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New Street Station From1854

Di.Poppitt

Di.Poppitt

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Edit. There is a thread for the 1960s New Street Station here https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/new-st-station-1960s.20585/

From New street Remembered by Donald J Smith

The building of New Street New Street took seven years, demolition of the area started in 1846 and cost half a million pounds. Interesting to us is the names of the streets that were demolished. Pleck Lane, The Froggery 'an unsavoury network of courts and alleys', Little Colmore Street and King street. Three nonconformist chapels were demolished. The Chapel., The Welsh Chapel and the Lady Huntingdon Chapel. The first Birmingham Synagogue and the old prison house in Pleck Lane were all pulled down.
Etching below courtesy Donald J smith.
 
Yes Rupert, I've seen the old station, it was a long time ago and I'm not sure what sate the buiklding is in now.

Brian my husband tells me that the wall at the end of platform 8 on New street Station is the old grammar school wall. Land for New Street was bought from the goveners of the school, the school sat high above the staiton on a klind of parapet.
 
Great pictures Bammot...you never know where these gems will turn up.
New Street Station in l957 was my first job in the offices accessed through the arches next to the Queen's hotel. The walkway from Stephenson Place to
Market Street was well travelled on a daily basis. In the winter I would seek
out the Waiting Room with the biggest fire going and spend my lunch hour in there with a book. Thanks for posting.

Question? On the Hill Street photo is that the Woolworth building going up on the site of the Theatre Royal in New Street?
 
jennyann said:
Great pictures Bammot...you never know where these gems will turn up.
New Street Station in l957 was my first job in the offices accessed through the arches next to the Queen's hotel. The walkway from Stephenson Place to
Market Street was well travelled on a daily basis. In the winter I would seek
out the Waiting Room with the biggest fire going and spend my lunch hour in there with a book. Thanks for posting.

Question? On the Hill Street photo is that the Woolworth building going up on the site of the Theatre Royal in New Street?
Click to expand...


Now we may not agree here I think that the building going up may poosibly be The Big Top in Union St, the Woolworth building is a bit more to the left and not in the photo? or at least that is my personal thought
 
Hi Bammot: You could be right about the building going up nearby on the
Navigation/Hill Street photo. However, it is quite close and if you look at this site and check out the Charters Building, which the Woolworths Building was renamed years ago you might see that it is a bit closer than Union Street.
Not sure though. https://wikimapia.org/#lat=52.4773225&lon=-1.9004095&z=17&l=0&m=a&v=2

The Hill Street/Navigation photo has so much information on it regarding Excursions by train and I well remember those poster boards in that area. Also, the Gents toilets are well profiled in this shot as well.
 
The adverts in the photos are interesting - 'Ansells Nut Brown' - 'train trips for less than a £200 post-war cars for sale', what more could you want ! :)
 
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Smashing pictures - I remember New street station in this condition very well.
The first pic is the pedestrian bridge connecting the platforms, humping up over Queens Drive between the two halves of the station. You can see the hump from underneath in the second pic, looking down Queens Drive.
3rd is a view of the steps down to the bridge from the entrance lobby at Stephenson Street end, the booking hall was to the photographer's left.
4th, The station entrance from Stephenson Street, and the taxi ranks outside.
5th, As your caption says, looking out from the offices or hotel over both halves of the station, Queens Drive and the Market Hotel in Station Street are visible.
The final view is of the start of Station Street from Hill Street, showing the goods platforms and buildings which blocked the view of the railway offices behind. How about the brand new Vauxhall Cresta PA model with tail fins and whitewall tyres under the Osram lightbulbs poster. They were introduced in 1957, which dates the pictures to very late 50s / early 60s.
 
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hi

checked my records on New Street station.
At this moment I have never seen these Photo's before.
Mark Norton has a fair ammount in his Library on New
Street from his Fathers collection.
Publishing photo's without reference to the owner is
thawrted with problems and on this site there is no
money. At this stage they are a gem of a find
and I would suggest you contact Mark, he is a regular
subscriber to our site. his handle is Fatmark.
Well done

Mike Jenks
 
Yes, those are smashing pictures - thanks a lot, Bammo. I rather think Jennyann was right first time about the skeleton of a building - I reckon it would be in that kind of position. the Big Top site would be round to the right, off the picture.
Peter
 
A superb set of photo's Bammot, thank goodness you bought them. They may never have been seen if you hadn't. I agree with Jennyann and Peter, the big top site was across the road from the station and further to the right. Woolworths would have been almost in front of the station concourse.
 
