• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

The corner sweet shop

Hello Blacksmith the licorice root was probably the same thing its just what we called it. Reading your posts brought back some good memories. Oh to be young again, Thanks again All the best formula t.
 
We always bought our liquorice root from the chemist on the Witton. One penny a stick.

It is the root of the plant glycyrrhiza glabra. Honest!
 
in the mid 50's there was a small shop in Adams Hill Bartley Green just before you reached the Woodgate Lane it was on the right, about 50 yards from the "Birmetals" site entrance, this shop (cannot remember the name) looked old really old to a small child, but it was an aladin's cave and sold every sweet and candy bar you could imagine, (as a child I could imagine a lot), there was a dear old lady who looked as old as the shop, and we spent our twopences there my sister and I before we went into the old infants school which was across the road then. The old lady always gave us an extra chew or pontfract liquerice cake for free with our order, funny how these shops still hold a magical memory for our age group, (64) wether it was because of sweet rationing or that we did'nt have much money so these were real treats then I don't know.
regards all
Paul
 
Not sure what the shop was called but it was at the Yew Tree and my Great- Uncle used to take me on the bus from Station road in Stechford to the library at the Swan, then back to the Yew Tree to choose sweets, my favourites then were Fairy Satins or coconut mushrooms. My younger brother had wine gums and for my mom, there was a box of Newberry fruits! We had moved to Tamworth by then - late 60's - where there still remains a brilliant old fashioned sweetie shop with row upon row of jars of sweets and kayli, Kendal Mint Cake and lots of single decorated chocs, called Whyles in the town centre - making me feel a visit coming on tomorrow yum yum
 
Oh Sistersue, you've brought back more memories for me. The Yew Tree and South Yardley were my neck of the woods. From the Yew Tree to the Swan, on the corner of Church Road and Coventry Road, there used to be a bakery and I can still remember the lovely smell of that newly baked bread even after all these years. Gorgeous!

You also mention the library at The Swan. How well I remember that. We used to go there and do our homework from school sometimes, and there was this girl! Well, to cut a long story short, I quite fancied her and I used to gaze at her as she walked round the library. Did I ask her out? No, but my friend did. Faint heart never won fair lady.

I'm not so shy now. Just past it! - And a good job, my wife would say!
 
Hello, that was a really enjoyable opening thread as were the follow ups and replies. Unfortunately I don't remember any of the shops mentioned but I do remember a very tiny sweet shop in Nechells owned, I am told, by my maternal great grandmother Alice Emma Moores nee Ingram. It was more than 50 years ago now and we didn't live in Birmingham then so I didn't see her much. All I remember is her long white hair in a bun and of course - the sweets.
Does anyone else remember this shop, although there isn't much to go on?
 
Hello Blacksmith, just wander back with me thirty years, when Adolf was starting to get a bit active, and take a look in Carrie Wainrights shop in Gladstone Street, Aston. There was a long fly paper hanging up which changed once a week, but during hot weather it was more flies than paper. There was a powder called Kali which you'd suck up out of the packet and it would fiar take your breath away and make your face screw up like sucking a lemon. Then of course home made toffee apples and big glass jars with gob stoppers that really filled gobs up to the point of jaw ache. Much much more but time to go into my garden for another 'Thunk'. Regards, David.
Oh, hello. I didn't see you there. I was lost in thought. I was thinking . . . But tell you what, why don't you come with me and I'll show you what I was thinking?

Close your eyes and we'll soon be there. Open them again. It's a Monday in 1962 and we're standing in Medina Road, Tyseley. Just behind us is the Warwick Road. On our left is Yardley Grammar School and just up there on the right, on the corner of Havelock Road is Mr and Mrs Woolley's sweet shop.

Let's go in. The pupils are still in school so it should be empty. I love the sound of that bell over the door that jangles as we enter.

Yes, I know there's nobody serving, but wait a bit and Mrs Woolley will come from her sitting room at the back. In the meantime, feast your eyes on everything that's on offer. Woolleys is very similar to many other corner sweet shops in the 1960s.

Look at those huge jars of sweets - the multi-coloured rainbow caylie, the gob stoppers, the dolly mixtures - jar upon jar of them. I often used to buy 2oz of one of them. But today I've brought you for a special treat, my favourite. I've got 8d with me and I'm going to buy two frozen jubblies - one for you and one for me. What? You don't know what they are.

They are like huge ice lollies made of orange juice, but they don't look like regular ice lollies, they're shaped like a triangular prism and you have to work at the cardboard covering with your teeth to get in at the ice.

Yes, I know it's a bit of a pain, but it's worth it when you get to taste it. And it lasts and lasts. In fact, near the end you're sucking on just ice, because all the flavouring has gone.

There, I said you'd like it. What value for 4d.

Now, let's pop out of the shop and just wait, because the school lunch bell is about to go.

