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New Street City Centre Birmingham

A principal street in the 'car city' of Britain and no vehicles suggesting the mid 1950's, I do not believe. So it is probably late 1940's.
Actually there are three buses in the photo, however, a closer inspection of the bus shows that it might be of the AOB/AOG series of 1934/5 which were apparently withdrawn from main line service by the end of 1948. The second bus looks very much like a post WW2 bus, judging by the windscreen possibly a GOE registration or early HOV which vehicles entered service between 1947 and 1949. The delivery van has a CVP ? registration which is probably 1937, if it is GVP then that would be around 1947 but in those days most companies made their vehicles last.
The only retail establishment I recognise is Pattisons.
 
Radiorails said:
A principal street in the 'car city' of Britain and no vehicles suggesting the mid 1950's, I do not believe. So it is probably late 1940's.
Actually there are three buses in the photo, however, a closer inspection of the bus shows that it might be of the AOB/AOG series of 1934/5 which were apparently withdrawn from main line service by the end of 1948. The second bus looks very much like a post WW2 bus, judging by the windscreen possibly a GOE registration or early HOV which vehicles entered service between 1947 and 1949. The delivery van has a CVP ? registration which is probably 1937, if it is GVP then that would be around 1947 but in those days most companies made their vehicles last.
The only retail establishment I recognise is Pattisons.
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Agree completely, particularly with the bus i/d, that paintwork under the front windscreen seems to identify it If the car I mention is what I think it is, then that would certainly be late 40s.
Bob
 
Bob Davis said:
Interestingly enough, they all seem to be pre-war cars, including two Standard Flying 9sm (one saloon & 1 drophead), but can anyone sharpen the picture to identify the car coming down the left hand lane, could be an Austin A40 or a Jowett Javelin but then again I could be completely wrong. The other shiny radiator parked up by the bus looks like the pre war Morris 8 series E.
Bob
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I believe the car to be an Austin 16 or one of its smaller sisters!
 

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Bob Davis said:
Interestingly enough, they all seem to be pre-war cars, including two Standard Flying 9sm (one saloon & 1 drophead), but can anyone sharpen the picture to identify the car coming down the left hand lane, could be an Austin A40 or a Jowett Javelin but then again I could be completely wrong. The other shiny radiator parked up by the bus looks like the pre war Morris 8 series E.
Bob
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The old Standard flying 9s my dad had a black one it was super little car and easy to maintain.
myself and dad lift the engine and replace piston rings we had no lifting just a rope round each end with dad sitting on the bulk head.
Dad had an earlier model Standard with a temperature gauge fitted on top of radiator but he got ride of it, we found the body was being held on to chassis with lengths of cable he bought it from a bomb second dealer on Birchfield Rd
 
, we found the body was being held on to chassis with lengths of cable he bought it from a bomb second dealer on Birchfield Rd

Thank heavens for the MOT. :D
 
I have previously seen men carrying 'sandwich boards' in old street pics but this is the first time I have noticed men carrying 'sandwich boxes'.
NewStCyclists.jpg
 
The tunnel looks like it might be quite old (ie older than the New St Woolworth building). The tiled walls on the one side suggest to me that it goes further back in time. I was wondering if this was anything to do with the old hotel - the Colonnade ? Could be wrong though. Viv.
 
Viv
Is it tiled walls or is it painted brick. The size and shape of the individual pieces would suggest the latter to me
 
You can paint bricks with glossy paint. Have seen a number of terraced houses done like this - usually doesn't look to good though
 
At the end of the tunnel there was to the left a small car park (Woolworth Management) further on was a (compared to today) small loading bay ideal for the lorry that were about in the 1960s, but not much use for the larger wagons of today, as for the tunnel being older I will leave other to decide, space was at a premium, I do know that a bit further up the road but before the bookshops there are two lifts that will take you to an underground car park, there is for that side of the road a lot of underground space being used or not, I would love to go down the old Woolworths tunnel


Vivienne14 said:
The tunnel looks like it might be quite old (ie older than the New St Woolworth building). The tiled walls on the one side suggest to me that it goes further back in time. I was wondering if this was anything to do with the old hotel - the Colonnade ? Could be wrong though. Viv.
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not sure if new st has its own thread so will start one..we can easily move it if needed...

this is another one new to me...another one that came under the joseph chamberlain scheme..they dont look in bad condition really.....be nice to find out exactly where this line of shops once stood...numbers 33 to 37 on the north sideNo 53 New Street North Side Nos 33-37 Birmingham Chamberlain Scheme.jpg

courtesy of newman uni archives.

lyn
 
This is where Corporation St entered New St, and I reckon it was taken shortly before they were demolished, similarly to the one below

News t showing cornish bros book shop.jpg
 
This a small painting of New St, among one of 45 painted for a book many years ago called 'Georgian Birmingham' which I do not think was published, the author still has the paintings but I have copies on my PC
New St.jpg
 
The forum search doesn't work on the words "new" and "street" as they are too common! Maybe something could be done about that by Warren?

Poppies top end of New Street a few weeks ago, before the Frankfurt market came back again!

 
Many places have these markets, yet many local shops struggle to stay open. Interestingly I notice two premises TO LET in Elliot's photo. I wonder why the businesses closed? Was it poor trade or end of lease?
 
Ell,

Stick the whole phrase in quotes "New Street" and it gets around this problem.

Alan,

The killer for bookshops was the end of Resale Price Maintenance on books. The big fiction sellers were sold cut price by the big supermarkets who didn't bother with the rest, which sold few copies.

Maurice
 
sospiri said:
Ell,

Stick the whole phrase in quotes "New Street" and it gets around this problem.
Click to expand...

Tried that. The following error message comes up:

"The following words were not included in your search becasue they are too short, too long, or too common: New"

I searched "New Street".
 
Was doing it like "New Street" which didn't work but it seems that ''New Street'' works!

" no, ' twice yes.
 
Search needs to be fixed when you search ''New Street'' and it doesn't come up as "New" is a common word!

Reposting my Tim Hortons photo at the White House here.



Pevsner:

No. 111, The White House, started as a similar building to the Burlington Hotel block beyond Lower Temple Street, of 1874-5 by Plevins. Reconstructed 1911-12 by Nichol & Nichol for Hortons' Estate with a new steel frame and elevations of fine concrete render scored to imitate faience. Open top arcade mirroring Piccadilly, the uneven spacing betraying the reconstruction.
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Agree Ell re. search. Have raised the question with admin team as it’s frustrating trying to find certain threads that have short/common words, New and Street being a perfect example. Leave it with me. Viv.
 
Ok Viv. Hope this search issue is fixed with common words. As the wrong threads come up at the top of the results.

New Street is "back to normal" now that the Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market has gone. Although was still busy with the sales. Was really busy in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Even the Odeon cinema was busy! Or the foyer area was.
 
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