Newspapers : From Birmingham Post 150 years ago

[mikejee]

7.5.1866
New site proposed for proposed Masonic Hall
New product for John Bettridge & Co. they were at 19-21 Barr St (which around the mid 1880s altered to 52,54 ^ 56 Barr St, though Bettrdge had long before moved on).
Mr Cadbury apparently asked for cost of rebuilding his house in Bull ST further back. I have been unable to find the reference in "Local Notes" to which the letter refers, and assume it must be another publication than the Birmingham Post.

 

[mikejee]

Hardmans of Birmingham have been brought in to restore sculpture in Worcester cathedral, showing that it is not just the more technical Birmingham firms that flourish, but also more traditional ones.
Kirby's Pools. These seem to hav ebeen the pools by Bournbrook Mill an dto hav ebeen filled in in the 1880s being approximately on the site of the old Aerial Motorcycle factory at Selly Oak. The same listing is given in Littlebury's Worcestershire directory of 1873, but in the White's 1873 Birmingham directory William Bayley Wyatt is listed as a pleasure boat builder and proprietor at Reservoir Lodge, Reservoir Road.

 

[mikejee]

10.5.1866
Looking for a curator for Aston Hall , who would also be a park keeper. Rather a difference in jobs I would have thought, and a lot for one man if without any assistants

 

[Old Boy]

10.5.1866
Looking for a curator for Aston Hall , who would also be a park keeper. Rather a difference in jobs I would have thought, and a lot for one man if without any assistants

Mike,

The job was not as a park keeper but the Keeper of All The Parks. As I understand it it was rather a quaint way of saying that he would be in charge of all the park keepers throughout the city, a very responsible job.

What surprises me is that Aston, at that time, was not part of Birmingham so how come the city apparently has control of Aston Hall?

Old Boy

 

[mikejee]

It's a long story OldBoy. The park estate was for sale and it was bought by a private company who tried to make a go of it charging for enty. they did not make a go of it, and eventually it was bought by the council with the aid of private subscription as a resource for Birmingham (though outside its borders). Some of the story is told by Carl Chin at https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/carl-chinn-riches-rags-story-7140878

 

[mikejee]

11.5.1866
Liverpool approves purchase of land for building of council dwellings for the labouring classes.
Report of dickens Reading at Town Hall.

 

[Vivienne14]

A nice account of Dickens' reading. Personally I'd have loved to have been there - Dickens' readings were highly regarded at the time (despite the journalist making a joke that this was "teaching the public in question how to read them"). The readings were exhausting for Dickens and he put enormous effort into acting out the characters. It was obviously to great effect given the popularity of his readings across the country. It's not always remembered that he was, for a while, an actor and, if memory serves, he performed at the Theatre Royal on New Street. Viv.

 

[mikejee]

12.5.1866
I always thought of coal being delivered in bags, but I suppose it wasn't always so.
Husband only liable for his wife's debts if suitable for his station in life.

 

[paul stacey]

Firstly may again say how much I enjoyed the report of Dickens in Birmingham, I truly would have loved to have been there, I to find it believe that coal was not always delivered in bags,as for the husband not being responsible for his wife,s debt's I totally agree. keep up the good work Mike. Paul.

 

[mikejee]

14.5.1866
Never thought of Quoits as a particularly popular pastime.
Sounds like the Yorkshireman was trying it on . Don't know how he could reasonably expect to win.

 

[mikejee]

16.5.1866
Not sure whether the letter writer is really concerned more about the treatment of the horses or that someone was using a cab on a Sunday or that he found the sound of whip-cracking disturbing.

 

[DavidGrain]

12.5.1866
I always thought of coal being delivered in bags, but I suppose it wasn't always so.

Sorry I am little late in commenting as for some reason I was not getting email alerts and am now having to catch up.
Back in the 1940s/early 1950s when I was a boy we were regarded by our neighbours in the Black Country as being very snooty because we had our coal delivered in sacks but everyone else in the street had their coal tipped in the road and had to carry it to the back of their houses. We also had our milk delivered in bottles in stead of having to go out to the road with a jug to have it ladled from a churn.

 

[Vivienne14]

RE post #2411 - £50 for a game of Quoits !!! Who were they kidding? I assume it's supposed to be the prize, but I can't imagine that sum being paid out. Viv.

 

[mikejee]

19.5.1866
The living skeleton. The Victorians certainly seemed to like this sort of thing. this must have been one of the circus Chipperfield family.

