Great Lister Street and surrounding streets.

[Phil]

Hi Rita

Take a look at these images of back terraces in the area quite close to Great Lister Street, in fact the first one is a terrace off Great Lister Street. It might be a little unfair of me to say as I have only seen images of the back to backs on Inge Street but it's my opinion that the restored property is a little too antiseptic and sanitised to demonstrate the reality of back to back living. Compare what you see Friday with the reality of what you see in these images. These photos might show early images, but believe me I can vouch from personal experience that things were no better when these properties were demolished in the late fifties and early sixties.

 

[Rita Hawkins]

Thank you Phil. From the way my mother described what she saw in the 1920s, I think those images are close to how they would have looked at the beginning of the century when my grandparents lived there. It will be interesting to keep these images in my head on Friday.

 

[mw0njm.]

Mickjee. Thank you for your post. It was my favorite sweet shop way back in the late 1940's. My gran took me there lots of times and Trouch was my favorite sweet.
Phil. I always accepted that photograph as Great Lister Street and not Bloomsbury Street

.I remember that shop selling trouch. i not seen that sweet available since

 

[eddie marsh]

Hi, I'm looking for any info on a tobacconist at 26 Great Lister street. Run by an Edith C Green back in 1915. Any info would be appreciated.

 

[Rita Hawkins]

And does anyone know where catherine o'Shea's sweet shop was somewhere near by? She died in 1960.

 

[mikejee]

A few years ago iot was the practice to often convert what had been impressive bank buildings into pubs, or pub/restaurants. However sometime between 1915 and 1921 the opposite happened, though the buildings were not impressive. Up till 1915 the Highland Laddie, with a mixed selection of landlords had served the local population of Great Lister St with beer from no 117, on the corner of Little Francis St.



But on 1st September 1919 it became one of the first branches of the new Birmingham Municipal Bank. It was at first opened only Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but by April 1920 it also opened for 3 hours daytime saturdays and for 2 hours Mondays and Saturday evenings, service which would have later been envied by customers in the later immediate post WW2 period. By November 1920 it was a full time branch..
For the first 2 years it was little altered form the pub, retaining the high bar counter and many fitting, but in 1922 there was some reconstruction (https://www.bmbbranches.org.uk/bmb-branches_091.htm).

 

[mikejee]

As can be seen on the map in post 36, directly opposite the Highland Laddie was a competitor, the fully licensed Lister Tavern (the Highland Laddie was a beerhouse).