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Ward End Park

What wonderful, evocative photos. I spent many many days at the park in the 1950's as a child. There were always lots of children having lots of fun. So pleased to have found this thread.
 
I too have spent many happy hours with friends when I was a little girl in Ward End park. I used to walk from Phillimore Road sometimes getting a bottle of Ice Cream Soda or Dandelion and Burdock pop which we used to share. I went to Leigh Road Infants and Juniof school and later Nansen Road girls school. I used to spend hours in Ward End library as there were no books to read my house. There was a private school by Ward End park called Amberly House and I used to be quite envious of the girls that attended that school. They had a lovely uniform and in the Sumer straw hats. They were mostly happy times although money was in short supply but so were all my friends families so I never felt any different from my friends.
 
My mom was born in Ward End Park Road. She told me a story of how a meteorite landed in Ward End Park, a few days later some kids rolled it into the lake.

Now of course I don’t think for one moment that it was a meteorite, one landing that big wold have been a pretty devastating event. However, It may have been a warstone or an erratic. There were a couple of these around Birmingham left by the ice age. The one on Warstone Lane by the cemetery is a classic.

Has anyone else hear this story of a stone or fireball in Ward End Park?

PS my mom is a Pardoe from the well-known large family that lived opposite the Park by St Martins Church
 
#62 - Ward End Park - Boating Pool
#62 - Ward End Park - Boating Pool.jpg

#63 - Ward End Park - The Main Drive.
#63 - Ward End Park  - The Main Drive.jpg

#64 - Ward End Park - Tennis Avenue.
#64 - Ward End Park - Tennis ave.jpg
 
I drove down Washwood Heath Road past Ward End Park recently & it looks like they're filling the boating lake in! Anybody know whats happening?
Macca
 
They're not filling it in. I think there was some problem around the edge, subsidence possibly. Last time I looked they appeared to be making repairs at the Washwood Heath End. Mainly they had been working at the far end.

It does look a bit of a sight at the moment.
 
They're not filling it in. I think there was some problem around the edge, subsidence possibly. Last time I looked they appeared to be making repairs at the Washwood Heath End. Mainly they had been working at the far end.

It does look a bit of a sight at the moment.

That's good news MWS, my heart sank when I thought they were filling it in.

Macca
 
They appear to have finished whatever they were doing to the pond. There is water in it and the fencing has gone.
 
we used to sit on the railway embankment on the far side of the park watching the steam trains go by. it was very hot summers back then, bottles of cold tea and jam sarnies.was on the menu.
 
When my eldest son was born in 1963 I spent many happy hours pushing his pram round the park and sitting watching the old chaps play bowls.
I recall a very tall slim park keeper called Jack he had a large push bike, the kids were terrified of him.
This was Jack Newett, an ex-boxerwho I remember having tea with in his hut from time to time when I was a Parks Patrol officer in the early seventies. Jack had been a dog handler for the Parks Dept. keeping the dog in a kennel at Ward End Park but one day the Parks Dept called him to the office on a pretext so that they could take the dog away from him. He was very upset over that.
 
I had great days in Ward End Park it was my play ground late 60`s to late 70`s. I remember the smelly brook. Also one cold winter it seemed the whole of ward end school was on the frozen pond during dinner time. I played cricket. football, tree climbing and collected tons of conkers by throwing large branches into the tree tops hoping my stick would return to the ground with an abundance of conkers. Happy days
 
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