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Waterloo Street Birmingham

sheronb

sheronb

master brummie
Hope I posted this in the right place! I am hoping to find any photos of Waterloo St in town, from the 1890s or early 1900s. Thank you.
 
I think it might be a challenge to find photos from this period but many of the buildings on this and nearby streets date from this period and still exist.
This shot taken in the 60's is a row of georgian bulidings on Bennetts Hill near it's junction with Waterloo St and they are still standing today.........
https://www.pbase.com/beppuu/image/92113853
 
Thanks very much for this. My ancesters lived in Waterloo St, so was just wondering, what it was like.
 
sheronb said:
Thanks very much for this. My ancesters lived in Waterloo St, so was just wondering, what it was like.
Click to expand...

If you're not familiar with Brum Waterloo St is right in the heart of the City and runs parallel with New Street. It was and still is to an extent a banking area but some of the banks have closed and turned into pubs and restaurants, here is an example........

https://farm1.static.flickr.com/232/495047958_9d38698fec.jpg?v=0

I'm familiar with the area as one of my favorite real ale pubs "The Wellington" is nearby (it's won lots of awards).
 
brumgum said:
If you're not familiar with Brum Waterloo St is right in the heart of the City and runs parallel with New Street. It was and still is to an extent a banking area but some of the banks have closed and turned into pubs and restaurants, here is an example........

https://farm1.static.flickr.com/232/495047958_9d38698fec.jpg?v=0

I'm familiar with the area as one of my favorite real ale pubs "The Wellington" is nearby (it's won lots of awards).
Click to expand...


Thanks, I walk up it a lot, on my way to the library, and always wonder!
 
sheronb said:
Thanks very much for this. My ancesters lived in Waterloo St, so was just wondering, what it was like.
Click to expand...

I was wondering if Your Waterloo Street was the one in town? as there are other roads in Brum with the name Waterloo.
 
brumgum said:
I was wondering if Your Waterloo Street was the one in town? as there are other roads in Brum with the name Waterloo.
Click to expand...

No it's the one in town, my great grandmother was living there(her parents were Irish) in 1899, she married an Italian and moved to Bartholmew St!
 
sheronb said:
No it's the one in town, my great grandmother was living there(her parents were Irish) in 1899, she married an Italian and moved to Bartholmew St!
Click to expand...

Interesting, my Gt Granfathers parents were Irish also but i've had no joy tracing anything in Ireland but have found their graves in Warstone Lane.
My Dad used to live in Gosta Green and knew many Italian families.
 
brumgum said:
Interesting, my Gt Granfathers parents were Irish also but i've had no joy tracing anything in Ireland but have found their graves in Warstone Lane.
My Dad used to live in Gosta Green and knew many Italian families.
Click to expand...


Same here, mine were the Farrells, they may have been from Dublin. I have had more luck tracing the Italians, mine were the Tuzzio, they lived in the Italian quarter until the 1930s.
 
sheronb said:
Same here, mine were the Farrells, they may have been from Dublin. I have had more luck tracing the Italians, mine were the Tuzzio, they lived in the Italian quarter until the 1930s.
Click to expand...

There's a guy called Paul Wilkins that holds ancestory meetings in local libraries. I went to a meeting in Erdington library recently to trace Irish ancestors and it was packed, i don't think he expected so many. He's holding another at Erdington on sat 9th May at 10 am .
 
brumgum said:
There's a guy called Paul Wilkins that holds ancestory meetings in local libraries. I went to a meeting in Erdington library recently to trace Irish ancestors and it was packed, i don't think he expected so many. He's holding another at Erdington on sat 9th May at 10 am .
Click to expand...


I've already met him at the library, didn't ask abt my Irish though, shall go back again... thanks.
 
I realise this is a really old post but I've been exploring my ancestry and funnily enough, one part of my tree - the Rouse family - lived in Waterloo St (no29) in 1881 and then moved to Bartholemew St (by 1900) - where other branches of the family (Hatton / Gateley / Rouse) lived. I did hear that Bart. St was an Italian quarter of sorts - but am unaware of any Italian roots. Irish, yes...
 
I think the Irish and Italians inter-mingled, maybe due to circumstances rather than choice... My family in Waterloo St, were Irish. The two sisters both married Italians, and had a brother living in Fox St.
 
