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Slade Road Roughley, Sutton Coldfield

matinedmum

Brummie babby
Hi,

Does anybody know anything about the history of Roughley near Mere Green in Sutton Coldfield? Any information/photos would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
An Ordnance Survey extract (of 1912/13 revised in 1938) which may be of help. Viv.

image.jpeg
 
Hi,

Thanks so much for this - I really appreciate your time. I am particularly interested in Slade Road and the building of the houses along it. I also think that there was once a church on this road as there is some suggestion of an ancient burial ground - it would be great if anyone knows anything more on this.

Thanks again Viv.
 
I have an older map that marks the site of a priory near Canwell Hall. The priory was a Benedictine Monastry from 1149- 1525. Would it be connected? I'll post the image from the map tomorrow if it helps. Viv.
 
Hi Viv,
Thanks so much for your help with this. The monastery might be connected to the burial ground. Thanks again
 
We drive through Roughley at least once a week en route to Tamworth. Is the correct pronunciation Ruff-ley or Row-ley? It seems a very interesting little spot and one of these days I'll stop and have a closer look around. The name Muffins Den has been mentioned recently on these boards in connection with the (possibly legendary) highwayman Tom King. Years ago we looked at a house for sale on Slade Road, but it was a bit beyond our price-range and also a little too 'out of the way' for us.

G
s
 
I recently stumbled across this forum and was delighted with the interest in Slade Road Roughley as I spent the first 10 years of my life 1942-1952 living in 121 Slade Road. Our house was opposite the pub, if memory serves me right, the Plough and Harrow. I have visited the area several times in recent years and noticed that the pub has expanded taking in the old shoe menders and some old cottages. Below the pub past a few cottages was a small shop and a Baptist church where I went to Sunday School. Each year we celebrated the church`s anniversary where we learnt new hymns and were decked out in new white dresses and shoes (white pumps bought in Tamworth) At the bottom of the hill which to a child seemed very steep, was a garage with a shop which sold home made ice cream that was full of ice crystals . You had to take your own basin and the ice cream was scooped into your dish to take home. Above our house was another shop that was a converted house.
Further up the road was the crossroads with Weeford Road which was the bus terminal for the 102 Midland Red Bus where the drivers had a rest before the return journey to Birmingham. The buses ran every hour. At this crossroads was an orchard and a small wood where we used to play. This whole area is now a modern housing estate as is Weeford Road. We used to catch the bus in the morning to go to school in Mere Green. Each year we would walk with everyone else in the area along Weeford Road to Bassetts Pole to get to Canwell Horse Show which I understand still is exists .The house next door to us used to be owned by the Police and one of the local bobbies lived there with his family. Behind our house was a large field with a big Oak Tree in the middle where the local children used to meet up. The farmer must have been quite fed up with us as we used to trample down the wheat to make dens to hide in because no one could see us if we sat down. Once the wheat was cut the stalks used to be deadly as they cut into our legs as we ran across the field to our meeting place by the Oak Tree. Most of the children were boys but I had a friend, Valerie who was 2 years older than me who lived 2 doors away on the other side of the police house. My other friend was Jackie Hastilow who lived in Weeford Road in some old cottages that lay back from the road. She was 2 years younger than me. Her mother was very kind to me after I lost my own mother when I was 8. My brother , who now lives in Australia and I often reminisce about the things we used to get up to.
I often wonder if our old home has been updated as we had no bathroom as such. There was a back room that doubled up as kitchen, laundry room , dining room and bathroom. The bath had a wooden lid that had to be cleared of our day to day things every Friday when the copper in the corner was heated up to fill the bath when was filled by the bucketful from copper to bath. No luxury of privacy or your own bath water. The toilet was in a porch outside the back door unlike my grandfather in Hillwood Road who had an outhouse down the garden with a bucket under a wooden seat and squares of cut up Evening Mail on string hanging up on a nail. I remember having electric lighting put in about 1948-49. Before that we went to bed by candle light and had gas mantles downstairs. The back room had an old black fireplace that had to be `blacked` every so often with ovens and a spit over the open coal fire. There was a mantelpiece over it with a velvet cover with tassels on it.
I have other memories of our old home but as I do not want to bore everyone with all my memories unless any one is interested. We did move slightly into 20th century with a 12" TV in1951 , Well we did live within spiting distance of the new Sutton Coldfield TV Masts!
 
I seem to remember hearing that, originally, those very close to the TV mast had reception problems
 
Hi Ellis Family
Thanks so much for your post. I live just down from 121 on the same side just up from the garage. My house was built in 1926 and am really keen to find out about the road, the people who lived there, the buildings (I had no idea there were so many shops around there) and I would love to see any photos of the road and the houses. So any more memories would be lovely to hear! Thanks again...I am going to look to see if the old oak tree is still there as there are a number of tree protection orders on trees locally despite the building of the new estate.
 
