Sheldon

[jmadone]

I can't remember Mr Wimpory mentioning Rye Eddish but Spargone may recall it, he always paid better attention than I did in class Ha Ha.

 

[mbenne]

I can't remember Mr Wimpory mentioning Rye Eddish but Spargone may recall it, he always paid better attention than I did in class Ha Ha.

Sorry to digress slightly on this thread but I wish I'd paid more attention too. It was just another lesson in those days but as I've always had a keen interest in history I wonder if my failing memory is due to the way it was taught! I had a real fear of Mr Wimpory, particularly when he wanted to make a point if I hadn't quite understood something. He would crouch down low to my desk, face to face, I can see his gold fillings and feel the spittle on my face now. He'd go off into a rant and hammer the back of my chair with his fist. On one occasion he told me I was so stupid I'd end up sweeping the roads! All those destined for greater things were sat in the row immediately in front of his desk. I was in a row near the door so that that says it all lol.

 

[Bookworm]

There were three areas in what was the open field system. Rye-Eddish, Elder and Ridding. These were situated about where Mackadown Road is. Each field had arable, common pasture and meadow (to provide winter hay.) The arable area operated on a rotation of crops and a fallow period to maintain fertility. There were three (some say four) Manor Courts in Sheldon. Machitone being one of them.

 

[jmadone]

Try this link for a concise history of Sheldon

Parishes: Sheldon | British History Online

www.british-history.ac.uk

I found it very interesting.

 

[Spargone]

I can't remember Mr Wimpory mentioning Rye Eddish but Spargone may recall it, he always paid better attention than I did in class Ha Ha.

Actually I don't remember that at all so mbenne is one up on us both! Perhaps we remembered the local, local history, in my case the Rectory Park area. Northern Sheldon was a foreign land to us! I was hoping mbenne was going to tell us that he did become a road sweeper but as the top boss of Birmingham sanitation department! I always thought of Mr Wimpory as being mild-mannered and don't recall him ever losing his temper, (Mrs Best was something else). Must be one of those 'sun always shone during the summer holidays' things unless one experienced a really bad summer!

 

[mbenne]

Try this link for a concise history of Sheldon

Parishes: Sheldon | British History Online

www.british-history.ac.uk

I found it very interesting.

So the landowners were 'wheeler dealers' passing off parcels of land between them while the surfs worked the fields and took charity. Nothing has changed lol

 

[mbenne]

Actually I don't remember that at all so mbenne is one up on us both! Perhaps we remembered the local, local history, in my case the Rectory Park area. Northern Sheldon was a foreign land to us! I was hoping mbenne was going to tell us that he did become a road sweeper but as the top boss of Birmingham sanitation department! I always thought of Mr Wimpory as being mild-mannered and don't recall him ever losing his temper, (Mrs Best was something else). Must be one of those 'sun always shone during the summer holidays' things unless one experienced a really bad summer!

Mr Wimpory wasn't far off the mark. Almost 40 years in water and sewerage , mainly in .....IT so I never got my hands dirty lol. Reading about rateable values again reminded me of my early working life gathering Penny Rate Products to calculate regional tarrifs - happy days! I think my foot is nailed to Sheldon having worked for 4 differnt employers there, either side and at each end of the A45. At one location I was able to see the oak tree at the end of my mom and dads back garden and looking from the other side I could tell when my wife was home from the light in our living room. I just didnt get to work on a farm Ha Ha!

 

[Spargone]

Off topic, but at university there was a lad a year above me who just about got a degree by the skin of his teeth. The prof. had said he would never amount to much. A few months into the new year he popped in to see us and the prof.
"I expect you are still looking for work then?", the prof. had asked. "No, I had a client in the area so I thought I would stop by, in my company car and tell you about how IBM pays me three times as much as you!" A legend of the department!

