Lady Penelope
master brummie
I can't open any of these images despite being logged in.
-
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
- Thread starter Astoness
- Start date
oldMohawk
gone but not forgotten
Hi Lady P,
The images are links to pics I have posted in another thread to save duplicating the pics on the server. I suppose we should not have a technical discussion in this thread and maybe continue in this technical thread.
When I'm logged in I see them when I'm logged out I don't
oldmohawk
Last edited:
oldMohawk
gone but not forgotten
Court 6, Essington Street.
only visible if logged in, it is a link to a forum pic from https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...our-old-street-pics.41947/page-97#post-577082
from 'shoothill collection'
only visible if logged in, it is a link to a forum pic from https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...our-old-street-pics.41947/page-97#post-577082
from 'shoothill collection'
Last edited:
oldMohawk
gone but not forgotten
Court 15, Navigation Street
only visible if logged in, it is a link to a forum pic from https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...ur-old-street-pics.41947/page-106#post-588830
only visible if logged in, it is a link to a forum pic from https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...ur-old-street-pics.41947/page-106#post-588830
norfolk brummie
gone but not forgotten
The brickwork on that building looks a bit dodgy to me.
Eddie
Eddie
oldMohawk
gone but not forgotten
Court 29, High Street, Bordesley.
only visible if logged in, it is a link to a forum pic from https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...ur-old-street-pics.41947/page-107#post-590277
only visible if logged in, it is a link to a forum pic from https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...ur-old-street-pics.41947/page-107#post-590277
Last edited:
norfolk brummie
gone but not forgotten
Love the enterprising window box.
Eddie
Eddie
sospiri
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
The standards of some of these courts left a bit to be desired and some were much better than others - my grandmother lived in one in Aston - but they still had a certain charm that is missing from many housing developments today. If you're asking would I like to live in one, the answer is most definitely no, but then I wouldn't want to live in any city today.
Maurice
Maurice
Hi Maurice
Some of them courts was still around in the late fortys in aston , especialy lichfield road
just before Aston cross if coming up from the aston station to the cross
They was just passed upper portland street heading to the cross it,s self
they really started from the beginning of Ansells really
the very corner of Ansells new frontage there was those tiny little shops and i mean tiny little shops
they was at an angle of the corner as you took the corner on lichfield road there was a couple more of these tiny shops
then there was a huge drive up slope into ANSELLS brewery depot and it had a stop and go sign at the top of of the slope
it was a red to stop at the bottom of the slope and green to enter and ride up the slope and bear right
that was there way in for the draymen and the horses and carts in those days
but just after that exit there old courts just like you have just seen identicle one after another
along the lichfield road right up untill you reached upper portland street
thats where they stopped after you continued along the lichfield road they was slums but not so bad like those courts
i can tell you i wittness those years when they knocked those old shops and courts down right up to the
Very corner of upper portland street and wittnes the building of That new Ansells frontage from the cross and
Along the lichfield road
I do remember as well before the bounders whom changied the site got the pictures of those courts
off here they was on here ten years ago the originale pictures
i recall walking up some of them i bet had stop now i am getting carried away as i recall the eal scene as if it was yesterday i was growing up amongest it ,i do know alot about the ASTON and the slums i lived there amongest the bugs and the cockroaches and the vermin ,,
best wishes Alan,, Astonian,,,
Some of them courts was still around in the late fortys in aston , especialy lichfield road
just before Aston cross if coming up from the aston station to the cross
They was just passed upper portland street heading to the cross it,s self
they really started from the beginning of Ansells really
the very corner of Ansells new frontage there was those tiny little shops and i mean tiny little shops
they was at an angle of the corner as you took the corner on lichfield road there was a couple more of these tiny shops
then there was a huge drive up slope into ANSELLS brewery depot and it had a stop and go sign at the top of of the slope
it was a red to stop at the bottom of the slope and green to enter and ride up the slope and bear right
