• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

Perry Barr

R

Rod

Guest
Mom used to take us to Parry Barr on the 33 bus sometimes in summer. We would buy one of those little nets attached to a bamboo cane and fish by the waterfall not too far from the entrance. I remember catch sticklebacks and sometimes taking them home in a jam jar tied at the top with a string handle. We took a picnic and pop and always had a good time along the side of that stream, the sun always seemed to shine didnt it? On the way home we sometimes had one of those indivdually wrapped chocolate digestives, I think red wrapping for plain chocolate, and blue for milk....... Funny all the little details you remember.

As we grew older we took ourselves to the park, and soon found our way to Perry Hall, we would usually have at least one go on the paddle boats if we were feeling flush!! there were lovely gardens set along the stream there and we used to ferret around for frogs and frogspawn depending on time of year, Sue I wonder if Tony remembers coming along with Alan and me on one of these visits.
 
yes, we always used to have, or buy, kids fishing nets for that park...
there was a shop on the corner of the road near the entrance I think...

seem to remember a little bridge there that we would fish near...

yes, I remember the paddle boats too..

didn't like the dark-chocolate ones in red wrappers, only the blue ones  ;)

when we went there from when we lived in Perry Common and were walking back, or on one of the buses, we would always have a look at the house on College Road with all the gnomes in the front garden.
 
Can anyone tell if this is on that bridge?
(Didn't the bridge link Perry Barr and Perry Hall parks? (or is my memory up the shoot)?

Or could it be the one at Cannon Hill Park?

'tis my dad by the way

DadPBpark.jpg
 
Yes, it put a lump in my throat to see the stream in Perry Park, which I have not thought about for over 50 years, but knew well when I was a choirboy at St John's over the road in 1942 - 43. I don't think we actually paddled in the stream, but we used to mess around there, I remember.
Most of the land where the stadium is now was used as private allotments, all well cultivated at that time, and on bit of green was a gun emplacement. I don't think there was a barrage balloon based there, but they may have gone by then.
Peter
 
Thanks for the pics Dollyferret. Though it is much changed I can remember
going there quite a lot. My mother's cousin lived in those houses behind the Park so we visited quite a bit and went to the the Park to play with our other cousin. Later on my brother and I would venture out by ourselves and take the bus to the Park in the summer holidays. I remember loading up with books once to read on the way and at the Park. Daft idea, since they were very heavy to carry and it was hot. I remember the paddle boat pool and also remember arriving when an ambulance was there. A boy had fallen in off one of the paddle boats and cut his leg rather badly from a broken bottle in the pool.
We had a good stare and found out it was a boy from my class at school!
 
Jennyann - the paddle boats were not at Peery Park of the Aldridge Road, but at Perry Hall Park, the far side of Walsall Road from us. There are some nice pics under the parks thread on this site. You must have seen them.
Peter
 
I should have said Perry Hall Park.... Peter ...sorry, I can see it in my minds
eye even now.
 
i remember the little paddle boats at perry hall park,me an my best mate (gone now bless him)we used to wag school and go on our bikes,down to perry park and look at the big rowing boats and then go to perry hall park cos there was a green wooden coffee and tea shopon the right as you went through the gates,we used to go in there for a cup of tea and a great big wedge of home made apple pie,the pie used to be 6 pence,it was 2 elderly ladies ,and im sure they felt sorry for us,cos these apple pies would be cut about a third of the plate each,(mind you ,we probably did look like a pair of orphans) but the ladies were so nice to us and caring,and ive never forgot that,but we would always say please and thankyou.and now my back garden backs on to perry hall park,strange eh!
 
i had heard that the boats from perry park and perry hall park were still in storage at witton lakes, CROMWEEEEEEEL !!!!!
 
Neachelite, I am not sure where in Witton Lakes Park they would be
stored as the Boathouse burned down years ago. They used to store boats in there at one time. Cbn't think of any other buikding in Witton Lakes Park for storage.
 
I also used Perry Barr Park a lot. There was a kids play area there and my friends and I would go after school (Canterbury Road) and play on the swings and slides. We'd be 11 or 12 - these days the girls of that age are too busy chatting up the lads! I remember the fair used come there in the summer as well. My dad was in the fishing club at the Church Tavern and I still have the teaset and cutlery set he won in a couple of competitions.
When I had my first child, we were living in Dyas Avenue and I used to push the pram to Perry Hall Park and sit under the trees with him, introducing him to my childhood haunts.
 
