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Gravelly Hill - Slade Road / The Slade

cookie273uk said:
I lived in Hillside road, opposite Hillaries Rd, next road down from Hunton Hill from 1962 till 1987 there was an off licence c/o Hillaries and Slade Rd owned by a Scotsman Jim Angus, we both worked for PO Telephones (later BT), his Wife ran the business, farther down by the railway bridge was an Asian green grocer, I used to give him the Worcester apples out of my garden and we went 50/50 on the sales, our garden backed on to George Rd MEB and Brookvale Park. Eric
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cookie273uk

You`ve got me confused Eric, Hillside road was a good way off George road & Brookvale park, so i can`t see your garden backing on to those roads. Maybe you`re having a "senior moment" :-} I used to knock around with a lad from Hillside road, Terry Rowe. Did you know a lass called Val Townsend from Hillaries road? Nice girl.
 
Smudger, We lived at 43 top of hill near Junction with Kegworth Road I think that open ground at the rear was part of GEC sports ground and rugby club leading to Park road opposite park, if you look at page 90B3 of Bham A to Z, I remember taking my dogs that way to the park, save walking all round Hillside/Slade/George/Park Rd and I believe MEB was visible from bottom of our garden through our 4 Sycamore trees (bet they have long since gone,will check Street view), it is 30-50 years ago but I think that's correct. Sorry, can only remember a few names and no body from Hillaries RD apart from the aforementioned Jim Angus, we did have a West Indian 'pop' group next door at 41, known as the J.A.L.N. band, saw them on 'top of the pop's' once, the went to New York
 
Jamesg1977, Sorry only knew 3 people in Kegworth Rd, a Peggy and George Clay and a chap with 2 German Shepherds, cannot remember road numbers but it was a long time ago, we loved it there (apart from the steep hill!!) but our close neighbours started moving out and the area started to 'go down hill' so we reluctantly left July 1987. Eric
 
Winnie1980 said:
Hi - my dad lived on Gravelly Hill North - leaving Erdington towards Sutton Coldfield - house was called Greylands, Italian Family called Fachino - bisquit makers lived opp. him - 200 yards to the West. My grandfather was a dr. with practice in house with waiting room, toilet for patients........He's 84 - any chance of a photo of that area of Gravelly Hill......he also went to a school.......St. Mary's / St. John's........Any info greatly appreciated. Ann
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I'm not sure whether you will still be on the forum Winnie1980 but I remember Greylands. My doctors were there but it would not have been your grandfather as this was in the 1950's. I don't know their surnames but we called them 'Dr Eric and Dr Victor' - I think they were brothers. Greylands was turned into a nursing home and my aunt and uncle were in there for some time. I believe the house has been demolished.
 
Barkers the Bakers #341 Slade Road (near Fentham Road junction). No dates for the photos (possibly 1940s ?). The buildings were still there until fairly recently, but Streetview now shows they’ve been demolished. Viv.
730F0F90-7B49-407A-90C6-2E4688A1F362.jpeg
C3575513-F986-4A0B-8792-BB2A9394A59E.jpeg
 

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Lovely pictures Viv. There's a new building going up slowly. I pass it every week but nobody was working on it last Thursday. It takes up the whole of the corner and I imagine it will be selling the same things as before. Not such a nice building as before.
 
I hope it's okay to bring this back up, I'd been searching for some photos of Salford House, and really any of Hillside/Chartley etc, as it's lovely to see the area in it's heyday, and while no luck on Salford, I found this lovely shot on Pinterest of all places (credit to whoever the lady or gent was that uploaded it! The website it links to doesnt work).

