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Cromwell Street

There was another Cromwell Street thread so merged this with the earlier thread. A few good photos on the earlier thread too. Viv.
 
Hi Viv
looking at the picture of those girls and seeing the derlict property in there street
and times was hard they have been mooching in the old empty house
Or in other words they have been tatting
and looking up stairs some one as taken out the whole window frame to get to the cast iron sache window weights
from inside the wood work of the frame ,which is very easy to do for kids
as there was little cut out peices for the window fitters to put these weights in the frame work which then is
pinned to the widow frames for up and down
I suggest looking at the big girl on the picture she was the leader and you can see what appears to be a stick
and as i have experience and handling them and seing what they look like
I would say they are the weights long and round , and i can say that because when i was a little whipper snapper
and like other kids in the area of ladywood and namely Anditon street Alexander street St Marks street
we all went up to Ledsom street and vincent street and around that area where the bombed house was
all the kids went into these bombed houses to get these weights out of the window sashes
we all used to take a pram and get them loaded up high and as many as we could all kids was trying to get in first
before any other kid did once loaded we all used to charge around to clarks scrap yard and get them weighed in
we used to get a tanner for each one weight there used to be two weights each side of a a window frame
i say no more now but thats what i think they was doing and probaly they was the parents keeping watch
out for the boys in blue coming ,, Ha hA
 
Alan may be right, though I am not sure that the buildings were derelict. What I was thinking was that they were breaking up wood for kindling on the fire, and putting it into those baskets for their mums.
 
The girls don't seem too alarmed by 'being caught in the act' as such. And on camera. So, yes Mike, quite possibly making kindling. Looks like broken strips of wood on the floor too. Hope they weren't using an axe to break it up. My mum had a nasty hand cut making kindling with an axe. Viv.
 
Hi John
nice pictures you have put up for us i hope you do not mind me asking the personal question
the reason i am asking because i was going through some old magerzines of carl chinns last night
And by coincidenes the story i was reading was about a john night whom lived in parliment street Aston
And he lived at number eighty parliment street it so happends my mother was a jelf the cofee house people of
Aston cross and park lane she was born there i beleive john horton told me it was number 4 the slightly different
houses with bay windows but also my grand mother stevens was also lived in the street and in the street but i do
not know what number but the john knight whom wrote the story said he went into the cromwell arms
out door and he said a mr stevens came in and asked for two bobs worth of pennies when the gather said what do you want with them he said to put them in the gas meter to gas my self and then he said in reply no i aint
but apparently the next morning they brought him out in a coffin
when i was growing up on lichfield road my nan moved to white house street but there was never a grand dad living there only the son and daughter so i was wondering whether or not you cpould recall a number of the house he lived in but also you mentioniond a george stevens whom gave you lifts in his horse and cart any chance you could enlighten me on that as i want to research this on my fathers side i only done my mothers side oof the jelfs tree way back to 17 hundreds and it got me thinking reading the story of a john knight to find and asked about this story of stevens committing sucide thanks for your time in reading the story and i am hoping that i have the right J Knight
best wishes Alan
 
Hell Astonian, George Stevens was a mate of my father, they used to drink in the Beehive together, Mr Stevens (didn't know his first name) lived behind us at no. 80,- that's all I can tell you I'm afraid. 5/80 Cromwell Street,
 
Hi John
Many thanks john for that bit of info; as i never knew the name of his first name but that will be a start for me
Inever knew or seen grand father stevens as kids we never asked questions or even gave it a thought
All we ever heard of was the son Albert whom got killed in the war
I am wondering whether or not i can get an electrol roll for that year telling me of other family members living
there such as the childrens name,
I have to say i enjoyed your long letter of in carl chinns magerzine it was a great read from start to finish
Of your recollection of your life during the war years thanks again for giving me abit of info
All of that emediate family are dead my father and all five sisters and of cause Albert whom got killed
In the war i have got picture of him in uniform some where i found it but put it some where i cannot recall i was hoping to get it on the forum last sundy but missed the dead line oh well.
Have a nice day John , best wishes Alan;;;;
 
Astonian, this is a list of the people living in the street, as you can see Ernest Stevens had a wife, but she wasn't there in 1947.
 

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My Great Great Gran came from Lakenheath. In 1891 she lived in bk 238 Cromwell Street - Susan and John English (Gas Fireman) with her daughters Susan Rutterford and Alice English. By1911 they had moved to 89 Henry Street. My Great Gran Alice (Clarke) was living with them with her daughter Evelyn Alice Rowley (Rowley died young and great gran remarried).
 
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Hello Pat, I lived in Cromwell street from 1940 until 1953, next door to the Cromwell Arms, which was no.79, can you post the photo, I may know someone, (you never know).
5 George Clarke member of.jpg5 George Clarke member of.jpg5 George Clarke member of.jpg7 George Clarke.jpg5 George Clarke member of.jpg5 George Clarke member of.jpg5 George Clarke member of.jpg5 George Clarke member of.jpg7 George Clarke.jpg8 George Clarke.jpg8 George Clarke.jpg
4 George & Maud Clarke nee Jones.jpg12 E Jones grt grt nan.png20 unknown.jpgUnknow relative 11.jpg21 Dorothy&UncleTed Clarke 1927.jpg
 

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Hello Pat, I lived in Cromwell street from 1940 until 1953, next door to the Cromwell Arms, which was no.79, can you post the photo, I may know someone, (you never know).
Hello John. Just tried to upload photos, for the first time on here, hope they're okay, got a bit carried away, but they all relate to Clarke - Jones family (my nan & granddad) & some of their kids born in Cherrywood Road. The photo with the group about to have a wheelbarrow race is My Aunt Lil & her husband John/Jack & I only remember they son Brian & daughter Elaine, who lived in Cherry wood Rd in the 50s. Us Jennings family lived in Palace Road 1949- 1966 and other members of mom's family lived in and around the area, perhaps you might recognise one of them, like you said and hope you can give me information about any of them or the places. I will send this for now and see if I can work out how to take off the duplicate photos oooppsss.... Cheers Pat
 
Hello Pat, I lived in Cromwell street from 1940 until 1953, next door to the Cromwell Arms, which was no.79, can you post the photo, I may know someone, (you never know).

my grandparents lived in Cromwell Street..... about that time. The Chapmans do know if they were known to you
 
my grandparents lived in Cromwell Street..... about that time. The Chapmans do know if they were known to you
Just joined, found Cromwell St very interesting. I lived there at no 5 from about 1954
Dad was Matthew Mc Dermott, mom was away sick sometimes, we had chimney fire. Nspcc got involved with us for some reason. Over the road was bombed peck.
 
hi catherine and welcome just noticed you have been a member since 2015 and this is your first post glad to have you onboard....i am sure we have a longer thread for cromwell st...have you found it yet

lyn
 
there is a cromwell st post have a look
 
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Hi Everyone,

Both of my maternal grand parents lived in Cromwell Street (Minnie Dayus & Thomas Hughes) around the turn of the century. I wondered if anyone has any pictures of the street at that time. Did those houses survive until the major slum clearances?

Paul
I remember my mom who lived in proctor street born 1916 saying that her friend Kathleen Dayus lived in the same court at cromwell Street as her grandad.
 
My grandfather was living in Cromwell Street in 1909 William Gardner his first wife died in child birth. They got married in St. Matthews church. On their wedding certificate it didn't say which number they lived at in Cromwell street, I don't know why?
 
If he was not from the area it may have been an address of convenience, making it easier to get married in the parish as a non resident.
 
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