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Castle Vale

  • Thread starter Thread starter harley
  • Start date Start date
When the Topcliffe Tower Block on Castle Vale was refurbished, the original name plate from the tower somehow found it's way to RAF Topcliffe in North Yorkshire and was placed before the Control Tower. The camp has since become Alanbrooke Barracks and the block on Castle Vale is now simply named 'Topcliffe'.
topcliffetower.jpg
 
Aston houses were being demolished. We moved to Castle Vale from 67/70. I lived at 21 Turnhouse Road, we didn't live long we went back to the Newtown. I attended Topcliffe school. My elder sisters attended the Comp. Me and my brother went to Topcliffe, younger sister went to Pegasus. On my way to school I passed the shop on the corner of Innsworth Drive, it belonged to the Gibson family.
 
Hi Irene. The last time I was there was in about 1980. used to catch the #64 up Tangemere Drive to Reid Square. Tangemere Drive was dominated by the long row of tower blocks. Was amazed to see most of these have now gone (according to the link in post #81). Think there were a couple of suicides from those blocks. But local authorities learned lessons from these and blocks at such a height are no longer built.

The other thing I remember about CV is I found it quite difficult to find my way around. A lot of similarity in the roads etc. As I understand it, in some parts new housing around squares have since been developed.

Going way back, my dad told me about the aircraft from the factory on Kingsbury Road which used to be wheeled across the road onto the airfield (later becoming the CV estate). In the 1970s I think there was still an old RAF house/building on the edge of the estate - near the canal side, going towards Tyburn House. Was wondering if it's still there. Viv.
 
Parker's school used to go to the airfield for their playing fields. I think this would have been from Cherrywood Road in Small Heath.
 
tayrich said:
I worked at the Schweppes factory from 1981 until it closed in 1989. I used to live in RAF dwellings the old RAF houses that backed onto the other row on the Chester Road. Those were dark days on the Vale, I remember walking to work past burned out cars,. Some poor soul was stabbed to death in the block of flats near our house. I moved to Castle Bromwich shortly after.
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hey tay rich,do you remember the wood family at 18 raf dwellings??
 
I remember there being a single house on the edge of Castle Vale, almost next to the canal (up from Tyburn House). Looked like it was built in about the 1930s. Would this have been an ex-RAF house ? It definitely wasn’t part of the Castle Vale estate development and would have been on the the very edge of the former airfield. The house was still there into the late 1970s/early 80s. Viv.
 
maybe the houses are gone now,i dont know but wondered about the residents that lived at 18 raf dwellings chester road as i wanted to locate them,i know they were there in the 70s but dont know about after that
 
dandude said:
thx mohawk but i was wondering about the raf dwellings on chester road,is this them??
dandude
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Hi dandude,
They were within the boundary of the airfield so I would think they belonged to the RAF. There only appears to be seven of them and were probably housing for officers. Modern housing was built around them.
A view of the back of them in the Google link below but not possible to see house numbers.
https://goo.gl/maps/hvDX9R9WGkLAwAWP8
oldmohawk ... :)
 
thx mohawk,its so hard to try and find old friends,i only knew their address in the 70s as 18 raf dwellings,chester road castle vale,erdington,birmingham.i just hope someone reads my thread that can help me.

dandude
 
Dave I think that’s the house I remember. It seemed odd to me standing alone on the edge of the estate. Viv.
 
welder said:
It was TK Ales, aka Thomas Keresley Brewery. I didn't much care for their range of beers and most people were happy to see the Ansells takeover.

I have a feeling that TK were based in Mansfield or that vicinity bur I'll be happy to be corrected.

Ian
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Just reading through this thread so it's a very late contribution to this subject.

I had a friend who moved onto Castle Vale in 1966 and, during his time there we used to drink in The Trees. As it was run by an unusual brewery for the area, I enquired about it and this is what I was told. It's 55 years ago but this is how I remember the explanation.