THank you for your reply. You do not say how long you have lived in your house and when you moved in. Would be delighted to know if the old oak tree is still there. So many things have changed in the name of progress. Have other memories of growing up here and will try to organise my thoughts into a logical sequence and get back to you soon. Thank you for your interest.
Regards, joan
 
Just found this forum.
There was an old chapel with a grave yard behind very close to the plough and harrow.
I was one of the boy scouts that met there weekly.
Muffins den was a small cottage opposite the orchard that has been mentioned, the owner chased us out on many occasions.
Opposite the orchard in the middle of the road was a large manhole, can anyone remember the explosion that lifted the lid and some of the road in 1964 approx. ?
Just a little farther towards Canwell crossroads there was a small shop owned by Mrs Bloxom, her predecessor would deliver groceries around Canwell.
While mother was catching up on the gossip of which he always had plenty my sister would be in charge of the chip pan on a black lead grate.
On one occasion there was that much to catch up on by the time they had parted company the chips were very much depleted and we were all confined to barracks for a day on bread and water.
Happy Days !!
 
I recently stumbled across this forum and was delighted with the interest in Slade Road Roughley as I spent the first 10 years of my life 1942-1952 living in 121 Slade Road. Our house was opposite the pub, if memory serves me right, the Plough and Harrow. I have visited the area several times in recent years and noticed that the pub has expanded taking in the old shoe menders and some old cottages. Below the pub past a few cottages was a small shop and a Baptist church where I went to Sunday School. Each year we celebrated the church`s anniversary where we learnt new hymns and were decked out in new white dresses and shoes (white pumps bought in Tamworth) At the bottom of the hill which to a child seemed very steep, was a garage with a shop which sold home made ice cream that was full of ice crystals . You had to take your own basin and the ice cream was scooped into your dish to take home. Above our house was another shop that was a converted house.
Further up the road was the crossroads with Weeford Road which was the bus terminal for the 102 Midland Red Bus where the drivers had a rest before the return journey to Birmingham. The buses ran every hour. At this crossroads was an orchard and a small wood where we used to play. This whole area is now a modern housing estate as is Weeford Road. We used to catch the bus in the morning to go to school in Mere Green. Each year we would walk with everyone else in the area along Weeford Road to Bassetts Pole to get to Canwell Horse Show which I understand still is exists .The house next door to us used to be owned by the Police and one of the local bobbies lived there with his family. Behind our house was a large field with a big Oak Tree in the middle where the local children used to meet up. The farmer must have been quite fed up with us as we used to trample down the wheat to make dens to hide in because no one could see us if we sat down. Once the wheat was cut the stalks used to be deadly as they cut into our legs as we ran across the field to our meeting place by the Oak Tree. Most of the children were boys but I had a friend, Valerie who was 2 years older than me who lived 2 doors away on the other side of the police house. My other friend was Jackie Hastilow who lived in Weeford Road in some old cottages that lay back from the road. She was 2 years younger than me. Her mother was very kind to me after I lost my own mother when I was 8. My brother , who now lives in Australia and I often reminisce about the things we used to get up to.
I often wonder if our old home has been updated as we had no bathroom as such. There was a back room that doubled up as kitchen, laundry room , dining room and bathroom. The bath had a wooden lid that had to be cleared of our day to day things every Friday when the copper in the corner was heated up to fill the bath when was filled by the bucketful from copper to bath. No luxury of privacy or your own bath water. The toilet was in a porch outside the back door unlike my grandfather in Hillwood Road who had an outhouse down the garden with a bucket under a wooden seat and squares of cut up Evening Mail on string hanging up on a nail. I remember having electric lighting put in about 1948-49. Before that we went to bed by candle light and had gas mantles downstairs. The back room had an old black fireplace that had to be `blacked` every so often with ovens and a spit over the open coal fire. There was a mantelpiece over it with a velvet cover with tassels on it.
I have other memories of our old home but as I do not want to bore everyone with all my memories unless any one is interested. We did move slightly into 20th century with a 12" TV in1951 , Well we did live within spiting distance of the new Sutton Coldfield TV Masts!
You were lucky if you had a bath.
On wash days when mother had finished my sister went in the old washhouse copper, then me and my brother.
If we had misbehaved she would threaten to stoke the fire up under it !!
We used to live in the row of council cottages between Canwell school and bassets pole.
Worst memories were the frequent terrible accidents on that crossroads.
 
Just to update you, I live in Slade Road just past Aulton Road, the site of the Baptist Church is now a small Co Op, they had to obtain permission to remove the burials and reinter them elsewhere before it was built.
 
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