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There's a well-known folk song 'The Doffing Mistress' which originated in the Ulster linen mills. Anne Briggs recorded this in 1963, but lots of folk singers have sung versions. (A doffing mistress was the overseer). I think that apart from engineers most mill workers were women and girls?)...

Factory Lector? I think that is a Cuban cigar factory where books and newspapers were read to the workers. Is there any evidence of such a job in the UK? A fabulous set of pictures though.

Hovis bread is still in business and a British brand sold by Waitrose and Tesco and others.https://www.hovis.co.uk Harvo isn't made since the 1970s, but Soreen another malt fruit loaf is widely available.

Just signed up! This site is a fund of information and entertainment. Thanks to @warren and mods for keeping it going. Not forgetting members who post photographs and historical information.

I used all three libraries in Central Birmingham. There are still some Victorian and Modernist buildings left, but many who have not visited the city for some years won't recognise the place.

The Flapper has a 'what's on' page which says that goth/metal bands play there regularly. Looks as if they are still in business.

As a footnote, I was curious to find out who 'General Elliott' was and if he had any link to Birmingham. I'd say the name refers to General George Augustus Eliott (25 December 1717 – 6 July 1790) He commanded the garrison during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, which lasted from 1779 to 1783...

I had the badge too. Bit of a history of the Chipper Club here. https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/remember-chipper-club-were-bringing-17991317

I made no statement about the location of Gracewell Cottages. Parish boundaries shift. I think when Tolkien lived there it was Sarehole, a hamlet? But if anyone wants to find the modern location then Wake Green Road will find the house. See #103 above which shows the Moseley boundary and...

Written by Luke Kuhns with thanks to Carl Chinn who talks on the podcast. Contains graphic violent scenes. BBC Sounds, so if you have the app in the UK listen to it there. Always a pleasure to listen to Carl. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0ltc6g2

Street view is amazing! Put in 'First Meadow Piece' and you can walk round the probable location of Tom Knocker's Wood. Few mature trees to see and certainly no woods.

Looking over the road shows the post 1970s houses.

Interesting Splinter. I've looked for a suicide or hanging before 1834 when the name is used on the Harbourne map. Of course, 'Knocker' might have been Tommy's nickname? He might have lived and died in the 1700s?

Thanks for the musical memories of my teenage years, Ozzy. RIP.

Wendy in 2010 wrote that according to legend Tom Knocker hanged himself there.... post #333 https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/threads/brummie-ghosts.10330/page-12

Aris's Birmingham Gazette Sat 24 June 1876 describes walking the Harbourne Boundary, reaching Tom Knocker's Wood where there was 'a most formidable thicket' 'Bearlands Coppice' which they struggled to cross.

Birmingham Mail - Saturday 14 November 1908

I'm so sorry to hear about your wife, you spent a long time together and I'm glad it was a happy one. I hope too that you can see your family. Derek

Photo from 2011 Wikimedia commons Gordon Griffiths / Halesowen Abbey / CC BY-SA 2.0 Obviously taken with a long lens from the footpath, but it does show considerable remains of the abbey still exist.

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/halesowen-abbey/#beforeyougo While the remains of Halesowen Abbey are owned by English Heritage, the surrounding land is private with no access to the building. The exterior of a barn at Manor Farm incorporates some medieval stone and can be seen...