There it goes. Now stand back, here they come. At lunchtime Woolleys corner sweet shop transforms itself into 'The Tuck Shop'. Lots of boys are coming running across the road to get into the shop before the queue. Yes, that long lanky one does look like me. That's because it is me in 1962. I think the expression is 'There's more fat on a greasy chip.' The same can't be said nowadays if you see my belly.

I've been at the school since 1960 and I'll stay here till 1965, with the tuck shop being part of my daily school life as it was for generations of boys before me.

Watch what I'm buying from Mrs Woolley. It's a bottle of ice cream soda pop, my favourite flavour. Now, did you see me take a coin and use it's edge to scrape down the middle of the label? Well, watch now how I fold the label back on itself and write my name on the reverse. That pop bottle's got to last me the week, and Mrs Wolley will keep it behind the counter with the pop bottles that other boys have bought, and all I need to do is ask for my bottle when I come in each day so I can have a swig.

I wondered when you'd realise that. Yes they are all boys, even though it's a mixed school. The boys and girls have separate entrances and separate playgrounds. The girls have their own sweet shop near their entrance in Reddings Lane and the boys aren't allowed to go in there. But I reckon ours is the better one anyway, because Mr and Mrs Woolley are such nice people.

OK, it's time to take you back to 2010 now. Unfortunately, you won't be able to come back and view all this in 2010, because the school has long moved to a new building and there are houses where it once stood. What was Mr and Mrs Woolley's shop still remains but is now just a residential property.

I'll tell you what you can do, however.

Why don't you pop by this thread every so often and have a read? You could even add to the thread by telling us about some of the sweets, pop, ices etc. that you enjoyed buying from your own sweet shop, in those days long gone.

I will probably pop back myself to tell you of some more of the things I liked to buy.

It's been nice having you with me. See you again, soon.
 
With all these wonderful memories I wonder if there are any of this type of shop left, where you felt the people were your friends and the service really was 'service'.

And how fascinating to see the thead from stivesbay, which takes the Woolley's shop back even further. I wonder if other ex Yardley Grammar schoolboys remember it in the days of Mrs Trueman. I say boys because, as I've mentioned earlier, the boys and girls had different 'tuck shops' and ne'er the twain should meet.

It would be nice if photos existed of all the shops mentioned above. Perhaps Carl Chinn will bring out a book called 'The Sweet Shops of Old Brum'.

And David Weaver, what a great reply about Carrie Wainwright's shop. I can see it in my mind's eye from your excellent description. I can remember those old fly papers. In fact, I seem to remember them hanging up at home. And, following on your memories of the sweets, I've added my own memories of the same ones:

Kali - In rainbow colours, poured from a big glass jar into a triangular shaped bag.
Toffee apples - Look great, toffee tasted great. But the apples? Yuk! They always seemed to use apples that had no taste or that had grubs in them.
Gob stoppers - We kept taking them out of our mouthes at regular intervals to see what colour they had changed to. And then, you ended with the tiny aniseed ball at the centre.

I hope you thunked well in your garden, and that you come back with more memories. When you do perhaps we'll sit down and chew some licorice root while we chat it over.
 
Anyone remember Horace Whittles sweet shop on Nechells Park Road.It was double fronted with two automatic chewing gum machines attached to the door that nobody used .He made is own ice blocks and changed his window display as per season displaying all the lollies in little glass dishes in the window.He was,nt quite on the corner of Malvern Hill Road ,the first shop I think was a chemist and later "the Cheap Shop",he was next door.Regards Polly

message for Polly kettle: (dolly?)
The bubble gum machines when filled, you had to rake the packets of gum with your finger, so they wouldnt stick together and jam the machine! It was a treat to have the hot nuts in winter, from the sunpat machine heater, as you say the "ice cream" was made in the shop by a long black machine with 3 sections that was purchased about 1930/33? the ice cream powder was made by the a small italian firm in aston. The best displays was easter time when the large cadbury's eggs were on display before being delivered to those who ordered. Horace whittall was on nechells park road, the corner shop was the chemist and owned Mr & Mrs Hind.

with fond memories - stephen whittall
with ref: library Barry Anderson
 
These were exciting places to kids of a certain age, 1940's/1950's, before rationing ended a place of looking and imagining, after a place where a penny could light up your young life, who remembers if you had a sixpence (Tanner), what new worlds would be open to you and how you got the shopkeeper to stretch up to the top shelves and mutched in front of the glass, displays. Long lost worlds for milions of us war babies never to be repeated.
paul
 
Hi
I was at YGS from 1958 to 1965 and for all of those 7 years, a lunchtime visit to the tuck shop after school dinner would be part of my daily routine.
Yes you are right about how we used to save bottles of pop by ripping and writing on the labels.
I also remember the frozen and even better the semi-frozen Jubbly's.

I also seem to remember you could buy single cigarettes (never tried, too scared)!!