that was there way in for the draymen and the horses and carts in those days
but just after that exit there old courts just like you have just seen identicle one after another
along the lichfield road right up untill you reached upper portland street
thats where they stopped after you continued along the lichfield road they was slums but not so bad like those courts
i can tell you i wittness those years when they knocked those old shops and courts down right up to the
Very corner of upper portland street and wittnes the building of That new Ansells frontage from the cross and
Along the lichfield road
I do remember as well before the bounders whom changied the site got the pictures of those courts
off here they was on here ten years ago the originale pictures
i recall walking up some of them i bet had stop now i am getting carried away as i recall the eal scene as if it was yesterday i was growing up amongest it ,i do know alot about the ASTON and the slums i lived there amongest the bugs and the cockroaches and the vermin ,,
best wishes Alan,, Astonian,,,
sospiri
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Hi Alan,
My grandmother lived in a court off Bartons Bank and my mother lived there too until she was 28 years old and got married. It was still standing until about 1959. My mother wrote about 40 pages of memoirs about this court and the surrounding area, recollecting how her father (until his death in 1920) grew all his own fruit & vegetables, and kept a goat and rabbits. I remember the soil being very poor, yet red & black currants grew well, as well as loganberries and the grape vine.
Eric Gibson on the Forum had grandparents in the same court. Generally it struck me as a clean and peaceful place, though it had the usual miskin and loads of blue engineering bricks covered the yard, but not so shut in as the ones in the pictures above. This was certainly one of the better courts, but the houses still had their tin baths and coppers and mangles.
Granted, my grandfather was a skilled coppersmith and before getting married had lived in several of the many courts off Woodcock Street. Yet when he died in 1920, he left a mere seven shillings and sixpence, having been unemployed for nearly two years due to heart disease.
That Bartons Bank court was certainly a lot better than the court my mother lived in in Church Lane when she first got married.
Maurice
My grandmother lived in a court off Bartons Bank and my mother lived there too until she was 28 years old and got married. It was still standing until about 1959. My mother wrote about 40 pages of memoirs about this court and the surrounding area, recollecting how her father (until his death in 1920) grew all his own fruit & vegetables, and kept a goat and rabbits. I remember the soil being very poor, yet red & black currants grew well, as well as loganberries and the grape vine.
Eric Gibson on the Forum had grandparents in the same court. Generally it struck me as a clean and peaceful place, though it had the usual miskin and loads of blue engineering bricks covered the yard, but not so shut in as the ones in the pictures above. This was certainly one of the better courts, but the houses still had their tin baths and coppers and mangles.
Granted, my grandfather was a skilled coppersmith and before getting married had lived in several of the many courts off Woodcock Street. Yet when he died in 1920, he left a mere seven shillings and sixpence, having been unemployed for nearly two years due to heart disease.
That Bartons Bank court was certainly a lot better than the court my mother lived in in Church Lane when she first got married.
Maurice
Maurice.
You bring back wonderful memories of the 40s and early 50s in Lower Tower St. Its been a long time since I heard the word miskin. We also had a tin bath, wash house with a copper and a tub and mangle, 3 or 4 chickens (for the eggs), and 1 toilet between 2 families. Also when you walked up the stairs there was a crack in the wall and you could see New Town Row through it. Good old days? Im not so sure.
Dave.
You bring back wonderful memories of the 40s and early 50s in Lower Tower St. Its been a long time since I heard the word miskin. We also had a tin bath, wash house with a copper and a tub and mangle, 3 or 4 chickens (for the eggs), and 1 toilet between 2 families. Also when you walked up the stairs there was a crack in the wall and you could see New Town Row through it. Good old days? Im not so sure.
Dave.
sospiri
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Dave,
I didn't say they were good old days, and the older generation do tend to forget the bad parts and remember the good. Don't we all? By the same token our modern developers have nothing by which to gauge their so-called progress, and some modern housing developments, leaving aside their appearance, are simply a hideous way of living. As the saying goes. they tend to throw out the baby with the bath water.
