I've never come across old photos of the cluster of shops at the junction of Tresham Rd and Kingstanding Rd. These would have been built in the 1930s and were purpose built with living accommodation above. So thought I'd write some of my memories of them. Starting from the hall, which I think was called 'the Settlement'. This is where I went to Sunday School and later to tap and ballet classes run by a sprightly lady called Doreen. We did dance shows at various places around B'ham. Next to the Settlement was the garage (looks like it's still there on Streetview). Very little seems to have changed about the garage except it now has a high security fence. It always had a little shop for selling road maps etc. They didn't sell cars in the 60s so the business must have mainly been repairs. Now on to the shops. The one next to the garage was once a sweet shop. Further along, in the late 60s, there was greengrocer which I think was run by the son of the caretaker of Kingsthorne School. Coming round to where the shops start to curve onto Tresham Rd was a wool shop/ ladies and baby clothes shop. Used to order wool from the lady who ran the shop. You'd order the full amount of wool to knit the garment, then she'd keep the rest aside for you. You could collect and pay for the wool as you needed it, but all from the same batch so that the colour dyes were exact. Somewhere near this shop was an electrical shop selling small domestic appliances like kettles, light bulbs, fuses etc. Then turning onto Tresham Rd was the Candy Stores on the corner, run by Mr & Mrs Stanworth. As well as selling sweets they sold groceries and meat products like ham, also butter, sugar. I also remember buying a hoola hoop from there - can clearly remember them tantalisingly hanging outside by the shop door. The shop's now - according to Streetview - a pre-school. It was quite a large shop, but didn't cover as many units as the pre-school now occupies. The Candy Stores yard/garden was next to the shop on Tresham Road. Here they had one - or maybe two - Alsatian dogs which sometimes used to scare the living daylights out of us kids as they barked and jumped up at the fence as you passed. There are now railings around the front of the shop but in the 60s this was a wall. It's where my friend and I set up our first business venture (aged about 8 or 9!) selling bunches of wild flowers (eat your heart out Eliza Doolittle). We'd collect the flowers, mainly Golden Rod, from the field which was next to the fish & chip shop on the other side of Tresham Rd and sell them to passers-by. But, alas, the business failed. Most people at that time regarded Golden Rod as a weed. Today it's sold as a commercially grown flower - if only we'd stuck at it!
Moving across to the shops on the other side of Tresham Rd they started with an outdoor tucked in the corner. Not sure what was next to that shop. Further round on Kingstanding Rd was a ladies hairdresser. I was a hairdresser's model for a while. Used to go to evening classes with the son of the owner who'd practice on my hair whilst he trained to become a hairdresser. I'd go to school next day with some magnificent hairdos, a favourite being the Kathy Kirby flick. Along this stretch was a chemists where I bought very, very small, bottles of 'California Poppy', 'Midnight in Paris' and '4711' . The chemist kept all these little perfumes in a glass fronted cabinet on the counter. Then there was the fish & chip shop on the end of the row, run by a Greek family, lovely fish & chips, very, very long queues every Friday teatime. This was next to the field (looks like it's now been built on but must have been empty for a very long time). We'd get into the field via the gulley that ran behind the shops and between Atlantic Rd. There were gullies behind all the houses in Atlantic Rd - our playground. These now look fenced off, but in the 60s they were all accessible, no gates. Wonderful places to play in.
I'd really love to see old photos of these shops if anyone has any. Viv.