Erdington

[Alberta]

I don't think it is the one in Station road but rather the Chester road one just down from the Yenton

 

[Pedrocut]

Perhaps a signaling expert can explain…”the train is passing the signal, where the Chester Road distant arm is also painted red, not yet yellow.”

 

[Morturn]

I don't think it is the one in Station road but rather the Chester road one just down from the Yenton

I think you are correct, Erdington had a Ladies Waiting room on the far side

 

[Pedrocut]

OS Maps from around 1915 for Erdington (top) and Chester Road.

 

[Pedrocut]

In the index of the book the stations are given as Erdington and Chester Road. Opened 1862 and 1863.

Also associated text says picture taken at Erdington.

 

[Lady Penelope]

Pedro, the boundaries frequently change in this area and quite often around the early 1900's it appears as Erdington rather than Sutton as it is now. Here's a couple of pictures of Chester Road station for comparison taken around the same time.

 

[Mark Tooze]

Here are some photos of Erdington Station from the 1980s. Genuine old DMU's, 60's BR totem signage on the notice boards (and 80's-style adverts) - and a real signal box with real signals!!!

 

[Pedrocut]

Pedro, the boundaries frequently change in this area and quite often around the early 1900's it appears as Erdington rather than Sutton as it is now. Here's a couple of pictures of Chester Road station for comparison taken around the same timeView attachment 175171View attachment 175172.

As far as the Stations are concerned they were built in 1862/3 and are referred to as Erdington Station and Chester Road Station. It seems that they have continued to be referred to as such through to the present day.

Taking the picture from the book it says looking in the direction of Sutton Coldfield. The ground to the right looks to be higher as it would for Station Road. This could lead up to Erdington Abbey, where on the map (not shown in the above) there are a number of trees. Around Chester Road Station the ground is flatter and even in 1915 shows a number of dwellings.

At this stage I would tend towards Station Road.

 

[Lady Penelope]

Pedro, I think the clincher is that the rail has no bend and there is a definite one at Chester Road also there's no footbridge which you can see in the far distance at Chester Road. The tall trees in the centre of the original photo would have been on what is now the Lyndhurst Estate but was then and estate of very large, private houses along Sutton Road. Definitely Erdington.

 

[Pedrocut]

Chested Road had a lady porter…March 1956.

(1997) A century of railways around Birmingham and the West Midlands : a personal selection. Vol. 2.

 

[Morturn]

I recall the lady porter at Erdington Station. She gave a whole new meaning to the word strict

 

[mw0njm.]

In the early 1960s Erdington won the best kept station award for many years running, as mort said the station master was a very formidable lady.'

 

[mw0njm.]

 

[Morturn]

In the early 1960s Erdington won the best kept station award for many years running, as mort said the station master was a very formidable lady.'

Indeed it did, all of the certificates were hanging in thw waiting room. Best kept station over several years.

 

[mw0njm.]

wonder what the original ghost sign writing says before the word LMS on the bridge

 

[mw0njm.]

oops! The lorry stuck the bridge in Summer Road, Erdington, carrying rail services on the Cross-City Line. 2018

 

[Morturn]

wonder what the original ghost sign writing says before the word LMS on the bridge

LMS Erdington LMS

 

[Out in the sticks Brummy]

In Commercial Street, the road leading up the the main shopping area,

That looks like Chadds there was 2 big shops of Chadds

 

[Eric Gibson]

That looks like Chadds there was 2 big shops of Chadds

Same shops I think, Owen Owen took them over at some time.
There was a cafe with a high counter and tall stools opposite where we used to have beans on toast as a quick meal when we delivered cars from Brum to Hereford in the evenings.

 

[Pedrocut]

There is a thread for Goosemoor Lane, but it seems to have been locked for some time.

Anyway in 1895, according to the Medical Officer, it was the site for an offensive trade where blood drying and manure
making were being carried out.

In the same year a gale force wind, on Sunday 24 March, caused large damage to buildings. In Sutton Park 635 trees were destroyed, 555 torn up by the roots.

 

[ChrisM]

I am not aware of any reason why the Goosemoor Lane thread should remain closed and so I have unlocked it.

Goosemoor Lane

I am not sure if this link is on the site..... https://www.geocities.com/goosemoorlane/history.htm It has been built up over the last three years by a local resident Gary O'Brien and has a lot of information about Birmingham social service websites and connections as well asWW1 and WW2...

birminghamhistory.co.uk

Chris

 

[Vivienne14]

Erdington memories Source: British Newspaper Archive

 

[Vivienne14]

Some more memories. Source: British Newspaper Archive

 

[Vivienne14]

A few more Erdington memories. Source: British Newspaper Archive

 

[Key Hill Brian]

Erdington memories Source: British Newspaper Archive

View attachment 191498View attachment 191499

That spring still flows, right behind my garden before crossing Holly Lane!

 

[Morturn]

That spring still flows, right behind my garden before crossing Holly Lane!

So is this what Spring Lane is named after?

 

[Richard Loud]

The number plate on the Vauxhall fixes the earliest date, the suffix 'A' was used Jan '63 to Dec '63. The shops look closed so it was probably on a Sunday. When did 'Sunday trading' start? A Morris 1100 and possibly an Hillman Imp parked might offer date clues. A man in a smart belted Gaberdine mac holding his daughter's hand ... I think that might have gone out of fashion before the mid '70s. It has a mid to late '60s look to me.

Sunday Trading started around 1986 and Wilton Market opened in 1970 so the photo above was taken around 1966 as you can see the Village Green in the distance

 

[Vivienne14]

Thank you for your reply Richard. Oldmohawk has sadly passed away, but your comments are a welcome addition to this thread and for the benefit of other readers.

 

[Richard Loud]

Good story Johnny.
Good old Alleyne road, I've whizzed down that road a few times on me 3 wheeler and goies.

We lived at 24 Alleyne Road and I fell off my bike on the corner where the road sign is as well when I was about seven around 1969

 

[Lady Penelope]

This is a follow-on from my post #652 of 28th April 2022. I have finally got round to looking at the Bell & Cuckoo in Erdington. From a visit to Birmingham Archives I have discovered that the land was sold in 1866 and from reading 'Coaching City' by Howard Clayton (about Lichfield) the most likely reason for the pub's decline was the railway. Apart from passengers, cattle and the post all began to travel by train. The turnpike trusts began to lose profits too and were gradually wound up.