Of course, I don't blame the developers for everything. They have a huge growth in population and the ever-increasing growth of the motor car to contend with as well as some incompetent councils and politicians.
Perhaps a gauge of how much they liked it, my grandparents lived there for almost 60 years when many families moved houses almost every year.
Maurice
I didn't say they were good old days, and the older generation do tend to forget the bad parts and remember the good. Don't we all? By the same token our modern developers have nothing by which to gauge their so-called progress, and some modern housing developments, leaving aside their appearance, are simply a hideous way of living. As the saying goes. they tend to throw out the baby with the bath water.
Of course, I don't blame the developers for everything. They have a huge growth in population and the ever-increasing growth of the motor car to contend with as well as some incompetent councils and politicians.
Perhaps a gauge of how much they liked it, my grandparents lived there for almost 60 years when many families moved houses almost every year.
Maurice
Eric Gibson
master brummie
I'd love to have a photo of Granddad Gibsons house/court Maurice, I wonder if one exists anywhere.
sospiri
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Eric,
My youngest uncle, Albert, was the custodian of most of the Longmore relics, and he didn't get married until 1961 after the death of my grandmother and the move to Kings Heath. His wife was not liked by the rest of the family and when he died just over two years later, the wife had a great big bonfire in the garden of all the relics including the photographs, which meant nothing to her. My mother didn't find out until several hours later as she had been out shopping when the bonfire took place.
So I think it unlikely that any survived from my side as all the Longmores have. passed on now and there are none in my late mother's photo albums. I'd love to see photos of that court too.
Maurice
My youngest uncle, Albert, was the custodian of most of the Longmore relics, and he didn't get married until 1961 after the death of my grandmother and the move to Kings Heath. His wife was not liked by the rest of the family and when he died just over two years later, the wife had a great big bonfire in the garden of all the relics including the photographs, which meant nothing to her. My mother didn't find out until several hours later as she had been out shopping when the bonfire took place.
So I think it unlikely that any survived from my side as all the Longmores have. passed on now and there are none in my late mother's photo albums. I'd love to see photos of that court too.
Maurice
Eric Gibson
master brummie
That's a pity Maurice but I guess it's not the only time it's happened.
I recall seeing a photo of granddad with his pipe, his waistcoat, watch chain and bowler hat, no idea where that went.
I recall seeing a photo of granddad with his pipe, his waistcoat, watch chain and bowler hat, no idea where that went.
Lady Penelope
master brummie
Oh Maurice, I was so sad to read about all your pictures. When we moved into our house in the 70's our next door neighbour was a freelance press photographer and had a room full of glass negatives. He died about 20 years ago and after a 'decent' interval we asked his wife if we could have some of the negatives which concerned local history. She told us 'I threw them away as soon as he'd died - didn't think anyone would be interested'!
cookie273uk
master brummie
My Wife and I lived in a back to back in a courtyard from 1956 when I left the RAF till 1961 when we bought our house in Erdington it was 1/128 Vicarage Road Aston, her parents were still in the same court till they were demolished mid 60's. They were terrible, cold, damp, no kitchen, no bathroom, outside toilet shared by 3 houses and wash house shared by 4 only thing in their favour they were cheap, rent 12/6 per week. Eric
Radiorails
master brummie
Ye gods Eric, that sounds like something from a Monty Python sketch!
The lack of bathroom and outside privy was common enough in inner city areas but no kitchen? How did you cook? I know fish and chips were relatively cheap and there were lots of 'chippies' around but those days you mention were before the present day 'take away' trend.
