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The sandpits area

My nan owned a chip shop before the war at 145 .This picture was taken in 1950 the year i was born .She moved in with us in 1965 so about that time they were knocked down etc.This is where the brittanic warehouse is now
 
i love the old pictures my other half works at britannic warehouse and that is number 142 sandpits
from kelly. i know his boss and they will love to see what was on the site before hand so thank you to everyone who has answered my questions
 
this pictures are fantastic the road had changed since i started work down there in 1986 thanks again everyone

kelly
 
No its Ladywood Spring Hill just along from the roller rink which was the ice skating rink prior
It was actually summer hill sand Pits as a local kid from around the corner behind the rink was King Edwards Rd where I lived and brought up
And us local kids player on them right out side in front of summer hill nursing home. Astonian
 
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Hi Alan, thanks for that. Its just I thought Sand Pits was an actual area, but someone said it was just the name of a street.
 
Here is an image from Streetview that shows Sandpits as a street.
 

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Hi terry

I ain't to say I do not agree with what you said as sand Pitts rd the council put that name plate there because it was a historic Land mark going back many years long before I was born and to my amazement the council have landscaped it into a green scenery. Which looks marvellous the road was originally called summer hill and behind those trees at the top of the bank as it was highly sloped and impossible to walk on it plus it was filled with wild bush and behind those trees which was planted some time in the sixtys have grown at the end of the sandpitts. Built into the sandpitts was a single toilet for men only and to see how its modernised now with fancy apartments used to be the London window cleaning company from the early thirty and forty years along side the old peoples home which in time gone bye was the nurse home and prior to that it was a home for children.
In the seventys the super intendant was charge with the murder of two old gentleman and nelson street was across the road and the school was run. By a man named ingrame
 
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I'm not from around the area, but I thought that the district from roughly Icknield St to the city was called Brookfields at one time?
 
See this from Bill Dargue's site:

The first reference to Sandpits is found in a document of 1390 which refers to Sir Thomas de Birmingham's 'castle' at 'Warstone near the Sandpits' - seeWarstone.

In 1783 William Hutton described the built-up area of Birmingham and recorded a number of hamlets beyond it, including a group of fourteen houses at the Sand Pits on the Dudley Road.

There was formerly a sandstone quarry here which yielded both sand and sandstone. The sand would have been used from medieval times as the main ingredient in making mortar for building work and proved to be good for making casting moulds in iron foundries.

The sandstone, although relatively soft was also used as a building stone; from the 18th century it was used in the construction of the local canals.

The General Cemetery and the Church of England cemetery were laid out east of Icknield Street on the site of the sandpits - see Hockley and Key Hill. A street name now maintains the connection.
 
Phil, I think Brookfields refers to the opposide side of Icknield Street to the cemeteries and it touches Winson Green as far as I can make out. I know Crabtree Road was Brookfields. I don't think it reaches as far as the City Centre, in fact I don't believe it crosses Icknield Street, but I may be wrong.
 
Phil, I think Brookfields refers to the opposide side of Icknield Street to the cemeteries and it touches Winson Green as far as I can make out. I know Crabtree Road was Brookfields. I don't think it reaches as far as the City Centre, in fact I don't believe it crosses Icknield Street, but I may be wrong.

As I said Shortie, its not my area. Though I thought I had heard Camden Street often being referred to as in Brookfield, perhaps it was the upper reaches the other side of Icknield St then?
 
As I said Shortie, its not my area. Though I thought I had heard Camden Street often being referred to as in Brookfield, perhaps it was the upper reaches the other side of Icknield St then?

Now when I were a lad growing up in "Brookfields, Birmingham, 18, Warwickshire."

Brookfields boundaries were; Icknield street, Pitsford street, Crabtree road/Western road and Spring hill and not forgetting Brookfield road.


Any road/street south of Icknield street was Ladywood or Hockley.
 
Phil, I don't come from that side of town either, I was born in Warstock and then lived in South Yardley, but later, for four years I lived off Soho Road and got to know a bit of the Hockley area thanks to a friend of mine. Hockley, whether Brookfields or not is mostly Birmingham 18, with some being Birmingham 1, just to confuse us.

I have a 1903 map in front of me now.

'Brookfields' is written across a large area which goes from the canal almost adjacent Western Road, up to Icknield Street. Camden Street is within that area, but if my memory serves me right (map to small to show) Camden Street crossed Icknield Street so the bit in the St Paul's ward would be Hockley, and that bit might also be Birmingham 1, as Frederick Street is Birmingham 1 also. Obviously Brookfields Road is in the Brookfields area, although right on the outer fringes and nowhere near the 'Brookfields' sign on the map. Presumably the longer part of Pitsford Street would be Brookfields, and the upper part, the low mumbers, would be simply Hockley.
 
