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Ghost Streets of Balsall Heath

I

IanF

New Member
Hello folks - long-time lurker, first-time poster. I wanted to flag up a little exhibition we're putting on in Balsall Heath next week, which may be of interest to forum members. It's built around a pile of photos taken by American student Janet Mendelsohn in the late 60s. She spent a lot of time in Balsall Heath and Highgate, and many of her images capture areas that would be demolished soon afterwards. Here are a couple of examples...

Kenchs.jpgchurch.jpgCox_st.jpg

The idea is to have a big map of the neighbourhood as it was, a selection of archive film, and Mike Jee has kindly let us use his early 70s pics - which show in colour many of the same streets including BH Road, Clevedon Rd, Cox St West etc. It's been brilliant to hear people's stories from that time, a period that has been swept away in more ways than one.

There's a bit more background in this Brumpic article:
https://brumpic.com/2015/06/16/ghost-streets-of-balsall-heath/
...And all the details are here:
https://flatpackfestival.org.uk/event/ghost-streets-of-balsall-heath/

Do come along if you're in town 9-12 July. I may also post up a few more pics if it's of interest - I imagine some here may be able to pinpoint a few of the more elusive locations...

Ian
 
We'd be glad to help if we can. In case its any help Kenches is 55 Longmore St, and the third one is no 50 cox st west.
 
hello ian and welcome to the forum...thanks for letting us know about this exhibition i will try and get to it sounds very interesting..if at some point you could find time to post a few more of janets photos especially for some of our members who for one reason or another cant make that would be great and do please post any that have no locations as between us we maybe able to help...that pic of the church with the lads sitting on the entrance posts has something about it...fantastic photo...

thanks again ian

all the best

lyn
 
Hi Ian

I agree with every thing Mike & Lyn have said, the school that Lyn mentions is in fact Upper Highgate girls School Moseley Rd Highgate, The photo is of the rear entrance on Upper Highgate Street.
 
I visited the exhibition today. It is still on tomorrow, though only as an exhibition, and not with the two films showing , in parts, demolished areas of the area, and without the interesting talk by Dylan Waldron, who painted, from photographs, his interpretation of the area. His paintings , whixh very realistic, are quirky and interesting, an I hope he has been encouraged by the interest expressed to follow up that interest on an early aspect of his work he thought relegated to almost oblivion.
Even without the films and talk I think many would find the exhibition interesting.
 
Mike,

Did you take a walk around Balsall Heath While you were there and take in the differences since you took your photos. They really changed the whole landscape around there and if you haven't been back for 40 years or so you would get lost.
 
Phil
I walked down Moseley Road, which hasn't changed as much as parts of the area, but have looked at other parts relatively recently. Friends who decided to come with me, although they did not come from Balsall Heath, still found the phots and other presentations really interesting. They had a compilation of soem ITV news clips about the area, including one on Vincent street , and a film driving down Gooch st, which were very good.
Mike
 
Yes Mike it's the side street that have changed in the main you wouldn't recognise Mary Street, Cox St West, Upper Cox Street and Clevedon Rd and some of the other street that you recorded. You couldn't even do a then & now follow up as some of the streets no longer exist, yet in other parts of Birmingham they completely refurbished whole streets of houses that were in far worse condition and some of them are in a worse condition now then they were before.
 
The lost streets from the exhibition were mostly the old court system ones. When the place was levelled there was a lot of space that didn't necessarily conform to the old street patterns. On top of that they changed the streets to stop through traffic - one of the things that killed the prostitution in the area - sliced off bits of street, diverted other streets so they don't go out onto the main streets anymore and other things like that. So Balsall Heath Road is now in two parts that don't connect to each other, Vincent Street connects to Wenman Street (and no other) which is now a loop at the top of Balsall Heath Road. There's also the odd street that doesn't have anything you could drive down.
 
mikejee.....I went to the exhibition taster at the print works.....Staff there was pleased to see my video "Court Road Urinal" and I was pleased to see the photo of 50 Cox Street West which was owned by Joe Evans. I lived at 42 Upper Cox Street and was paper boy for Joe from 1961 to 1964....we left Balsall Heath in 1963 but still kept my paper round having to bike it from Sparkhill..Every morning, evening and late on Satrudays waiting for the Sports Argos and Sunday morning.
 
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