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Wellhead Lane

Westminster chimes, the old clock. My Gran had one with two keyholes. Grandpa would wind it up every night at bedtime with a big key that used to fit my Hornby clockwork train.
 
Cracking photos Jean and Ray.

I was at Canterbury Road school and our playing field was in Wellhead lane. I think it belonged to Ellisons.

I've got a grandaughter clock with a Westminster chime, made in the 30's/40's. It's got three key holes to wind, I is the hours/ minutes, 1 is the hour chime and the other winds the quarter and half hour.
 
When my dad was on the works police for Kynochs I am sure he used to go to Wellhead lane sometimes, dont know why perhaps there was another place there?
 
pat that was called Oscot gate for some reason but was in Wellhead lane opposite Franchise street. I have just remembered another playing field over the bridge that was on the corner of Aston lane maybe that belonged to Tufnols?. Jean.
 
Jean,
For a couple of day's,I have been trying to remember the name of Tufnol,it was used to make gears for food machinery.The smell was very distinctive,must have been from the old bakelite works.
 
My aunt worked there and she could never get rid of that smell from her clothes. It used to make me feel sick when I walked past. Do you remember the coalman on the corner of Franchise street Wellhead lane well guess who used to groom his pony?. Jean.l
 
Drove past last Wednesday the old Tufnol Factory on the corner has been raised to the ground dosen,t take em long a week ago it was still there.Dek
 
Tufnol is a paper-reinforced phenolic resin plastic, and damn good stuff! I didn't know the Wellhead Lane factory had closed. They have another site in East Kilbride so I assume all production has been moved there. I went for an interview at Tufnol when I was about 21, in the lab, but the place stank - you could hardly get your breath. Later in life I sold to them, and have to say they were not an easy company to deal with. The smell of the resin pervaded the entire area when I was a kid living in The Broadway.

Big Gee
 
HI PATTY
My brother was one of the kynochs police as well ; and he was also stationed in that gate as well
very regular and also in the main office gate on the front in witton rd for donkeys years
after coming out of the royal green jackets regiment is name was tony a big lad ;
he still works within the holford section complex now still doing the same job ;
hes abit younger than me i surpose he will be retireing soon ;
have a nice day patty ; and everybody as welll; alan ; astonian;
 
Image84.jpg
 
Alan I will try and find a photo out if I have it of dad and a few of the men he worked with perhaps your brother may be on them .
 
The corner shop and buildings behind it gave way to the Tufnol factory - anybody know when that was built? There was also a company called Bill Switchgear Ltd in the vicinity - was that further along Aston Lane towards Perry Barr? The mother of a girlfriend of mine worked there.

Franchise St turned off Wellhead Lane just past the bridge where the van is. There was a nice pub down there - can't recall its name, but it'll come to me. Also, there was a motor mechanic in Franchise St, and I remember only too well lugging the cylinder-head of my A40 down to him so he could skim it.

My maternal grand-dad William Diaper drove a shunting-engine at ICI Kynoch all through both world wars until he retired in about 1949. He wore stiff moleskin trousers that stunk of diesel...

Does anyone remember the regular short burst of machine-gun fire from Kynoch's, as they tested the ammunition? Someone once told me that the test-range was on a roof, and I wonder if this is true?

Big Gee
 
hi
if my memory serves me correctly i think it was the late sixties early seventies tuffnol was built
and just over the bridge was in well head lane was my brothers century box ;
that was the small police office for the imi security he as been there at the ICI ; and the IMI companyies for afew decades and at the front gates on witton rd and now he as moved to there new post around perry barr exit ; holford lane wher he still operates tony my young brother is well known there with inthe security team ;
by both ; men and women ;--- mainly women ha ha;
 
Hi. Yes, I grew up with the sound of the machine gun firing from Kynochs. The sound helped my fertile brain when playing at soldiers. Ir is little known that I saved our Country virtually every day from the safety of our back garden without ever being seriously wounded. With regards to Tufnol, it was built before the 1950's at least - possibly 1940's. I can remember it as always being their during my 70+ years. willey
 
A little good news on Tufnol they have only knocked down the 1st building down than ran along side Aston Lane it appears that the other block is still up and running.Dek
 
According to an old mate of mine who I happened by pure chance to see last night, the Tufnol factory was built during the war, as the stuff it made was a strategic material used for insulation amongst other things. I couldn't see it being built in the early 1970's according to Astonian, as the pong of the phenolic resin used at Tufnol was a feature of my boyhood and the area in general. My mother used to complain that it made the washing smell. Also, and I forgot to mention it, I drove down Aston Lane a while ago and Dek is right - it's only been part demolished. However, there was no stink of resin in the air, so I assume they've had to install proper extraction equipment at some point.

Can someone please remind me of the name of the pub in Franchise Street, and is it still there?

Finally, does anyone remember the Land Rover Axle works on the corner of Wellhead Lane and Aldridge Road? My dad installed some heat-treatment furnaces there in the 1950's. It's now student flats.

Big Gee
 
Big gee, l was about to state that Tufnol was built a lot earier than 60s my father worked at Ellisons from the mid 30s untill he retired 40years later and he always then mentioned about Tufnol, did'nt know what they made but one x'mas dad made me a desk and the lid was made of Tufnol, it was so nice dark brown and all shiney....wonder what happened to it....hopefully some little girl had a much pleasure out of it as l did.....Brenda...love the pictures of wellhead lane brings back many memories.
 
It brings back so many memories for me too Brenda as I walked over the bridge most Sundays on the way to Nans in Franchise street. It is funny though because I cannot remember the little corner shop. I remember the coal merchant the other side of the hill on the corner and his black cob that used to pull his cart. Oh such happy days.
 
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