• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Ladywood Coal Merchant

Dave Riley

Dave Riley

master brummie

Reservoir Retreat.jpg

I thought some of you may like to see the attached wonderful picture. It is a photograph of my Grandfathers horse & cart taken outside his house in Reservoir Retreat, Ladywood. (Now classed as Edgbaston) His name was Joseph Harris and he ran a Coal merchants business. Before moving to Reservoir Retreat he lived in St Vincent Street, Ladywood, he also had a small coal yard in Clark Street and I believe also had a small area of Monument Lane Wharf.

Sadly he passed away in 1974 when I was just 6 years of age so unfortunately I was too young to appreciate his many tales of old Ladywood and it's people. I wonder if any one remembers him or could even tell me whereabouts in Clark Street his yard was? I think the period must have been the 1950’s or early 1960’s. I believe he was the last person in Ladywood to use horse drawn transport, I remember a tale my Grandmother Jess told me about the Council wanting to take away a old horse trough in Ladywood however he would not let the plans to remove it go ahead because his horse liked to drink from it! Somewhat of a battle I think took place over its removal.

I think I have a few more photographs hidden away somewhere and I will see if I can dig then out to share with you. Any further information on my Grandfather or his Coal business would be greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Sorry i have no info but do you know of a coal merchants in the Ladywood area called Ashfords, i used to work with the Son, Rodney, in the early sixties when he was training as a Mechanic in Ryland St.
 
I seem to recall the name Ashford’s from somewhere, where were they based Nick? I remember that my Grandfather had coal delivered by a Mr. Bradbury after he retired. Due to him being in the business for many years I remember that he got his own old large scales out and weighed every bag of coal that was taken off the wagon before they were tipped down the cellar grating. He also selected random pieces of coal from the sacks and inspected them closely saying “Not the same quality has I used to deliver”, wonder he had any coal delivered at all with these antics!

After the coal delivery had taken place my Grandmother brought tea out for Mr. Bradbury and my Grandfather and they would lean against the back of the old Austin FG lorry and chat for ages about old times. I always remember my Grandmother coming out to collect the empty cups and shouting “Look at all them black marks all over my lovely cups, you won’t get any more next time!” but she always did.

Once just before Christmas they had coal delivered and unfortunately the Christmas Turkey was left hanging in the cellar whilst the coal was put down the cellar grating. When my Grandfather went down the cellar afterwards he found what looked like an enormous Black Bird hanging from the ceiling, obviously it was his Christmas dinner! Luckily Gran was out at the time so he took it out to the back yard, filled an old galvanised washing tub with water and gave the bird a good scrub! I don’t think Gran noticed the difference, well she never said anything about it anyway.
 
Hello Dave

Seem to remember they were near the rubbish incinerator in the momument road area (or was that rotten row).
 
Yes Nick, you mentioning the rubbish depot brought back where I had seen the Ashford’s sign before. It was on the opposite side of Icknield Port Rd from Rotton Park St. They were on the entrance to the canal wharf if I remember correctly.
 
Hi
yes you are quite right ashford was on ickneild port rd more or less facing rotten park rd and it was between the rubber
company and the foundry called aluminuim die castorstors which was actul facing rotton park rd and dockers
paint factory i used to work in the foundrey next door
ashford the coal merchants also done the scrap metal bussiness in his yard combined with the coal
around the late sixties do you remember the kodax ilm processers along the rd from him on he opersite side of the
road next to the crown picture house i went there a hundred times to see pat boone april love film
along with the sevn brides and seven sisters
best wishes Astonian ;;;;;
 
Hi everyone
I know this is a really old thread but I've only just joined the forum.

I am an Ashford - it was my grandparents' coal business. Rodney Ashford was my uncle, although I never really knew him very well.

It would be a health and safety no-no these days, but I have happy memories of going to visit my nan and 'playing' in the coalyard/scrapyard. Somehow managed to come away without any injuries and without falling in the canal!

Lilla
 
Lilla said:
Hi everyone
I know this is a really old thread but I've only just joined the forum.

I am an Ashford - it was my grandparents' coal business. Rodney Ashford was my uncle, although I never really knew him very well.

It would be a health and safety no-no these days, but I have happy memories of going to visit my nan and 'playing' in the coalyard/scrapyard. Somehow managed to come away without any injuries and without falling in the canal!

Lilla
Click to expand...
Hello Lilla and welcome to the forum.

From the wording of your post I suspect that Rodney is no longer with us. He and I were good work friends in the early sixties and always eat our lunch together away from the other mechanics, usually sitting on the back of one of the wagons in for repair.