Russell......do you remember me?? Ron Tennant of Severne Road, Acocks Green. We both attended Yardley Grammar School,me from 1959-1964.We were also in the same 110th Scout Group in Gospel Lane & attended many campings together with Kim (Cyril Heath),Captain Stacey (?) & Bosun.Please get in touch....I've just saw your photo in a book about Old Birmingham.
Ron (now living in Belgium)
 
Re: The corner sweet shop medina Rd

Well Blacksmith! You bring back memories to me. I recall meeting Mrs Wooley on a couple of occasions around 1969/70. I met her because My Mom (Mrs Holt) bought the corner shop and she kept it in much the same as you describe in your recollections. We had a shed which we kept the 'pop' in and I recall there being a very weird banana flavoured one.
i returned to Tyseley from The Liverpool area where we moved to in 1979 and was gob smacked to see Yardleys gone and houses in their place. The old sweet shop was converted to a house by my Mom and Dad as profits dwindled. But it did look somewhat uncared for when I last saw it!


As a lad growing up in the Medina rd/Havelock rd area I still recall other special places and people. Anyone remember 'Pam's' an emporium type shop at the lower end of Havelock Rd? I believe their son Mark went on to become a major player in the strongest man circuit. Also Havelock rd had a further claim to fame in that it was the home of 'Astro' the 'toaster' of UB40 during his formative years.
i actually attended the Leys secondary and was there during the change over to Yardleys.
i recall climbing over the gates of the sports field of The then Yardley Grammar, to use their pitches and goal posts, the top end of which is now occupied by the new Yardleys school.
I have intentionally not mentioned family names but I do hope readers out ther will post and recall their memories.
 
I remember the sweet shop down the road from us on Moat Lane in Yardley. We as nippers would run in and say "got any broken biscuits" then "WELL MEND EM" HaHA! Of course like everything else there, long gone, think its now a betting house! John Crump Parker. Co USA
 
I was a "Grammar Grub" from 1959 until 1964 at Yardley Grammar School,Tyseley,Birmingham. We were called "Grammar Grubs" by jealous former class colleagues from junior school who had failed their 11 Plus! I remember the corner "tuck shop"...lovely cosy place that I was in a lot. Usually at morning break time it was forbidden to go across to the "tuck shop" but I did anyway!
The Yardley G.S. playing fields were very big & contained rugby pitches,hockey pitches,tennis courts,a running track & a long jump pit. Also there was the dining room building where we went for our morning bottle of milk & also our school dinners.I remember in about 1960/61 some "joker" secretly putting maggots in our drinking straws & so when we sucked in our milk we also got a wriggly white beast as a bonus! LOL!
On e-bay now & again there is a video or DVD available about Yardley Grammar School & it's history.I love it & I also sent one to my sis Christine Tennant who attended Yardley 4 years after me.
 
I remember the sweet shop down the road from us on Moat Lane in Yardley. We as nippers would run in and say "got any broken biscuits" then "WELL MEND EM" HaHA! Of course like everything else there, long gone, think its now a betting house! John Crump Parker. Co USA

We would say to the local "chippy", Got any chips left? Well that's your fault for frying too many!
 
I'm on here as "patrolleader". Any old Yardley Grammar School pupils remember me by my real name Ron (Ronnie) Tennant?? I left Severne Road Junior School,Acocks Green in 1959 & started at Yardley G.S. in September 1959 until July 1964. I left school on Friday 10th July,1964 & started work at Bakelite,Tyseley on Monday 13th July.My Printing Dept. boss was John Stretton.
 
There used to be a corner shop at the top of All Saints Road where you could get for 1d a small block wrapped in paper that tasted like a sweeter version of khali.
 
Last edited:
New member.....please be gentle!! Looking through everyone's "shopping" memories brings a couple back for me, based in the Olton/Acock's Green area in the 1950's. I went to Dolphin Lane Primary School in Acock's Green (now called "Oaklands"), and many's the afternoon when I would walk down Dolphin Lane after school to catch the "Midland Red" bus home to Olton (Summerfield Road). Opposite the bus stop was a Grocer's shop called "Tustin's", and I used to buy a sheet of rice paper for a halfpenny!!

Sweets came from a proper little corner shop run by Jim Beck...his was the little shop virtually under the bridge at Olton Station. Loose sweets from the jar, Corona bottles of pop that you got 2d back on, when you returned the bottle. Big memory at Jim Beck's shop, however, was that it provided me with my first "employment", as a paper boy. I had to be at the shop for 6.30am, and Jim would have my bag all ready with the correct number of morning papers, and the big card with delivery details. Conveniently enough, the round (which started just near the shop) followed a route around Olton - Ulverly Green Road, Castle Lane, Highwood Avenue etc., ending on Summerfield Road just near my house. Finish the round at about 7.45am, gobble down breakfast, and then back on the pushbike (bought from Roberts' cycle shop, on the main road in Acock's Green as a reward for passing the 11-plus)....hopefully getting to the pedestrian bridge over the main GWR line near the top of Dovehouse Lane in time to see the 8am express from Snow Hill pounding its way to London Paddington.

I'd better end here, I can see the nurse approaching with my medication....... ;-)

Happy memories!!!
 
Back
Top