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ladywood

Astonian

gone but not forgotten
The medical centre and the old age persons accod ; and the whole estate of cawdor crescent
where all those blocks of flats was built into a new estate which ran betwen monument rd and the back of the old ladywood nick and through to plough and harrow rd
my sister lived with my mom at balfour house i cannot recall the names of the other three blocks
and my wife was only young then on that day and she was a young girl and lived down clarke street oppersite osler street and also taking a call on that day to the old peoples block was dr tracy ;from inglby street and heart surgeon of dudley rd as it was then he brought me into the world and was my quack to many years ; but on is case he bumped into my wife and knocked her down ; he picked her up and took her home on that day and gave her half a crown ; she was just a little shook up
my wife recalls the day very well and could not possible forget it now ; best wishes astonian ;;
 
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Hi Astonian, I lived on that estate, moved up there in 1962 in Huntley Road, which was just off Francis/Duchess Road at the back of the nurses' home for the Childrens Hospital. We were in Maisonettes and opposite us was Bradbeer House. Our Doctors were on the Plough and Harrow Road
 
Hi carolina ;
nice to hear from you and yes i do recall those maisonnettes and the doctors surgery oppersite the general post office
which was facing on plough and harrow rd and of course the names of the blocks you have jogged my memory was of course
bradbury house ; balfour house and the ther one as just slipped my memory ;
my long ime standing friend ray grocott [ junior ] and ray grocott senior and his mother lived around in huntley rd ;
for donkeys years [ rays dad ] mr ray grocott senior was the chairman of the ladywood social club thjaty was there
and i beleive its still there and ray senior was the west mdlands transport buses was the head union man in the city
his father ray grocott senior was awarded the obe ; for his long standing work for the city and for all his charity work he done
way back in the seventys and the plaque still stands i beleive above the club walls
my friend ray junior is still around the club he married sandra bishop and as been for donkey years
i have not seen or spoke with ray for some years now ;he may have passed away i do not know ; but it would be great if he still was
around ; ;i just thought it may have been bateman house the other block of flats
my mother lived in balfour house [ 16 ] fith floor and my oldest daughter was born there in fact around at st chads hospital ;
do you recall the dentist above the shops on monument rd my wife went to the oratry school
it was sad to see that quarter go down the pan many years later i ha a friend move into that balfour and in bradbury
it got worse the police had to come in body armour to arrest any body
before huntly rd became its was beamont rd the huge big victoria house some with gravel drives was there way back in time
my grand mothers and familys lived around there in the very early years of life and the other half of the perks family lived up next to the resser in sefton rd and that little park behind the flats was known to us as blue bottle park because it wasright next to the very old ladywood police station many years before it was openend up as you would have known it before you moved there
as there was always coppers walking through to get back to the station
and if you know of thoma furbers the under takers of harbourne they was on the corner of the rd facing the old park before moving up there in harbourne on the old monument rd
well carol i think i had better take off now as i could go on for ever about ladywood and the familys of yester years from ladywood
nice to hear from you ; if you have got memorys of the area pleasepost them on here we would love to hear from you about them
have a nice day best wishes astonian ;;;
 
Hi Astonian, our address was 53 Huntly Road. My mom lived there until about 1990s when she then moved into warder controlled at Alston Street. Dixon House was another one there. I also do remember the dentist I was with him for manymany years, even when I moved from Huntly Road. They were first of all nearer the Ivy Bush and then eventually moved further down towards the Church. His name was Peter?? (it will come to me). I am attaching a photo of me and my brother on the balcony of our maisonette overlooking the carpark. Picture1 037.jpg We thought we were really posh as we lived in Edgbaston.

Regards

carol.
 
Hi carol
nice photo of you and your face is rather familar to me especialy we both lived virtualy on the same patch there
and yes it was a little posh in those days when we around there , but sadly as you may had noticed it yourself
after afew years going bye ,it started to get the decline and go down hill very fast indeed ; sad really but the human race
loseing its plot ; and slowly the degenerates started to move in and the druggs and its not the sort you would not want to move into but any way its happening all over brum now ;but saying that its the same down in eversham and in worcestershire and in cheltham ; beleive me ; its the sociey we live in ;
i presume you know that all that area and the block of flats have been demolished i passed there last week ;
i dare say we would have spoken to each other over the years gone bye in one form or another either in the shop or passing ;
carol have a nice day best wishes astonian ;;;
 
