Castle Vale

[Vivienne14]

Those B&W photos sparked me off to have a look at the 'now' views, but can't pinpoint them. I used to get off the bus at the top of Tangmere Drive on Reed Square, but blimey, I don't recognise the place ! There's now a 'High Street'. No High Street in the 1970s, just a row of basic shops. The only reference point I could find was the bus stop.

Phyllis Nicklin captured Reed Square in 1969. Is the modern Streetview roughly the same view ? Not sure.

 

[Pedrocut]

 

[Vivienne14]

Seems the whole estate had those space-age style street lamps in the 1960s. They all seem to have gone, but in places, particularly around High Street, there are similarly styled replacement lamps. I think they might be a nod to the early days of the estate. And maybe they help define the 'centre' to the estate.



I remember the low-level fencing, too. Quite a few of the green communal spaces had this around the edge. It didn't act as a barrier to keeping things in or keeping things out, so I'm not sure what their purpose was. Maybe it was just to give the green spaces definition.

 

[Pedrocut]

Last 4 that I can find…

 

[Vivienne14]

Phyllis Nicklin visited the estate in 1968, her subject focussing particularly on Tangmere Drive. It certainly gave a good idea of the scale of the estate and the volume of new housing it was providing. I think many (if not most) of the tower blocks have since gone.

 

[Vivienne14]

Have merged two threads about Castle Vale. There may be other unseen posts.