Location wanted for this bus if possible

[oldMohawk]

Very similar to springhill library oldmohawk isn’t it.

An aerial view dated 1933. The arrow marks where the bus would be postioned if it was by the library waiting to cross towards Monument Rd and shows that the tower of the library could not have been behind the bus.

source - 'britainfromabove'

 

[Grea]

Thanks, the mystery continues.

 

[oldMohawk]

I suppose those of us who think it is not the library need to find a building!

The problem is there has been so much redevelopment on the old Inner Circle route many buildings have been demolished.

Looking at how the bus fills the image it could have been cropped from a wider image to fit the book page.

I’m hopefully looking in the Hockley area ...

 

[Grea]

I agree the building has probably been gone some time. The overhanging streetlights maybe a help too

 

[john knight]

Adjusted Mohawks photo just a tad more, don't know if this helps.

 

[oldMohawk]

Thanks John it reinforces my view that it is not the library. I'm presently looking at Icknield St School ... it's got a tower but I'm not sure whether Inner Circle buses went past it .... so maybe not ...

 

[Astonian]

Hi John i have just popped on for now to see whats on here today,but i will be poppng off very quickly again but i just wanted to say that when that picture of the number eight bus the presenter said it was springhill and straight away i had doubts as i lived right by springhill libary and just back up from the libary in kingedwards road at the corner of monument road so i know the area very well and i was a member of the libary and i can tell you all the shop names from there down ickneild street and springhill its self and i know ladywood and the circle very well but i will not have the time to study it now as i have got an hospital appointment to see my consultant but i will be on the case when i get back i did promise yesterday about the grt tindal street where babybush disputed of grt tindal street in ladywood excisted well it did i did say from day one and monument road crosses the street i was unable to put it on last night as i fell a sleep but i have got pics for him and the map of ladywood with grt tindal street and of browning street but yes getting back to the number eight i have screened the back ground to the scene of springhill and there is one or two things comes to mind looking back from the bus you would have seen a shot of the midland bank plus the keep left sign was never there but in the middle of the shot there was an old trm shelter stuck in the middle of the road which i never seen would have been in that period
well jhngot to dash but wi

 

[sospiri]

Phil,

I agree with you that the picture has almost certainly been cropped out of a larger one - it is so grainy and lacking in focus. But unless someone can come up with a larger original, it doesn't get us any further!

Maurice

 

[oldMohawk]

Phil,
I agree with you that the picture has almost certainly been cropped out of a larger one - it is so grainy and lacking in focus. But unless someone can come up with a larger original, it doesn't get us any further!

Maurice

Hi Maurice,

I noted the CVP 108 number plate on the bus and had a search for a bus with that number and good old Google found it in scrapyard !

Phil

 

[Grea]

Thats an incredible find.

 

[Onceabrummie]

As a new member to the site you are blowing me away with your tenacity over this bus. Keep up the good work. I just love seeing the bus and have now started to remember all the places I used to go on it .. roller rink, baths, library, coventry road shopping...

 

[Grea]

As a new member to the site you are blowing me away with your tenacity over this bus. Keep up the good work. I just love seeing the bus and have now started to remember all the places I used to go on it .. roller rink, baths, library, coventry road shopping...

I am not a new member to this site yet I too am amazed at how others have got stuck in to try to find the exact location. That’s what makes it such a good site G

 

[Astonian]

Hi Guys
Thanks john and of course mowhawk for putting it up and yes john well snipped that is hockley brook
And yes it did passing the school frontage in those days befor all the road alterations that its heading towards
Springhill ivy bush edgbaston and on to the hagley road towards five ways in those days it was Islington row
As i have said i lived on the corner of monument road and kingedwards road the bus was always packed with us
Kids from ladywood most fro Anditon street and surrounding street and our mom got those free education
Plastic penny coins to travel free we all got off at the flat [ lodge rd ] and walked down to the school
When we came out after school we got the bus back home from that stop good old days. from the word go i
Knew it was not springhill libary Astonian;;;;

 

[Williamstreeter]

Yes it's St Luke's Church at the junction of St Lukes Road and Bristol Street.

View attachment 130379

To be honest Phil I'd have my doubts about St Lukes Road,plus in the original pic the stonework features highlighted by OM do not match up with St L and there is a steeple over the roof of the bus thats not in the St L pic . Also to my knowledge the no 8 never went near St Lukes Road , it crossed Bristol St from the bottom of Islington Row as per the route shown then went to the Belgrave Rd

 

[sospiri]

Amazing, Phil.

I've found that most of all it is the ordinary run of the mill searches that frequently fail to bear fruit. Sequences of number and letters ( the longer the better) often turn up trumps because of their uniqueness.

Maurice

 

[oldMohawk]

As a new member to the site you are blowing me away with your tenacity over this bus. Keep up the good work. I just love seeing the bus and have now started to remember all the places I used to go on it .. roller rink, baths, library, coventry road shopping...

I've looked at many old photos of places on the old Inner Circle route but cannot identify the location. It seems only the photographer and the bus driver knew where they were back in 1959. Maybe the bus was on it's way from a depot to join the route. I added colour as I was looking at it ...

