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Courtyards and yards of brum

Post 86 - Vanns Buildings, Cooksey Rd I lived at 196, Cooksey Rd until the age of 5 (left March 1955), but I don't remember these. However to a small child Dixon Rd would have been the end of the world, so I wonder if these were on the city side of Dixon Rd? What I do remember is the barbers close to Dixon Rd and a court almost opposite our house (and practically dead opposite David Charles building yard) which all houses had front gardens. In between there was a much more open space which could not be described as a court though the houses were of that style. I do remember being woken up by my mother (1953?) and looking out of the bedroom window and seeing one of these houses on fire. I seem to remember that somebody broke their arm and possibly one other might have perished.
 
The position of Vann's buildings has been covered before, though i can't find the thread. The map showing its position in red, however, is below

map_c_1902A_showing_Vanns_buildings__cooksey_road.jpg
 
My father was born at No 7 Cooksey Road in 1903, i don't suppose that would be on the map posted earlier?
 
Some yards in Guildford Street I grew up with. The Barracks were behind our house. My grandparents and family, before I arrived lived in Eden Place; later one of my friends lived there. Patrick Hughes who wrote 'My Mother's Son: the Story of Lozells lived in Paradise Place. My brother-in-law lived in Trafalgar Place. One of my girlfriends best friends lived in Brasswick Place.
If you look at the map you can see that yards were often only separated from one another by climbable walls or gardens. So, a common adventure would be to travel and explore streets without ever going into the streets.

guildfordcourts.jpg
 
Some great pictures here, the courtyards take me back, we lived in Taylor Street.
I remember that somebody in our courtyard had recently got married or something and had a terrible fatal crash on the newly opened motorway, I understand they were driving a mini, it made the headlines,
 
Two more photographs from Eden Place. My parent's wedding, 1922 - notice the carpet laid out under the chairs - take the street end. My brothers and sister in the 1930s, taken the end away from the street. Just in front of them was the area called the Drying Ground where the washing lines were, adjacent to the brewhouse. Notice the very fancy porch in the background.

edengroup.jpgedenwedding.jpg
 
Just a note about the lamplight in the wall in Eden Place behind the wedding group. At some time in the 30s it became an electric light, the house had gas. But my dad and his neighbour new about electric wiring and so two of the houses in the yard acquired electricity. The yard houses acquired electricity officially in the late fourties, early fifties
 
Little did my mom know that dad would spend the honeymoon in bed with the flu, which you can see is developing in the wedding photo
 
Elizabeth Redmond said:
Re 181 Dymoke St any idea what year it was, loving this thread.
Click to expand...


Elizabeth

The information I have with my copy of the photo dates it as 1905, but I have learnt to not take too much notice of the dates on photos, but I think in this case it can be used a rough estimate because several courtyards in the area were renovated a little around that time.
 
I agree Jayell, GOK what may have been nesting in there! But I can talk...this is my great grandad Reuben Edward Davies. Scrap metal dealer's labourer and part time bare-fist fighter (back of the old Era Picture house). Well known to all publicans and police. Sitting peacefully in his backyard in Little Green Lane, Small Heath for a change....

Reuben Davis 2.jpg

And for those who have never seen this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CkHdPwf3MU4#! Baxk to back houes
 
hi bernie post 265. our mom used that building for home organization classes back in the 1940s...

lyn
 
#259, great beauty Carolina, "love the big hair", #261 I can imagine a"bare fist fighter" Dennis, looks the part, great photo's from my youth.
paul
 
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