He always seemed to be to gentlemanly to be working with a bunch of hairy bottomed mechanics, me included.

Best wishes
nick
 
Dave Riley, I too am late picking this thread up. My wife's uncle was George Bradbury. He inherited the business from his father. He in turn had got into the coal delivery business from working the coal barges from Birmingham. Regards. willey
 
Hello Nick

Thank you for replying. Sadly Rodney died about 15 years' ago. I'm afraid to say he committed suicide but I don't know what problems he had. Very sad though. From what I can remember he was a quiet man, and always very courteous. I don't really know much more than that as we weren't a close family really.

I don't have any comments to make about hairy arses!
 
Thank you Lilla

I'm so sorry to hear the sad news, as I said he was a great lad and I'm sure will have been sadly missed.

Best regards

nick
 
Hi,, I know this is an old thread but I am Rodney Ashford youngest daughter . He died in 1999. You may also remember my mom ,, she worked at Ryland where she met my dad . Regards wendy
 
wendy ashford said:
Hi,, I know this is an old thread but I am Rodney Ashford youngest daughter . He died in 1999. You may also remember my mom ,, she worked at Ryland where she met my dad . Regards wendy
Click to expand...

Hello Wendy. Lovely to hear from you. I'm Eric's daughter, Sandra. I remember your dad and he was always really friendly towards me. I can't really remember your mum. Are you still living in Birmingham?
 
wendy ashford said:
Hi,, I know this is an old thread but I am Rodney Ashford youngest daughter . He died in 1999. You may also remember my mom ,, she worked at Ryland where she met my dad . Regards wendy
Click to expand...
Hello Wendy

Rodney and I were great friends when we worked at Rylands, I remember sitting having lunch together on the backs of the wagons we used to work on, Rodney always had nicer sandwiches and used to share with me including his gherkins.

I worked at Rylands from June 1960 until the middle of 1964 so if your Mother worked there between those dates I'm sure I would have known her.

Once again I'm so sorry to hear of his passing.

Best regards
Nick
 
Morning all. We moved to Redditch when I was 4 so 36 years ago now and my mom, sister and I are all still here. Dad's loss 17 years ago was a terrible tragedy and was an awful thing , a bit of a sad story behind it I'm afraid. My moms name at the time was "susan Gubbins" think my dad used to call her suzzy!! Not sure how long and what years she worked there though I will have to ask her. Its lovely to be able to have some pieces of the jigsaw,, thank you
 
Hello Wendy

When I worked there I can only remember Ruby Archer, Jeanette Brown, Margaret, all in accounts and Barbara on the switchboard, Sally was on the pumps. Mr Griffin and little Bill Whale ran the whole lot and Peter Whale was still at School.

Pretty sure your Mom will remember some of the names.

Best Wishes
Nick
 
willey said:
Dave Riley, I too am late picking this thread up. My wife's uncle was George Bradbury. He inherited the business from his father. He in turn had got into the coal delivery business from working the coal barges from Birmingham. Regards. willey
Click to expand...

I am a bit late noticing and replying to this thread Willey but I certainly do remember Mr Bradbury, he delivered coal to my granddad Joe Harris after he retired from the coal trade himself. I always remember when Mr. Bradbury delivered coal to my granddad, if I was about at the time Mr. Bradbury would let me sit in his lorry whilst he delivered the coal. Always thought it was fantastic! It was a Austin FG lorry if I remember correctly, my mom didn't like it much though, I would get out of it a bit black around the edges from the coal dust. My grandfather being in the business himself still had a set of weighing scales and weighed every bag of coal taken off the lorry to make sure he wasn't short changed. I noticed Mr. Bradbury occasionally put a few lumps of extra coal in a bag or two and then say to my grandfather "is that one alright Joe", when granddad weighed the over weight bag the reply was always "spot on that one".

P.S. I have reattached the original photo in the first post of this thread, it must have been deleted a while ago when we had a lot of pictures deleted by hackers on the forum, any one who missed it before I hope you like it.
 
Last edited:
wendy ashford said:
Hello again.,, mom remembers a Brian pierce, Charlie walldock, John stamps. She was there in the late 60's
Click to expand...
Hello Wendy

John Stamps was in the stores, I started in the stores when I was 14 and paid out of the petty cash thanks to a great boss Mr Griffin later Sir Francis. I worked with Brian Pierce otherwise known as Percy, I could tell you a few stories about Brian but don't think this is the right place :)
George Reedman was the Garage foreman with Brian Crawford (cranky) as his deputy. John Rogers was over the automatic lubrication installation dept with Franky Woodward and Tony Pritchard in the car section, all depts I trained in. Service manager was Tony Griffin with David Kite as receptionist. Tony Lister and Brian Wallwork were in car sales.
Some of the other Mechanics were Johnny Cooper and John Kilburn.