 

[Phil]

I have studied all of the 1,178 photos of churches, schools and similar building that I have in my collection. Paying close attention to any on or near the number 8 route, I have studied the book about the number 8 route that the photo comes from. I even went through all the photos that I sorted for my post on the number 8 route a little while back and in desperation I went around the route on Google in the vain hope that something might remain from the late 50's that might help with identification, all to no avail.

I am now out of ideas unless anybody has a suggestion. We do think it's a church or a school don't we?

 

[oldMohawk]

It does look like a church or possibly some large school but I am also out of ideas and now reduced to wondering why they did not tarmac over that patch of road and gutter behind the bus !

 

[Radiorails]

I have studied all of the 1,178 photos of churches, schools and similar building that I have in my collection. Paying close attention to any on or near the number 8 route, I have studied the book about the number 8 route that the photo comes from. I even went through all the photos that I sorted for my post on the number 8 route a little while back and in desperation I went around the route on Google in the vain hope that something might remain from the late 50's that might help with identification, all to no avail.

I am now out of ideas unless anybody has a suggestion. We do think it's a church or a school don't we?

Your tenacity and photo collection are remarkable Phil.
My current take on this photo is this. It is an Inner Circle bus, but not on the 8 route. I suggest it has turned right from exiting Icknield Street and is on its way to Roseberry Street Garage. The bus stop seen to the right of the photo could be the stop after the crossroads in Spring Hill looking towards Dudley Road. The side of the library in Spring Hill has affinity to that in the photo. So the photographer has the correct junction but wrong road I believe.

 

[oldMohawk]

A full view of Springhill Library c1960 -1965 taken from Monument Rd. Neither side of the library match the building seen in the bus photos.

 

[Williamstreeter]

I've looked at many old photos of places on the old Inner Circle route but cannot identify the location. It seems only the photographer and the bus driver knew where they were back in 1959. Maybe the bus was on it's way from a depot to join the route. I added colour as I was looking at it ...
View attachment 130486

If we narrowed down the tower over the roof of the bus we might be a bit closer .

 

[Astonian]

yes bang on my friend its either turneds right off ickneild street onto springhill or may be turned left off the monument road on to springhill heading up to the colledge pub which was on the corner of colledge road and ran to the bottom and straight into the rosemary garage yeh Astonian;;;;;

 

[Grea]

The windows of the building near the upper deck of the bus get smaller from right to left which I can’t line up with any of the windows of the library. Thank you all very much for your help.

 

[oldMohawk]

Searching for it has been interesting but it looks like we will have to add it the forum's list of unidentified locations. It brought back some happy memories for me because I used the Inner Circle bus four nights a week travelling to the ice rink. As mentioned before I think the bus photo is cropped from a wider photo and that has unfortunately removed areas which would have identified the location.

During searches I came across a photo of the same bus in another location and here is a cropped area from it which makes location slightly difficult but most probably know it ...

 

[Grea]

Old Mohawk, I think you are right. It will probably have To go on the back burner for now.

 

[Onceabrummie]

Have loved watching this unfold. Tinted bus photo brilliant - brought it to life...

 

[Astonian]

Surely thats got to be in the city centre ?,

 

[oldMohawk]

Surely thats got to be in the city centre ?,

It is in the city centre being followed by something interesting ...
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/city-centre-photographs.8484/post-634426

 

[Phil]

Going back to the original bus, this may help.


This is a list of possible building being building on or near to the number 8 bus route in the 1950’s. I have listed all the buildings that could possibly include a tower or spire and although I know a few of them did, the rest are just a guess as I have no knowledge of the buildings. I will say I have checked quite a few of them out and I my opinion they are not the place being sought. I will not say which ones as I don’t wish to sway anyone’s opinion. If anybody knows any of these places well perhaps we could have their unbiased opinion.

Camden Street School
George St West School
Springfield Library
Monument Road Methodist Church
Ladywood Community Centre
Ladywood Community Centre
St Johns Church
Edgbaston Assembly Rooms
St Lukes Church
St Lukes School
Baptist Church Bristol Street / St Lukes Road
St Lukes Sunday School
Childrens Immigration Home St Likes Road
Emmanuel Church Walford Road
Methodist Church Muntz Street
Baptist Church Victoria Street
St Saviours Mission Hall Adderley Road
Lozells Street Hall
Lozells Street Schools
Lozells Street Schools Annex
Nursery Road Mission Rooms
Hockley Hill Welsh Chapel
Icknield Street School

 

[brummy-lad]

Altering the light levels in two sections of the image
1. Above the top right corner of the bus there appears to be a tower with pointed sub towers.
2. A 'keep left' sign suggests there is a cross-roads junction and the traffic behind the sign is at an angle showing that the road the bus is on bears to the left from there.
View attachment 130384

The tower in the background looks very similar to that of Christ Church Sparkbrook which was demolished around 2005. I'm not saying that this building is a church but there could have been a church nearby. John