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Map Request Please

William Tracey

proper brummie kid
Can anyone help with Swan Yard, Livery Street. I have old maps but no show Swan Yard.
Also Jones's Building Upper Thomas Street. Once again not showing on my map
Many Thanks
 
There was a Swan Yard off High Street, leading to "Swan Alley". I imagine there must have been a Swan Pub at some time

It is shown on the 1731 Westley map

1731 Westley Map.jpg

John Money 'Experience and Identity: Birmingham and the West Midlands, 1760-1800' p126 mentions the brief locating of the Library of Birmingham at Swan Yard, High Street, in 1781.

The Birmingham Journal for 1837-8 has adverts for Bostock & Matthews shoe shop at 99 High Street, said to be 4 doors below Swan Yard.

I dont know exactly when it disappeared but I doubt there are any remnants at all now, after all the vaious redevelopments in that area
 
Cannot find a Swan Yard in livery St, but records that early are not always very complete and it had probably ceased to hav ethat name by the time records were better. Jones Buildings are easier, as Upper Thomas St is a much later street, and the buildings were in existence up till just after the war. the entrance was between 58 & 60 Upper thomas St, and so thye must have been the group marked on the c1950 map below as court 10, marked in red
 

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  • map c 1960 showing Jones buildings.jpg
    map c 1960 showing Jones buildings.jpg
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This map is from the old maps site ( https://www.old-maps.co.uk/index.html ). I don't think you will find ones to such a large scale (1:500) on other sites for most areas, though , of course, they are usually available to view and copy at local libraries. For slightly smaller scale historical OS maps ( 1:2500) the alan godfrey site is the best, and most reasonable , source at https://www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk/. For a few areas Alan Godfrey does have the 1:500 maps (ie Leeds centre), but none for West midlands. There is also, paradoxically,the national museum of Scotland site at https://maps.nls.uk/os/6inch-england-and-wales/index.html.
 
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