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Nechells

Pete. So they finally caught you and made you one of them !!!! LOL
I somehow knew the Lock Keeper or Park Keeper would get you one day.
 
That makes sense as you were growing up Pete.
It happened to me, I could only grip the top of the table then one day I found I could see on top of the table and then any goodies came within reach of me.
 
Hi Folk,
Just found the Nechells thread. I lived in Rupert Street pre war(WWII that is) the Rocky Lane end, I attended Cromwell Street School, Infants and Juniors and later Charles Arthur Street school. There was an Ansells Off licence on the corner of Rocky Lane and Rupert Street from which I used to go and fetch a bottle of beer for my gran who lived next door, I remember you took your own bottle which had a screw top which had to be "Sealed" with a little paper sticker. Mr. Moore had a little grocery shop in Rocky Lane opposite Rupert Street, there was a little shop further up that sold some toys, Coulsons I think it was, Barber Browns on the corner of Cromwell Street( He played the Banjo) I went to Sunday Shcool at the Methodist Chapel and joined the "Life Boys" then the Boys Brigade when I was old enough. I rember there was a little sweet shop in Cromwell Street that made their own treacle toffee and toffee apples. There is so much more I remember , re Postans Paint, Trevor Street, Mount Street etc. but I think I have wriien enough for now. Regards to all, Reg , "Roverman"
 
Hello Reg,
I lived in Cromwell Street from 1940 - 53, used to have my haircut at barber Browns, remember the banjo very well, the sweet shop was Hughes.
The chapel was bombed whilst my dad was a fire warden there, I went to Cromwell school and then like yourself Charlie Arthur, before passing the exam for Moseley Art School.
 
You keep all your memories coming roverman. I worked in Rocky Lane for nearly 13 years back in the 60s/70s.
 
archierod said:
my grandad and grandmom lived at postans house, he was the security guard for the factory
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Hi "Archierod".My Grandmother lived at 62, Trevor Street and on Saturday afternoons she cleaned the offices at Postans Paints, this was in the 1930s, somtimes my Mother went to help her and if my Father who worked shifts was working I had to go with her, I remember sitting at rhe desks pretending to be someone important. When my Gran and Mom had finished on the way out when they got to the caretakers house, which was on the left before the main gate, my Gran used to call out "Good night Dave" to let the caretaker know she was leaving. Could this be the sme house you Grand Parents lived in ? My mother and her sisters went to Elliot St. school, but that was in the early 1900s. I now live in Lincolnshire and would you beleive our postmans father also went to Elliot St. I remember also the "Spion Cop", the fish and chip shop on the corner of Mount St. and Trevor St. was it called Lingards ? My tea is ready catch you all later.Cheers Reg "Roverman"
 
Dave Burton said:
I grew up in scofield st nechells and had many happy hours playing on the bomb sites untill they built the flats. I moved to scotland in the mid 70s and then moved to turkey 2 years ago so it seems a dream to me to. love to find some olddies from school
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hi dave burton, your name seems familier in the mists of time, i lived in rocky lane but my mates were in scofield street, jacky waldron, mac claton, jonny beards.
 
Re: In my memory..

Hey Kandor what beautiful memories, I actually went there on a visit. I used to sit for hours on a Sunday in Nechells while my dad collected the coal money both before the war and during. As an Aston kid your lot were a bit posher than us but I can still smell it, see it and love it. Thanks, David Weaver, son of a coalman.
 
Hi All, I have happy memories of staying at my Nan's on the eleventh floor of Severn Tower in Cromwell St with my cousins. My nan had moved there from Inkerman St where my mom and her sister grew up and attended St Annes and Bloomsbury St schools Mom's maiden name was Nichols. Nan spent her last years in Chattaway St. I remember going to the off license with my grandad just opposite the Oliver Cromwell pub where he would buy Woodpecker Cider and me and my cousins heaps of crisps, when Grandad fell asleep infront of the Saturday 'World of Sport' wrestling me and my cousins would swig the dregs of his leftover cider!. We spent most of our time playing in the lifts of the towerblock and in the play area at the bottom. From Nan's window we had views of the gas works I was facinated by how they went up and down. We could also see the post office tower and as night drew in the receivers on the top of it started to form triangle sillouettes my nan would call them 'the witches hats', we were terrified!. I remember we always walked to visit an aunt in Reversby Walk which seemed miles away! In later years when Nan lived in Chattaway St we would catch the bus into town near the 'Nechells Park' pub and I vaguely remember 'The prince Rupert'. One last memory was when travelling to Nan's Dad would drive by Saltley Gate, he worked at Wilkinsons, and we would be thrilled if the gate was open for us to see the canal from the roadside, this was just near the the 'Gypsy Tent'/ 'Tipsy Gent' I think! I am 42 now...happy memories! ( some might be hazey but all as I remember them).
 