 

[Spargone]

This extract from the Charity Commissioners report of 1835 might help those interested in tracking down the various parcels of land mentioned above.
I must admit that I had never thought of Croft as a road name being related to Croft as in Scottish Crofter. Perhaps we can learn more from the modern road names than we might at first expect? Is it possible that Tile Cross is really derived from Tyler's Croft (Crofft)? That might apply to any other Cross we might find. As I understand it a 'sellion' is a furrow and a 'loughton' is a settlement on a hill. Would 'lee/lea' be the sheltered side of the hill?

 

[podgie]

And a bit below the 'D' in Sheldon you can see The Elms on the map. This is a photograph of The Elms at the Radley's, about 1890, with members of the Cattell family, related to the Cattells of Sheldon Hall.

Ann

The house is still there-facinating

 

[Spargone]

Over the years there has been some speculation as to where the 'Sheldona' cafe, shown on page 36 of Margaret Green's book Around Sheldon might have been located. The book says it was near The Wheatsheaf and the picture was taken around 1920.

I note that Crofton Collections is selling a used post card with the same picture, date stamped 10 July 1904. Clearly the photo must be older than that.

While many people remember various Cafes in Sheldon I don't think anyone has been able to say that they were at one time the 'Sheldona'.

I find it intriguing that the Sheldon is in quotes wherever it appears on the property, that is similar to the way that products were often described, i.e. buy the "Acme" washing machine. Indeed on the wall under the big sign it says 'THE recognized public COMMODITY' as if 'Sheldona' was a drink in its own right, like 'Camp' coffee.

The postcard is captioned SHELDONA CAFE, SHELDON but that might have been an assumption by the postcard maker, or might even refer to a non-Birmingham 'Sheldon'.

 

[jmadone]

Jim, have a look at this link, the Sheldona and The Ship cafe are mentioned http://205004.homepagemodules.de/t260138f54-Photos-of-Sheldon-1.html

There is also a thread on this forum regarding The Sheldona

 

[Spargone]

Jim, have a look at this link, the Sheldona and The Ship cafe are mentioned http://205004.homepagemodules.de/t260138f54-Photos-of-Sheldon-1.html

There is also a thread on this forum regarding The Sheldona

The link is interesting but doesn't answer the question. I went through all the 'Sheldona' references that I could find on this forum last night and concluded that no-one had the answer and I don't think anyone had queried the 1920s date, (which your link does). I'm not spending £22 to see if there are any clues on the actual card! The slogan on the wall hadn't been picked up before, I don't think.
[PS What has happened to your Mapledene pictures?]

 

[jmadone]

When I posted these pictures originally In order to get them to the right size for the forum I used Tinypics. Unfortunately they went to whoever knows where. I presume that all the pictures I have posted using this have suffered a similar fate. I will sort them out again and repost where I can. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

 

[mbenne]

I was in Cornwall this week and visited the Tolgus Tin Mill in Redruth. I came across the letter below which was pinned to one of the panning shed walls. It was written a few years before the company ceased commercial trading and was sent to Priestman Bros Ltd, 2111 Coventry Road, requesting spares for an excavator. The building number and post code still exists but is now the home of the Police Benevolent fund. I can only vaguely recall the telephone exchange in this area? Priestman's were based in Hull but I don't remember them being in Sheldon?

 

[devonjim]

Weren't they opposite Three Horse Shoes?

 

[Spargone]

I was in Cornwall this week and visited the Tolgus Tin Mill in Redruth. I came across the letter below which was pinned to one of the panning shed walls. It was written a few years before the company ceased commercial trading and was sent to Priestman Bros Ltd, 2111 Coventry Road, requesting spares for an excavator. The building number and post code still exists but is now the home of the Police Benevolent fund. I can only vaguely recall the telephone exchange in this area? Priestman's were based in Hull but I don't remember them being in Sheldon?

