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Mount Pleasant off the Coventry Road

Hello Redken Thanks for the reply. I did know Billy Costello, he used to be a mate of Gary Nattrass in their early teens, I didnt know any of your sisters. I only knew Paddy and Alan from playing football, i used to hate playing against Alan as he ran for miles with the ball, we needed a taxi to catch him. some of us used to go to the kingston picture house, also the kingston cafe facing the bus depot on coventry rd, I went to St Andrews school or Ada rd as some called it, i think paddy and alan went to another school. Nice to talk to you again All the best formula t.
 
Thanks, Mike. Its difficult to imagine Mount Pleasant with terraced houses. Its a good way of dating some of the MP photos. My grandparents lived in the 1920s rebuilds. I would say unfortunately, but I expect they were very pleased to get some decent housing!
 
hi shirley.
can you get into my photo album? a shot of the block with number 23 is there.

number 15 is a differnt block. i will gladly upload a thumb nail....but i don't know how to....you should be able to see my album....if someone can explain how to attach a thumb nail i will send you the pics u need.

regards
redken
 
Hi Redken
I do not know where online your photo album is, but to post a picture on BHF:
reply to thread
go advanced
new screen appears
click on paperclip on toolbar
new screen appears
add files
select files
new screen appears linked to your own computer
locate file
select
upload (takes a while)
insert
submit reply
Shirley
 
Great to see those pics. I used to play footie with Billy Costello in Kingston Park, and my school mate Reggie Thomas lived on Mount Pleasant and another lad I knew there was Johnnie Joyce. I can remember belting down the slope on sledges at the back of the houses toward those that were the backs of the gardens/yards in Bordesley Park Road.
 
Thank you so much, Redken, for taking the trouble to post those photos of Mount Pleasant. Which is the block with 15 & 23 in?
Shirley
 
I have enjoyed reading about Mount Pleasant, great info and pictures, thanks. Slightly off the subject, hope nobody minds, but I lived at Bordesley Park Road in the late 1950s/early 60's, which backed on to the bottom of gardens in Mount Pleasant. I remember walking up the Coventry Road loads of times past the doctor's surgery, the Kingston Cinema and up to the shops. None of the actual Coventry Road has changed much along there even if the buildings have, but B P Road itself is unrecognisable. I only have one old photo, atttached here, I'd love to see more.
 
hi beamish
great to read your comments.
i remember the costello's and the thomas's... reggie thomas was killed in a motor bike accident in 1966...i remember it well, it was world cup final day. my brother john joy was a close friend of his. maybe this is who you are refering( johnny joice) your comments about kingston park and the steep hill leading to the back of the houses on bordesley park road is uncanny its something myself and my brothers all did to.
do you have any photos at all around that era.

regards redken..(kenny joy)
 
hi angela
cracking pic of bordesley park road...i gather this is bordesley park road beyond the bridge...i suspect it is because if its the first part pf b.p.road, the bridge would be in shot.
any idea what year this pic may be?

regards redken
 
Hi Redken,
Yes, I think it is what I would call the top end of Bordesley Park Road as we lived at the first end just off Coventry Road - number 16. From there we looked up towards the bridge.
I think this photo is from the mid 1950s and the shop you can see here was a butcher's.
We were near to a little grocery shop and then there was the outdoor with a pub down on the corner, do you remember them?
Angela
 
hi shirley.
have attached some more pics for you.
here is no 15 mount pleasant showing front door. ground level, it was a single bedroomed house with the bedroom at the front and the living room with the kitchen and bathroom at the back
in 1953 the doors were 3 glass panel front doors. the windows were of the wrought iron type with muliple numbers of glass. windows were closed with iron catches and opened up on both sides
the garden fencing then was of the stick type tied with wire...still used today in places. no 23 can be seen and had the same characteristics. these were 3 bedroomed as you can see from the picture facing the camera with toilets and bathrooms at the rear.
i've added one or 2 more for you, i'm sure you will see how the house was situated.
the second pic is of its front garden now...not much change there.
just out of intrest shirley if you don't mind.....i remember the occupants then...they were an elderly couple called the dekins...(mr and mrs) what a smashing man and women.
my mother knew them well and often sent me to mrs dekin she would give me money for my mother to tie her over. well she did have 11 mouths to feed you know...i'm part of an 8 sibbling family. families then were close and cared and looked out for one another.
anyway enjoy the pics ...15 mount pleasant is the door.... others...veaw of front window bottom....veaw of front garden...and the rear of 15 mount pleasant

regards
redken
 
Hi Redken,

You right of course, John Joy, so I must have been in your house at sometime. What a tragedy when Reggie was killed. We were close since we had both stopped on at school an extra year. On the morning of his bike crash, I was kicking a ball about in Beamish Road and Reg came along on I think a green BSA Bantham. He said that he was going to have a side-car fitted and that he would give a ride later and that was the last I saw of him. I can remember going to his funeral along with the two other lads from our class at school and his teacher Mr Collins. Reg had a great sense of humour, but I remember, when his dad used to go into the bathroom to play his bag-pipes, Reg would shout 'Dad, do you have to?'

