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Hockley Hill

Great pictures Lyn but i always thought it was Gt Hampton St until you reached What i called Hockley Brook,where the policeman stood in the middle of the road directing traffic
 
no moss..coming from the city centre gt hampton st finished vyse st it then became hockley hill which finished round about whitmore st and it then became soho hill....i have a feeling that the name hockley brook was just a name folk called that little area because of the brook i dont think it was an offical place to warrant it showing on maps or being used in addresses...mind you as ever i stand to be corrected moss

all the best

lyn
 
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Re: hockley hil Hi . thanks so much for the pics of . do you have a pic of the

i have asked mike to help with the extact location of this great photo...no idea where it was on hockley hill dated 1961..by the time i was walking up and down hockley hill to work most of the old buildings had been demolished for the flyover

Hi to you all gt pics, does anyone have a pic of the left hand side of the hill looking towards Handsworth, just below the Post office, my father and Grandfather had a jewellery business, with there name on (Sanders) I would love a pic of it. the building was knocked down before I realised it.
valerieexbrummie
 
hi valerie could you give us a bit more info please as mike maybe able to post a map pinpointing where the business was by looking in the kellys directories...what was your father and grandfathers first names and what years were they at hockley hill

lyn
 
From the 1921 Kellys i assume the business was Charles Sanders at 43 Hockley Hill. this is shown on the map c 1918 below. It was still there in 1950

map_c_1918_showing_no_43_hockley_hill.jpg
 
thank for the map mike looking at where you have marked it our was charles sanders at the back of no 43 ??... could you have a look at post 18 please photo 1 must be very close to number 43 i think

lyn
 
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Lyn
no 43 seems to be set back slightly, as can be seen better in the c 1950 map below (43 in red). I have also marked 31 (the C & H Gauges in the photo) . I think no 43 is the next building just off the photo on the right.

map_c_1950_showing_43_hockley_hill.jpg
 
The Benyon Arms at the junction of Farm St and Hockley Hill was mentioned a few posts back, here is another photo showing the pub on its own.
 

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  • Hockley Benyon Arms Hockley Hill - Farm St.JPG
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mike if you look at this photo again you can just see the letters ( gon works) on a building..this is the paragon works...next to that is another smaller building after that i think the building with the pointed frontage is the jewellery works..then after that would be charles sanders at no 43 which as you say is just out of shot on the right...what a shame but at least it will give valerie a feel for the area..

lyn
 

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  • Hockley Hill No 31-35 - 21-11-1961.jpg
    Hockley Hill No 31-35 - 21-11-1961.jpg
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The real interest for me in the section of the A41 between the junction of Vyse Street and Hockley Hill and the top of Soho Hill/Soho Road is that you can just imagine it like one of the villages in this country sunken under a reservoir which maybe will come to light in extreme drought conditions, or just once a year like the village of Brigadoon.

Unfortunately the reality is that this and many other parts of Birmingham were hacked away in the endeavour of what we call progress (the opportunity of city workers to get quickly in and out of town without observing inhabitants in the process).

Maybe one of the experts on BHF during the longer daytime hours sometime would like to arrange a guided educational tour of the area using the photos we've collected here. I'm booking up immediately!
 
My first job from school in 1954 was at Harry Astbury's Electrical Engineers on Hockley Hill. The firm was somewhere opposite the Palladium Cinema but I can't quite remember where it was. I used to walk to and from work most days as I lived just off Soho Hill in Soho Avenue. I am trying to find out what number in the road the offices/workshop was located at so that I can place it in connection with where I have found my 3 x gt.grandmother living in the 1851 census. This was 'Yard' Hockley which I believe to be between 71 and 72 Hockley.

Judy
 
Judy
On the map in post 33 , opposite Guest St is a building named on the map Abbey House. This is the address listed in the 1955 Kellys for Harry Astbury's (and also for Astbury & Madeley's). On the map it is marked 64, but it must have actually been 63-64. 71 and 72, with a gap leading to a large yard is visible 7 houses north of this
 
Many thanks Mike - you are a star! I do remember that Harry Astbury's offices and workshops were set back from the road but couldn't remember the name Abbey House. The offices were at the front of the building with the workshop at the rear. I was taken on straight from school as a Junior Shorthand Typist and I must admit it was a bit of a shock to the system! Seeing your map has given me the position once and for all! And I can see 71 and 72 has the entrance to a Court between them - this must be the Yard that my 3 x Gt.Grandmother, Emelia Mackain, was living in 1851. By the census of 1861 she was living in Spring Row, which was situated at the top of Summer Row which at that time ran from Soho Street (now Soho Road) on the Ivy House Pub corner. If only I'd have known back when I worked at Abbey House that my 3 x Gt.Grandmother used to live nearby I would have explored the area more! Thanks so very much for your help.

Judy
 
The real interest for me in the section of the A41 between the junction of Vyse Street and Hockley Hill and the top of Soho Hill/Soho Road is that you can just imagine it like one of the villages in this country sunken under a reservoir which maybe will come to light in extreme drought conditions, or just once a year like the village of Brigadoon.

Unfortunately the reality is that this and many other parts of Birmingham were hacked away in the endeavour of what we call progress (the opportunity of city workers to get quickly in and out of town without observing inhabitants in the process).

Maybe one of the experts on BHF during the longer daytime hours sometime would like to arrange a guided educational tour of the area using the photos we've collected here. I'm booking up immediately!


hi richie....i like this idea...it would take a bit organising though...ie we would need maps and old photos printed off etc to help along the amble....leave it with me for a while and i will have a chat to one or two of our other members who may like to help...maybe something can be sorted out for next spring providing enough interest was shown

lyn
 
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My Dad was a keen fisherman and used to buy his tackle from Arthur Price Jnr at 11 Hockley Hill, which was opposite Gt.King Street. This would be in the 1940/50s.

Arthur P.jpg
 
thanks for sharing that with us judy...do you know i have looked at my trusty street map hundreds of times but until now it had not registered that gks started at hockley hill..i really must pay more attention lol

lyn
 
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