Astonian I didnt know it had been demolished. I do know my niece went there a couple of years ago and there was security even on the maisonettes to get in there. My Doctor was Dr Ostrowski. Just enjoying the flotilla on The Thames.
 
bit of a long shot this, would anyone have a photo/s of knollcroft or Hereford house just of ledsam st Ladywood late 50s early 60s lived there with my parents but both are now deceased and all photos have disappeared . would love to show my grandkids where granddad grew up tia edd
 
Thanks dib44 I have looked on that site there is only a very small corner view, unfortunately these buildings have been demolished so I cant go take anymore, was just hoping as there were quite a few families lived there that someone might have been in this forum and might possibly have a snap or two, edd
 
This is the only one I could find.
 

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Hi dibb4
Great pictures and great memories from my school days of Ladywood I lived down the road around off monument red
All those pics you have shown I have been in one of those house believe me and the shops even the bombers shop as cellar
And his shop was about fifty yards or so next to the picture house in ledsam street to me there was two missing links
And that was picture of clarkies scrap yard and his gates to the yard at the bottom of ledsam street and the picture house
Which was well boarded up when My merry gang of kids and myself started to search all the houses in and around ledsam street
Wexearched the cellars for old gas masked and things all the surrounding streets was completely emptyed
Either bombed or falling down deliect when we was at school my friends and myself wanted to go on a school trip but our parents
Could not pay for us because our parents was poor so we're came up with an idea and that was to get our del es a couple of old prams
From the bombed pecks around Ladywood and we found three from around the area of steward street led am street and morville street
Then we started in ledsam street from one end to another in pairs there was four of us little tichi.
Ragga and terry,, Edgar,, all from and it on street ,,,TIchie,,,,and myself from kingedwards road
We were all mates called for each other day and night,,, we went to ickneild street school
What we discovered was what we called them was window bombs....( cast iron weights that was in the sash widow compartments
Of the old window frames which we cut out four to abay eight in total for a top and bottom windows from one e d of ledsam street to the other
And we wheeled them down in convoy to clarkis hard and weighed them in
We took weeks to get around the whole area but we. Made our grip money for each and every one of us and had plenty of spending money we have seen them build Ladywood bit by bit each a d every one building with in the ladywood area right up to the ivy bush ickneild port road we seen the area being built we seen the demolish ion a d the rebuilding of flats and alley ways of Ladywood road and virtuly every think even the squirrel pub but also
The two building of ledsam street high rise flats you have mentionioned
My wife uncle whom is her father's brother lived in Hereford house and the other one with there family's
Cousins
I actual done a decorating for a lady whom was a supervised at bullpitts area years she moved in
Her name was Joan, I fececo,her complete flat through out when I finished her neibour sacked if I would do hers
And eventual I had done six complete flats right through including bath rooms and hall ways
I made quite afew ,,,Bob out of that block
As I said we and I myself have seen the rise and fall of Ladywood Birmingham 18!
I could go on all night about Ladywood seen the area of it change from slums to of yesterda . To today,s. Stan Ards
Which is now run down and you would have heard many times on the news about the deprecation of Ladywood
And one other area named ASD hodge hill by the political party's
But any way Dibs
I can relate to any of the pics you have shown on Ladywood thanks for the memories,,,
Best wishes Alan,,,Astonian,,''''
 
Brilliant jim
That was cracking shot of a picture never seen that one here before
I can recall all those blocks being built thou ,I never did like them myself they weren't bar my building that design
Best thing they ever did to knock them down and the other design they built up in ledsam street much better
Vincent street was the worst in the end and it became a ghost town street
With the shop keepers putting up cages inside the shop and out but it was really bad when the shop keeper caged all is counter in
And with all there goods on counter also caged over if you needed any think the shop keeper would pick it for you off is counter
Hickmans fruit and veg was the first to move in , they moved up from the bottom of Garbutt, street
Which was at the bottom of sheepcote street things go so bad around there with notorious gang of theives,,
For robbing and muggings they was the first to leave the street of Vincent street
Best wishes jim Alan,,,Astonian,,,,,,
 
