FRANCIS ST NECHELLS

[Astoness]

maybe one or two are new to the forum...phil should know

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[Phil]

Lyn

Sorry to tell you that all these photos are on the forum in various locations, but as we have no Francis Street dedicated thread surely it doesn't matter as I do know that over the years one or two people who lived in Francis Street have posted to the forum. Perhaps having it's own thread might encourage more to do so.

The first two photos are clipped from a film about Nechells I know because as I posted all these images to the forum I was responsible for clipping them from the film. The first one shows the section of Francis Street that I lived in Henry Street to Willis Street. The second shows a look up the entry of the back court that our house fronted our house was on the right. Photos three and five are two other back courts that could have been anywhere on the street. Photo four is part of the street that was bombed out during the war and I think is between Windsor Street and Henry Street and photo five is the corner of Willis Street and Francis Street. I'll take a look and see what other images I can come up with.

 

[Astoness]

i agree phil it does no harm in this street having its own thread...ive also go about 20 that im sure i have not seen before of gt franci st although they may have been on here as its not really my neck o the woods..if i cant find a thread i will start one up..

lyn

 

[Phil]

A map of Francis Street in it's entirety so that viewers can identify just what part of the street is being written about. It shows the street from Windsor Street to Lupin Street after that it became Little Francis Street until it reached Great Lister Street. Looking at the map you will see that a lot of the houses are divided into two boxes, this signifies back to back houses. Our particular little box was halfway down the section of street between Henry Street and Willis Street on the upper side of the street looking at the map, number 190A it housed nine of us before we were moved to a bigger house in one room downstairs and two bedrooms.

 

[Phil]

Some more images related to Francis Street, the first one is Mrs Mulliss's outdoor which was four doors away from our house, where I would be sent to collect a couple of pints of ale in a jug or old pop bottles on occasion.

The second image is of where Francis Street crossed Henry Street and on the right hand corner of Francis Street St James Sunday School can just be made out. Some Sunday evenings we would trail along there along with about 50 other children all with "our own plate and mug" where we would be treated to a meal for singing a few hymns and saying a few prayers. Sadly as can be seen in Lyn's first photo the Sunday School was one of the first buildings to be demolished about five years before the rest of the street.

 

[Radiorails]

Never having been in a beer sellers premises I assume that it consisted of barrels, complete with taps and tun dish.
Did they also sell bottled beers? What about other products that were normally available from an out door such as crisps.
Outdoors this way were usually known as jug and bottles.

 

[Phil]

Radiorails

Mrs Mulliss's shop on Francis Street was an outdoor who sold a mild and bitter beers on tap, she also sold a variety of bottled ales and ciders. I don't think I ever used a beer retailer public house either as by the time I started drinking most pubs had full licenses. Though I see no reason why beer retailers couldn't sell bottled beers as they sold bottled wines at least I assume it was bottled and not like Yates Wine Lodges where it came from a keg.

 

[Phil]

At the end of Francis Street at the Lupin Street Junction the street changed to Little Francis Street often leading to confusion as people who didn't know the area too well thought it was all one street.

At the junction of little Francis Street and Great Lister Street at one time on the one corner stood the Lister Tavern public house and on the other the Highland Laddie beer house. In my time living on Francis Street the Highland Laddie had been replaced by a branch of the National Provincial Bank.

 

[Radiorails]

Radiorails

Mrs Mulliss's shop on Francis Street was an outdoor who sold a mild and bitter beers on tap, she also sold a variety of bottled ales and ciders. I don't think I ever used a beer retailer public house either as by the time I started drinking most pubs had full licenses. Though I see no reason why beer retailers couldn't sell bottled beers as they sold bottled wines at least I assume it was bottled and not like Yates Wine Lodges where it came from a keg.

Thanks Phil. I was never in a Yates' place, so I now know their wines were not bottled. Presumably there was not the vast selection, from all over the world, that sit on superstore shelves presently. If Yates is still open I guess there is now.

 

[Phil]

Radiorails

We are straying a little off topic now but, Yates did sell bottled wines wines, but it was the cheaper stuff from the keg that most of their clientele frequented their premises for.

 

[brummy-lad]

Some more images related to Francis Street, the first one is Mrs Mulliss's outdoor which was four doors away from our house, where I would be sent to collect a couple of pints of ale in a jug or old pop bottles on occasion.

The second image is of where Francis Street crossed Henry Street and on the right hand corner of Francis Street St James Sunday School can just be made out. Some Sunday evenings we would trail along there along with about 50 other children all with "our own plate and mug" where we would be treated to a meal for singing a few hymns and saying a few prayers. Sadly as can be seen in Lyn's first photo the Sunday School was one of the first buildings to be demolished about five years before the rest of the street.

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Hi Phil, at some point I would like to create an interactive map of this area similar to the Park Lane interactive map, my ancestors lived in Cromwell Street, Willis Street, Chattaway Street & Ashted Row. Could you confirm the orientation of this picture, is it looking down towards great Lister Street? would it have been taken from where the number 383 is showing on the street map you posted? Thanks, John

 

[Phil]

brummy-lad,

If you are referring to the Henry Street photo which shows St James Sunday School then it would have been taken from roughly the Ashted Row junction looking toward Great Lister Street.

This one is the Francis Street Willis Street junction looking toward Great Lister Street with St Matthews Church showing in the distance.

 

[brummy-lad]

Thanks for that, makes it easier to orientate them on the map as I didn't know that area very well.

John

 

[Radiorails]

In the post (12#) by Phil it shows, in Willis Street, some brick shelters in front of some of the houses. Was this original, with some having been removed, which was covering a trap door or manhole of a coal cellar? Or was it an addition for storage of refuse bins/bicycles or whatever?

 

[Phil]

Radiorails

These were installed during the war years to cover the cellar gratings, a lot of people used the cellars for shelters because they had brick vaulted ceilings. These structures helped keep the cellar heads free of rubble if the house suffered a hit and the grating was the only means of escape.

 

[Phil]

Another view of the Francis Street Henry Street junction this time looking toward Ashted Row and a much better view of the Sunday School.

 

[Sarah M]

Hi Phil, at some point I would like to create an interactive map of this area similar to the Park Lane interactive map, my ancestors lived in Cromwell Street, Willis Street, Chattaway Street & Ashted Row. Could you confirm the orientation of this picture, is it looking down towards great Lister Street? would it have been taken from where the number 383 is showing on the street map you posted? Thanks, John

Hi I'm new to the forum. My great grandmother grew up in bk 238 Cromwell Street. Later they moved to 89 Henry Street.

 

[DeCypherz]

At the end of Francis Street at the Lupin Street Junction the street changed to Little Francis Street often leading to confusion as people who didn't know the area too well thought it was all one street.

At the junction of little Francis Street and Great Lister Street at one time on the one corner stood the Lister Tavern public house and on the other the Highland Laddie beer house. In my time living on Francis Street the Highland Laddie had been replaced by a branch of the National Provincial Bank.

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Thanks for uploading these, recently finding my Great Grandmother worked as a servant at the age of 16 on 1871 Census at the Highland Laddie (Isaac & Isabella Bellamy was the retail brewer at the time) She would have walked up Little Francis Street from Cato Street. Thank You

 

[VillaCal]

Hi all. I lived in Francis street back 2 back houses until i was 6 years old. I remember there being derelict swimming baths, we used to sneak in and run wild. Also remember chasing rats and cornering them up the yard and throwing bricks at them..yuk!