The lack of bathroom and outside privy was common enough in inner city areas but no kitchen? How did you cook? I know fish and chips were relatively cheap and there were lots of 'chippies' around but those days you mention were before the present day 'take away' trend.
cookie273uk
master brummie
Radio rails we had a gas cooker top of cellar steps (health and safety would have gone barmy !) a bit dodgy to say the least, some had their cookers in the so called living room, you can imagine the moisture/damp that created. Happy days !!! Eric
back to backs did not have kitchens...i was born in my nans back to back..stairs led directly into the tiny living room..cooker was in the living room bottom of the stairs..small scullery..no bathroom or hot running water...shared outside lavvy and brewus for washing clothes..but my god what little she did have was kept spotless
lyn
lyn
Last edited:
forgot to say that nan lived in her back to back for over 50 years ..she single handed raised 3 girls after hubby died young..mom and dad finally got their own place when i was 5 and my brother was 2 (was getting a tad overcrowded by then having just 2 bedrooms...nan just did not want to leave her little back to back but had to due to demolision...didnt do us any harm or our nan as she lived to the ripe old age of nearly 101 but maybe that was due to her daily intake of snuff and a small tot every night
lyn
lyn
Radiorails
master brummie
You know I am always surprised by the 'experts' who keep telling us what we should or should not eat, do and not do (and frequently do 'U' turns), but never seem to have an explanation why so much of the older population is living much longer.
sospiri
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Lady P,
That's tragic. Glass plates are found occasionally these days and the press and TV are falling over themselves. A friend of mine's grandfather had a photographic shop in Salisbury and shortly after he died a pile of plates and early film of Salisbury was taken to the local record office. They in turn passed them on to the National Film Institute in Yorkshire. Now in his mid 80s, his grandson asked me to contact them to see if it was possible to get them scanned and digitised as they were after all his by rights. NFI wrote a very pleasant letter back, but said it was not possible to provide copies and if he wanted to view them at the NFI he would have to make an appointment and there would be a charge.
This poor old chap is not in a fit state of health to travel all that way and that made me very angry. If he hadn't have had the foresight to hand them over to the local record office, they would not even exist. There were a couple of irate email exchanges from me, but it never got anywhere. At times officialdom make me very angry indeed.
Maurice
That's tragic. Glass plates are found occasionally these days and the press and TV are falling over themselves. A friend of mine's grandfather had a photographic shop in Salisbury and shortly after he died a pile of plates and early film of Salisbury was taken to the local record office. They in turn passed them on to the National Film Institute in Yorkshire. Now in his mid 80s, his grandson asked me to contact them to see if it was possible to get them scanned and digitised as they were after all his by rights. NFI wrote a very pleasant letter back, but said it was not possible to provide copies and if he wanted to view them at the NFI he would have to make an appointment and there would be a charge.
This poor old chap is not in a fit state of health to travel all that way and that made me very angry. If he hadn't have had the foresight to hand them over to the local record office, they would not even exist. There were a couple of irate email exchanges from me, but it never got anywhere. At times officialdom make me very angry indeed.
Maurice
sospiri
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Eric,
At least you knew of a photograph that existed, but tracing it is another matter.
Amongst the relics that were also burnt were my great Uncle Henry Longmore's red dress uniform from the time of the Boer War. His sword was also among the relics, but I guess she sold that for whatever she could get for it! I know there were numerous photographs having seen them when talking to my uncle before he died. I have only three pre-1920 photographs from my mother's side and none from my father's side pre-1933. Lots from my late wife's side, but nobody alive to tell me much about who was in the earlier ones.
As we all know on BHF, the Golden Rule is never to destroy old photographs or document.
Maurice
At least you knew of a photograph that existed, but tracing it is another matter.
Amongst the relics that were also burnt were my great Uncle Henry Longmore's red dress uniform from the time of the Boer War. His sword was also among the relics, but I guess she sold that for whatever she could get for it! I know there were numerous photographs having seen them when talking to my uncle before he died. I have only three pre-1920 photographs from my mother's side and none from my father's side pre-1933. Lots from my late wife's side, but nobody alive to tell me much about who was in the earlier ones.
As we all know on BHF, the Golden Rule is never to destroy old photographs or document.
Maurice