Though I caught tiddlers in the park stream and my mom made me take them back because they weren't happy - I remember the Odeon and Birchfield picture houses - At the Birchfield I would line up for Saturday matinees - for some cowboy movie like 'Roy Rogers'
 
Perry Barr Park Pics

Dollyferret. Looking at your photos of the streams running through Perry Barr park reminds me of the stream which ran into the park.
It started from the pools in the grounds of St Margarets Hospital and ran through woods and fields behind Perry Beeches school.
It ran under Beeches Rd and under Hassop Rd into a field behind the Beeches pub.
This field was a popular playing place for the kids of the Beeches Estate and 'the Brook', as we called it, was reasonably clean because we use to dam it and try to swim in the deeper water. I remember playing in the field on VE day. They later built prefabs on half of the field.
The brook flowed under Thornbridge Ave, through some large ash tips going under the canal into the large boating pool.
If we felt brave we could paddle along the brook under the canal and get into the park.
One evening we were playing in the field and an twin engined De-havilland Rapide came over extremely low heading in the direction of the park.
I seem to remember reading in the B'ham mail next day that it had apparently made a forced landing in the park.
In the late 60's, the planners noted that they could run the M6 through the area without demolishing too many houses and the brook and field eventually disappeared under it.
 
Last edited:
Hi Dollyferret...
Thank you so much for posting the photos of Perry Barr park on this site..
I used to live in the house next to the corner shop on Aldridge Road.I spent a great deal of my childhood in that park. I was so sad to see how it has declined. How as that happened.... who is to blame?:rolleyes:
The stream used to run under a litle bridge in to the CHURCH TAVERN gardens, one day some boys pinched my shoes while I was paddling and catching fish and threw them in the stream , they floated away under the bridge. I was terrified to go home and tell my Mom.
So many memories....

This is looking at the Corner shop, from the park gate..
 
My Memories

Looking at the lovely photos and reading everyone's memories of Perry Barr I simply can't compete with. I didn't have many associations with Perry Barr, but the one association I did have will be in my memory forever. - MY DRIVING TEST at 5.30pm. Here comes a little story.
I was picked up from school by my brother-in-law after getting permission to leave half an hour earlier. My English teacher smirking as he opened the door for me (he'd failed THREE times) I think he thought that Shakespeare's "Macbeth" would serve me far greater service than taking my driving test on that day.
Arriving at the test centre and starting my exam. I was horrified to find myself in much traffic congestion and the examiner TOLD me to make the next turn, not left, which would have been quite bad with buses pushing me up the backside, but right, with great lorries heading towards me. In my panic I thought I'd stalled the engine and tried to restart. Then I heard the words, "You can't start an engine twice - it is running already" with great sarcasm in his voice. Oh well that's that then I thought. After I'd taken the right hand turn I was asked to park the car and reverse back into the road behind me. Hmm! he'd asked me to park in a very deep gutter hadn't he? So after considerable wheel spin against the kerb, and by way of manoevering the car, I managed to perform the action. By that time I was getting a little fed up with my examiner, mainly his attitude, so when he asked me to make an emergency stop I jammed my foot down so hard hoping he'd have to stop himself hurtling through the windscreen. Back at the test centre all the questions came flying at me and my answers always ended with a shrug of the shoulders - I just wanted to collect my failed slip and go home. Then with astonishment he waved a green pass slip under my nose. I looked round in the back of the car to make sure no-one had slipped in behind with it intended for them. No, I was the only one. Apparently he was satisfied how I'd got out of my "awkward" situations, and... my emergency stop was excellent!!!!! Surprise surprise, and the next day my English teacher looked very crestfallen.
Those are my memories of Perry Barr.
Anne
 
Last edited by a moderator:
nome city

We used to call that House on College rd with all the nomes nome city.The bloke who owned the bungalow worked for the local council as a roofer and his co worker used to sing opera out loud.even whislt working
 
Perry Barr park.

:D I have fond memories of both Perry Barr and Hall Parks. I used to go on the paddle boats and come off with enormous blisters. Many's a time I was chased off by the parkie for catching frogs. He never caught me though. I would then call in at my nans house in Franchise street for a piece of home made bread pudding. By for now. Jean.:D
 
Perry Hall Playing Fields

Did anyone out there fly model aircraft at Perry Hall Playing Fields in the fifties and sixties?

Regards,

Big Gee
 
Aeroplanes and Gnomes

Big Gee, my brother used to fly model aeroplanes there.
I also remember the garden full of Gnomes in College road.
 
A family photo which shows that you could once row a boat on the pool in Perry Barr park. No life jackets and us kids were not allowed to use the rudder, it's stowed away in the boat.
The photo was taken during WW2 - I looked at the pool recently on Google Earth and it looked green with weeds etc.

Rowing_Boat__Perry_Barr_Park_1940s.jpg
 
Last edited:
What a fantastic photo Mohawk. We went past Perry Barr park the other day and were tempted to take a look and there were two hoodies tormenting their dogs to fight. That is Perry Hall in your photo isn't it?. Jean.
 
Hi, Jean,
Thanks for the reply. It was Perry Barr park, the trees in the background were along the canal and by Curbar Rd. The only boats I went on in Perry Hall park were small Paddle Boats.
oldmohawk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top