Yes I Can Remember New St Station In The Early Forties And Late Fifties The Front And The Back End Where The Old Mail Train Used To Fill Up Around 1-2 In The Morning Every Night I Don,nt Need The Photos Even Thou Are Brilliant Ones The Bottom Left I Vively Recall Have You Got Any Of The Rear End Before They Remodereised In The Early Fifties
When They Rebuild The Station Again If It Goes Ahead It Will The Third Time Of The Changes In My Life Time With That Station , Jenny I Can See Clearly In My Mind The Station In 1957 We Used To Knock Around There In The Station In The Forties Train Spotting - Great Pics Again , Best Wishes ASTONIAN ,;;;
 
Thats how i remember New st. station, it brought good memories of the 50s, going off with Mum on our hols. she had a pass because she worked at Aston goods station, the platforms were always full, with people coming and going, the ladies with the tea trolleys used to do a roaring trade. We used to have to sit on the suitcase in the corridor of the train, unless you were lucky enough to get a seat, i was always instructed " do'nt wander off" but inevitably i would, i used to like standing on join between the carriages and watch the carriage swaying from side to side, and i always needed the loo, just to watch the water disappear onto the track. happy days. I believe the station has changed beyond all recognition now.
 
If we are looking at the same car...the Vauxhall is a Sunbeam Rapier I think Lloyd...well maybe. Anyway great pictures. Did the Midland Reds terminous in that same street at one time...to Worcester and places. Well remember the cross walk bridge with steps going down to the platforms and steam and smoke coming up around.

Yeah, ok, looking at the wrong photo, I blew the right one up and indeed it is a Cresta.
 
Rupert said:
If we are looking at the same car...the Vauxhall is a Sunbeam Rapier I think Lloyd...well maybe. Anyway great pictures. Did the Midland Reds terminous in that same street at one time...to Worcester and places. Well remember the cross walk bridge with steps going down to the platforms and steam and smoke coming up around.
Click to expand...

The Sunbeam is behind the Cresta, Rupert. Yes, the Midland Reds did use the other end of Station street, the climb up towards Worcester Street. I can remember getting on a quite elderly one to Hereford in the early fifties when we had relatives there.
The corporation buses used 'this' end, facing down the hill to Dudley street, including some of the Coventry Road trolleybuses which had come up Bromsgrove Street, and turned into Hill Street at the pub I knew as the 'Australian Bar', and is now 'Missing', then into Station Street at the junction we see in the picture.
Here's an open-platform Midland Red 'D5' type on the 143 to Bromsgrove via Rednal and Lickey village at the top end, and BCT's last (numerically) trolleybus no90 on an enthusiast's tour in 1952, see the round windows in the right background? Is that the rear of the Scala cinema?
 
found these while i was trawling the internet.
Britannia Pacifics ...... ragga :)[/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]
 
My grandmother worked as a porteress at New St. station through the war and sometime after, not sure when she stopped working there, even during the bombing she used to get there mostly working nights and sometimes going an old push bike from Warstock about 5 mile or so, she was in her fifties then. heres a photo of her ready for work, dont know whose garden it was, but they didn,t dig for victory by the look of it.
 
Hi John:I remember that outfit that your Grandmother is wearing in the photo.I worked at New Street for a couple of years starting in January 1957 in the office. There was a very young porter I recall whose name was Dennis and when I went back for a visit in 1985 he was collecting the tickets at the main barrier. He, of course, wore the male version of the British Railway's Porter's outfit.
 
Here is a view down Queens Drive, showing the "special" airport bus. Anyone remember what the fare was?
Didn't it originally depart from somewhere round the Hall of Memory?
 
Hi. Jennyann. I think she possibly left in the early 50s, I remember going to see her at the station during the war as a kid, and having a ride on the goods trolleys that were pulled by tractors through tunnells under the platforms and rail lines.
 
Hi

looking at ragga's pictures of those Brits the dates
look somewhere between 1961/62.
I left the platforms of New streeet in early 1959
and these Brits if seen were at Tamworth on the West
Coast Main line. Some are showing the BR decision to
stop cleaning Steam locomotives so you get that
very ugly apppearance.
Work began on re-building New Street in 1964 and was completed
in 1967.

Mike Jenks
 
Hi Mike: When did the rule to stop cleaning the locomotives come into effect? Just interested. Thanks.
 
Hi John70:

You were lucky to have rides around the platforms and into the tunnels at New Street Station when you were young. Great memories.
 
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