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Football Ground Aston Cross

Astoness

TRUE BRUMMIE MODERATOR
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this interesting map shows a football ground situated behind the golden cross pub....be interesting to know who used it

lyn

football ground aston cross.jpg
 
yes it could be froth...also notice vulcan brewery on the left...not heard of that one before
 
Wonder if that was the start of Ansell's?

no idea but i guess its possible froth..ansells could have seen them off..i find the old maps amazing..nine times out of ten we can stick a pin in a map and come up with something to research..i think its a great way of finding out about the areas we and our ancestors lived in...for instance i didnt know there was a gun factory down aston cross
 
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There is a lot of interesting places in the map in post 2. I expect the Manor Glass Works, Aerated Water Works, oil works and printers are already in one of the Aston threads here.
However there is more I am sure to be found out about the Vulcan Brewery, such as how many pubs did they have. And of course site, which presumably M&B sold, links into the HP Sauce thread as well.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/h-p-sauce-factory.47677/#post-591367
I note that Vulcan pre-dated Ansells, as a brewery, by three years.
 
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The Vulcan brewery was stared by Alfred Homer in 1878. In 1882 it aquired a malthouse at 77 Phillips St (on the corner of what would be elkington St, though from the map it looks like that street did not then exist). In 1884 it added another malthouse at back of 163 High St Aston (about opposite Burlington St). In 1895 the brewery had 56 tied houses and became a limited company 1n 1898
(Date corrected )
 
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A little off topic but Alfred Homer jnr (son of above) died a very wealthy man. He was secretary to Aston Villa for a while before moving to Bristol Rovers. He moved to the north of Birmingham and left his fortune, made by selling to M & B, to his nieces and nephews. They in turn erected a stained glass window to his memory in St Michael's Boldmere, in 1938 where he is buried. This everlasting memorial was actually to last less than 30 years as it was destroyed in the fire of 1964.
Coincidentally the Ansells and Moores (HP) sauce also had windows in this church - all gone now.
As far as I remember Joseph Ansell started his brewery in The Hope & Anchor off Aston Cross.
 
The site of that football ground is where Hercules Cycles eventually occupied, My first job leaving school in 1944.
 
I believe the gun factory is........
"The Tranter Gun and Pistol Factory"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tranter
I was going to post this earlier this morning but did not as the thread is about the football/sports pitch. However, it has now been mentioned and as Aston Villa has connections with George Kynoch, who leased the place, I decided to post it. https://www.oldguns.co.uk/william_tranter.html
There is a lot of interesting businesses in the area covered by the map in post 2 and some are covered in this web site;
https://www.astonbrook-through-astonmanor.co.uk/
 
In another the thread Aston Lower grounds Viv refers to a book "lost teams of the midlands". In it there is reference to the football ground behind Aston Cross. Does this answer Lyn's question?
 

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yes it could be froth...also notice vulcan brewery on the left...not heard of that one before
No- it was a private ground rented by Aston Victoria and Aston Shakespeare in the mid-late 1880s. It was built by Edwin Samson for his employees at the Midland Vinegar Company adjacent, although it had been in general sports use since the 1860s. Pugilism, pidgeon shooting (!) and other events were held there. The Golden Cross pub went bust and the football ground fell into disuse around 1905. The Volvo showroom occupies one half of it. (Lost Teams Of The Midlands Revisited book by Mike Bradbury.)
 
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