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Erdington, Croydon Road
- Thread starter ChrisM
- Start date
Lynda Harvey
Brummie Born and Bred
I'm sitting here trying to think where Croydon Road was? I recognise the style of house, and it cannot have been too far from Abbey Road (off the Slade Road)
Lynda
Lynda
Lynda Harvey
Brummie Born and Bred
A little bit of searching on google and I remember why the name was so familiar. I went to Erdington Hall School from 1957 to 1961 which was near by, and walked from my home every day. We did a lot of walking in those days didn't we? I can hardly walk to the top of the garden now!!!
Lynda
Lynda
The tenancy for that house started on 12th February 1923 with an initial rent, including rates, of 15s 5d (£0.77) per week. The keys were handed over in exchange for a 10 shillings (£0.50) deposit and a signed agreement.
The agreement document comprised two closely typed sides of foolscap and included such conditions as:
"Rule No.7: Refuse must not be thrown out of windows or doors but must be deposited by the Tenant into the dustbin provided."
It was my parents’ first house and must have been paradise after rented rooms. Is it still there, I wonder?
Chris
The agreement document comprised two closely typed sides of foolscap and included such conditions as:
"Rule No.7: Refuse must not be thrown out of windows or doors but must be deposited by the Tenant into the dustbin provided."
It was my parents’ first house and must have been paradise after rented rooms. Is it still there, I wonder?
Chris
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Even in the bright, new world of the Wheelwright Estate and Croydon Road, the shadows of the Great War still lingered as everyone, even in the mid 1920s, tried to come to terms with the appalling casualties. My brother recalled our mother’s hushed tones when she chided him for some misdemeanour with the enjoinder that he should think himself fortunate compared with those other little children "whose Daddies were killed in the War".
He also recorded his "vivid memories of those days … of disabled veterans and others who had not found employment. Long before the days of adequate social security they would try to raise a few pennies by performing as street musicians, not just in the shopping areas but in the ordinary housing estates also. We certainly had several in Croydon Road. One such itinerant brought along a street piano: this was a contraption mounted on wheels like a handcart and music came from it when the crank handle was turned. Wrongly we used to call these barrel organs but those were seen less often in our district; they made a different musical sound and often displayed a live monkey wearing a red fez hat, to draw interest and hopefully swell takings. One man used to come round with a trumpet on which he played doleful melodies. Others had no instrument at all; they just stood in the middle of the street and sang…."
Chris
He also recorded his "vivid memories of those days … of disabled veterans and others who had not found employment. Long before the days of adequate social security they would try to raise a few pennies by performing as street musicians, not just in the shopping areas but in the ordinary housing estates also. We certainly had several in Croydon Road. One such itinerant brought along a street piano: this was a contraption mounted on wheels like a handcart and music came from it when the crank handle was turned. Wrongly we used to call these barrel organs but those were seen less often in our district; they made a different musical sound and often displayed a live monkey wearing a red fez hat, to draw interest and hopefully swell takings. One man used to come round with a trumpet on which he played doleful melodies. Others had no instrument at all; they just stood in the middle of the street and sang…."
Chris
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B
Beryl M
Guest
I lived at 31 Croydon oad for six months before coming to Canada with my family in December 1947 . . Not far from the Tyburn Road
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Frothblower
Lubrication In Moderation
Would you like a photo Beryl?
I don't mind risking my life taking it :Aah:
I don't mind risking my life taking it :Aah:
B
Beryl M
Guest
Yes Please Frothblower I would love to have a photo -If it is not too much trouble
Frothblower
Lubrication In Moderation
My pleasure. Will have to be the weekend though
A few more images of this house in the 1920s have surfaced. Here are a couple.
It's obvious that at that time the gardens were huge. Did they survive like that, I wonder? Note my father's towering radio aerial.
(Frothblower - you kindly took an up-to-date pic of the house. I didn't save it at the time and now it seems to have disappeared from the thread. If it's still to hand, could you possibly send a copy of it to me, please? Thanks).
Chris
It's obvious that at that time the gardens were huge. Did they survive like that, I wonder? Note my father's towering radio aerial.
(Frothblower - you kindly took an up-to-date pic of the house. I didn't save it at the time and now it seems to have disappeared from the thread. If it's still to hand, could you possibly send a copy of it to me, please? Thanks).
Chris
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Lovely photos Chris. Viv.
Does any current member of the Forum live in this road? A number of images of one of the houses - no. 97 - have been posted here in the past. A few more, from the early 1920s to 1931, have resurfaced, showing the front of the house and the (large) rear garden of it and neighbouring houses and I'll happily post them if anyone is interested.
(This was my parents' first, proper home after a succession of "digs" - and what a thrill for them! All now from a century ago).
Chris
(This was my parents' first, proper home after a succession of "digs" - and what a thrill for them! All now from a century ago).
Chris
