry I always thought the name Digbeth was only referred to Birmingham.
again thank you.
 
Rather symbolic though that. after the dogs home it was occupied by a cafe set up to encourage smoking (through water), and then went up in smoke
 
Thinking about Digbeth today I've often wondered how the houses on Bordesley Street have survived (i'm glad they have), the ones on the corner of Allison Street are quite ornate for the area and wondered who and what they were built for. This smashing shot on Flickr explains they were by Jethro A Cossins...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brianac37/6892131327/


One of the houses have recently been on the market for £192,000 but withdrawn for some reason, they've done a good job of restoring...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-16140792.html
 
Thinking about Digbeth today I've often wondered how the houses on Bordesley Street have survived (i'm glad they have), the ones on the corner of Allison Street are quite ornate for the area and wondered who and what they were built for. This smashing shot on Flickr explains they were by Jethro A Cossins...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brianac37/6892131327/


One of the houses have recently been on the market for £192,000 but withdrawn for some reason, they've done a good job of restoring...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-16140792.html
I don't think there are that many houses in that part of town. It's all factories and warehouses with the odd cafe or pub. Most of the industrial buildings don't seem to be any more recent than that little row of houses. If the script on the flickr page is right, the 4 storey building with the cafe is the Cossins design and I'm not sure that is even part residential. The house on the property site is one of the 3 storey block next to it.
It's surprising so much survived the war. They're in the middle of a ring of rail stations (New St, Moor St, Curzon St) and nothing much seems to have been destroyed.
 
They are now saying it was arson - I think it was a listed building wasn't it?
Makes you wonder if someone wanted a clear site to build something else or am I being over suspicious?!
It does happen.
 
If you think you are being oversuspicious then I think you are being very under suspicious.
 
I could not possibly comment but feel we should await a statement from Police or Fire Service.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
 
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