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OLD BIRMINGHAM PHOTOS FROM STEVEBHx

Susan shaw said:
Many thanks for these pics Steve but it is #1670 that holds fond memories for me. I loved Wallis and I shopped there for many, many years. Wasn’t too keen on the communal, crammed changing room but that all changed over the years. Shame about the demise of Wallis and many other stores.
I remember a store called Neatawear, think this was in Corporation street. I liked their clothes too. Did they go bust? They seemed to disappear quite quickly.... but my memory may be playing tricks. Kind regards, Sue
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Again, smashing pictures, thank you.
I, too, was a Wallis shopper and also remember Neatawear.. lovely, reasonably priced fashions... remember prices were always 49/11d, 59/11d, 69/11d and 79/11d... never in £s. If you went posh and ventured into Mary Quant (in Marshall and Snelgroves) you would pay in 'guineas' .
Thanks for reminding me of Neatawear, Sue. Have tried to place which side of the road it was on.
Annie
 
SteveBhx said:
But where would you see them these days?
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Well, yes, that’s true, those Cortinas, Vivas and Anglias are all approaching 60 and weren’t too durable to start with. You won’t even find them in scrapyards, because there aren’t any of those now due to ecological laws, and probably that is a good thing. However, it would have been nice to see a Jag, an Auntie Rover or an Alvis parked in front of the shops wouldn’t it?

Let’s see, the Jag in front of Harry Fenton’s, the Rover in front of Dunn’s and the Alvis waiting for its owner who was having a fitting at a bespoke tailor on the first floor of an arcade close by.
 
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Susan shaw said:
Many thanks for these pics Steve but it is #1670 that holds fond memories for me. I loved Wallis and I shopped there for many, many years. Wasn’t too keen on the communal, crammed changing room but that all changed over the years. Shame about the demise of Wallis and many other stores.
I remember a store called Neatawear, think this was in Corporation street. I liked their clothes too. Did they go bust? They seemed to disappear quite quickly.... but my memory may be playing tricks. Kind regards, Sue
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Neatawear was at 56 Corporation Street. In the block of shops on the corner of Union Street.
 
SteveBhx said:
sorry for the quick visit with little commentary bit busy at work.

We have been having a walk up and down Corporation Street - we got as far as Lewis's so we will walk back down to Union street where we started. Not much to see a selection of shop fronts and a few cars. All taken in 1971

First Up stone Dry

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Stone- Dri was 72 Corporation Street . The new 72 is occupied by "Rush"
 

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annie56 said:
Again, smashing pictures, thank you.
I, too, was a Wallis shopper and also remember Neatawear.. lovely, reasonably priced fashions... remember prices were always 49/11d, 59/11d, 69/11d and 79/11d... never in £s. If you went posh and ventured into Mary Quant (in Marshall and Snelgroves) you would pay in 'guineas' .
Thanks for reminding me of Neatawear, Sue. Have tried to place which side of the road it was on.
Annie
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Hi Annie, Thanks for your response. I think it was on the same side of Wallis but not sure. Mary Quant, yes. I didn’t have any of her dresses but when I worked at Benton & Stone in Aston, we would venture down Newtown Row shopping. I loved working in Aston. There was a ladies clothes shop there and they sold lovely dresses. They were replicas of Mary Quant, so not too expensive but very nice. We used to put items by and pay weekly. I can see it now wine colour, edged in white with a hole on the neckline. ( getting a bit sentimental here, and a bit off thread, apologies). I wonder if Viv or Lyn remembers this shop. It was a great era wasn’t it Annie. Wonder what happened to Biba and the lovely Cathy McGowan. Cannot thank Steve, the Moderators and all the forum members for photos that bring back lovely memories for me. Sue
 
Susan shaw said:
Hi Annie, Thanks for your response. I think it was on the same side of Wallis but not sure. Mary Quant, yes. I didn’t have any of her dresses but when I worked at Benton & Stone in Aston, we would venture down Newtown Row shopping. I loved working in Aston. There was a ladies clothes shop there and they sold lovely dresses. They were replicas of Mary Quant, so not too expensive but very nice. We used to put items by and pay weekly. I can see it now wine colour, edged in white with a hole on the neckline. ( getting a bit sentimental here, and a bit off thread, apologies). I wonder if Viv or Lyn remembers this shop. It was a great era wasn’t it Annie. Wonder what happened to Biba and the lovely Cathy McGowan. Cannot thank Steve, the Moderators and all the forum members for photos that bring back lovely memories for me. Sue
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Hi Sue,
I agree with all that you have said there, it’s so good to look at the posts and wander down memory lane. I think we were teenagers in some of the best years and also into our 20’s. It was all so exciting. Fantastic forum and I appreciate all of the hard work and effort that the Moderators and members put in. Jen
 
