Recent content by Lady Penelope

Thanks Pedro, I knew it would be difficult but glad you tried. Penny

Can anyone help with the quality of this photo of Sheffield Road, Boldmere, please? It was sent to the newspaper by my aunt who lived in the road. Any improvement would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Oh how the 'remarkably pure' air of Chester Road has changed! Thank you for all the above. I shall take time to read them properly and see if I can add anything - although I doubt it.

I did know about the Old Cuckoo and the vague area where it was but not the exact location except that it was 'behind the present church'. I think a pub stood on the site of the Bell & Cuckoo long before 1817 which I think was just called the Bell (to be confirmed). In 1750 the landlord wrote a...

Thank you for this information. I don't think, at this stage, that there is any connection to the railway. I checked all the houses on the 1911 census and there are no railway workers living there. I will add it to my February visit to the Archives and look at the plans but I'm pretty sure the...

Thank you all for your input. Architects and auctioneers sound much more likely than a brewer's employee. I'm hoping to find out who actually built these houses and it doesn't look as though they have anything to do with the railway so far. However, I'm not dismissing that yet. Pedro, I'm...

I've been searching for a Mr M J Butcher of 12 Cherry Street, Birmingham. He made application for planning permission to build 22 houses in Florence Road, Wylde Green in 1903. These properties became Florence Avenue. I've found 12 Cherry Street which appears to be offices and only the...

Really good to see these flowers Janice. We have a grave by the south door at St Michael's which has a wonderful show of snowdrops. We always consider that this is the first welcome sign of spring as they've been blooming for some time now. I suppose they're early as they are in whatever sun...

This is a copy of the 1804 Enclosure Map for Erdington. Strangely, it doesn't show the Bell & Cuckoo but it does show the Bell at the bottom.

Thanks for that Moor End Lad. Good to get it right! However, the building on the corner of Bell Lane and Chester Road, known as Hollywood, was in fact the Bell a very long time ago. I'll post the map showing this when I find it! I don't know when it closed and the name transferred to The Bell &...

My Dad always used to say 'scrub round it' - meaning 'leave it alone'. Also, when ironing a shirt he would say 'first the collar, then the chest, then the cuffs and blow the rest'. I suppose they were the only things that showed when in uniform.

I found the attached photo which states in the write up that the old school bell (from The National School) was taken to the new school. As this article appeared on 22 May 1964 the move must have occurred before this date. You'll find this information at the bottom left hand corner.

Thanks Peter, I'm still trying to finish my article for the History Group about Jordan's Grave, Beggars Bush and Gibbet Hill but progress is slow at the moment. The area was 'wild and lonely' and largely uninhabited and I do tend to think that many myths and legends formed during those dark...

Mike, I believe this is a requirement before any plans can be made. I've been studying the children of Princess Alice Orphanage who are buried in the churchyard. There were three orphanages within the parish at one time. The oldest stone has disappeared under grass and is in the area of the...

I think the councillor's wording probably confused matters Mike. The most used entrance for St Michael's is on Church Road and it's practically impossible to park on this road unless you arrive for church at the crack of dawn. Boldmere itself has only roadside parking or over subscribed...