Funny how memories come flooding back, I'll stop now as don't want to bore you too much.

Best regards
Nick
 
Hi James
I would just like to comment on your grand father and grand mothers The Ashfords coal yard of Ladywood
I for particular do recall them personaly and i can recall alot of other members of this long time site of yester years
whom gave you stories of there business and i was for one person also gave the stories of your grand father and sadly we have lost them and there stories through one reason or another, its a pitty we aint got more ladywoodites
on this site but ageing is a problem and may be they have moved on from this country as i seen alot of them say they are living in another part of the country beleive it not or may be they have sadly passed away
Iused to work next door at the Aluminuim die casters and alot of my friends often looked in the yard from a bridge that over looked his yard and seeing the old bargie bring in the coal but in his later years as he got old he started to take in scrap metal but a lot of guys said he aint paying the right price in the weight i knew these lads all locals and mixed with them and they would say they have been in ashfords yard again today and they said its a toss up of him again or travel up the road to Ledsam street old clarkie and get a slightly afew bob more but on occasions we have seen him chase kids out of the yard trying to nick abit of tack to take to clarkies if the old site had not lost the stories and pics of his yard you would have leart more about him
 
As they say takes all kinds to make a world. I can remember some lads happily sitting eating my lovingly grown raspberries, when I chased them off they seemed to think that they had every right to help themselves, unfortunately for them I didn't.
 
Some of the old type of town houses, often three floors or more and had gardens front and rear, had large coal cellars, usually gained by a staircase from the ground floor kitchen area. The coal was dumped though an outdoor manhole or trapdoor. When the more affluent lived there and before the days of central heating, a large coal cellar was required as every room in the house had a fireplace. Providing money permitted (and of course there were servants to clean and kindle the fires) many of these houses with numerous fireplaces had most of them fired during colder days. Once the original owners moved and less affluent folk replaced them, less fires were lit.
I suspect that those premises which have survived any demolition now have those cellars in use as storage or other use.
 
Dave Riley said:
View attachment 105125

I thought some of you may like to see the attached wonderful picture. It is a photograph of my Grandfathers horse & cart taken outside his house in Reservoir Retreat, Ladywood. (Now classed as Edgbaston) His name was Joseph Harris and he ran a Coal merchants business. Before moving to Reservoir Retreat he lived in St Vincent Street, Ladywood, he also had a small coal yard in Clark Street and I believe also had a small area of Monument Lane Wharf.

Sadly he passed away in 1974 when I was just 6 years of age so unfortunately I was too young to appreciate his many tales of old Ladywood and it's people. I wonder if any one remembers him or could even tell me whereabouts in Clark Street his yard was? I think the period must have been the 1950’s or early 1960’s. I believe he was the last person in Ladywood to use horse drawn transport, I remember a tale my Grandmother Jess told me about the Council wanting to take away a old horse trough in Ladywood however he would not let the plans to remove it go ahead because his horse liked to drink from it! Somewhat of a battle I think took place over its removal.

I think I have a few more photographs hidden away somewhere and I will see if I can dig then out to share with you. Any further information on my Grandfather or his Coal business would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Hello.I lived in Clark st 50-60s.the coal yard was down bottom end of Clark st on the right.it was up an entry.
 
I know this is VERY late to this thread but I hope it is still picked up. Firstly, the coal man in Clark Street. When I first met my wife, in 1964, she lived at 33 Clark street and there was a horse and cart stabled behind their house. They had a wide entry, obviously. This was about four doors down from the junction with Hyde Road, on the same side. I can't say for sure this was Mr harris, but I don't think there were too many horses and carts about at the time.
Secondly, I was in the same class as Rodney Ashford at Follett Osler School, from 1958 to 1962. I remember him well. we were sort of friends (during school). he was always well dressed and smart. He always wore a tie and had well-polished oxblood shoes. I am so sorry to hear of his passing. Unfortunately, once we left school I never had contact again. I have a photo of a group of us in the second year at school at an outward bound centre at Bell Heath, nr Romsley. Our class was there for three weeks in 1959. Rodney is on that photo if anyone would like to see it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top