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HENN ST/BALLOON ST

Astoness

TRUE BRUMMIE MODERATOR
Staff member
seems to be a little girl standing on the corner of what i think is balloon st photographer standing in henn st with his back to staniforth st ...dated 1875 ..dont think i have seen this one before...also a 1828 map to show where these very old streets once were... henn st is in blue

pic courtesy of newman uni archives

lynNo 56 Henn Street - Balloon Street Birmingham 1875 Chamberlain Scheme.jpgHENNS ST IN BLUE 1828 MAP.jpg
 
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Lyn,

What a great picture - great, but somewhat depressing! But full of atmosphere.

Maurice
 
maurice when i look at photos like this i can almost taste the history within them...

lyn
 
seems to be a little girl standing on the corner of what i think is balloon st photographer standing in henn st with his back to staniforth st ...dated 1875 ..dont think i have seen this one before...also a 1828 map to show where these very old streets once were... henn st is in blue

pic courtesy of newman uni archives

lynView attachment 128718View attachment 128719
Lyn, I don't usually query your expert knowledge on the city, but I wonder if the photo is actually 1875. I wondered about the Chamberlain reference and this is what a search revealed:-
https://www.birminghampost.co.uk/lifestyle/joseph-chamberlain-rebirth-birmingham-3934434
Anyway, whatever the date, the place whilst looking pretty grim by today's standards, it was home to some folk.
 
One thing that caused a smile in the Birmingham Post articcle was the reference to The Minories being one of the unsavoury places. Well, for sure it most certainly was not in the days of the Lewis's store. Now the rear of the old Rackhams was. apparently, another story! :D
 
did you think the photo was earlier or later alan..the date is not mine its on the caption but to be honest i didnt query it as i think JC started him demo of the city during the 1870s ..cant be certain so i will have to try and find out..actually have you read this booklet i posted it may give us some good info.i have not had time to read it yet

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/josephs-dream.49313/#post-628962
 
Alan
I think you may have misinterpreted the caption, which is not clear. I believe that what the caption means is that this is the junction of Balloon and Henn St, and that the photo was taken of the area prior to the 1875 chamberlain scheme (in the same way as many of Lyn's photos of the 1960s were taken immediately prior to Matzoni demolitions)
 
Lyn, I would not hazard a guess at the photos date, just the Chamberlain affair was around that date so may not reflect the true date. However there is the possibility I suppose, that the photo was one (maybe there were more) that was meant to portray what the new 'dream was trying to achieve.
Thanks, Mike for that observation Actually, the text, above in blue, was a post I had intended to make a couple of hours or so ago. II do not click the reply tab due to the haste to get logs cut - before rain or evening, whichever came first ;), might clarify my thoughts.
 
Have done the same myself on a number of occasions, Alan, sometimes wondering where my reply has disappeared to
 
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