Recent content by JohnJames

Ne This building was next door to Lyndon's newsagents. I remember that it had a connection to sporting goods, including referrees whistles.

Insurance Agents, such as The Man from The Pru. A few others- Britannic, Refuge, United Friendly, Liverpool Victoria., The Co-op.

The main vehicle entrance to Bywater's pork factory was in Greenway Street. This later became Roberts & Birch, also known as Robirch, a Burton on Trent company. I believe that all of this area is now covered by Morrison's Supermarket. Another smaller pedestrian entrance to Bywaters was off the...

I found a 1902 half crown there in 1968. It wasn't that worn. I didn't spend it but somehow lost it in my many house moves. I have always thought that this underveloped area between Small Heath and Hay Mills would be a great place for 19th century archeology people to dig around. Why was it...

The Old Wharf brings back a few memories. Not exactly in town but we'll situated n a back street in Digneth. Often had a pint there when as a fifteen year old I and my mates wandered down from Small Heath. We were big for our age and were readily served. It seemed to be a local boozer then...

I got to know this pub as a friend worked in the sorting office opposite. I'm amazed at what you say about a nuclear bunker underneath this area. I presume that it's still there but is sealed up?

Yes. That's the one. Soon as I saw A Sparks picture it came back to me. You could enter it from New Street as we New St/Pinfold Street. There were two entrances with steps going down into a cellar bar. Still the same layout with the replacement pub on my last visit in 2018. Cellar bars were...

Yes. That's the one. Soon as I saw A Sparks picture it came back to me. You could enter it from New Street as well.

The Post Office Vaults, which the last time I was in Brum was a great real ale pub was around under another name when I frequented the city centre in the late 60s/early 70s. Layout wise it was still exactly the same, a classic "cellar pub". I just can't remember what it was called back in the day.

Oswald Baileys. The go to place for Jods and Levis, when you had saved enough! Bought my first pair of Jods there and put them on in the shop under my turned up Levis. Great times..

It was a strange sort of pub. One you maybe had a quick pint in after getting off the bus before going in to town. Maybe it was designed for Bullring shoppers but due to the then archaic pub opening hours, it wouldn't have been much benefit to a daytime crowd. Seemed even more pointless after 6pm.

Living in Small Heath during the 1960s, Sheldon with it's bow windowed semies was regarded as posh. If you moved to Sheldon (or dream on Solihull) you had made it! The 58 and 60 buses took you to Sheldon if you stayed on them long enough! I always got off these buses at Mansell Road near the...

I remember that too. It was on a raised site not far from the bandstand. A great place to hang out during school holidays, when we weren't rowing or canoeing on the lake.

I vaguely remember that the low level arched building pictured was a place that manufactured some sort of sports equipment when I lived around there from the mid 60s to mid 70s. I can't remember what it was, though. Maybe something to do with cricket or referees whistles?

I left Small Heath in 1974 aged 18. I've lived in many places since then and am now now retired in Ireland. Small Heath was starting to change when I left. I drove down the Coventry road around five years ago for the first time in forty years. A noticeable thing was that all of the pubs were...