 
Hi elbrown ;
many thanks for putting these picutures up on our site; waterloo street must be the best street in the city with all those grandure building
lets hope those morons in the planning department do not alter them any more
and i hope they do not turn them into more pubs the city is saturated by pubs which in turns more yobs coming into the city
and making it scruffy ; just like kings heath ; what on earth are the council doing about kings heath and all those so called fast food shops
it must be every shop now is a take away why are they granting them whom is keeping them they aint all taking money ;
and the high street is in a mess with litter well hey have got the fag brigade wardens now well its a start
 
No problem Astonian.

The old Nat West Bank - 11 Waterloo Street / 8 Bennetts Hill is now a pub called Bennetts


Bennetts Hill, Birmingham - Bennetts (National Provincial Bank of England, Bennett's Hill / the old NatWest Bank) by ell brown, on Flickr

It hasn't lost it's detail


Bennetts (National Provincial Bank of England, Bennett's Hill) by ell brown, on Flickr

During the 2010 World Cup


World Cup flags on Bennetts (National Provincial Bank of England, Bennett's Hill) by ell brown, on Flickr

Old bank door on Waterloo Street


Bennetts Hill - National Provincial Bank of England, Bennett's Hill by ell brown, on Flickr

Another door with pub name Bennetts


Bennetts Hill -National Provincial Bank of England, Bennett's Hill by ell brown, on Flickr

Yes I noticed all those fast food shops down Kings Heath High Street (getting the bus that way). They are the same chains as in Sparkhill. Must cause a lot of litter.
 
hi shortie ;
thanks again for your cracking pics i have a young brother whom lives down kings heath its not a place i often go to but he tells me the council
have employed wardens down there to spy on the smokers for dropping cigies ends and they issue on the spot fines to people
apparently they are catching people by the dozen each day he also tells me the councill workers are sweeping up daily with out fail but as fast as they do it its filthy with in hours
the big question is why are the councill issueing licences for take aways virtulay next door to each other from one end of the high street it does not make sense does it
i think its all wrong when are the council going to give the city the red and say enough is a enough
 
Don't you mean ell?

Waterloo Street is a nice shortcut to avoid the crowds on New Street (if you go up Christchurch Passage). More peaceful up there.

Waterloo Street at night


Victoria Square at night - Waterloo Street by ell brown, on Flickr

The old Midland Bank is still there, but was occupied by Webb Gray & Partners Ltd a few years ago


Midland Bank Limited - Bennetts Hill by ell brown, on Flickr

Re: Kings Heath High Street - Must be places like Chicken Hut, Dixie Chicken, Chicken.com etc. There's even a furniture store that is also on the Stratford Road in Sparkhill (one in Kings Heath used to be a place to sell your things for money).

What happened to the old shops, the independant ones, like the one that used to sell knitting wool?

Lots of my work colleagues like to go to places like this.
 
Great photos again Ell. There are so many superb buildings around Birmingham which, although now used for another purpose, are still there for us all to appreciate. If some of these were not being used for a different purpose then I think they could well have been left to decay and eventually lost for good. Ell's photos on this thread and many others prove just how much quality architecture there is still to be seen around B'ham. It would be a big step forward if this care could be routinely applied to all areas. Viv.
 
Waterloo Street in the 1970s. The crane is probably an indicator of the demolition of Galloways Corner and/or re-development of Victoria Square. Viv.

image.jpeg
 
Alan,

I remember just before I left Brum in early 1961 that people were saying to me "when is all this development going to stop". The correct answer was, of course, never, as they are now starting to knock down places that hadn't even been built until after I had left! As the value of land goes up, so it becomes very profitable to replace relatively new buildings.

Maurice
 
Maurice
There is also the point that buildings built in the 1960s were not really meant to last more than 40 years, so the quality of the materials and workmanship was relatively poor compared to earlier buildings
 
My late Father used to conduct his business through a law firm called Coley & Tilley- Neville House-Waterloo Street which was situated at the top end near to Chamberlain Square. At the other end of Waterloo St was St Phillips Cathederal were an old Uncle of mine used to be head gardener.
I can remember a visit to Neville House to handle Dad's probate. On entering this imposing building you could feel the whole pace of life suddenly slow down and business was conducted in the old fashioned way, that is untill you left where the pace and noise of modern life hit you square in the face. Best wishes, Mike
 
I worked for a firm of Solicitors in the late 50s Edge & Ellison at the top, possibly where the Premier Inn is now.It was a wonderful building with the most wonderful staircases.
As an office junior I had to take messages to a building further down Waterloo Street.
The workers were Americans , I believe it housed the offices of the US Consul.
 

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