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Then & Now

Re #567, my dad, nan and granddad lived at 229 Cotterill's Lane which I think would have been at the bottom of the newer picture. Not sure how much damage there was to their house but they had to move after that raid.
 
Re #567, my dad, nan and granddad lived at 229 Cotterill's Lane which I think would have been at the bottom of the newer picture. Not sure how much damage there was to their house but they had to move after that raid.
As far as I can tell this is a photo of 148 Cotterills Lane and the damage occured on the same night as the Torrey Grove raid 10 April 1941. Through the gap can be seen houses in Pelham Road. Barra report that four people at this address were injured in the raid. House 229 was on the opposite side towards Eastfield Rd and would have received blast damage from the Torrey Grove bombs. See http://barra.historynut.co.uk/
CotterillsLane.jpg
shoothill
The view today.
CotterillsNow.jpg

Aerial View and the house which was bombed marked.
IMG_1162.jpg

Another aerial view and I have put a yellow circle on house 229 Cotterills Lane which would certainly have received some blast damage from the Torrey Grove bombs.
lIMG_1164.jpg
 
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Still in Victoria Square, this time looking toward the site of Christchurch, then later when they demolished Christchurch we have Galloways corner and even later when that was gone we have Christchurch Passage leading up to Waterloo Street.

City Victoria Square Christchurch.jpg
 
Finishing off our little tour of Victoria Square, we have Christchurch passage seen from New Street and Waterloo Street.

Christchurch Passage.jpgCity Waterloo Street Christchurch Passage.jpg
 
Birmingham Council Housing Department owned at one stage around 140,000 houses. They had a similar celebration on completion of their 125,000th (I think) house in Greenwood Place off Finchley Road Kingstading.

One of the tenants told me how the Council celebrated this wonderful achievement. They had a marquee on the island and invited lots of very important people. Armed with drinks and cucumber sandwiches for the dignity’s, and to lots of cheers and hoorays the key was presented to the unsuspecting new tenant on a velvet cushion in the self-adulating way officials do when spending other people money.

The 125,000th house had chrome taps and a posh range in the front room. All the other dwellings in Greenwood Place has brass taps and a Triplex range. After the celebrations were complete and no longer than it took for the ink to dry on the tenancy agreement, the council workmen came around and changed the taps back the brass. They could not change the range fortunately, as this was built in.

What a funny story.
 
You don’t often see privet hedging in front gardens these days (much of it removed to create parking spaces). Expect these houses have kept their privet because there’s no direct road access at the front of the house. Viv.
 
In the early and mid 1980s (just after I had moved from London to Birmingham) I went round the Broad St area taking photos while they rebuilt the whole area (ICC, NIA, Brindley place etc).

I then went back a few years ago (2010 / 2011) and retook many of the photos from the same place, to get a lot of "before and after" photos.

I have about 30 "views" and this is called "View 1" (I will post other "views" later).

This is Old Turn Junction right in the centre of Birmingham. Photo take early in the early 1980s (not sure of exact date).

In the distance is where Broad St cross over the canal. Right at the back (the tall building) is an old brewery).

I have to say when I walked around the area in that period (mostly on a Sunday) I could walk for hours and not see another person.

View1Picture1.jpg

Below is roughly the same view taken in 2010.

On the left we have the ICC (International Convention Centre) and behind that the Hyatt Hotel on Broad Street.

On the right we have the Sea Life Centre and behind that Brindley Place.

Behind where I am standing (out of shot of course) we have the NIA (National Indoor Arena) now called Arena Birmingham.

This photo was taken on a cold 27th November 2010 with few people about, normally the area is packed with people

View1Picture6.jpg
 
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That’s great Gilbert. I think it’s worth you starting a new thread of your own for these. Very interesting. Viv.
 
Mort,

It must have cost them more to change the taps than the difference in the cost of the taps. Even back then the so-called people's representatives worked for themselves rather than the people! :cool:

Maurice
 
Mort,

It must have cost them more to change the taps than the difference in the cost of the taps. Even back then the so-called people's representatives worked for themselves rather than the people! :cool:

Maurice

Yes, at the time I thought the same. However knowing the housing department, it was not a supersize, cost would always lose out to principals
 
That’s great Gilbert. I think it’s worth you starting a new thread of your own for these. Very interesting. Viv.

