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Gothic Cottages Hunters Vale

Hello Lyn, what a smashing photo of Villa St, yes that is the shop I see that the photo was dated 1964 what a difference a few years makes to places, she never had outside displays so had possibly retired (?) or sold by then. She had a grown up family of five boys who were all working when I was a child and then a surprise late arrival of a little girl who must by now be in her late 60's. If it helps I can talk you through the buildings in the photo, tell me to stop if this is boring.
Out of shot is Firmins then an entry, there were houses and a small engineering type works down there also two / three houses, the next building was the back of the little works from down the yard the next was a house that was turned into a florists shop by Mrs Evans her husband had died when The Hood was sunk , then came a yard with a large shed owned by Mr and Mrs Wood their business seemed to be something to do with wood but not new wood so perhaps they did something with reclaimed wood ? The next small house I'm not too sure about it may have been a family home or maybe used for stock for the shop ? The long wall was the gardens that belonged to the transverse houses the first house belonged to the Mullis family . Then there were two houses Mr and Mrs Moore and Mr and Mrs Hilton lived there. Then there was a small iron mongers called Murphys they also sold paraffin Mr Murphy had a hair lip and cleft palate making it very difficult to understand him he was also a jeweller (he made my wedding ring) they retired about 1963 to Oxhill Road Handsworth Singletons came next then what was known when I was a child as the new post office. This is a photo full of nostalgia for me , so many memories. I think the shop you were thinking about may have been O'Brians on the opposite side of the road they went up two steps. Also about the O'Neils, they had three sons Roy was the oldest, he was driving the van when I was just a child then Peter he must have been about seventeen and Terry who was my age, so the yard you talked about in Church St might have been Roy branching out (?) So very grateful to have seen this photo. Thank you very much. Pat.

hello pat your memories are a joy to read please keep them coming...as this thread is about hunters vale i think i will now steer you to the villa street thread as we can continue chatting about villa st on there..on that thread i have posted more photos of villa st leading up to the post office on both sides ..in fact if you put them all together they show most of that section of the street...click on the link below but please start reading the thread from post 1...if you cant view some of the photos dont worry as the forum was hacked some years ago and we lost all of our images but most have now been reposted later in the thread...chat later on the villa street thread...lovely to meet someone else from the old end :)

 
I remember Mr Beech the chimney sweep was that around the late 1950's, because he had always been a chimney sweep since I was a little girl in the 1940' s
 
There is a lot about the area and Beech family in the Villa Street thread, posted by a family member. The sweep, it appears, was the posters father.
 
yes thanks for that alan i am still in touch with the beech family...

pat as i said in an earlier post if you go onto the villa street thread perhaps you could add some of your memories on there and i hope you find the photos of interest....

lyn
 
does any one remember the little newsagents shop owned by Mr Moon and his son in Villa St ( Farm st end ) in the 1940's /50s Pat
 
hi pat i dont recall the shop but i must have passed it many times...have you checked the villa street thread as i have posted photos of that end of villa st...

all the best

lyn
 
hi pat if you go back post 21 on this thread i posted you the link to the villa st thread but dont worry if you missed it i know you are just finding your way around the forum...here it is again...just click on the link below

 
does any one remember the little newsagents shop owned by Mr Moon and his son in Villa St ( Farm st end ) in the 1940's /50s Pat
Hi Pat,

That brought back memories. I just about remember Moon's newsagents as I lived at the top end of Villa Street right next door to St Saviours church in Bridge St West. My dad would sometimes trust me to go and buy his Sunday paper from there. We left Hockley when I was 8 years old so memories tend to fade a bit.
 
Hi Lyn, thanks to your photos of the Villa St/Hunters Vale corner I can now locate where this photo was taken as our maisonette was no 53 on the corner so the backdrop is 'The Vale' with the metal works behind the wall. It's my brother in the pram who was born in 1952 so this was probably spring/summer 1953.
 

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hi colin yes i would agree with that location....nice that you can confirm it :) :)

oh did you read my latest post on your villa st the flat hockley thread

lyn
 
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