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Witton and Perry Barr: Tamed Project

C

cuppateabiscuit

master brummie
I am currently involved in a project called Tamed based in Witton and Perry Barry with the Environment Agency and MADE. From 2013 new flood defences will be built along the River Tame and artists and historians have been commissioned to get involved with the local communities, past and present, and explore the history of the area. I am particularly looking for people who used to and/or still live in these areas around the Tame with stories, memories, pictures or objects from the area. FOR AN IDEA OF WHAT KIND OF STORIES AND MEMORIES I AM LOOKING FOR, PLEASE SEE POST #12, BELOW. Thanks

Within the project we will also be getting local residents (past and present) involved in producing art work, tours, publications, workshops, research etc. There may also be a collection of oral histories which will be compiled, and I am looking for people who might be willing to share their memories in this way. I am also hoping that people who live in the area and in travelling distance will come down to Witton during the course of the project to get involved in activities (programme to be arranged) and chat to me, the other artists and each other about their experiences, as well as get involved in some of the workshops that will be set up. I would also like to visit people if they find it hard to get out. The project will be taking place from May 2013 to May 2014, so it is just in the initial stages and I will keep everyone on here posted as to what is going on with regards to publications, tours, exhibitions, and any meetings for research and oral history taking etc.

Please can anyone post any photographs, thoughts and questions to this thread that you might like used in the project? Do you know anyone who might be interested? If you would like to send me your memories or anything else please email me, my address is [email protected] and my phone number for this project is 077333 84541. Thanks, Jenni.

Also, does anyone have any objects related to the area that can either be borrowed or photographed (I know how precious these things are) to help set up a Travelling Museum which will hopefully go to schools (supervised) and elsewhere. If anyone has any suggestions for where the Travelling Museum could go, that would be great too.
Thanks, Jenni.
 
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The map shows the Witton area with Holdford Mill centre left. The mill was first mentioned in 1358, when it was used as a fulling mill in the cleaning of wool for the making of woolen fabrics. It was at this time that the River Tame was sluiced (gated to redirect the flow of water) and a millrace (channel of water away from the river) created to lead to the mill. The millrace can be seen in the 1921 map, above, but has disappeared today. By 1591 the mill had turned to the metal industries as hammers were being made, and it was also used for iron making. From the 1650s it was used for making blades and edge-tools, and the water would have powered the grinders for sharpening the tools. Over the next couple of hundred years it passed through many hands, and the mill became a prominent metal manufacturing site in the area.

In 1910 the mills were acquired by Kynoch Ltd, later to become ICI and IMI and was used in the metal and ammunition industries. The mills presence is remembered in the naming of Holdford Drive and Holdford Way in the Brookvale Trading Estate and Holdford Industrial Park.
 
Seems like a very interesting project. I'm just a little concerned that you publish your contact details on an open forum. I would suggest,to avoid attracting unwanted spam, you ask people to send a PM/IM which you can reply to with your details. That way only members can get in touch.
 
Hi Jenni. Here's the Geo Ellison/Tufnols thread. And the Birchfield Road Perry Barr thread might be of interest too. There's a discussion on there about the Roman Kiln at Perry Barr (Wellington Road).. There were some finds - maybe photos could be obtained. There's also a thread on Birchfield Road School which you may already have seen, but just in case:

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=40373
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=38467
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1367436236.138874.jpg
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=526

Viv.
 
I used to live close to Perry Hall playing fields/park and regularaly played by the Tame, my estranged Father also had a business on the Walsall road near Tucker Eyeletts. I was born in 1945 and moved away in 1970, if my memories would be any help please let me know.
 
I took photo's of Canterbury Road school at its Centenary in 2007. When the Forum was hacked all of the photo's disappeared, I can put them back if you would like them Jenni. Many of us Witton children went to the school.
 
Hi Nick, your memories would definitely be brilliant to find out, I have sent you a message.
Hi Di, yes please! I would love to see them. I would also like to hear about your childhood in Witton if you feel you could share some information. I will write up a little about the sort of things we are looking for and post it one here.
Thanks both.
 
As promised, I have written up about what we are looking for......

We would like to hear about your experiences of growing up, living and working in Witton and Perry Barr.

