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Lessar Brothers Hylton St Hockley

Kevkonk

Kevkonk

master brummie
Lessar Brothers Hylton St Hockley

This was an Optical company which used to manufacture spectacles and accessories. Most people working in Hockley must have seen the large spectacle frame perched above the entrance, never met the guy who wore them.........
Office, Rx Dept, Sunglass Dept, Frame Dept and Spectacle Case Dept......

Anyone ever work there?
 
Thats the fella, I notice this was before it had the roller shutters fitted. Good Picture, thanks.
I heard that in the past the building itself had deliveries by horse and cart thats why these type of businesses had large entrances.....
 
I think the company opened a small factory/store especially for sunglasses around late 70's early 80's not sure exactly where, but seem to recall it may have previously been a 'Servis' building, washing machine factory / store? West Brom?
 
There was a chap called 'Bert Keeling' who worked at this company before and after WW2, in fact he wrote a book, 'Blood beneath his Boots' I think it was called. He used to firewatch on the top of this building, and saw a railway building bombed after an air raid, I understand there was a man killed.
 
Servis factory was in Wednesbury. It was still there up to a couple of years ago. Italian owned now & more or less derelict apart from the warehouse last time i was in there.

Had a corner suite re upholstered in brown crocodile skin effect stuff that I bought cheap from lessars when we first got married. orrible hard crackly stuff but it did the job.
 
Several members walked along Hylton Street last year from the Jewellers Arms down a little alley to Key Hill Drive. We must have some photo's!
 
I know what alley you meant, I used that for years. During the mid seventies going through that alley I often saw a little guy, a bit scary looking, I think he used to clean those toilets on the pavement, I think there was one near Key Hill Drive. He was a bit like that Notre Damn fellow.He always carried something which looked like a chimney sweeps brush.

Does anyone know if that big post office is still open there. I recall it being evacuated in a bomb scare or something similar.
 
Kevkonk said:
I know what alley you meant, I used that for years. During the mid seventies going through that alley I often saw a little guy, a bit scary looking, I think he used to clean those toilets on the pavement, I think there was one near Key Hill Drive. He was a bit like that Notre Damn fellow.He always carried something which looked like a chimney sweeps brush.

Does anyone know if that big post office is still open there. I recall it being evacuated in a bomb scare or something similar.
Click to expand...

The toilets are still there but the door has been bricked up on Key Hill. They can be viewed from above just inside Key Hill cemetery.

The post office sorting office is still there but a new modern site now.
 
Col, thanks it was Wednesbury of course.
Wendy, thank you for the info and the photo.

The rear of the building at Hylton St backed onto the rear of the graveyard, although there was a very narrow ledge and then a steep drop, we used to sunbathe on it in the glorious summers around 1975 -76,( usually a joker called Ron used to get on the roof and pour cold water on you) we had a lenghth of rope which we used to climb now and have a quick jog around the graveyard every now and again.

Seem to recall seeing a funeral near Key Hill End from the other side of the building, someone said it was for 'Crossroads' as there were cameras there, around 1982ish. They said there were paupers graves there, but not sure.
 
Kevkonk said:
I know what alley you meant, I used that for years. During the mid seventies going through that alley I often saw a little guy, a bit scary looking, I think he used to clean those toilets on the pavement, I think there was one near Key Hill Drive. He was a bit like that Notre Damn fellow.He always carried something which looked like a chimney sweeps brush.

Sure that wasn't Frothy, tied up by Lynn and Claire? Now there's definitely a photo of THAT somewhere! Hahahahah
Click to expand...
 
You have some smashing memories Kev! The cemetery has been used in TV and Films over the years. I wish they would use it now we could make more money for the restoration funds!
 
lol charlie...i remember it well...it was one of my highlights of last year......i beleive lessar bros should by now be gutted....

lyn
 
I think that the guy who firewatched for Lessar's left for more money to a place called 'Butterworths' which was took over by Lessars and he ended up back where he started........ I think Butterworths were one of the first companies to manufacture the 'half eye spectacles'. Mr Butterworth worked there until retirement, he was a tall, thin bald fellow who looked like he could have played the part of an 'evil looking villain' Nice bloke though. He used to ride a moped during the better weather, and someone used to stick placards on the back of his scooter and he would ride down Hylton St with 'Barry Sheen' or 'Stop me for a Kiss', ...
icon12.gif
. The following morning he would be very angry
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demanding who kept doing this, saying he would sack them if he knew...........I had an idea who it was
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. I think he lived in Sutton with his back garden leading to Sut Park.

www.facebook.com

Lessar Brothers, Hockley, Birmingham. Memories.

Lessar Brothers, Hockley, Birmingham. Memories. 35 likes · 11 talking about this. Hylton Street, Hockley Optical Works. A place where people who worked at or had any connection with Lessar Brothers...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
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'Had a corner suite re upholstered in brown crocodile skin effect stuff that I bought cheap from lessars when we first got married. orrible hard crackly stuff but it did the job.'


Sounds like it was from the material used to make spec cases...
 
View attachment 70440

This is a picture I found that shows the Spectacle Works courtyard.
It is a view looking towards where the old toilets used to be, the double doorway was not there in my time, that was the location of Lessars own generator, used for Saturday mornings when or if
there was overtime available. It was very handy during the power cuts too. The door to the right of the double doors was the Ladies toilets, and it seems the Gents toilet which was directly opposite
has been bricked up. The toilet entrances had a sort of grand concrete with engraved lettering above them.

The door next to those two yellow pipes coming out of the wall, was a circular saw room, where large slabs of plastic were cut down to a size that would fit into the machines in the Frameshop.
Other departments used this from time to time too. This was also a storeroom for the Frameshop.

To the right of that door was a large wooden stockade for waste material etc, it continued to about a yard from that corner wall. That created a little alleyway which led to the tea ladies room to
the left, a stairway down to the barrelroom, and a backstairway to the RX department.

The left hand side of the picture is where the old Frameshop used to be.
The wall on the right hand side of the picture would follow on to where the old clocking in point would have been.
 
View attachment 70441

This is a view from the top of the old Lesbro works, it would be the place where Bert Keeling would firewatch during WW2, he saw the train signal box get hit from the other side of the building, as he mentioned in his book 'Blood Beneath his Boots'. He worked here before and after the war.
 
The rear of the building at Hylton St backed onto the rear of the graveyard, although there was a very narrow ledge and then a steep drop, we used to sunbathe on it in the glorious summers around 1975 -76,( usually a joker called Ron used to get on the roof and pour cold water on you) we had a lenghth of rope which we used to climb now and have a quick jog around the graveyard every now and again.

Attachment 70442
This picture shows the new ledge, I recall the old ledge was much smaller than the new one shown here, in fact I don't recall it ever being a proper ledge just some old concrete which merged
with the ground soil which sloped down a very long, steep incline.

The door shown to the right of the picture was situated in the Spectacle Case Department, which was below street level in Hylton St.
 
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