It was listed as "Erdington, Birmingham 1968" but as someone of the area, it's most obviously Hillside Road looking down onto slade, not too dissimilar to scenes the last few days. Seeing as a few people here lived on the road I thought it might be nice to share (who knows, perhaps someone might spot themselves!)
fe7054b8641f6c84596f8aa3c1afe465.jpg


I also found these lovely gems, of the Star cinema, I know it had it's own thread but seeing as it was on Slade, I thought I'd post them here:
A short video of the Star being reopened after a refurb I believe, by Noele Gordon, 29th September 1959. And quite a bit earlier, but from the BFI:

player.bfi.org.uk

Watch [Star Picture House Advertisments] - BFI Player

From drapery and gas fires to pork butchers and hairdressers: vintage cinema adverts from Erdington's pre-war picture palace.
player.bfi.org.uk player.bfi.org.uk

Advertisements circa 1937! A fantastic snapshot of the time (nice to see Wheelers too, now gone shockingly)
 
Nice to see those photographs of Slade Road. I would have guessed, that they might have been taken around or before the 1920s? My father and my grandfather before him, ran the greengrocers shop at 331. The bakery was run by Mr & Mrs Salmon during the 60s/70s. As you say, the shop and the bakery behind it, have gone now. The rest of the bank of shops do remain, although they look a lot different now.
 
Unfortunately I can't embed the images, so its just links I'm afraid, but while searching around I found some exceptional high quality color scans of the area from around the 60s based on the cars, ads fashion etc. If you double click, it'll zoom into full magnification

https://flic.kr/p/25Troqb
Hillside Road.

https://flic.kr/p/25TrvEb

Slade Road, looking down from the bridge toward Hillside/Hillaries/Slade School. Lovely little snapshot of life.. the long gone shop, the off licence on the corner of Hillaries with the M&B sign above, Slade School, Highcroft Tower, just about make out Fred Hanks in the background!

https://flic.kr/p/25Xd9wR
One incredible shot, a picture of Slade Road toward the other side of the bridge, behind the Erdington Arms just before Spaghetti was built.., with Copley Hill on the left

https://flic.kr/p/25XdbkF
Minstead Road

https://flic.kr/p/25Xddrz
https://www.flickr.com/photos/trainsandstuff/41318914001/in/photostream/
And down by the canal.., which looks the stretch toward Witton perhaps? I could be wrong.., I'm used to seeing a motorway over it now unfortunately

Some absolutely incredible shots of Birmingham City Centre at the time too in that persons photos, I had a look through though and couldn't find anything else relating to Slade. Still, lovely little snapshots of life in the 60s.

From someone else, and a bit earlier and quite specifically dated, 10th August 1959, a picture of the Mobil garage where the MOT station is now:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/13128...gYeJ9e-feZJnK-2joqNCC-2gpny66-2gndv4u-2gpsBhF
 
Somewhere on the Forum there is an older picture of that section of canal taken from the bridge at Salford.
 
cookie273uk said:
I like post #127 of Hillside Road in Winter, my late Wife and I lived there 1961 to 1987 at 43 (just of the pic to the left) at the top of the hill were it the became Chartley Road. Eric
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My Nan,.Grandad and Mom (sadly none of them are.with us now) moved into 20 Kegworth Road in 1962, I was born in 1977 and lived there too from 1980 till 1985. My Nan passed away in 1988 before my Grandad sold up in 1995 and moved in with us,.before his own passing in 1996.
 
I have a postcard of the first picture above Viv and I believe that it was taken around 1905. The shop was a motorcycle shop in my day and was owned by Fred Hanks. The second postcard has St Thomas' Road on the left and Hunton Hill on the right. Our family greengrocer's shop (from 1928 until 1986) was the first of the row of shops on the right hand side, slightly further up the Slade, between Hunton Hill and Fentham Road.
 
Viv thanks for posting this and I do indeed remember Mr Salmon. He was a really nice chap, always smiling. There was nothing better than his hot sausage rolls and mini Hovis loaves, straight from the oven. I used to go into the bakery at the rear of the shop in the 60s to watch him make the bread, pastries and cakes (one of the perks of my parents being fellow shopkeepers, like his wife and himself). As the Mail indicates, he was a keen Villa fan and had a season ticket in the upper Trinity Road. He got me a ticket for the 1971 League Cup Final and gave me his seat for a game at Villa Park, that he was unable to get to. They both worked such long hours and so very hard. That has brought back some nice memories...
 