HERE: NOW AND THEN (OUR EXPERIENCE OF PLACE)

There has been a great surge of oral history taking over recent years, filling a gap in the archive, as the archive cannot record the experience of living in a particular place at a particular time. Oral history has been used as the primary method of capturing experience, but as part of the Tamed project artist/historian Jenni Coles-Harris would like to add another dimension to the collection of experiences and the memories of them. As well as being archived and placed online, we would like them to inspire artworks produced in Witton and Perry Barr by artists and residents past and present. Jenni will be producing a memory map, using memories and experiences associated with specific sites within these areas to build up a picture of how communities have changed, made exchange, and travelled; exploring the journey that places themselves take through time. Through Perry Barr and Witton flows the river Tame, and as the Tamed project investigates its journey through the area, it will also follow the journeys of local people who live/lived and work/worked around it too.

Jenni is looking to record the experiences of residents of these areas past and present. I want to get right down to the bones of what it is and was like to live and/or work in Witton and Perry Barr around the area of the river Tame. So whether you live and/or work in these areas today or did in the past, I would very much like to hear from you, and for you to write your experiences and memories down for the project. All of these will inspire, inform and be included in artwork produced over the next year, and as the project develops, other artists and I will develop particular themes, from which point we are hoping to take some oral histories, and develop a continuing body of work.

STARTING POINTS AND IDEAS

Please try and attach your experiences and memories to a particular site or building. Think about one or more local sites that are meaningful to you, or have meaningful memories attached, e.g. home, street, place of worship, workplace, shop, school, play area, park, social place, vehicle, or, if it has played a role in your life, the river Tame.

Think about the some or all of the following questions. Where is/was the site? What does/did it look like? What does/did it feel like to be there? What happens/happened there? Does it still exist? How would you feel if it didn’t exist anymore? Why is this site important to you? How do the site and your experience of it/your memories of it interconnect?

It can be any length that you would like; one paragraph is fine, as is a few pages.

Thanks
 
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There are many recollections of working in Witton factories in the 'Drop Stamp - Birch Rd - Witton' thread click/here.
The thread started at Drop Stamp but wandered as threads do through other Witton factories listed
Forgings & Presswork
Salisbury Transmissions
Alf Roberts & Sons
Hardy Spicer (original Witton factory)
Hallidays
Some photos are in the thread but others were lost in the hack attack.
 
my husband worked at salisbury transmission starting at 15 years old as a electricians mate he stayed for 2 years then when to work at antler brothers he then went back to salisburys at 21 staying untill he retired 3years ago he did 41 years on the night shift as a electrician
at least 4 of his uncles worked there in the 1950s it was taken over by gkn it is now dana
they used to do some lovely christmas partys for the chrildren and dances at the magnet club
josie
 
Jenni this is my potted history (drawn together from other sources) of Ellisons/Tufnols - very basic, but the highlighted section mentions a military exhibition in 1944 at the Ellison's Perry Bridge site. This is the site I remember my dad mentioning which I think was within the flood risk area. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1367618410.446317.jpg
 
Also, another thought occurred to me that a Dame Laura Knight painting (mentioned in the George Ellison and Tufnol thread called 'Switchworks') was in the reception of the Perry Bridge building. Might be of interest to your audience as it shows people working on switchgear and it featured a BHF members father in the painting. Viv.
 
Thank you oldMohawk, I will have a good look at that thread.

Josie, do you think that your husband might be able to write something up for me, something that particularly stands out for him, using the ideas in post #12? I would be so grateful. And I would love to hear about the Christmas parties and/or the dances at the Magnet Club as well. I've heard the Magnet Club mentioned before, where was it?

Hi Viv, thanks for this, and yes, the zig zag bridge is in the flood risk area. Do you remember anything of the exhibition at all?
 
Vivienne14 said:
Also, another thought occurred to me that a Dame Laura Knight painting (mentioned in the George Ellison and Tufnol thread called 'Switchworks') was in the reception of the Perry Bridge building. Might be of interest to your audience as it shows people working on switchgear and it featured a BHF members father in the painting. Viv.
Click to expand...

This will be great, I am going to arrange to pop down to Tufnol's, I have been told that they have an archive for the business, and I will take a look at the picture then. I noticed the painting on the thread you pointed me at, and thought that it was brilliant, really brings things to life. I will also try and contact the person whose father is in the painting. Thanks.
 
cuppateabiscuit said:
Thank you oldMohawk, I will have a good look at that thread.

