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Searching for The Retreat

M

maggie4848

proper brummie kid
Hello...I am a Brummie Newbie. My birth certificate states my address at birth was, 2 The Retreat, Bordesley Park Road. Where can I find a copy of this place circa 1947. Does anyone know what exactly this place was? Also looking for a picture of Holy Family Church, 763 Coventry Road, Small Heath, in Birmingham where I was baptised. Any help would be much appreciated.
 
The retreat was a set of terraces off Bordesley Park road, all accessed by a road/ alleyway called the retreat. The 25 houses in The Retreat are in blue on the c 1903 map below. The name Retreat is marked on the map. You should note that there is also another place, a street, called The Retreat in Aston.

map_c_1903_The_Retreat___Bordesley_Park_RoadA.jpg
 
hello Maggie I was born on bordesley park road no 127 opposite mrs bignalls shop the entrance to the retreat can be seen here to the right of mr prettys sweet shopbordesley park road 1.jpg
 
22 (2).jpg11.jpghere,s two pics of the holy family church cov rd taken from google earth not sure how old the present church is though
 
I still live in Brum Maggie by the Journey's End pub Yardley was born in Charles Road 1948 what about you mhemery
 
I too still live in Brum Maggie by the Robin Hood pub Hall green, im a bit younger than you both born in 1954,but my sister Eileen Emery as she was then was born in 1944 also in bordesley park road, and she informed me today that my self my brother, and two sisters were also baptised at the holy family church, and her good friend Sandra Thomas lived at no 20 The Retreat here,s an extract from the electoral register from 1950 and a photo of my sister on the left and Sandra Thomas from about 1954IMG_0001 (3).jpgeileen emery and sandra thomas abt 1954.jpg
 
I loved the picture...I am grateful for the info you have provided to me, as I know very little about my early years. My Mother and I immigrated to Canada in 1951 when I was about 4. I know my biological Father died in 1973...the year I was married. We live in Pincourt Quebec, a suburb (about 25 miles from Montreal) which is one of the largest cities in the province of Quebec, Canada, so we are bilingual; we speak English and French about equally. We live on an island called Ile Perrot which is about 20 miles in circumference. I am 66 years old with 2 wonderful daughters and 3 fantastic grand-children. However, at this point in my life, I feel the need to find out about my roots. Unfortunately, my Mother, who is still living, never divulged much concerning our years in England. My Step-Father, who was a wonderful person passed away in March of this year and somehow I then became really interested in my heritage. I am lucky to have been in Canada all these years and to be married to a great man, who is a retired policeman. I am also blessed with 3 sisters (actually half-sisters but to me 100%). Birmingham seem like a great and historic city...I would like to visit one day. In the mean time if you feel like communicating from time to time, I would welcome the connection with my "roots". We have started a Family Tree on Ancestry.ca UK. It is the Tremblay/Nugent/Seymour tree. Please feel free to visit. I would welcome your reply with your info if you feel so inclined! May I ask if " The Retreat " was an apartment complex? The photo of the children has confused me a little...was it a daycare? Hope to hear from you soon...Regards Maggie
 
Hi Maggie I should have said when I posted the picture that it was 1953 the Coronation celebrations for our present queen , that's why all the children are there and dressed as they are . Birmingham is an industrial city and from the mid 1800s the city had enormous growth due to the amount of jobs that became available the influx of people were housed in the cheapest way possible and a great number of these type of terraces or courts were built , high density housing , so The Retreat was a terrace of houses not apartments . Most of the houses including the Retreat had no inside toilets , they were built in a block in the yard , and sometimes shared between two or more families . There were no bathrooms , to have a bath you had to fill a tin bath from a boiler or some thing that heated water. The housing conditions were dire not helped by the war and they dragged on until the mid 70s . There is a thread on here called Yards and Courtyards of old Brum I wiil post a link to it and you will have a better understanding after looking at it.Iam sure that mhemery can give you more local info than I can .regards Bernie
 
here,s another view of bordesley park road this would be directly opposite the entrance to the retreat, its of my self on the left my brother martin and our friend brian upton abt 1961/2michael and martin emery with brian upton.jpg
 
Hello- my Great Grandmother died at 8, The Retreat in 1948 & thanks to your discussion I now have a better idea of what /where The Retreat was ... would anyone know what you had to do to get a house here? Did it work similarly to the way in which Sheltered Accommodation does today as I presume it was owned by the Council ?? Thank you.
 
It wasn't sheltered accommodation Elle they it was a terrace of houses I'm not sure if they were council houses or private landlords so you would either be given it by the council or apply to the landlord .
 
Thank you Berniew...I imagined it must have been 'sheltered' as she was 90 yrs of age & living alone. I see that there is a Retreat at Aston , which was on the basis of some sort of selection?The Address on her DC is 8, The Retreat, Bordesley Park Road , Birmingham 10 UD....that is the first 'Retreat' & not the second- yes?I am a bit confused ...I did once live in Birmingham but that was as a child /teen so to a great extent it is all a bit hazy
 
coronation 1953.jpgcoronation party 1953.jpg two photos of 1953 coronation celebrations in the retreat, bordesley park rd. my two sisters maureen and eileen emery on the right in the first photo.
 
I have a photo of my parents wedding, & I am fairly certain , having seen your photo's, that it was taken in the same place or a similar part of The Retreat. Would you know if either of your sisters, might have heard of anyone by the name of either Isaacs, Mulligan or Pettit/t? Thanks.
 
The online electoral rolls list Rosina Isaacs as being at no 8 ,The retreat in 1945
 
Yes- that 's my Great Grandmother ...where might I find this online electoral roll & thank you very much for posting
 
Elle said:
I have a photo of my parents wedding, & I am fairly certain , having seen your photo's, that it was taken in the same place or a similar part of The Retreat. Would you know if either of your sisters, might have heard of anyone by the name of either Isaacs, Mulligan or Pettit/t? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply Elle, I have asked my sister Eileen the younger of my sisters and i'm afraid those names don't ring any bells, unfortunately my elder sister is no longer with us. would love to see your photo if possible all the best Michael.
 
Thank you for asking your sister mhemery ; after so many years, it was bound to be a long-shot . I did in fact have a look for the photo I was thinking of this afternoon but so far have not found it. I have small sections of a second photo which my Mum cut up & included in an album, but these don't show enough of the surrounding buildings which was so distinctive about the complete photo. When I find it I will post. Thanks again.
 
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