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Walmer Rec

Lady Penelope

Lady Penelope

master brummie
Walmer Rec.jpg

Have you had this one before? A young lady named Dena gave it to me some time ago at one of the Summer Lane meetings I think it was her Dad's. Not sure which road is at the back - may be Miller Street? Should it be labelled Walmer Wreck? Anyone know anything further about it please. My Auntie Dolly had a cafe called 'Cliffords' on the corner of St Stephen's Street and ? it was pointed so most of the rooms were an odd shape. It overlooked the rec. I worked at Benton & Stone 'Enots' in Aston Brook Street in the early 1960's before the area was flattened and used to go to the cafe for lunch. Sausage sandwiches, Lovely!
 
Was this also known as Blews Street park, one side was Elkington Street, my grandparents lived in New John Street and I walked passed it many times, during the war there was a large barrage balloon sited there. Can't remember the building shown in the photo.
 
I don't remember the building either, it had gone before my time. I found the following piece by Carl Chinn written for the Birmingham Mail which tells us a little more about the park. I remember that on the opposite side to St Stephen's Street there was a shop which sold 1d bottles of pop which was made with syrup and he put the fizz in with a machine with a long handle. I've just looked in my Bartholomew's Atlas for 1933 and yes Elkington Street ran down one side and Blews Street was at the end of Elkington Street. Ashford Street made the other side of the triangle with St Stephen's Street. The pop shop must've been on your right going down the road.

Following a memorial by residents in St Stephen’s Ward, the council acquired a 99-year lease from the governors of King Edward’s School for part of the ‘Old Pleck,’ near Newtown Row.​
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This had been the location for the Onion Fair, after it had been moved out of the city centre and before it went on to the Serpentine at Aston. After the council took control of the Old Pleck, just over an acre was laid out, paved with asphalt and opened as the Walmer Recreation Ground, on Saturday April 9, 1892.​
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hi lady p what a fantastic photo of walmers recreation ground...it was as you rightly say set in a triangle surrounded by elkington...ashford and st stephens st and i did not know that before becoming walmers rec it was the original site of the onion fair...i have found an article in the newspapers about the opening of walmers recreation ground dated 1892 but its so long i dont quite know yet how i can upload it onto this thread for you all to read..the article mentions a drinking fountain and a wooden shelter in the middle of the ground so i wonder if its the shelter that we can see in your photo...will try and sort it out..

lyn
 
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thanks mike i well remember playing in that park (as we called it) as my cousin only lived in bracebridge st...

mike i dont know if you could help putting that article on here for us please..cant call it a snippet as it too long lol

oh its ok mike i see you have emailed me the article will go and take a look...thank you
 
walmer recreation ground 1937.jpgit never ceases to amaze how i never stop learning new things about my neck o the woods....many thanks to lady p for bringing this to our attention and also mike for this 1937 map showing walmers rec ground..
 
thats great mike...i can read it with me glasses on lol...what i have done is save each of the 4 parts to my pc which enables me to slightly make them larger to read and i will then print them off...
just as an aside reading the article i see that they say the never to be forgotton miss ryland was one of the benefactors.. i presume this was louisa ryland....she did such a lot of good works for birmingham..


many thanks mike...

lyn
 
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11th april 1892 Paul. For future reference I always try to put the date and paper on cuttings in file name. If you click "Save as", then it should always show .
 
mikejee said:
Not sure if you can post a pdf file but will try

opening_of_walmer_rec__ground__B_D_P__11__4_1892.pdf
Click to expand...

Hi mike Don.t know if you,ve seen this converts pdf to jpeg free https://pdf2jpg.net/ Michael. ps i dont download anything just use it as and when i need it.
 
How interesting new things turn up all the time. I had never heard of this park. Thanks Lady Penelope for bringing it to our attention.
 
Some very interesting photographs of Walmers Recreation Ground / Blews Street Park featuring the band stand (date unknown). pen if you read this i reposted this one as it was missing from this post...only just notice that that you had already posted it...may as well leave it on now

lyn

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32405571_10215040644996845_6677514654433935360_n.jpg

32440400_10215040647716913_443409962622779392_n.jpg

32583344_10215040648436931_8643963987798523904_n.jpg
 
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brilliant BB pic 3 looks like bomb damage...took a good look at pic 2 just in case it could have been my uncle sitting on the bench which its not

lyn
 
Astoness said:
brilliant BB pic 3 looks like bomb damage...took a good look at pic 2 just in case it could have been my uncle sitting on the bench which its not

lyn
Click to expand...
Funny you should say that, Lyn. This is nearby Miller Street after a bombing raid, so sadly I think you are probably correct. I don't think people realise the amount of people that died in the Birmingham bombing raids during WW2.
32104847_10215004846221898_2063563178196860928_n.jpg
 
yes BB the bombings claimed so many lives.... thanks for the miller st pic..yet another new one to me..looks like that poor woman is trying to salvage what she can

lyn
 
I would say it was pre war 2.....there is another photo in this group set with an old gentleman sitting on a bench which I believe is taken from the Miller Street end of the park ( known as Blews Street Park )....I think this view is from St Stephens Street, and the houses you can see are on Elkington Street....
 
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