JeannetteM said:
Hi Sue,
I agree with all that you have said there, it’s so good to look at the posts and wander down memory lane. I think we were teenagers in some of the best years and also into our 20’s. It was all so exciting. Fantastic forum and I appreciate all of the hard work and effort that the Moderators and members put in. Jen
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So true Jen.. Sue
 
Susan shaw said:
Hi Annie, Thanks for your response. I think it was on the same side of Wallis but not sure. Mary Quant, yes. I didn’t have any of her dresses but when I worked at Benton & Stone in Aston, we would venture down Newtown Row shopping. I loved working in Aston. There was a ladies clothes shop there and they sold lovely dresses. They were replicas of Mary Quant, so not too expensive but very nice. We used to put items by and pay weekly. I can see it now wine colour, edged in white with a hole on the neckline. ( getting a bit sentimental here, and a bit off thread, apologies). I wonder if Viv or Lyn remembers this shop. It was a great era wasn’t it Annie. Wonder what happened to Biba and the lovely Cathy McGowan. Cannot thank Steve, the Moderators and all the forum members for photos that bring back lovely memories for me. Sue
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Cathy McGowan is Michael Balls partner.

Bob
 
Thought I would start with this one as we were in Princip Street in #1,645
Here we can see Princip Street running along the left hand side. Interesting to see who much was lost before the city was " redeveloped. As usual no date but by seeing what is there and what isn't it should be too difficult.
Half a Post and Mail building and no flyover at Lancaster Circus and St Chads looking lonely with bare earth all around.
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We had a previous view just around the corner from her - this is Easy Row, so much to see from Ornate lamp posts, to the father and daughter window shopping. There are so many building style one with a central door and arched window on the second floor to one with a little bay window upstairs to the ornate Bank.
Telling to see that Merrys is having a demolition sale - many more to be seen around at this time. Can I also point out the car on the right and the man who seems to be jumping on the crossing.

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Here is Broad Street and Granville Street, with Lee Longlands - possibly the only recognisable building - and such a wide variety of vehicles and a variety of parking locations. A 360 these days produces hardly anything of character. I am sure someone will throw light on what the building in the centre was please

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Next back to black and white - again no date or location but the building and names must be recognisable to some. Is that a bit of ironwork behind the Bryant sign?
apparently we are at the end of the zone whatever that was . Note also the security on the building site - there is a child using the scaffolding as a climbing frame!
EDIT : Spear Brothers and Clark - Freeman Street, near Moor Street - thanks everyone

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annie56 said:
Again, smashing pictures, thank you.
I, too, was a Wallis shopper and also remember Neatawear.. lovely, reasonably priced fashions... remember prices were always 49/11d, 59/11d, 69/11d and 79/11d... never in £s. If you went posh and ventured into Mary Quant (in Marshall and Snelgroves) you would pay in 'guineas' .
Thanks for reminding me of Neatawear, Sue. Have tried to place which side of the road it was on.
Annie
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I was also a Wallis shopper in later times & remember Netawear. Does anyone remember buying designer dresses from a man in the Rag Alley late 70s - early 80s. I had a Jeffrey Rogers dress off him & loved it. Only wish I could fit in to it today! There was also a man under the stairs of the outdoor market who sold lovely shoes late 60s early 70s.
 
jfs (#1674)
Surly John, the Herald had rather bulbous chrome headlight surrounds that could have been seen from this angle?
John
 
#1698

From the left is an Austin K4 lorry, well worn by the looks of it. This model was known as “the Birmingham Bedford” due to its close resemblance to the O series from Luton. The 4 litre engine used in the Austin Sheerline and Princess cars came from the basic design of this commercial engine. The small van facing the camera is a comparative rarity, a two cylinder Jowett Bradford, and the lorry with the front panel missing is a Morris FF, or its Austin equivalent.

The cars are a Morris Minor 1000, a Ford Consul Mk2 and a Consul Mk1. The car in the bottom right is a Ford Popular. The Consul Mk2 is a lowline model, pretty new looking, so the picture cannot be older than 1959/60. Earlier cars had a noticeably deeper roof panel.
 
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SteveBhx said:
Next back to black and white - again no date or location but the building and names must be recognisable to some. Is that a bit of ironwork behind the Bryant sign?
apparently we are at the end of the zone whatever that was . Note also the security on the building site - there is a child using the scaffolding as a climbing frame!

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That's a strange one, the only Spear Brothers and Clark I can find is in Bristol, but it's not the same building (as per an old photo on Pinterest) this is their letterhead. They were also in Smithfield Market, London.
s-l400.jpg

Next door is Times Furnishing but it's not the building in High Street - did they have a Depot somewhere?
 
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