Priestmans had an office and showroom more or less where the extension to Sheldon telephone exchange is now. No. 2111 is now Guardians House and would be where I remember the showroom being, i.e. not quite on the corner which is the BT site.
The building was perhaps put up in the 1970s? and had a large glass-fronted ground floor, being high enough to accommodate a single excavator.

 

[mbenne]

Priestmans had an office and showroom more or less where the extension to Sheldon telephone exchange is now. No. 2111 is now Guardians House and would be where I remember the showroom being, i.e. not quite on the corner which is the BT site.
The building was perhaps put up in the 1970s? and had a large glass-fronted ground floor, being high enough to accommodate a single excavator.

now you describe it I can vaguely recall the showroom

 

[mbenne]

Sunday trading!!! Not a good day for getting ammo for your cap gun but for Mom the shopl on Greenvale Avenue was a god send for late shopping! Was it legal?????

 

[jmadone]

The shop was run by a family named Nash. I remember it being built and yes it was very handy for Sunday shopping.

 

[mbenne]

The Sheldon opened on 10th October 1937 and closed on 26th November 1977 - my Dad, who was aged 10yrs at the time, played on the site when it was being built - he claims to have knocked a bag of cement off some scaffolding onto the stage area! Ironically, he attended the last night at the cinema, Orca The Killer Whale, and took a number of 35mm pictures of the box office and the projection room. Also pictures of the Cinema in the course of demolition. If I get a chance I will try and dig them out and post on the forum.

Early recollections was my grandparents taking me to see Darby O'Gill and The Little People around 1959. Thought it was great until the Banshee appeared - I was so frightened I wouldn't leave my seat for an ice cream in the interval.

Mom and Dad also took me to see Journey to the Center of the Earth again in 1959. When the scene with the dinosaurs came up I made her blind fold me with her scarf and covered my ears to blot it all out. I must have been a sensitive child lol.

I seem to recall that if we arrived too early we'd see the end of the film first and then stay for the second showing? The expectation of being treated to sweets and ice cream, dimmed lights and those colorful draped curtains. Cigarette smoke curling up through the projection beam. Look at Life, Pearl and Dean Advertising and this theme tune always seemed to be playing at the start or in the interval - really nostalgic to hear it again.

The last days of the Sheldon Cinema - I managed to locate two of the photos I refered to in the post above. Unfortunately I couldnt find the colour photographs taken on the closing night and more of demolition in progress but I did find the negatives with around 40 shots. The second picture was taken from Lyndon Road towards the Prime Point building on the Coventry Road

 

[jmadone]

The last days of the Sheldon Cinema - I managed to locate two of the photos I refered to in the post above. Unfortunately I couldnt find the colour photographs taken on the closing night and more of demolition in progress but I did find the negatives with around 40 shots. The second picture was taken from Lyndon Road towards the Prime Point building on the Coventry Road

What distressing pictures. So many fond memories of visits there.

 

[mbenne]

Further to Spargone's response to 'The Jungle' in the Mapledene thread, the site of the jungle is shown below.
I have also attached a view from the rear of Normanton looking towards the rear of Shepherd Road and the airport runway. We could actually see the old terminal building then. This was taken in later years, evidenced by the many kitchen extensions, the houses were quite tiny! The aviary was a couple of gardens beyond the garage to the RHS. Looking back I now realise just how close we were to open countryside, I wonder if the view is still the same?
Dad used to hang a mirror on the bedroom wall to watch the planes taking off from the airport while lying in bed a night hahha. Occupying the front bedroom my view was less interesting but in the 50s and early 60s when there was less noise pollution I can member hearing the bells from St Giles and the clatter of railway wagons being moved at Marston Green Station!

