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Bull Ring 1930s - 1950s

cj147, Your ancestors painting of the Bull Ring is so tranquil & different to how it was in later years with its vibrant hustle and bustle, beautiful painting thanks for posting it. Len.
 
Oh dear Snoker ( Reply 8 ) i knew people that sold such day old chicks in the Bull Ring !!!!!!, way back when ,at various times from the war years up to the late 50s.
amongst the sellers some of the chicks were referred to as Josers or Josed , meaning they were nearly dead or were dead (josed) the sellers would tap the table with their fingers and the poor little chicks would think it was mom, and look lively. so really for them to grow to crow, your dad did well in bringing them up ( i trust they tasted good ) .Sorry on behalf of those bad uns. Max
 
Heres a good one of the Bull ring that I don't think has ever been aired on here before. It looks to be in the 50's and I would think those two tightly huddled circles of people are being entertained by street entertainers that used to abound in the Bull Ring and perform for a few coppers (not the uniformed kind) thrown in the the middle of the circle.

Phil


bull ring c1950.JPG
 
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The photo of the Bull Ring fascinates me , if you look closely at the man in bottom right-hand of photo he is not wearing anything on the top part of his body !!!! I wonder if he was an escapologist or the like . Like to hear others views . Max
 
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maxwell bullivant said:
The photo of the Bull Ring in reply 16 fascinates me , if you look closely at the many bottom right-hand of photo he is not wearing anything on the top part of his body !!!! I wonder if he was an escapologist or the like . Like to hear others views . Max
Click to expand...


Max could be I seem to remember someone escaping from chains with padlocks, remember the Cobbles used to get very slippery Dave and the smells
 
There used to be a guy who was always topless, he used to swallow a chain and let you feel the links in his stomach.
He also used to escape from chains and padlocks, watched him many a time in the early to mid fifties.
 
Morning John, I remember him well, he has been mentioned on here before by a few members but I can't find anything at the moment.
 
I found this photo, courtesey of Alton Douglas.

Edit. Replacement image. May vary from original.

image.jpeg
 
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Brilliant, the date 1949 would seem to fit in with the style of clothes worn in the other photo, and obviously he has no shirt on either . Max
 
astonite what a cracking pic....you know when some pics just grab you ??? well this one does...love the buildings in the background too...

thanks for posting it...

lyn
 
Guilbert53, had further viewing of your wonderful link , do you know if the lady photographer Phyllis Nicklin is still alive . Fantastic pics ,and in colour too . Max
 
Well if I am promoting photo websites I need to include this one (again includes photos of the Bull Ring - to keep it on topic).

https://www.photobydjnorton.com/

Photos by D J Norton

(I know some of these photo sites have been posted before, but this is such a huge site, and of course not everyone can follow every topic, so it is easy for some to be missed).
 
john knight said:
There used to be a guy who was always topless, he used to swallow a chain and let you feel the links in his stomach.
He also used to escape from chains and padlocks, watched him many a time in the early to mid fifties.
Click to expand...

John

This is probably the chap who swallowed the chain, you can see a chain at his feet. He probably did the escapology as well. I remember that he sometime had a woman assistant who did the escapology as well and they always made a big thing about her loosing her trousers whilst struggling to break free of the chains in the sack. This would always encourage the crowd to hand over extra cash. Of course she had always managed to get them back on before escaping from the sack.

The other photo taken in 1948 shows just how crowded the Bull Ring could get, even in times of rationing.

Phil

City Bull Ring Entertainer.JPG City Bull Ring Shoppers 1948 .jpg
 
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another cracking pic of a packed bull ring...dated 40s early 50s... love the bike and sidecar..

lyn
 
Thanks for posting this very interesting pic, Lyn. A true historical snapshot of the people in the Bull Ring.It must have been a Saturday judging by how many people were shopping. I don't know how road traffic managed to get through all the crowds. The man on the motorcycle must have been very patient. I like the little girl dressed in the Princess style coat holding an umbrella. Most of the men don't wear anything on their heads back then, a contrast to the thirties and before where men never went out without a hat.
I also like all the telephone boxes lined up. Handy for calling TIM for the time and a quick tidy up of your hair in the mirror,
 
i was hoping it was a new pic jenny...i like it....max they must be to the left or right...dont know exactly what spot this was taken...

jenny would you have any idea of the spot where it was taken..

lyn
 
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Astoness said:
i was hoping it was a new pic jenny...i like it....max they must be to the left or right...dont know exactly what spot this was taken...

jenny would you have any idea of the spot where it was taken..

lyn
Click to expand...

lyn I think St Martins just the other side of the Buses
 
No traders up there at that time it,s at the top of the hill people are standing on the market steps on the opposite side of the road (out of shot) would be the bus stops to go down Digbeth , Coventry Rd ,Stratford Rd, Moseley Rd . Dek
 
Astoness said:
another cracking pic of a packed bull ring...dated 40s early 50s... love the bike and sidecar..

lyn
Click to expand...
It must have been taken in the lead up to Christmas, if one looks at the stall on the left of the photograph in front of the phone boxes you can see Christmas trees leaning against the stall. Max
 
Lyn

Nice photo of the Bull Ring, it's one I haven't seen before. But I noticed Wally Batty was there on the left hand side with his motor bike and side car. Perhaps he and Nora were down from Yorkshire doing a bit of Christmas shopping.

Phil
 
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