Small Heath Park (Victoria Park)

[berniew]

The grange closed in1959 , the Coronet in 63 and the Kingston in 1967 but was a bingo hall for around 30 years Maria

 

[paul stacey]

Never mind Bernie, the band stand is probably, where I did my bit of courting though, around 1963.

 

[oldbrit]

The Grange sounds like the one? It was on the right hand side going down the hill towards the railway station under a bridge going towards downtown Brum Eddie do you remember a bike shop on Golden Hillock road above the Small Heath Park? John

 

[norfolk brummie]

John,

I do remember a cycle shop just outside Small Heath Park. Cannot remember the name. It was around the junction of Golden Hillock Road/Cooksey Road/Wordsworth Road, if my memory, and road names, still serve me right. I remember buying bits and pieces there. I also remember the park keeper in Small Heath Park telling me off for riding my bike in the park. Eddie

 

[berniew]

Looks like there was a cycle and motor cycle shop at the Wordsworth Road Cov Rd junction 1931

 

[glassalli]

It could be Scots cycles, when I was fourteen I paid weekly for a racing bike they built it in the shop. It was just opposite the Co op

 

[Phil]

Scotts Cycles were at 543 Coventry Rd Small Heath near the junction with Wordsworth Rd until the late 60's or early 70's. As the sign on the photo says they were established in 1905 so they must have had another premises elsewhere if they only took over the Coventry Rd shop from Greys (earlier photo) after 1931.

 

[brummie nick]

Try again posting picture.

 

[Maria Magenta]

It looks very splendid!

 

[oldbrit]

Billy Gameson had a shop at 112 Golden Hillock Road Small Heath does anyone have a photo of it? John Crump OldBrit. Parker. Co USA

 

[Phil]

Old Brit

Are you sure of the number and when exactly was this (what year). This photo should show 112 about halfway down on the right between the post office (Byron Rd) and the Esso garage (Waverley Rd) but as you can see it looks like just houses.

 

[mikejee]

Phil
The 1964 Kellys losts 112 golden hillock road as William H Gameson, but no shop is mentioned. It is entered as if it is a private address.

 

[norfolk brummie]

I am aware that old brit (John) left the UK in 1957, so I believe that the shop John is referring to would be in the late forties or early fifties. Eddie

 

[mikejee]

No 112 is Mrs Evelyn Maud Mitchell in Kellys 1944 up to 1962, then William Gameson, but they all look like private addresses

 

[oldbrit]

This would have been in the early 1950s John Crump Parker. Co USA

 

[Phil]

In 1950 there was a Gameson Cycles Ltd (Cycle Mfrs) at 19 Great Brook St, Nechells Birmingham 7, that would be right up by Lawley Street.

Do you think it's possible that sometime later that he started working from home in a back shed or something like that?

 

[mikejee]

That is very likely, but also, I have no kellys for 1951-54. so he could have appeared in those

 

[Astoness]

just checked my kellys and from at least 1944 until 1962 it was a mrs evelyn maud mitchell at 112 golden hillock road..

lyn

 

[Phil]

I've been looking at the maps for the mid 50's to see if they can tell us anything. This map is dated 1955 and shows that at that time some of the houses were indeed turned over to commercial by the fact that the front gardens had been removed. I've numbered the houses to the best of my ability (Mike does it much better so perhaps he might check it for me). Its seems at that time number 112 was unaltered and possessed no large workshop at the rear.

n.b. Sorry at the bottom end of the map, I see I have put 140, followed by 136. Obviously it should be 140 followed by 138.

 

[daverock]

One of the houses either 136 or 138 sold cakes & the one time champion motorbike sidecar rider Chris Vincents wife worked there. It has happy memories for me as I was at Waverley from 1955-60.

 

[Phil]

Dave

In 1950 140 was a ladies outfitter, 138 was a ladies hairdresser and 136 was the post office. I can't say what they were at the time this map was drawn in 1955 because I have no Kelly's Directory between 1950 & 1962.

 

[Phil]

Mike

Do you want to take a look at this because something is not right, Kelly's 1950 puts 2 shops after Byron Road before the post office, numbers 140 & 148. Though I have two different photos of the post office showing it to be on the corner of Byron Rd. If Kelly's have got it wrong then it puts my numbering out.

 

[mikejee]

I agree completely with your numbering Phil. Below I have taken the same map and tried to enlarge and sharpen it a bit. It definitely shows "PO" on the map at no 136. Just one thing, I think that the map is 1952-3 . If you got the map from me at some time, then I made the mistake. By the last Kellys (1973) no 140 is not listed and I reckon that , before the widespread demolition, the end two houses were demolished leaving the post office as the last house.

Kellys for 1955 shows no 138 as Nishat cafe (which it still was in 1973) and 140 as Stanley Griffen , ladies outfitter.

 

[Phil]

Mike

To be honest I don't know where I got the map, it could be one of the ones I had from you. The thing in the normal course of events I would agree with all that you say, but I knew this junction well and I don't think it ever altered from the day that it was built until they demolished all the buildings on that side of the road in the mid 70's.

I have a photo from what looks like 1910-1920 that shows the post office in the same place as in the photo from the early 50's that I posted. It's odd that both Kelly's and the map seem to have got it wrong, unless for some reason the post office has moved back and forth?

 

[mikejee]

That's the explanation Phil. Below is the Kellys for 1913,, and the map c 1916. Both show post office then at 140 on the end.

 

[Phil]

Well done again Mike, odd that they should move the post office backward and forward like that, no consideration at all for people like us a hundred years later trying to sort it out.

 

[Astoness]

great stuff mike and phil...enjoyed that mystery

lyn

 

[mikejee]

The change took place between the 1921 and the 1932 Kellys. The new office was also a telephone call office, which meant, I think, that you could make calls from it , presumably when call boxes were not that common. Maybe the drapers shop did not want to offer that service.

 

[mikejee]

Having now had a chance to look at the 1924 Kellys (which is not virtual) I can narrow that down to between 1924-1932

 

[Vivienne14]

A couple of Small Heath Park images as some of the early images on this thread have disappeared.

First c1905 park entrance and tram terminus

Next the Pavillion in 1911. What an amazing structure! Viv.