Viv, happy to create a new topic and post all 30 views if you like (I did post them on this web site years ago before the site was hacked and all the photos were deleted).

Can you suggest which part of the site I should create this new topic, it is such a huge site !

Shall I create a new topic in "Made in Brum / Old Photographs ?
 
Yes Guilbert that’s a good place for your thread. Look forward to seeing your compared photos - in your own time of course. Viv.
 
In the early and mid 1980s (just after I had moved from London to Birmingham) I went round the Broad St area taking photos while they rebuilt the whole area (ICC, NIA, Brindley place etc).

I then went back a few years ago (2010 / 2011) and retook many of the photos from the same place, to get a lot of "before and after" photos.

I have about 30 "views" and this is called "View 1" (I will post other "views" later).

This is Old Turn Junction right in the centre of Birmingham. Photo take early in the early 1980s (not sure of exact date).

In the distance is where Broad St cross over the canal. Right at the back (the tall building) is an old brewery).

I have to say when I walked around the area in that period (mostly on a Sunday) I could walk for hours and not see another person.

View attachment 133336

Below is roughly the same view taken in 2010.

On the left we have the ICC (International Convention Centre) and behind that the Hyatt Hotel on Broad Street.

On the right we have the Sea Life Centre and behind that Brindley Place.

Behind where I am standing (out of shot of course) we have the NIA (National Indoor Arena) now called Arena Birmingham.

This photo was taken on a cold 27th November 2010 with few people about, normally the area is packed with people

View attachment 133337

One for the Canal enthusiasts. The first picture shows the sign for Farmer's Bridge Junction. On the modern picture it says Old Turn junction.
 
Taking up your invitation Phil, the old forum photo shown below of Arden Rd Acocks Green c1915 has always intrigued me. Was there something special about that tree for them to leave it in the middle of the road ? The second photo dated 2010 shows the same patch with a new tree, and a flyover photo today shows the patch still there in front of the house with the solar panels on the roof.
In 1915
Arden_Rd_Acocks_Green_1905.jpg


In 2010
Aco_Arden_Road_2010.jpg


Flyover now
Helicopter.jpg

The upper two pics were originally here.
It is the same tree in all photos. It is called The Arden Oak, and is supposed to be the last remaining tree from the forest of Arden that used to cover this area. As such, it is a tree of importance, and therefore, they built the road around it. Other information about it can be found here: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id...e arden oak" Arden road, acocks green&f=false
 
This is the junction of Coventry Road and Gladys Road Hay Mills approaching the Swan Island coming from town. Does anybody know the reason why such a nice looking house was vandalised in such a way as to demolish half of it and remove the top storey. Was it the result of bombing during the war, a fire or a gas explosion. I just can't think of any structural reason that would justify what was done.

Hay Mills Gladys Road - Coventry Road.jpg
 
This one was close, I lived just around the corner on Moat Lane. Yardley. Lucky to be alive still, almost 80 years later
 
These hazy aerial shots from a damaged negative were taken in 1952. I can just see the dormer peaks on the roof in Pic 1.
In Pic 2 I have marked them. So the partial demolition looks as if it was not caused by WW2 bombing.
Pic 1
unMarked.jpg

Pic 2
xMarked.jpg
 
On bomb plot maps it shows a bomb was dropped on Gladys Road a little further down on the other side of the road. I can't see this being a responsible cause for the works as the corner building on the same side opposite to the building in question appears to have been undamaged.
 
This is the junction of Coventry Road and Gladys Road Hay Mills approaching the Swan Island coming from town. Does anybody know the reason why such a nice looking house was vandalised in such a way as to demolish half of it and remove the top storey. Was it the result of bombing during the war, a fire or a gas explosion. I just can't think of any structural reason that would justify what was done.

View attachment 133400

The Google 3D from the rear seems to suggest that part of the house had been taken down to allow extensions on the rear and a garden on the side. It looks like the garden will be illuminated!16324F09-8836-426F-B74A-4D3E2888CC0E.jpeg
 
Pedrocut,

Why would you demolish half the house and remove the top storey to build an extension at the rear when there was more than likely room enough already?
 
I wonder if there were plans to widen Gladys Road, build an over bridge or subway which might have caused partial demolition of the house? This, if the case, did not happen it would seem. I notice that Gladys Road is now a cul-de-sac with no exit into Coventry Road and a lay-by for turning in probably what was once part of the house garden.
 
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