 

[Vivienne14]

Can't understand why anyone would want to see, what would effectively have been, a starved person. Viv.

 

[Lady Penelope]

I found this photo with some family ones and wondered if it was the Birmingham Cricket Club mentioned in post 2390. It definitely looks like the hall in the background which seems in need of a little attention. Not sure when it was taken. If it is the hall should it go on the Aston Hall thread?

 

[Vivienne14]

Lovely photo Lady P. Think it dates to the 1920s judging by the straw boaters and the types of collars on the men in suits. I've posted a photo of the Aston Hall hall entrance below. There are similarities in the outer doors and the fanlight above the doors. It certainly has the same brickwork. The window leaded lights have been changed and the entrance has been added to with pillars and other adornments. So it probably is Aston Hall if someone can confirm the modifications to the entrance being made after the 1920s. Hopefully someone can tell Lady P if it's the BCC - that would be great. On the trophy there looks like roughly ten badges around the base. Wonder if this was 10 seasons? So maybe the trophy was first played for in the 1910s? Was the BCC around then - sorry I know nowt about cricket! Viv.

 

[Vivienne14]

Looking a bit closer at the men in the photo, it's strikes me that these men would have just a few years before, have survived the horrors of WW1. There seem to be a couple of very young faces who may have escaped the War, but most of them must have served. I expect being part of a cricket team would have been a valuable activity particularly if any were still suffering the effects of shell shock or other psychological problems. The look on some of the men's faces does suggest a hint of fear, but hopefully that was just fear of having their photo taken. Photos like this certainly make you think. Thanks for posting Lady P. Viv.

 

[mikejee]

21.5.1866
Spectacular fire at hay and straw dealers on Worcester Wharf, though it was luckily restricted to the premises on which it originated.
Gunpowder explosion at West Bromwich colliery shakes area

 

[Astoness]

thanks again mike for all the snippets you post...i was just thinking how graphic the reports were in those days...ie the lad who died in the colliery explosion..

hi pen thats a cracking photo you have posted...do you have any rellies on it or is it just a random photo..

lyn

 

[mikejee]

22.5.1866
Not referring specifically to Birmingham, but applying to it, disabilities and deformities caused by occupations.
Sanitary conditions of the area leaves much to be desired, and it is being realised that this is a cause of disease.
Amusements at Whitsuntide.

 

[Lady Penelope]

Thanks for the info Viv. I've had a look at some historical pictures of the hall and nothing appears to have been added, at least not in the last 100 or so years. The leaded lights are definitely different but I think the reason the pillars look different is that they were so dirty on the cricket photo. Everything was black in those days. Will keep looking and comparing.

 

[mikejee]

26.5.1866
Fire in Osler St.
Boiler Explosion in West Bromwich, thoughg luckily the occupants of the nearest building had a day off to go to the fair.

 

[Astoness]

thanks mike...very lucky indeed that workers took a day off...

 

[Vivienne14]

Re the West Brom chain maker. It mentions the company made 'hames' as well as chains. For those of us who don't know what a hame is:

Hame definition: either of two curved pieces lying upon the collar in the harness of an animal

Viv

 

[mikejee]

28.5.1866
Another advert for a quoit match similar to that in the paper of 14th May, though this time at the Old Trees on tgh ecorner of Keyhill. The c1889 OS map below shows what must be the quoit ground. When the pub was for sale in 1880 the advert states that it was once a bowling green, but was at that time used as a garden and quoit ground.
Fire in Newhall St. Not serious in itself, but viewing the police must have resembled the Keystone cops

 

[Vivienne14]

In 1866 'Quoiting' must have been in its early days. Birmingham seems to have held a conference some 3 years later, so Birmingham teams must have, by that time, become quite experienced at the game. The rules of the game were also recognised in Wisden's first almanac.

There's mention of £25 on a game in Cheshire, so Birmingham's £50 games were serious money. Viv.

 

[mikejee]

29.5.1866
Council approves plans for improving the town by reconstruction and road widening.
Stream in Calthorpe Park, (which at this time extended further down Pershore roa dto Edgebaston Road). As far as I can see the "stream " must be the River Rea.

 

[mikejee]

30.5.1866
Council improving sanitary condition of the town by building more sewers

 

[Vivienne14]

Interesting that in the #2430 second article, roads such as Colmore Row and Livery St were to be 'straightened', seemingly not for volume of traffic reasons, but for aesthetic reasons! And they'd have to knock down houses in the process. Viv.