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Street furniture

I remember when they built a shelter for that tram stop shown in the photo. Eventually, that area became a roundabout.
 
image.jpeg This Trinity Road (?) view has an interesting street sign. It tells passengers that, after matches, Inner Circle buses will load in Jardine Road. Did the sign mean only for the period just after the match, was it a special arrangement that "Football Specials" stopped here? Did the Inner Circle bus normally stop at this point but after matches it had to stop eksewhere to make way for the football special? Viv
 
Hi Viv, On Streetview along Hob Moor Lane near St Benedict's Church is possibly the tallest Belisha Beacon in Birmingham. Or is it another trick of the camera? Dave.
 
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Very good point Dave. That certainly is a very tall one. And very unusual. Don't think I've ever seen one quite like that. Viv.
 

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what a great idea this is and the scheme "adopt a kiosk" run by BT is a fantastic idea...

lyn
 
Yes Lyn, such a good idea, keep our history and culture, and make something useful, I believe the village council, and WI stock it and keep it well painted and clean.Regards Paul
 
paul talking about the old red telephone boxes..its my brothers 60th next week and i have got him a solar one...its about 15 inches high...looks lovely in the garden all lit up..had to wrap it now before i run it down lol...i want one now:D

lyn
 
I've noticed before that Erdington had some nice street furniture in the old days. Look at those tram poles, they could have been plain and round, and the simple angled tie rod is adequate to support the cross bar to the wires, but they added some nice wrought iron scroll work, and then painted them silver and added double lamps. Perhaps that rather plain looking gas lamp on the right was due to be removed.
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A modified pillar box on Temple Row in 1938. It has one of those arrows on top which I presume points to the nearest Post Office. It's pointing in the direction of Lewis's Minories/Bull Street. But where was the Post Office? Think this post box disappeared long ago. Viv.

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Viv

There used to be a post office at the junction of Bull Street & Steelhouse Lane (No 53) until about 1900 then it moved to 12 Snow Hill where it would have been at the date on this photo (1933).
 
According to the list of post offices in the 1936 Kellys there was a post office in Old Square, but in the street section it is not listed.
 
Mike

That's odd, I did check Old Square & Upper Priory as they were the first places I thought of. I've even looked at the OS maps because as you know most of them are marked with a "p.o" where there is a post office, but no sign in Old Square.

Now this is purely something that I seem to have a dim memory of and is very likely wrong, but does anybody else remember a post office counter in Lewis's. I suppose this would have has to have been in the early 50's.
 
I thought that might be the explanation, though cannot remember one when I was in Brum
 
Post 492, High Street, Erdington does show the ornate support brackets on the tramway poles. The street lighting lanterns do suggest gas lit rather than electric lit however. I wonder why the ornate arms, so common at one time I believe, were removed. One assumes, corrosion, costly time consuming painting needed, additions of electric lighting etc. all could be reasons.
 
Thanks Alan. I was trying to imagine what colour the poles were as they look quite light.

Re. PO - thanks Mike and Phil. I can't remember one in Lewis's either (although we know it had a bank - Martin's). I can't imagine the pointer on top of the box would be pointing to the Steelhouse Lane one - I remember this one very well as I regularly used it. It was in the modern 1960s building just around from the Queens Head. Don't know if there was a PO at that position before the ring road changes). Viv.
 
Viv

Here is another image of your pillar box and it looks like the pointer has gone. I would say this is sometime in the early 50's it's after the war because the Nelson Inn has gone and bef0re the early 60'd because work hasn't begun on Rackhams yet.
 

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Sutton Road in Erdington with those very ornate tram wire poles in the picture as seen in the High Street post#492. As far as I know they do not appear to have been used in other parts of Birmingham and only in certain streets in Erdington. Perhaps the 'management' found out how much they cost and the rest of Erdington had to use standard poles.
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Was Erdington once classed as Staffordshire? Would the francy poles be anything to do with that? Viv.
 
I have just read thro the whole forum and was very disappointed until I got to the latter pages that the subject of my youth which I never believed what my Dad told me about them - stench pipes - had not been mentioned, but like everything else in the forum, if it existed, was in Birmingham and someone had a vague remembrance of it....it would be discussed. It will be discussed somewhere and it was -thank you. It was not until after he died that I was told by someone who worked for the City council that yes indeed they were called stench pipes and were indeed installed to get rid of the aromas from the sewers. Strangely enough Bideford has been referred to in this particular forum and it is going to be mentioned again. Fairly early on the "cowcatchers" at either end of the tram were mentioned and discussion revolved around whether they were ever used elsewhere in England. They were on the short lived Bideford, Westward Ho and Appledore railway. They were fitted all round the engines and the coaches. Get hey were called skirts. Full details can be found on Wikipedia. Incidentally my son now owns a chalet built on the line of the olvd railway track near to a dismantled footpath overbridge.
 
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