Great to read everyone's remembrances of Erdington High Street. Dyan, thanks for the directions to find where Dick's shop was located. It was such a treat to be taken there as a child. The ground floor had coffee grinders which presented the outside in copper. The smell of fresh ground coffee was tantalizing. Upstairs was the tea room with silver service. Usually, a teapot,hot water jug, slop basin, strainer, cups and saucers. If you ordered a fancy cake then the waitress would bring in a two tiered cake stand with several cream cakes on. So mouthwatering but my two brothers and I were only allowed to have one cake each.
I remember Hearns Furniture shop which was built next to the National Schools ( If anyone would like a photo of the old Roebuck in and the National School, please let me know. Erdington Library sent me three photos but will not allow me to put them on the Forum. You can send me a message via the Forum).
Dyan, I also remember Wrenson's, and most of the shops that were close to the Palace cinema. There was another furniture shop near to Mason Road called Davey's. The building is still there. I was in Erdington High Street in October and November this year several times. Went for two meals to the Charlie Hall pub on Barnabas Road next to the market with my friend Margaret Rowe who lives in Wilton Road. Margaret ran a hairdressers shop at the bottom of Marsh Lane for years and then later on a shop attached to her house facing Osborne Road School. Margaret knows all the traders in the Barnabas Market and introduced me to so many of them. The Market isn't much changed in it's layout. Margaret is an ex-Fentham pupil and we became very friendly when we helped to put together the 100th year reunion of Fentham Girl's School. 375 ex-pupils turned up for that event in April 2004 at Sutton Townhall.
I remember the Snack Bar which I believe was next to a Butchers Shop. I went in there a few times. I went to dances at the Carlton Ballroom in the late l950's. Now, of course, it is very famous when it became Mother's and some of the very famous bands of later date were fledglings and played there. There was a furniture shop called Hilon's under the Carlton Club. Yes, Baron, I remember the Church Hall which belonged, I believe to Erdington Parish Church. It had a stage and many plays and dance shows from the local dancing schools were staged there. Upstairs is where they had film shows or lantern shows as they called them years ago and the Senior Bible classes were held there for many years. My mother in later years belonged to the Erdington Townswomen's Guild and they used to meet in the Church Hall.
Dyan, do you remember the El Sombrero Coffee House very close to Hazel's Funeral Directors? Alberta, glad to have your input about the High Street as well as Betty's. The Coffee House appeared in the late 1950's when espresso coffee became a new craze. Alberta, those shoes sounded really great. I was forever peering in the Dolcis shoe shop window even after I had left Britain but came home for a visit. I just wish we were able to take more photos of those days. I remember the Crown Wallpaper shop and the Scotch Wool shop both not far from Woolworth's. I remember Baines Bakers, always loved their cakes and bread.
W.M. Taylors has several posts devoted to it on the Forum. They had two shops. One was a general Department store almost across from
Coton Lane and the other one was a hardware store on the corner of Harrison Road. The hardware shop closed and the Dept. Store became Owen, Owen in later years before disappearing altogether. Do you remember Popplewell's the haidressers near the Library? I remember the music shop close by where the Methodist Church used to be and Miss Norton's amazing shop where she sold high end cosemetics on the same side. I think that there was an opticians close by.
Dyan, I remember newspaper shop close to Six Ways and the Paynes Shoe Shop which parted me from my hard earned money over the years.
I had a good look around Six Ways on this trip and even took the bus one stop past Six Ways to Cecil Road in order to take a photo of the Edwardian house that Fentham Girls School used to teach their pupils housekeeping. Happy memories of time spent there. I am fortunate enough to be in touch with three people whom I knew from those long ago days and was happy to meet one of them on this last trip.
I remember the Gas showroom which is now a very large British Heart Foundation Thrift shop, Boots Chemist was further up and Church's Shoe Shop was close to Coton Lane on that same side. I saw a Church's shoe shop in Mayfair...the prices are out of this world for leather shoes. My Dad used to buy his shoes from the Erdington store. Mustn't forget the bicycle shop on the corner of the High Street and Coton Lane and Dorothy Perkins shop where my brother and his wife made their first home in the flat above the shop.
It is sad what has happened to Britain's High Streets over the past few years with shopping patterns changing and people wanting one stop shopping at big box stores. Erdington is a fair example of that but people still flock to shop there. It will never be the same as I remember it. I met some super people when I was visiting and everyone was very friendly.
Dyan, your parents were very brave to come out to New Zealand at their ages and I am sure that you had some great times together. I am glad that the "G" plan furniture went as well. It still looks very good today.
Just in case you haven't found Keith Berry's great black and white photos of Erdington High Street, you can find them here.
https://www.pbase.com/beppuu