I don't doubt for a moment that you are correct Shortie, but it's confusing when even Google are calling what I used to know as Warstone Lane Cemetery, Brookfield Cemetery and the General Cemetery (Key Hill) Hockley Cemetery. It does make for confusion.
 
Well Phil, I know what you mean, but Google are Amerians, and that says it all!!! Let me say what I know to be absolutely true. Warstone Lane is not the original name of the cemetery, but one that became the proper name because that's what the locals referred to it as. It was The Church of England Cemetery. Key Hill was The General Cemetery but that name is no longer used because again, locals called it Key Hill as the hill on which both of the cemeteries are laid out was known as Key (or Kaye) Hill. That comes from the fact that the owner of the land in the 17th C was Ann Marrow and she married John Kaye, so the land, according to the letter of the law, became Mr Kaye's land. There are some graves in Key Hill with Kaye Hill as the family address and I have some copies of original paperwork - letterheads, saying The General Cemetery, Kaye Hill. all very confusing. There is officially no such place as Brookfields Cemetery, likewise the Mint Cemetery, however, everyone knows where they mean. I hope this makes you feel slightly less confused?
 
Hi Bob
Yes you are correct I am also a ladywoodrite kid Birmingham 18 from a nipper and what you have said to Phil is correct
Regarding the boundrys of spring hill and western and Camden street top end clisold street and surrounding the schools
New spring street Ellen street
The very top of Camden street would bring you down the kingedward pub mossys old haunt and drinking hole in is younger days
And that then bring you just along from the sandpitts if you turned right back to spring hill its self
Also coming down from Camden street it was a junction at that pub and directly facing was Edward road and the lyric picture house
But also this summer hill and paradise street joined together just out side the city centre left you are in paradise street and your right was summer hill
Hundred yards heading towards spring hill you would be at the feet of the old sandpitts which towered above you
We played cow boys and Indians on there and because it was so high up off the street pavements you had to be care full not to fall off the parafit
That kept them sand dunes high up and may I had on the last thread I put the big trees was planted in the late fifty early sixty
But before they planted those trees they built a huge sun shelter lounger for the old lucky ones whom was able to struggle of the home
And sit in there it was a huge open bay hut for shelter from the elements of the weather and one of the people the superintentant murdered was a
Mr Hands from whom lived in Springfield street he was a window cleaner in his old age he severe in the army in his younger days
Getting back to the boundary ickneild street 18 stared from the turf pub back up to Ladywood from the Camden street down to Shockley
Station was Brookfield best wishes Astonian,,,,,
 
Hi Lynn and mike
I am totally amazed to read that you both do not have pictures of it and to say you have not seen it before
I am. Amazed to read that you both said you have not heard of it
Along with our dear old Alf our resident member and myself have put this on many years ago about nine /ten years ago from the start
About the history of the San Pitts because we have had the picture loads of times over the given years and our high jacker is responsible for the disapearence
And as the local lad of Ladywood and plaster for years on there like the rest of us should know
For a start it came under Ladywood and it commenced from the quarter they called the parade which was a junction of summer hill
Road less than an hundred yards from the spring hill skating rink then it changed to the roller rink
Which ran down the centre of the road and its high banks of the sands and shrubbs
The junction of the parade as it was called and Edward road by the lyric flikks
And also facing Nelson street and the nelson street school which was ran by a bloke called Ingram whom eventual got postion of the Birmingham education deptment
After leaving the school as head master
So it the sandpiitts was from the parade along summer hill which coming from the spring hill library towards town ( city centre
Was called summer hill also the roller rink just passing there is Powell street and a couple of yards from that corner was the start of the sand Pitts down to what was called the parade then later years when the city started to regenerate they took the name of the parade out and renamed it as summer hill and also The new
DHS office was built right next to the canal and over the bridge was Hoods Ware house
Yes Bullpitts was on the corner and just along on the summer facing the skating rink then the pub and also next it was the Little
Most office taking you up to Albion street
Between Powell street and the named parade and Edwards road and at the bottom and built into the sand lifts was a public gents toilet
With a capacity of three gents standing room and the old London and midlands window cleaning company office was above it
And also over looking the sandpitts was the sons of rest for the old gents and ten years ago I dione a thread about the history of it
But I also knew mossy lived not far from it like me as we both new each other through our one and only true friend we had before he died years ago
And may I had there was a pub called the king Edward on the parade and opersite there was a grottie pub almost facing
Mossy lived in Shakespeare road which ran across the bottom of And it on Street and he would have turned right at the bottom and passing St Marks Street
Incidently Goode street was facing the sandpitts as well which was down the side of the rink and many a nights you could find mossy or myself in the door way snogging with a girl but we was never together on that it was the door ways of wilmotts and freedom . Alan,, Astonian,,,,,
 
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