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Lost places in Edgbaston

G

gnarlybole

Brummie babby
This is my first posting, so hello to everyone on the forum.
Does anyone know where the Cecilia Coffee Bar was in Edgbaston? I keep seeing it mentioned in biographies of Steve Gibbons and, as an Edgbastonian by birth, I am curious to find out where it was.
Also, does anyone remember Astley's Toy Shop on Broad Street. I have a childhood memory of its shop front which had a glass pillar in the small entrance vestibule and in which toy animals were displayed. I seem to remember that the shop was somewhere near the old Orthopaedic Hospital - or The Crips, as my un-PC Mum used to call it - but I might be wrong.
 
Hi gnarlybole

Welcome to the forum, I think you may mean the Sicilia that was on Hagley Rd until it was swept away in the 60's. Its located here in the middle of this photo and was close the the start of Hagley Rd.

Phil

FiveWaysSiciliaCoffeeBar.jpg
 
Thanks for the photo and the welcome Phil, much appreciated. I was a kid during the 50s & 60s living just down the road from your avatar (Perrot's Folly). Hagley Road was my stamping ground in those days - I went to school in Highfield Road. Even so, I can't seem to place the Midland Bank. I can only seem to remember there being office blocks along that stretch. It just goes to show how our memory tricks us. Good to know where the Sicilia was though. I'll correct the relevent entries on Wikipedia that refer to it as Cecilia's. Who'd have thought that Wikipedia could be wrong? ;-)
 
Henry Astley, toy dealers was at 125 broad st, on the corner of Ruston St. n the other corner was the Victoria Inn, Next door at 124 was Astleys theatrical costumiers
Mike
 
Thanks, Mike. I'd forgotten about the costumiers! I have such fond childhood memories of the toy shop that I actually wrote a kid's book about a Magic Emporium that was, to all intents and purposes, Astleys.
 
Hi gnarlybole

As I was relying on the photo caption for the name I quoted and knowing how often these descriptions are wrong. I thought I had better check it out. In the 1967 edition of Kelly's the Sicilia was still in existence at No 7 on the north side of Hagley Rd

Phil
 
Thanks for that, Phil. Interesting that the great Steve Gibbons started playing at a coffee shop near Five Ways. As far as I know he's always lived in that neck of the woods - either Wheeleys or George Road - one of those off Islington Row anyway. It's fascinating to fit all the pieces together. Do you know if there have ever been any decent books written about the Brum music scene? If not, I might take a crack at putting one together.

Paul
 
Paul

I think. Brum Rocks & Brums Rocks On cover the Birmingham pop & rock scene pretty well, and I understand that 1st edition prices are soaring.

Phil
 
Just looked them up on Amazon. I see what you mean about the prices. I'll have a dig around on eBay to see if there are any cheaper copies out there. Thanks again, Phil.

Paul
 
gnarlybole

I've just been poking around on the web on an unrelated matter about the Birmingham music scene in the late 50's and early 60's and the name of the The Cecilia Coffee Bar pops up in a couple of places they each quote Edgbaston as its location but none say exactly where it was.

I have searched as much as my limited resources let me and I can find no reference to the Cecilia Coffee Bar other than on those few web pages.

The only thing that I can find remotely like it is what I have given you and that is the Sicilia on Hagley Rd in Edgbaston.

I wonder if its a case of somebody spelling it from memory as they remembered it sounded and then of other people copying it when they saw it.

I just thought I would warn you before you go changing anything, perhaps it would bear further research.

Phil
 
Hi , My sister was born 1a back of 49 Leebank road Edgbaston that is the address on her birth certificate does anyone know where i could find any pictures 1955 era thank-you
 
Hi Lizy my father lived in leebank rd in the thirties. There are a few photo's on the Ladywood digital site.
 
Hi Lizy,

Are these any use to you, they are all from around the mid 50's and are all of Lee Bank. I have more of the area if you want them.

Phil

1LeeBankLeeBankRdBatesNewsagents.jpg
2LeeBankLeeBankRd1953.jpg


3LeeBankLeeBank1953.jpg
4LeeBankLeeBank-WheeleysRd.jpg
 
Phil, is there any chance of putting any numbers to those buildings, I'm looking for 140, and Lizy is looking for 49.
 
Last edited:
Robert

In the third photo the Ansells pub you see was the Edgbaston Tavern at 85 & 86 Lee Bank rd. Your 49 which was a shop would have been further up the hill but it would have been before Lee Mount.

The first photo is of Bates Newsagents, sorry but I don't know the number off hand but the owner was murdered by the last person to Hang at Winson Green Prison.

Phil
 
Thank-you so much i am quite overwhelmed , we had many addresses around Birmingham as far as i can gather my mum and dad squatted in the fifties as they said it was so hard to get a house and it was word of mouth when somebody moved out .My elder brother and sisters where born in Alcester street in rooms ,and when the fourth baby came along it was too small so they had to move on. They went on to have ten children in all i was born in St Lukes road and i think that was the first settled house we had . Thanks again Grand master you have made my day .
 
I managed to find one more photo of Lee Bank for you. This one looks as if it was taken at the bottom of the hill, somewhere around Ryland Rd.

Phil

LeeBankLeeBankRd1960.jpg
 
I forgot to add to my last post that I know that Mikejee has got some photos of Lee Bank taken while he was recording the demolition of parts of Birmingham. If you contact him he may look them out for you.

Phil
 
Thank-you i have just gone all through that thread it was fantastic looking at all the old pictures and reading along i could see that you had made a lot of people happy. Well Done x My children often smile at the way i engross my self in the history of different cities, Birmingham being the most important to me as said on this forum there were not the photo's as we have today so even if it is not your particular house or Street you can still get a good picture of how it was ,and the bonus being if it is something or some-one you knew.
 
my name is dennis white and I lived in stoke street just off broad st.I spent many happy nights in the cis coffe bar and new many of the groups that played there.I also remember spending many hours looking in astleys toy shop window.. model steam engins train sets maccarno sets ..just a child dreaming..anybody know me?
 
Hi Lizzy. Barnes
How are you keeping fine I hope just want to say your name crops up quite often in our house and at our sister in laws house in nuneaton
Where my wife's older sister lives as you know them very well from Ladywood Madeline and Teresa Tess did mention you on
The Ladywood sight recently and they asked her for some. Pictures and for more memories of you lot and with the sloynes family and area more whom you
Would have known and possibly the Richardson's whom married one mosedale whom was an old friend of mine
Best wishes astonian,, Alan,,
 
I wasw on a No 8 Inner Circle bus just like that one in the pic. It was around 1948-9 and I was on the way to work. The bus came over the railway bridge near Five ways station abit to fast and hit a patch of black ice It then slid sideways into the bust stop just past the corner of the road that wentoff the teh left The pic reminded me
 
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