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Gullet - Name of a Street or Type of a Street

C

CarolynL

Brummie babby
I have found information on-line referring to 'The Gullet' in 1800s Birmingham, photos and description. I understand it was off Lichfield Street at the end of Corporation Street. However, there is 'The Gullet' referenced in the 1851 Census as part of the Enumerator's route where one of my ancestors lived. The problem is the route is on the east end of Deritend, quite a ways from The Gullet's location off of Lichfield Street. So the question - is The Gullet one specific laneway in Birmingham, or does it reference any narrow laneway in a poor area?
 
Normally I would understand it referring only to the one street, but here it would seem that there was a second one in Birmingham. This one however is very obscure
 
mikejee said:
Normally I would understand it referring only to the one street, but here it would seem that there was a second one in Birmingham. This one however is very obscure
Click to expand...
The exact route recorded was "High Street north side from the B.A. (Bordesley/Aston) mark to Heath Mill Lane, south side from Rea Street to The Gullet ex______ Bridge Row including Meeting House Yard, and all Courts having their entrances within the aforesaid distance. Also Alcester Street east side"
 
What are the next roads mentioned after your relative?

On the 1889 map there is a court (no 13) running between High St & Alcester St that doesn't look like a typical court. It seems to be in the right area but no idea if that's relevant.

Court 13.jpg
 
MWS you are right. I have just gone through the properties and marked the limits of the enumeration of the south side of High St and this is shown below. what is marked as court 13 must have been the Gullet. Maybe in earlier times they thought 13 was unlucky !

map c1889 showing part of south side High st deritend covered on census 1851 in district 1c d...jpg
 
If you look at the parish boundaries below, you can see that the boundary between Deritend and Bordesley does cut accross that corner. sorry the map is not clearer, but I think it shows it reasonably well

Birmingham%20Parishes.jpg
 
mikejee said:
Normally I would understand it referring only to the one street, but here it would seem that there was a second one in Birmingham. This one however is very obscure
Click to expand...
In the 1940s/50s I lived in Holliday street and the bridge that carries the canal between gas street and the mailbox was always known as 'under the gullet'by the locals, my sisters and I still use that expression when talking about that area
 
mikejee said:
MWS you are right. I have just gone through the properties and marked the limits of the enumeration of the south side of High St and this is shown below. what is marked as court 13 must have been the Gullet. Maybe in earlier times they thought 13 was unlucky !

View attachment 154524
Click to expand...
The maps are great! Thank you so much for your help.
Looking at the census, the houses after my ancestor's (which is one of 5 households in Wood Bridge Yard) are the Meeting House Yard on High Street, then households on Alcester Street. The houses before my ancestor's are 197 - 226 High Street (which includes the Three Crown Pub at 221 High Street). On this map where is Heath Mill Lane?
 
MWS said:
What are the next roads mentioned after your relative?

On the 1889 map there is a court (no 13) running between High St & Alcester St that doesn't look like a typical court. It seems to be in the right area but no idea if that's relevant.

View attachment 154516
Click to expand...
This is a great close-up map. I'll spend some time looking at it closer. Looks like you found it! It was a frustrating mystery to me. Thanks for your help!
 
The 1880s. There are no detailed maps available prev u ous to that that would enable us to determine any details. If you download them they are labelled c1889, which is publication date
 
There is a discussion on a mapping site about how people refer to the narrow walkway between or along buildings.

There seems to be many terms used in dialect English, including gullet, mentioned for South Durham, Stafford and the Black Country.
 
The reference by the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society to "a sort of gullet" seems to give evidence that "gullet" could be used as a general description.
 
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