Josiah Parkes & Sons Stirchley

[BrumFellows]

Hi..did anyone work at what was once Josiah Parkes & Sons, that was situated on Charlotte Road in Stirchley?
I worked there from 1994 to when it closed down around 2001/2. I'm interested to see if anyone worked there and/or have any photographs of the exterior and interior as I can't find any..
Many thanks
Michael

 

[Jenny M]

Hi..did anyone work at what was once Josiah Parkes & Sons, that was situated on Charlotte Road in Stirchley?
I worked there from 1994 to when it closed down around 2001/2. I'm interested to see if anyone worked there and/or have any photographs of the exterior and interior as I can't find any..
Many thanks
Michael

Hi,just come across this thread. I worked here 1967 to 1970 in the Order Control Office as a typist, I was 22. In those days it was called Edwin Showell & Sons although it had been bought out by Josiah Parkes. My boss was Jim but can’t remember his surname and there was a Fred Wellings. The canteen was a hut like building to the side and at the front by the car park was a big shed where they had furnaces , what was that called ? Such a long time ago can’t remember much more, don’t have any photos just remember it was a nice place to work. Left to have a baby no such thing as maternity leave in those days.

 

[devonjim]

Josiah Parkes and Sons - Graces Guide

www.gracesguide.co.uk

Hi,just come across this thread. I worked here 1967 to 1970 in the Order Control Office as a typist, I was 22. In those days it was called Edwin Showell & Sons although it had been bought out by Josiah Parkes. My boss was Jim but can’t remember his surname and there was a Fred Wellings. The canteen was a hut like building to the side and at the front by the car park was a big shed where they had furnaces , what was that called ? Such a long time ago can’t remember much more, don’t have any photos just remember it was a nice place to work. Left to have a baby no such thing as maternity leave in those days.

I remember Parkes in Charlotte Rd., I worked just up the road in Fordhouse Lane. Parkes had connections with Willenhall Locks and Union Locks who supplied lock mechanisms to Wilmot-Breeden. Sorry no pictures.

 

[Fordrough]

The canteen was a hut like building to the side

It was indeed and I remember it well. It was a long, single storey building - more than a simple hut. As a young child in the early 50s I spent a lot of time there. While it was Edwin Showell & Sons my grandmother was the leaseholder of the canteen which also doubled up as the works social club. She ran it and cooked there through the war years until the mid 50s. It had a snooker table and other traditional pub games. My grandfather was a quality control inspector in the brass foundry until he retired. During the war Showells made parts for the Lee Enfield rifle for the BSA factory in Shirley, and all kinds of brass cartridge cases. After the war they returned to making brass household fittings, screws, bolts, and other metal hardware. We lived in Hazelwell Fordrough. I haven't lived in the UK for nearly 50 years but there must be some old photos of the factory in our family archives. I'll see what I can do.

 

[Jenny M]

It was indeed and I remember it well. It was a long, single storey building - more than a simple hut. As a young child in the early 50s I spent a lot of time there. While it was Edwin Showell & Sons my grandmother was the leaseholder of the canteen which also doubled up as the works social club. She ran it and cooked there through the war years until the mid 50s. It had a snooker table and other traditional pub games. My grandfather was a quality control inspector in the brass foundry until he retired. During the war Showells made parts for the Lee Enfield rifle for the BSA factory in Shirley, and all kinds of brass cartridge cases. After the war they returned to making brass household fittings, screws, bolts, and other metal hardware. We lived in Hazelwell Fordrough. I haven't lived in the UK for nearly 50 years but there must be some old photos of the factory in our family archives. I'll see what I can do.

How interesting, yes a bit more than just a hut , I remember the management had their own room and were waited on, while the works queued up at the counter, the lady I remember was called Lil or Lily, she would come round with a tea trolley in the morning . The shed with the furnace was the Brass Foundry of course. Do you know when your grandfather retired? It would be great if you could find some photos. Fond memories for me, thank you.

 

[Fordrough]

Fond memories for me, thank you.

If my memory serves me right, Showells was first taken over by GKN (Guest, Keen, and Nettlefold), so the change of name to Josiah Parkes & Sons must have come later, but I left the UK in 1973 and only visited Stirchley again a couple of times after that while my Nan was still alive. I have a vague recollection of seeing that long Edwin Showell & Sons Ltd sign across the front of the building that was parallel to Charlotte Rd, replaced by the GKN sign. My mother was born in 1927 in Rose Cottages next to the Stirchley Primary School with its back entrance in Charlotte Rd, which she attended as a child. My grandparents later bought a house, a new build, in Hazelwell Fordrough just before the war for £400 ! That side of Stirchely, east of the Pershore road was all allotments and a farm. There was only the Wilmot Breeden brush factory in Fordhouse lane, and the Rubber Mill at the bottom end of the Fordrough.