• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Courtyards and yards of brum

Windsor Street ran from Richard Street to Vauxhall Rd in Nechells & Vauxhall see the attached map.
 

Attachments

  • Nechells Area .jpg
    Nechells Area .jpg
    274.3 KB · Views: 35
Very good picture, very atmospheric of its time, to thin those people were alive perhaps 45/50 years before I was born, and may have been dead by the time I was, real old Birmingham. Paul
 
This is the back court that we lived at the front of, in Francis St Nechells from 1953 to 1963 when the street was demolished. The only difference between out one down and two up back to back to those up the courtyard was that we fronted the street. Our house was just to the right of the entry and oddly enough one of the two entrance doors to the house was just out of site the other side of the drainpipe. The other is shrouded by darkness on the right hand side of the entry. Quite why we had two entrance / exit doors in the one ground floor room I don't really know unless it was to save bricks.
 

Attachments

  • Nechells Francis st (2).JPG
    Nechells Francis st (2).JPG
    114.9 KB · Views: 81
Paul

No but if those lads are who I think they are judging by their age in the photo I would date the photo about 1957 -58.
 
Home decorations in the old days !

The house on the right has been made nice with those windowsill decorations ... probably the neighbours commented out of earshot !
Chapel Terrace, Warwick Street
chapelterrace.jpg

The person living in the house below did not have a garden but made up for it with trellis, potted plants, window box, and some decoration similar to the Chapel Terrace house. Looks very nice but that brick pillar in the foreground ... is it broken glass embedded in mortar ?
Back of No 5 Camp Hill
BackNo5CampHill.jpg
shoothill
 
Last edited:
I was looking at a photo of Number 6 Court Barford Street and saw a notice on a door which has a heading 'Whooping Cough'.
Would this have been some sort of official warning to other people to stay away because there were cases of an infectious disease in those houses ?

This first image shows the court.
No6courtbarfordst.JPG

This second image shows the notice enlarged.
whoopingcough.jpg
shoothill
 
Last edited:
it could be that phil or it could be just a general notice to warn that whooping cough is in the area...

lyn
 
There were many, "Whooping Cough", epidemics in Birmingham going back to the early 19th C, in the 1947 epidemic, both my sister Jane and I contracted it, unfortunately she died and I survived. Paul
 
There were many, "Whooping Cough", epidemics in Birmingham going back to the early 19th C, in the 1947 epidemic, both my sister Jane and I contracted it, unfortunately she died and I survived. Paul
I suppose kids living in the poor housing shown in the photo would not have had much chance of survival if they caught Whooping Cough which is bad enough for children today with all the modern medicines available. The notice looks 'official' and maybe once displayed on the property, people were not allowed to visit the houses in order to limit the spread of the disease.
 
knew i had one somewhere..just found it...this notice is on the door of back of 22 blews st newtown giving precautions against diarrheoa...

lyn
 

Attachments

  • Back_of_22_Blews_Street_with_Diarrhoea_sign.jpg
    Back_of_22_Blews_Street_with_Diarrhoea_sign.jpg
    102.2 KB · Views: 69
knew i had one somewhere..just found it...this notice is on the door of back of 22 blews st newtown giving precautions against diarrheoa...

lyn
That's a clear photo Lyn, I can even read the name 'John Robertson. MD' on it. So it seems the notices were mainly advice about precautions to take against diseases.
Phil
 
morning phil...yes i would say thats what these notices mean..i would think that one was put up in each courtyard

lyn
 
There were many, "Whooping Cough", epidemics in Birmingham going back to the early 19th C, in the 1947 epidemic, both my sister Jane and I contracted it, unfortunately she died and I survived. Paul

Paul, I also had Whooping Cough in 1947. I remember having to stay in bed for 7/8 weeks with it and becoming delirious at times.
 
Very sad that Paul and Judy had that experience and at so young an age. Not only would cramped housing conditions have been a concern, but local schools must have struggled terribly with outbreaks. Viv.
 
I looked up the name J.Robertson MD showing on the bottom of Lyn's pic and much interesting information about him.
An 'In Memoriam' notice below ...
J.Robertson.MD.JPG
 
Yes it was very sad, my mother and Father never really got over it, I survied as the eldest, little Jane was only a few months old, when Mom died, I found a black edged "In Memorm", card in her hand bag 60 years old.Paul
 
I had whooping cough too, in the 50s when I was at Junior school, I didn't realise it could be so dangerous!
 
Yes it was very sad, my mother and Father never really got over it, I survied as the eldest, little Jane was only a few months old, when Mom died, I found a black edged "In Memorm", card in her hand bag 60 years old.Paul

That is such a sad story Paul. I remember your Mom vaguely from when I was a little girl. She must have been devastated to lose your sister likek that.
 
Thank you everyone for your kind comments, any close loss is hard but when a small child, even more so I feel, hello Jayell, I value your memories of my family, Mom served in the WAAF in the war and was in the flight crew stores at RAF Cranwell, looking after the French, Polish, trainee pilots, so many of the young boys died in training, I think it affected her nerves for the rest of her life. Paul
 
Photos of two courtyards off Newhall Street.
Images are linked from elsewhere on the forum and can only be seen if logged in.
Court 5 looking towards it's entry.
index.php


Court 5 looking in the opposite direction.
index.php


Court 7 on a sunny day.
index.php

Images from the Library of Birmingham collection on Shoothill, (link to it here).
 
Last edited:
hello all

What a great thread this is. I am trying to write about Birmingham in the Great War and instead I have spent the last two hours looking at all these pictures.

I have put on a picture of my Gran and Granddad's wedding which took place in 1921. She was Elizabeth Pledger and he was Isaac Carter. They were both living in Armoury Road, Small Heath.

Have not got a clue where this picture was taken.

Regards

Terry[/QUOT
 
hello all

What a great thread this is. I am trying to write about Birmingham in the Great War and instead I have spent the last two hours looking at all these pictures.

I have put on a picture of my Gran and Granddad's wedding which took place in 1921. She was Elizabeth Pledger and he was Isaac Carter. They were both living in Armoury Road, Small Heath.

Have not got a clue where this picture was taken.

Regards

Terry
 
Hi Terry; Armoury Road, do you know the house numbers where your ancestors were living? We of the Harrison family lived at number 44.

Cheers

M
 
Two photos showing Court 19 Brearley Street. (images only visible if logged in)
index.php

The other end of Court 19.

index.php

from the Shoothill collection.
(edited to make images visible for https log-ins)
 
Last edited:
Court 15, Brearley Street. (image only visible if logged in) (edited to make images visible for https log-ins)

index.php

from the Shoothill collection
 
Last edited:
Back
Top