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Stratford Road

Great to hear from you all. Astonian - the Stratford Road did become a Red Route a few years ago, to stop delivery vans/lorries holding up traffic, though buses and taxis pulling in, along with the sheer amount of traffic, means it's still a slow crawl up the road in some parts... Phil - it sounds like you have great memories of the various different watering holes along the Stratford Road, could you tell us a bit more about your experiences of the Angel, Black Horse, Victoria, Antelope, Bear, Shakespeare etc?

(PS the OP lost their log-in details so I'm the one hunting the info now!)
 
History Fan

I'm afraid I can't tell you much about any of the pubs you mention as I wasn't what you would call a regular in any of them, as I lived back off the Stratford Rd my locals were nearer to home. I can tell you that back in the 50's & 60's most of the pubs you mention were Irish houses as the population of Sparkhill & Sparkbrook was predominately Irish in those days because of the large lodging houses along the Stratford Rd.

I do remember the dances with live groups upstairs at the Mermaid Hotel in the 60's and the opening of a few clubs along Stratford Rd like the Talk of the Town near Walford Rd and the Cascade's at the junction of Showell Green Lane and also the one above Burtons at St Johns Rd who's name escapes me at the moment. That's about all I can tell you as other than the places I have mentioned Stratford Rd was never a great draw to me.
 
Hi Phil
Did you not go into Daddy long ,legs up the stairs when it openened by camp hill can you not recall the first biggish fire on Stratford road
It was a huge shop fire in a bedding shop that was the midland bedding and carpet shop it was estimated at a I million cost of the fire
Caused damaged
I am just trying to recalled the dance club above tailors shop it on the corner was by the traffic lights and that shop changed
To a fact goods shop some think like 99 pence shop or pound shop title they used to own a hotel on the bristol road just short of
Priory rd it was a run down place owned by an English couple and sdold it to the Asian family of the fancy goods shop
Many years ago round about the seventy or eighty period all gone now thou Alan,,,,,
 
Alan

No I never went in the Dolls Club as I knew it as, but that was on Bordesley High Street not Stratford Rd, I think I have said this before though I did date a girl that worked there in the mid 60's.
 
Well Phil
As you know it was half and half it was in bordeslly street as you say it was very close to the fly over so I thought it would have been post address as Stratford road
As the door wat was virtually on Stratford red. Still not to worry mate by the way I never knew you said it before
Many years ago on here I was thinking about it and I thought it was you whom said you was there and tolkd me the owner
Still mate not to worry Phil perhasps its my old age senior moment creeping in
Enjoy your day phi, Alan,,,,,
 
Does anyone else remember the shop that had the front wall of the two upper floors collapse when alterations were being done to the shop. Just south of the Henley St corner. You can spot the different style of the brick work on google map. Can anyone say if there was a tram depot down Henley Street or just nearby, I recall the tracks being dug up in the summer of 1956.
 
Don't remember a Ron Jones but I certainly remember "Gasser" Jones the wordwork master. He gave me an almighty clip round the head for putting a jackplane down on a steel rule. Corporal punishments were the norm in those days! My grandsons would be horrified.

philm
 
Philm:

Ron "Gunky" Jones taught French - as did Deputy Head " Froggy" Hughes - and was also in charge of the rugby teams. Woodwork master at that time was a guy called Fletcher.

Maurice
 
Maurice: Froggy Hughes was my form master for a while. You may also remember Conny Constable who taught the same subject

philm
 
Philm: Yes indeed, and Kipper Keyte, Bertie Line and many more. However, we are wandering off the topic of Stratford Road, and this sort of chat should be on one of the schools threads, so before the mods rap our knuckles, I'll call a halt to this!

In fact, buried very deeply there is a page for Moseley Schools here:-

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=42257

Perhaps it should be renamed Moseley Grammar School since that is all it refers to and both Moseley Secondary Modern and Moseley School of Art have their own threads.

Maurice
 
My wife worked as an apprentice florist, at a shop on Stratford Road, Sparkbrook. It was known as Raymond's florist, and was run and owned by a Mr & Mrs Tan. The Angel pub opposite Farm Road, was frequented regularly by my late father in law. My wife and I were married in the church in Farm Road. I believe that church is no longer there.
 
My wife worked as an apprentice florist, at a shop on Stratford Road, Sparkbrook. It was known as Raymond's florist, and was run and owned by a Mr & Mrs Tan. The Angel pub opposite Farm Road, was frequented regularly by my late father in law. My wife and I were married in the church in Farm Road. I believe that church is no longer there.

Was there a pub opposite Farm Road???

Eddie
 
Was there a pub opposite Farm Road???

Eddie

There were two pubs near the bottom of Farm Rd (1) The nearest was the Victoria (2) at the bottom of Long Street, the other was the Angel (3) at the end of Ladypool Rd.
 

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Thank you for clarifying tha,t Phil,

Having attended Christ Church School, opposite Farm Road, but I was slightly thrown by the 'Opposite Farm Road' bit!!

Eddie
 
Thanks all!

Devonjim - you can definitely spot a new building at what looks like 66 Stratford Road! Can you remember when the top floors collapsed? (PS I now have "Right Said Fred" by Bernard Cribbins stuck in my head...)

norfolk brummie - and anyone else - is there anything of the original Christ Church School building still standing, where the houses opposite Farm Road are?
 
dwrichardson

I don't think there is anything left of Christchurch School, there is a new block of houses on Stratford Rd accessed from Long Street.
 

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dwrichardson

I don't think there is anything left of Christchurch School, there is a new block of houses on Stratford Ed accessed from Long Street.

Phil.

What a great photo of Christ Church School. Brings back memories of the 1940's. The school entrance is just shown on the right of the picture, by the sloping roof.

In winter, the school main hall, very Dickensian, would be warmed up with a fire in the hall fireplace. I wonder how many other schools had this heating facility.

Eddie
 
Terrific photo! I don't know how many others were heated that way, but I do know that schools like Ladypool Primary School - and others designed by Martin and Chamberlain - used its tower to ventilate the school, getting cleaner air from higher up.

That, of course, was before the tornado...
 
Thanks all!

Devonjim - you can definitely spot a new building at what looks like 66 Stratford Road! Can you remember when the top floors collapsed? (PS I now have "Right Said Fred" by Bernard Cribbins stuck in my head...)
I guess it was mid 1950's I was at school at Camp Hill, one day the building was having a new shop frontage fitted, the next the whole two storey facia above the shop collapsed onto the pavement. I don't recall if any one was injured or at what time of day the event occurred.
 
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