I remember the brewery as Thornley-Kelsey of Leamington Spa (Hence the TK Brewery I suppose). I was told that they had lost the licence of a pub around the Bath Row area of Birmingham due to redevelopment and had, by way of compensation, been awarded the licence for The Trees, Castle Vale. There is a slight coincidence that this brewery had connections with Davenports Brewery which was also on Bath Row. I don't have any further information regarding the pub around the Bath Row area and I couldn't say that it was specifically in Bath Row; just in that area.
 
Would do not know which pub you refer to, but it would have been owned by them from their takeover of Kelsey's Brewery in Henry St. according to McKenna's "Birmingham Breweries" they owned 4 pubs
 
Vivienne14 said:
Hi Irene. The last time I was there was in about 1980. used to catch the #64 up Tangemere Drive to Reid Square. Tangemere Drive was dominated by the long row of tower blocks. Was amazed to see most of these have now gone (according to the link in post #81). Think there were a couple of suicides from those blocks. But local authorities learned lessons from these and blocks at such a height are no longer built.

The other thing I remember about CV is I found it quite difficult to find my way around. A lot of similarity in the roads etc. As I understand it, in some parts new housing around squares have since been developed.

Going way back, my dad told me about the aircraft from the factory on Kingsbury Road which used to be wheeled across the road onto the airfield (later becoming the CV estate). In the 1970s I think there was still an old RAF house/building on the edge of the estate - near the canal side, going towards Tyburn House. Was wondering if it's still there. Viv.
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Vivienne14 said:
I remember there being a single house on the edge of Castle Vale, almost next to the canal (up from Tyburn House). Looked like it was built in about the 1930s. Would this have been an ex-RAF house ? It definitely wasn’t part of the Castle Vale estate development and would have been on the the very edge of the former airfield. The house was still there into the late 1970s/early 80s. Viv.
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Would it be this house?
 

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Aerial 'then and now' views of the area. In the old view the buildings by canal lock and the island on the Chester Road can be seen and some trainer biplanes on the airfield to the left of the hanger.
CBAirfield1948.jpg

The buildings by the canal lock are still there and of course the Chester Road island.
Screenshot (721).jpg
 
dandude said:
if anyone knows of the wood family from 18 raf dwellings,chester road ,castle vale,erdington,please let me know as im looking for an ol friend
dandude
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I knew Robert Wood who lived in RAF Dwellings, had a sister named Julie. Think their dad was an engineer for Severn Trent who bought up a lot of the RAF houses for their employees. Not seen Rob for a couple of years, think he'd moved to Erdington but was still going to Villa matches regularly....
 
SusanSmith said:
I also lived on the Castle Vale Estate from about 1968-1978. I went to Castle Vale Comp and know most of the pubs that have been mentioned. I also went to Chivenor Primary school on the vale. I was great back then as our house was brand new and it felt like luxuary compared to where we had lived. At the comp we had house teams named after the planes used in the war. I was in the gladiator team and my sister was in the spitfire team the third was known as hurricane. I also used to go to the Astral club (more of a youth after school hang out). The big tower block of flats opposite where we lived (Concorde Tower) as since been pulled down as I remember. I loved the vale back then but have been away for so long so not sure what it is like now.
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I went astral club
 
dippy101 said:
Hi Phil.

thankyou for the photos they are brilliant, just the sort of thing I am after. I know the housing estate as was is a bit of a dark patch and apart from a book (no longer notorious) i have found very little. I remember my parents telling me that they moved from Cromwell Street in Nechells to Castle Vale and they lived in Hermes tower which is why it holds some fascination for me. In a weird twist of fate i met my girlfriend who lived in a flat her grandparents bought on Cromwel Street (right next to the school) and we also moved to castle vale!

Right now I am living at the Kingsbury Road end of Castle Vale and i had no idea where the old hangars were located or that there was a tip there. thank you for the information :)
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Hi Guy's if anyone has any photo's they would like to share of either Cromwell st or the albatross in castle vale I would be very grateful. My father now 84 lived in cromwell st Nechells for a while with his gran at #98. Later we ended up at Castle vale on Tangmere drive, dad used to drink at the Albatross, hence the photos.
Gary Hurst
 
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