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Handsworth Shops

Y

ywallen

knowlegable brummie
Hi all does anyone remember a shop on Hutton Road in Handsworth called Mrs sweetman a fat oversized chubby swwet shop owner with really massive feet, also a shoe repairers on Putney road also in Handsworth called MR BUCKLY it was a family run shoe repairs and they sold shoes as well, also a bill the bandit on Birchfield road not far from trinity road. We use to go to the carnegie library on Birchfield road and pay hide and seek on a saturday afternoon on between the wooden stands that held the books.
 
ywallen: I used to live in Putney Road, near the junction of Hutton Road and remember the sweet shop. Buckley's shoe repairs in Putney Road was still there about twelve years ago, I went to visit Dennis Buckley and was amazed to find his mom still alive. The shop was like stepping into a time wharp, it didn't seem to have changed a bit. Mr and Mrs Buckley used to live next door to us before they bought the shop.....a lovely couple, I can remember using their air raid shelter during the war! The shop closed on the death of Dennis's mom.
 
Thanks Charlie thats great but do you remember the shop owner Mrs Sweetman and do you remember the off licence right opposite i think the lady who worked in there was called lil she had white hair and seemed very posh there was a bell when you pushed the door and she use to pop out from no where. I cant Believe the shoe shop was still open up until 12 years agao I can imagine the shop not changing and the smell it carried. Yes they were a really nice family always helpful and pleasant. I am glad you remember, do you remember the School I attended on the Havelock road it was called Holy Trinity my parents lived in Westminster road where I was born, there was also a toy shop on hutton road mum use to get our xmas presents in there
 
I remember Mrs Sweetman (though not by name) and the off licence I remember VERY well - used to get my gran a jug of beer or a couple of bottles of Mackie from there.
Take a look at Keith Berry's photo album (just google it) there's a photo of Church Vale there you might find interesting.
 
I have checked out Keith Berries photo,s and the fact you remember the off licence is great for me it was 1975 when I was around 8 I think that miss sweetman specialised in custard pies and she had cooked meats at the front of the counter. Do you remember that famous pub at the top of Westminster road bordering Wellington road my dad use to drink in there I think it was the dovedale there was a paper shop across from there in those days kids could buy cigarettes 10 benson and a box of matches and the daily paper things have really changed.
 
The Dovedale was the pub on the corner of Robert Road and Church Vale. Built on "The Peck" where I used to play as a kid.
I think the pub you're thinking of was called The Wellington. I left Putney Road in 1962 but went back to visit my dad until he died in 1967.
 
I remember Mrs Sweetman really well. Were her sons lorry drivers? I also remember the shops directly opposite, Mrs Simpson's I think, a haberdashery, selling wools, threads, etc. I loved that old shoemaker's shop! The pub was called The Calthorpe, my grandad used to drink in there ;-) Not too far from the pub, at the top of Westminster Rd, was a row of shops which included a hardware shop which sold toys at the back and an old fashioned grocery shop with Walls ice cream and sweets from jars. I remember the old lady with grey hair and Brown Owl, our Brownie pack leader used to work in there!
 
ywallen said:
there was a paper shop across from there in those days kids could buy cigarettes 10 benson and a box of matches and the daily paper things have really changed.
Click to expand...

Yes I was often sent up for 20 Players and a box of matches for my grandad!
 
ywallen said:
Hi all does anyone remember a shop on Hutton Road in Handsworth called Mrs sweetman a fat oversized chubby swwet shop owner with really massive feet, also a shoe repairers on Putney road also in Handsworth called MR BUCKLY it was a family run shoe repairs and they sold shoes as well, also a bill the bandit on Birchfield road not far from trinity road. We use to go to the carnegie library on Birchfield road and pay hide and seek on a saturday afternoon on between the wooden stands that held the books.
Click to expand...
I was on Hutton Rd today. Back in 1967 I used to work at a small factory on Hutton Rd, Perks & Dollman. We would purchase sandwiches at Sweetmans shop. The Sweetmans also ran a home removal business from the same premises. Across the road was a small garage Ron's Garage.
I don't remember Mrs Sweetman but Mr Sweetman was a rather chubby man.

Nick S Phillips ‍♂️ .
 
I lived on Westminster Rd from 1946-1958 and often went to the sweetshop on Hutton Rd especially whe' on our way to Handsworth Park. I remember getting my Brownie uniform secondhand from a daughter in the shoe mender's. Our Brown Owl worked in H Samuel's in Hockley I think. I also remember Ehrets grocery store nearby on Putney rd
I would go there with my friend and she could put sweets onto her mother s 'tick' account. On Stamford Rd was the Woodbine off license. My father would send me there with a pop-bottle to be filled with nut brown ale. How times have changed that such things existed. My mother had the same credit facility in the Co op on Crompton Rd.
 
Used to go out with a girlfriend in Hutton road Elizabeth Barron just a short distance from the pub ( dovedale ) sure it was Richard pype hayes
 
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