Josie, do you think that your husband might be able to write something up for me, something that particularly stands out for him, using the ideas in post #12? I would be so grateful. And I would love to hear about the Christmas parties and/or the dances at the Magnet Club as well. I've heard the Magnet Club mentioned before, where was it?

Hi Viv, thanks for this, and yes, the zig zag bridge is in the flood risk area. Do you remember anything of the exhibition at all?
Click to expand...

Hi Jenni. Afraid I wasn't born at the time of the exhibition! Although I'm sure my dad would have gone as he was fascinated by all things electronic/aircrafts/scientific innovation. (He worked not only for Ellison's but Nuffields too). Will ask my aunt about the exhibition as she may know about it.

I have a photo of my mum working at a bench at Geo Ellison's which I'll send to you with my notes I'm pulling together. These are a bit fragmented but happy for you to pull out anything that's of interest from them. Viv.
 
Hi Jenni: Here is a photo taken by Keith Berry of the Magnet Club https://www.pbase.com/beppuu/image/61319826...also a "Britain from Above" location map of the area.https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw031381 The Magnet Club was "the centre of the Universe" as it were for the Witton area and the workers at the GEC going back to the 1930's. It had all kinds of sports fields, clubs, an operatic group, etc. Both my parents were born in Witton and lived there until they were married.
I will send you some info soon. Keith Berry, sadly now deceased lived in Brantley Road and assembled an amazing collection of cameras over many years and took some great photos of areas in and around Birmingham. You can view his website here:https://www.pbase.com/beppuu/kodak850 Keith took several photos of Brantley Road during the 2007 flood.
 
jennyann said:
Hi Jenni: Here is a photo taken by Keith Berry of the Magnet Club https://www.pbase.com/beppuu/image/61319826...also a "Britain from Above" location map of the area.https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw031381 The Magnet Club was "the centre of the Universe" as it were for the Witton area and the workers at the GEC going back to the 1930's. It had all kinds of sports fields, clubs, an operatic group, etc. Both my parents were born in Witton and lived there until they were married.
I will send you some info soon. Keith Berry, sadly now deceased lived in Brantley Road and assembled an amazing collection of cameras over many years and took some great photos of areas in and around Birmingham. You can view his website here:https://www.pbase.com/beppuu/kodak850 Keith took several photos of Brantley Road during the 2007 flood.
Click to expand...

Thank you for all this information, the Magnet Club seems like a real hub of the area. Keith Berry's photographs are amazing, I am sorry that he had died. I will delve into the club, I'm sure it has a many gems to uncover.

Magnet Club thread https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=36413&page=2
 
There is a thread on BHF called "The Floods of 1947". Here are a couple of photos posted by member Stars. Mentioned in the thread that this
may not have been the 1947 flood but a flood in Tame Road nevertheless. Should say that it is post #4. In addition, here is a photo of the 1947 flood in Tame Road posted by member David Fowler. https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=38627 The second photo of Brookvale Road on Stars post
is how many of us remember it with the older railings along the river. You can see Hardy Spicers across from the River Tame and the Yew Tree Pub as well https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1231





 
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Ray Griffiths said:
How long ago was this picture of the GEC it's not as I remember it in the 50's
Click to expand...

I think it was the 1920s, but I will double check. Any chance you could write any memories down Ray? There are some ideas in post #12...I would really appreciate it.

And anyone else with memories and experiences of the area, I am really looking forward to building up a picture, please keep them coming.

Also, thanks for additional info jennyann
 
Ray Griffiths said:
How long ago was this picture of the GEC it's not as I remember it in the 50's
Click to expand...
Hi Ray, the person who sent me the image thinks that they are mistaken, and it is not actually the Witton factory in the image, even though the frontage is the same. Thank you for your comment otherwise I might not have delved further- I will remove it. Can you tell me about how you remember it in the 50's.... something particular to a physical part. It can be written or I can arrange to record something if you prefer.
 
I posted some Canterbury Road Centenary photo's a while back, I forgot I had done that.

Jenni go to Chris M's post on the Canterbury Road School topic, if you haven't already seen it the headmaster Mr Chapman was in the Home Guard and Chris has done a good piece on him with a photo from the school. He has left a link to it. It is a lovely post, Mr Chapman was such a nice man.

I tried to paste a link to the piece but it doesn't seem to want to work.
 
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