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The Smithfield Buildings Allison St

Phils378

New Member
Hello fellow Brummies
Thanks for accepting me as a member, my first post concerns Court no 2 Allison Street. I have identified where the photo below was taken from using the Goad maps and have marked the house numbers.
Researching my family, I found that in 1916 my Great Grandparents John & Caroline Ward were living at no 3 Court 2 Allison St. A baptism record shows that in1905 when the photo was taken they were living at House 1 Court 4 in Allison St so the lady in the doorway of no 3 is unlikely to be her. Voters lists show that Caroline continued to live at no 3 until 1930's and by 1935 she had moved to 4 Kent St. Great Grandfather John Ward was the black sheep who regularly disappeared from the records.
Living next door at no 2 Court 2 at that time were Ralph & Nellie Nutt, who were the subject of previous threads and had a sewing machine business.
Does anyone know how Court no 2 came to be called The Smithfield Buildings? I recall reading somewhere that they were almshouses but i don't know where and can no longer find it!

1895 Smithfield Buildings.png
 
Other than that the buildings were quite close to the Smithfield market on the opposite side of Digbeth, I can find no reason for the name. Around that time one of their neighbours was accused of murdering a child, and two others of damaging machinery at their employers

Birm post. 20.2.1915.jpgBirm Gazette.20.12.1919.jpg
 
Hi Mike, thanks for the reply and those interesting articles, do you have a date for them?
None of the other courts in the area are named and Court 1 is closest to the markets so there must be something different about Court 2. I'll keep digging.
 
The scans are dated. If you hover the curser over the scan the paper and date will appear
 
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