Bleak Hill Road, B23

[Sabir]

Looking for any information and old pictures of Bleak Hill Road, Erdington

 

[Morturn]

Here is a postcard. Bill Dargue has a really good website about Birmingham and the Bleak Hills here

 

[Sabir]

Here is a postcard. Bill Dargue has a really good website about Birmingham and the Bleak Hills here


View attachment 157067

Thank you. Anymore pictures?

 

[Astoness]

hi sabir...its always interesting if our members can give us a bit of background as to why they are interested in different streets and roads...such as if you have an interest because family lived there years ago...we like to take an interest as we maybe able to help further

lyn

 

[Sabir]

hi sabir...its always interesting if our members can give us a bit of background as to why they are interested in different streets and roads...such as if you have an interest because family lived there years ago...we like to take an interest

lyn

Hi, I am purchasing a house on Bleak Hill Road to live in.
I love history and would like to know more about the street, when the houses were made, etc etc.

Look Forward to a reply, thanks

 

[pjmburns]

1920s map shows no houses

By 1937 the road was full of houses.

 

[pjmburns]

Most of the houses seem to be on the 1930 electoral roll so must have been built in the last half of the 1920s.

 

[Pedrocut]

September 1928, Birmingham Gazette suggests that Bleak Hills was once regarded as a District...

 

[A Sparks]

A little bit of history here...

Bleak Hill/s

William Dargue A History of BIRMINGHAM Places & Placenames from A to Y

billdargue.jimdofree.com

.....with a photograph by the late Keith Berry.

 

[Pedrocut]

A little bit of history here...

Bleak Hill/s

William Dargue A History of BIRMINGHAM Places & Placenames from A to Y

billdargue.jimdofree.com

.....with a photograph by the late Keith Berry.
View attachment 157076

From Bill Dargue’s site above…

“A windmill was built on this windy spot sometime after 1760; it ceased operation before the end of the 19th century.”

From Windmills of Birmingham and the Black Country by McKenna, Joseph.

”Bleak Hills mill was situated just east of Witton Upper Pools. It was built sometime after 1760, as it is not shown on the Erdington Estate map of that year. Certainly it was in operation by 1814, and in 1830 being worked by a Miller called Oldacre. Elizabeth Oldacre, possible his widow, was in possession in 1834, though the mill was owned by the Handworth landowner Wyrley Birch. The mill had ceased operation by the end of the 19th Century.”

 

[Vivienne14]

Occasionally I used to walk from Marsh Hill down Bleak Hill Road to Perry Common/Short Heath Road. What a slog that was. Marsh Hill Girls School entrance was opposite Bleak Hill Road at the junction with Marsh Hill. Never walked up it on the way to school, only ever down it after school. Then we’d catch the #28 to Kingstanding. It was too hard and time consuming to walk up to school in the morning, so we’d stay on the #28 bus to Streetly Road and get another bus up that hill (can’t remember the number, maybe the #65?).

In the summer a walk down Bleak Hill to Short Heath Park was very nice. When the grass was tall it was lovely to go and hide in there and catch the sun. Sort of one of those famous Cadbury Flake advertisement moments !

The other thing I remember about Bleak Hill (we always called it that not Bleak Hill Road) was waiting for the coach outside the shop on the corner of Bleak Hill/ Marsh Hill to take us to some hockey game on Saturdays. Usually frosty and cold, and although the question “why on Earth am I doing this when I could be in bed ?” usually crossed my mind, I couldn’t back out as I was Team Captain (through 3 years of cold winters) and enjoyed the thrill of winning - well sometimes.

Viv.

 

[Pedrocut]

Did you ever pop in to the Hare and Hounds ?

 

[Vivienne14]

Well not in school uniform, would’ve been a giveaway ! But I think I went in there when in the sixth form (no uniform). We tended to go over to the Stockland, closer. Viv.