 

[jmadone]

With reference to your reply on the Mapledene thread, my Dad also had an aviary in the back garden where he raised budgerigars and canaries, later just concentrating on canaries. He was a member of the South Birmingham Cage Bird Society and sometimes I would go with him on Show days held in the upstairs room at the Bulls Head P.H. in Hay Mills. I wonder if the guy in Normanton was a member also and perhaps knew my Dad.
You're comment about how close we were to open countryside is so true. Although living within the boundary of Britain's second city I always thought I had a "country" upbringing roaming freely all day over fields and streams hardly ever seeing or hearing a motor vehicle until I got back home.

 

[mbenne]

With reference to your reply on the Mapledene thread, my Dad also had an aviary in the back garden where he raised budgerigars and canaries, later just concentrating on canaries. He was a member of the South Birmingham Cage Bird Society and sometimes I would go with him on Show days held in the upstairs room at the Bulls Head P.H. in Hay Mills. I wonder if the guy in Normanton was a member also and perhaps knew my Dad.
You're comment about how close we were to open countryside is so true. Although living within the boundary of Britain's second city I always thought I had a "country" upbringing roaming freely all day over fields and streams hardly ever seeing or hearing a motor vehicle until I got back home.

 

[Spargone]

Personally I find it a little sad that what must have been fantastic views of the surrounding countryside have been lost because of all the buildings. Unless one is walking it is easy to forget that there are hills in the Sheldon/Yardley area. For the public places like the top of Barrows Lane and the Oaklands Recreation Ground still provide good views, some lucky householders can see beyond the rooftops to more distant places from their upstairs windows.

Did Mbenne's neighbour plus one, (Post #623) have an asbestos sheeted garage? There was a time when the walls not just the roof were made of that 'miracle' material.

 

[mbenne]

I'm always pleased when old photos of Sheldon turn up. These recently appeared on a Sheldon community website known as 'B26' https://b26community.wordpress.com/
I would have provided direct links but the photos are not easy to locate and over time websites are taken down and links no longer work . I suspect they are from some publication on Sheldon that I have not seen.

The first is captioned William Adams,St Giles Church 1887. Bell ringer, caretaker, doorkeeper and sexton, also responsible for organizing the digging of graves and summoning parishioners to vestry meetings to discuss parish business.

The next two are of Jubilee Bridge, 1920. Built over Westley Brook which apparently flooded Church Road in winter. This was to celebrate Queen Victoria’s sixty years as Queen (so would have been built around 1897?) The old Moat House is shown in the background - was this replaced by the bridge which now runs under Church Road?

The last picture is captioned Sheldon Cottage Stores, this was located on the Coventry Road, opposite Barrows Lane and would have been next to The Wagon and Horses.

 

[jmadone]

Great pics of old Sheldon. The last one is intriguing. I'm sure that in later years directly opposite that location was a bus stop at which I used to wait for the 60 bus to take me home after visiting my Uncle and Aunt's house in Barrows Lane. I seem to recall a shop adjacent to that bus stop but not opposite. I wonder when the one shop closed and the other opened.

 

[mbenne]

Great pics of old Sheldon. The last one is intriguing. I'm sure that in later years directly opposite that location was a bus stop at which I used to wait for the 60 bus to take me home after visiting my Uncle and Aunt's house in Barrows Lane. I seem to recall a shop adjacent to that bus stop but not opposite. I wonder when the one shop closed and the other opened.

I dont recognise the one in the picture either but do remember the one you mention on the opposite side. I think it was there until the early 60s. I had no idea it existed until we walked back from Stechford swimming baths - saving our bus fare to spend on sweets! From outside it looked like one of the surounding houses but had a 1d bubblegum machine outside.

 

[Spargone]

I'm always pleased when old photos of Sheldon turn up. These recently appeared on a Sheldon community website known as 'B26' https://b26community.wordpress.com/

All of these pictures can be found in Margaret Green's Around Sheldon [Details at Waterstone's for info. only]
The Coventry Road picture pre-dates the opening of New Coventry Road so the road shown is two-way, as hinted by the 'Bournville' sign that faces what would be the wrong way today. Margaret Green places the photo as circa. 1925.