Postie many thanks for that snap, at least I have something to show, we actually lived in the smaller two storey block that adjoined Hereford house that was called knollcroft, we started off upstairs on the 1st floor then moved down to the ground floor to gain a postage stamp size garden .
Alan when you live in two rooms in my grandmothers council house in kingstanding , three children and my parents, a maisonette in ladywood is like Buckingham palace especially with inside plumbing, we had good times in that maisonette. like they say a home is what you make it.
thanks both edd
 
Hi guys and gals
Do you remember the palais defense, the corner of Ingle by street and monument road
Openend in 1921 the proprietors Mitchell& Booker,
It was later taken over by Pat Collins, Percy Mad docks was the licensee and manager at that time
Bert Thomas was the licensee and manager in the 1940,s and he also had his own dance band,
The american band leader Duke Ellington and his band made a visit in1932.Oscar Rabin and his band were there in the late. 1930,s
In the early period ladies had there own dance cards in which to book, there partners initials for the next dance
Saturday afternoon dances were very popular in the 1930 with the teenagers admission 6 pence It closed early 1940.s
In the very early1900.s the Birmingham skating rink company ran the site as the american roller skating rink
In period 1912 /1914 ,It was Bostocks Jungle circus during the first world war the site was a factory
The Dunlop rubber Co, Tyre Manufacturers, during the second world war it was used as a Food Storage Warehouse
We lived around the corner from that myself and edds cousin whom was my old mate from boyhood to manhood
Thanks to this forum and of course edd him self whom through this forum brought us together after fifty years and we are in contact with each other
Thanks to the forum and our dear member edd best wishes to you all Alan,,Astonian,,,,,,
 
Great photos of Ladywood which I knew well in the 50's, I had left Birmingham by 63, and had not realised the devastation caused so much clearance as shown in Posties photo's. This is really sad in a way as the community
's in Ladywood were very strong. Paul
 
Hi paul
Nice to see you on site again by coincidence I have just been browsing through a great book on Ladywood
I have it in front of me now I do not know whether you have got this book but I highly recommend it to you or any other Ladywood ites
Its called old Ladywood remembered by victor price with a fore word by Norman power vicar of Ladywood
Its priced at five pounds ninety five pence it was published in1986 by Brew in books
When it was first printed he was Donating all the royalties to st John Church from the titled book old Ladywood remembered
The book is completely Named pack with virtually every single building and churches and school houses and virtuasly every red in Ladywood
Family's pictures of family's and wedding and schools offices shops and pubs it incredible book I highly reomend paul
Yes like you paul I seen every bit of the destruction in and all around Ladywood to the complete new district of Birmingham
All the original building and streets of Ladywood its put all of Ladywood into this book its unbeleable and brilliant
Best wishes paul , Alan,,,,Astonian,,,,
 
Mac Joseph's 'Old Ladywood' web site is a great place to visit. I posted some memories there a few years ago but still visit it from time to time.

During the 1950's - I believe it was closed at some point in WW2 - the Palais de Danse in Monument Road was used as a sugar store at one period. It would seem appropriate for Pat Collins also to have also used the place, his company address was, in fact, 90, Ingleby Street I believe, that is when it existed.according to details on his vehicles.
 
Hi paul
I am hoping today to try and get a picture down .loaded of the pali from the early 1950s where I was caught on camera
At the end of the dance hall its a side view now I know who taken that picture of us mooching
Around the back coming out we was looking for a plank to make our go we had a.ready found the wheels off the bomb peck
Across the rd from clews cycle shop we was only nippers they k locked down the corner of kingedwards road first
Which was Wiseman's general grocery shop then they knocked down some of the terraces where people used to live
And we tattered the iron weights from the sasche of the window frames and took them to old clarkies scrap yard i n ledsam street
I spotted the picture in the book I have just been reading by price
My son is surposeingly coming up from brum today so all being well I can get him to down load it
Victor price was across the road by the number eight bus stop which stopped out sdide the Bates family on monument red
About two hundred yards from the midland bank that stood on spring hill next to old bill Langdons shop
As we was coming out of the rear yard that's when he snapped us we told our mates whom we played and mixed with
They all coming running g down to see if they could see some one with the camera but he had gone
Obvisiuoly jumped on the bus up the road of monument red where he took pics of beech red and the other surrounding street
He took pictures of all the clubs and streets around
And ickneild port road in fact the whole area all jammed in
Best wishes Alan,Astonian,,,,,
 
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