Thanks John. Lovely to hear your memories - I can almost smell those mini Hovis loaves ! I loved those with butter.

Viv.
 
John L said:
I have a postcard of the first picture above Viv and I believe that it was taken around 1905. The shop was a motorcycle shop in my day and was owned by Fred Hanks. The second postcard has St Thomas' Road on the left and Hunton Hill on the right. Our family greengrocer's shop (from 1928 until 1986) was the first of the row of shops on the right hand side, slightly further up the Slade, between Hunton Hill and Fentham Road.
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Looking at the picture with the stationary shop - I think this is the bottom of Hunton Hill, where it meets Slade Road - and Fred Hanks is just visible in the distance on the curve of the road. Fred Hanks closed down a few/couple of years ago now, and is currently being converted into something else by the look of it...
 
I painted a water colour of Slade Rd recently when the trams were still running and before they built the tunnel under the railway bank, first left under the tunnel was Hillside Road were we lived from 1962 till 1987. The trams stopped running about 1951 before we moved there. Eric
 

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mikebrown007 said:
I must know you G T.I lived in Mere Road went to Slade Road School and left in 1957 Iplayed cricket for the school and football and won the javelin competition in the Coronation games at Jaffery Road playing fields and came second in throwing the cricket ball.Where you worked in the garage Mickey Kenning who played fot Villa and Wolves lived in the prefabs opposite the garage The cafe was Eastgates run by the familly I used to go down there nearly every night and pop in the Brookvale Pub for a crafty half.
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I was born in mere road, can I ask what number and when did you leave ?
 
Roz-Moo said:
I was born in mere road, can I ask what number and when did you leave ?
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Hi Roz-Moo, i`m not sure of the house number but it was a corner house near the sandy hills. I lost touch with Mike when i joined the army, but i know he moved to Spain when he finished with his dads business ( his dad owned a lot of clubs in Brum ) I lived just round the corner in Doidge road.
 
Smudger said:
Hi Roz-Moo, i`m not sure of the house number but it was a corner house near the sandy hills. I lost touch with Mike when i joined the army, but i know he moved to Spain when he finished with his dads business ( his dad owned a lot of clubs in Brum ) I lived just round the corner in Doidge road.
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have you seen the video where the ATV interviewed children at slade road school
 
That's great TV Deltics! I loved watching that when I first spotted it. We were just the same as that a few years afterwards, I was among those that went back to the school in 2003 when it invited former pupils back for it's 100th. The memories came flooding back. :)
 
John L said:
That's great TV Deltics! I loved watching that when I first spotted it. We were just the same as that a few years afterwards, I was among those that went back to the school in 2003 when it invited former pupils back for it's 100th. The memories came flooding back. :)
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i was sent to the abbey and then stockland green then i got a job at the albany hotel in brum, if you look at the video thats me opening the car door lol
www.macearchive.org

Midlands News: 22.05.1968: Britain's Baby of the Year contest

Midland Regional title winners in the Britain's Baby of the Year contest at the Albany Hotel in Birmingham.
www.macearchive.org www.macearchive.org
 
Deltics said:
i was sent to the abbey and then stockland green then i got a job at the albany hotel in brum, if you look at the video thats me opening the car door lol
www.macearchive.org

Midlands News: 22.05.1968: Britain's Baby of the Year contest

Midland Regional title winners in the Britain's Baby of the Year contest at the Albany Hotel in Birmingham.
www.macearchive.org www.macearchive.org
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did you see the video of noele gordon driving down slade road, and the old cinema next to the brookvale pub, my dad used to sell his comics there too 3 for a bob . i recall we rented the cafe near the bridge, never had much custom but it was fun for a while
 
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