Don't know if you remember the Lloyd family who used to live in Bordesley Park Road, near the outdoor and butchers? Well, in coming down that hill on a sledge one winter, with the Lloyd lad on the back, we smashed in to the wall at the bottom at a frightening pace; all I could see was the soles of his feet as he went hurtling over the wall and believe me there was quite a drop the other side, and landed face down spread-eagled in to snow. It was like one of those scenes from a Roadrunner cartoon. Finally, do you remember this outdoor on the Cov and their frozen Jubbly's and the Doctors. Dr Brown [1 Knock] and Dr McBrown [2]
 
Here's a few pics, although you may have already seen them. Kingston Park, The Kingston and bus stop.

It wasn't the morning World Cup Final day, but the evening before that Reg proudly showed me his bike. Strange how you mentioning that has brought the memories back.
 
Hi Angela K,

Here's the pub on the corner of the Cov and Bordesley Park Road. The Old Lodge, my mom was the bar-maid there for donkey's years.
 
Hi Redken
Thank you very much indeed for taking all this trouble. The pictures & descriptions mean so much to me. I had no other way of getting the information as all 4 of the Milners that lived there have now died.
Shirley
 
Beamish, thanks for the pub photo. It's just as I remember it. Was the outdoor next to the pub? I can't remember exactly what was along that first stretch of Bordesley Park Road as we left there in 1962.
 
Hi Beamish.


I believe Reggie had actually had his sidecar fitted to his bike that day...from what i can remember, John and Regie were ment to meet up and go out together on it...but fate got in the way and they missed one another the rest is history. It's such a pity this happened....these things tend to change the courses of friends lives. Great to hear about your exploits behind Mount Pleasant. I used to slide down on foot on a slide we made there ...I remember we used to throw water onto it to make it more lethal ..and at the bottom of that was some sort of old bed spring sticking out , we traveled on that slide I can tell you ...always was some sort of risk factor there when we were young.

Yes I remember the outdoor on Coventry Road and of course the doctors surgery on the same side the opposite way up.

I think the surnames were the Jone's that run that outdoor. Blimey I used to collect pop bottles, do you remember they had deposits on them for returns?
I'm sure a guy called John was a son.
We used to tease his dog by shouting over his garden which faced Mount Pleasant at the bottom of the island. He used to bring it around on a lead afterwards looking for us, then let it loose to chase us.
what is your full name Beamish? I will mention it to my brother John. Perhaps he will remember you. Be great if you have any pics

regards
redken...Ken
 
Hi beamish.

Sorry I slightly misunderstood you sledge story, read it to fast I think.

No I did not know the Lloyds.
Be nice to hear from you again soon.
Regards
redken
 
You are quite right beamish.

I spoke to my brother John about it. It was a cup final day though. Don't rearly know why I assumed it was 66.

Apologies for that.

Regards
redken.
 
hi kim...unfortunately i dont remember the keating family...although i pride myself in knowing most families who lived in mount pleasant in the 60's..maybe i do and have just faded memories that i cant scratch out...'the name keating does ring a bell though.
regards
redken
 
HiMy Grandparents lived at number 14 Mount Pleasant ,(the Keating family ) Jack & Laura Keating with sons John ,James ,Joe Philip and daughters Mary and Violet ,may be you might of known them .Regards Kim.
 
does anyone have any pictures at all showing the old outdoor that was opposite the masonetts on coventry road close to the kingston picture house
 
I am not sure if this is the one you mean. I think it is 141 Coventry road. Sorry for the poor reproduction, but the transparency was very faded when I scanned it. It was taken in around 1970

22A__no_141_coventry_road.jpg
 
Mikejee.....you are fantastic....''god bless you''....It's exactly what I was looking for and it doesn't come any better than this...many many thanks.

I'm stretching my luck here...If you have any more around this area...''Please post them''.

Regards
Redken.
 
Again very poor quality , but here they are, taken at the same time as the off licence

E-mail_20__coventry_road_between_arthur_st_and_mount_pleasant.jpg


E-mail_212C_coventry_road_between_arthur_st_and_mount_pleasant.jpg


E-mail_23__nos_135-139_coventry_road.jpg
 
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