Re: nechells Bloomsbury flats

i remember this well bradbourn way my mate stanley baxter and gary ross lived here and i lived oposit in malvern house i am trying to find more pics of the area live there 1960s-70s loved the place then
 
I wonder if my great grandfather bought his flour from there for his bakery in Burbury Street.
 
Hi Wendy. That's what I do to - try to see it through the eyes of my ancestors. Thank goodness for the invention of the camera!! Especially where there's no longer any physical eveince of these places. Viv.
 
More likely the flour mill in Grosvenor Road, Handsworth I would think. I think it was Heygates, there for about 150 years.
 
i went to st mathews school to early 70s dont realy remember many kids there apart from my mate gary ross and jane comings i lived down by the shops near cromwell st
 
Hi fatboys 1966 my sisters went to st matthews,
Sheila and Beryl Greaves.
we lived in cromwell st just by Wimbushes,nr the phone box,
happy days.. dereklcg
 
Does anyone remember Penstone Terrace a narrow terrace of back to back houses off Trevor Street? I lived there until I was 8 years old when we moved to Alum Rock after my mom had twins. We lived opposite the Hamzats, net door to the Farrells and Mr and Mrs New. Linda Chester also lived a couple of doors down
JimmyD
 
Astonian said:
hi ellibrown and lynn
yes that was the nechells park hotel and pub and its been there for years way back in the old days
when nechells was vibrant with residents and most certainly not with any dual roads beleive me
secondly the reason its all painted up it was the pubwas sold off to a painting contractor way back
and prior to that all its life itwas a bad state of affairs from the declineing years of the inhabbittants of the people
it was owned by the owner of the westley court hotel for many years of westlely rd acocks green
that i know personaly he also used to own a lot of pub hotels around the country and including nuneaton
as i haveworked a pub for him many years ago but getting back on track regarding the nechells hotel park
with in the celler the water from the aston ressor runs through the celler in a sort of a fast flowing stream and in the
winter months it rises above the level and the kegs when emty started to float around the celler
tjhis water also used to run along under ground right up to aston cross and any other pub in its path woyyuld have had the same flow of this fast moving water which came to the main brewers of ansells at the aston cross
and getting back on track regarding good old nechells when the area was very active the pub was very busy day and night as it served good old ale as well as the other beers and you could stay there until the last man stood
but back on track again regarding the pub the gaffer whom owned the pub from the westley arms hotel acocks green
made one mistake and that was to take on board a welsh man by the name of taffie
a little stout man whom like is drink never sober and he had not been in brum very long for any body to know of him
but as the owner was desperateto find a manager to run it he took this guyon after a short period the money was disapearing along with stocks and as the area of nechells dwindled with patrons andnot making much money it took a dip in taking but the clutch of the story was mr taffie ran off withall itscontents and the money
back to the rhonda and never was to be seen again so the owner sold it off to the painting contractors
and in time gone bye nerchells was a ghost town and the roads was altered to what you see now
along from the argle street delta works
it is sad to see old nechells go under there was alot of characters whom lived in and aroud nechells and large familys from the days gone bye there was the old news paper seller whom operated on new st brum lived just up long acre from the pub in the old terrace house s i also see that the nut sewing machine family moved from alum rock to long acre along from the nechells park hotel and the aston ressovoir
i have great memories of aston and nechells
best wishes to yoyu all and thanks for the memory astonion
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ahhh astonian, you have the memories of nechells, we lived in rocky lane, the hardemans opposite, taronies round the corner, i used to work for joey on the coal. the park hotel is on the market now, asian guy cant sell it, --the water-? i was going to do a deal but he got silly. haha. your right, some nice people around nechells. cheers tom.
 
I am ashamed to say that Nechells was always something of an enigma to me, brought up on the far west of Birmingham, as a boy I always used to see the signs for Nechells on the bus's and often wondered where exactly it was. Like Marygtbar, and many others on this forum I had a wonderful childhood, and am so proud of my birth city. I was devastated when I had been away in the army in the early 60's and came back to see such sweeping changes to my dear old city, and the character had changed so much, I wonder was Nechells also changed greatly by this upheaval, I know places like Aston, Small Heath were.
paul
 
sorry if i,m out of order here but can i make a comment regarding the above photo of cromwell street by derek?? from what position is this photo taken? i lived in rocky lane, by cromwell street, i went to cromwell street school, and that picture looks nothing like cromwell street. in fact it looks like it was taken from rocky lane island, facing towards nechells park road to the right, and charles arther street to the left looking towards powells coal yard, i may be well wrong, iether way i would love a copy of that photo. cheers tom.
 
Hello Tommy I think your on about #post 171 Tommy you are coming from the wrong end, the photo is the corner of Cromwell St and Gt Lister St. Dek
 
sorry, sorry re post 171,, wimbush shop, looking again i see that i was wrong anyway, the shops on the green were set out differently, but you know what,? i cant remember those shops at all, the church yes, but those shops no, just bloody shows how the mind plays tricks, cromwell street was my playground, i was playing in those houses as they became empty, but i have no memory of that top end, hope i aint offended anyone.
 
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