Newspapers : From Birmingham Post 150 years ago

[Astonian]

Hi Lynn
Good evening hope you are well, many thanks for informing me my old libary is still
Standing on the corner part of my young days i had masny hours and many books for years
From that libary and so did my younger brothers
Through out the years i was a member there we had on one occasion had the inspector
Up at our house in kingedwards road it was just up from the libary
About 600 yards from the libary i attended Ickneild street sec moderen at hockley brook
Whilst at school the inspector came and asked our mom about the books
And i got a little fine but i was not barred
It must be the case of all the area of the population are putting in attendants there
For them not to close it thanks Alan,,Astonian,,,,

 

[mikejee]

25.10.1866
Stolen hams more important than people
Inquest on Proofhouse explosion
Street lighting in Aston Manor
Prize fighting in Aston
Advert implies to me that Pillogh stone is something special, but can find no evidence of that

 

[mikejee]

27.10.1866
Opening of a Grocery Exchange at the Corn Exchange (which was in High St; just below Carrs Lane.
Proposal to widen New St.
There is also a very long report on the opening of the new reference library (to long to put on and difficult to cut)

 

[devonjim]

Would the corn exchange be where M&S was built?

 

[mikejee]

I think M & S would encompass the site, but compared to M & S the corn exchange was small, and probably covered less than a quarter of the M & S site

 

[mikejee]

30.10.1866
Restoration of Harborne church.
Great Western Hotel (in front of Snow Hill Station, to let.

 

[mikejee]

1.11.1866
Public works committee report on progress of sewerage of Birmingham
Alleged Corruption in elections.
Cricketers in Aston understandably annoyed

 

[mikejee]

6.11.1866
Injuries then on bonfire night were not quite the same as today. In 1866 22 people attended hospital with injuries, 8 of them gunshot wounds !
Agreement reached with gas company to provide street lighting in Aston, apparently only from August 14th to May 14th each year

 

[mikejee]

7.11.1866
Which cat killed the canaries and whether anyone is responsible caused some amusement in court

 

[A Sparks]

6.11.1866
Injuries then on bonfire night were not quite the same as today. In 1866 22 people attended hospital with injuries, 8 of them gunshot wounds !
Agreement reached with gas company to provide street lighting in Aston, apparently only from August 14th to May 14th each year

What on earth were they doing with pistols on Bonfire Night?!!

 

[paul stacey]

Ho, Yes, the care free days, when every citizen could own and fire a fire arm at will, not sure if will approved, but seems to have kept the hospitals going nicely . Paul

 

[mikejee]

9.11.1866
A reminder that slavery in America was still a very recent thing at this time, and references to it treated as a form of entertainment

 

[mikejee]

10.11.1866
Bargains to be had in the meat department. Sounds very cheap, but less so when you take into account the true value of money then and now.

 

[paul stacey]

Retail price index states that," 11 1/2", 1866, old money, in todays currency would amount to £3. 85p. Paul

 

[mikejee]

12.11.1866
Can't see firms putting gold coins in products nowadays.
Bit of a change. Unitarian church changed to Roman Catholic.

 

[paul stacey]

Like to get my hands on a , "old Empire 5 Franc piece", or a gold Louis. Paul

 

[DavidGrain]

I think in the period 150 years ago the Roman Catholics were looking for suitable buildings and took over several former churches of other denominations. I have always thought that this church looked more like a protestant non-conformist church than a Catholic church.

 

[mikejee]

Solitary confinement for tramps in Oswestry

 

[mikejee]

19.11.1866
Monster pig challenge

 

[mikejee]

20.11.1866
Don't think I have come across St James Hall before, especially if it was the largest ballroom in Birmingham. Strangely the 1862 directory lists no 105 New St as being occupied by Julia Bathurst, tailor, and the 1867 directory as Charles Mole , watchmaker & The Empire Assurance Corporation. It would have been close to the entrance of the Theatre Royal, which was then listed as 96-97 New St, and wondered if it was an adjunct of this . From a cutting of 27th December 1866 it seems that the proprietor was Charles Mole, but it seems strange that , although some other events are recorded there in th elate 1860s and early 1870s, little seems known about it
There was another hall of the same name in gough st much later

 

[mikejee]

22.11.1866
Poor woman. She fears she may have to pay more for servants , and soon it may be impossible to hire them because of their demands.
Not sure what exactly the men were doing (racing bare-topped, fighting or merely displaying their muscles), but this was much more disturbing than people randomly firing guns in the street, the latter merely being an afterthought

 

[DavidGrain]

Regarding the two press cuttings: In the first I would start to worry about how many times the word 'Muscular' appears in the letter from The Involuntary Witness.
In the second I would mention that a few years ago I was looking through some archives of an organisation in Birmingham and found a report written in about 1928 recommending that girls from Switzerland and Sweden be encouraged to come to Britain to learn English and to work in British homes for their keep and pocket money stating that this would help to alleviate the servant crisis. I think this well predates the 'au pair' system. (Does that still exist?)

 

[mikejee]

23.11.1866
Looks like the death of a concert hall, and possibly the pub as well. They certainly recycled properly then.

 

[Lady Penelope]

Mike, your post 2631 - I wonder why it was St James's Hall? Was there anything there before with a connection?

Also, your 'muscular' post. Do you think the correspondent was objecting because the young men were stripped to the waist or that it was on a Sunday just as they were going to church? It sounds to me as if the 'involuntary' witness managed to get a good look before complaining! I thought at first they were fighters but it definitely says 'race' - perhaps they were pedestrians, I understand this was a popular sport in the 1800's. Police didn't like it though.

 

[mikejee]

Have not found any record of a hall other than around that time. Did wonder if it was a back entrance to part of the Theatre Royal building, but am not aure how close it was at that time. certainly in 1950 it was aprt of the entrance.

 

[mikejee]

24.11.1866
Perhaps a slightly catty editorial in the Post concerning the confirmed visit of the Queen to Wolverhampton.
A somewhat unusual suggestion from Pelsall as to an arch for the Queen's visit.
Fire in Whittall St.

 

[DavidGrain]

The statue of Prince Albert in Wolverhampton in known locally as 'The Man on the Oss'. Wolverhampton was chosen as Victoria's first outing because the Queen could do the journey from Windsor and back in a day whereas Liverpool or Manchester would have required an overnight stop in those days.

 

[Old Boy]

The statue of Prince Albert in Wolverhampton in known locally as 'The Man on the Oss'. Wolverhampton was chosen as Victoria's first outing because the Queen could do the journey from Windsor and back in a day whereas Liverpool or Manchester would have required an overnight stop in those days.

Hi All,
I have heard it said that the Black Country is so called because it was described as that by Queen Victoria on a train journey through it. I wonder if it was this journey to Wolverhampton?
Old Boy

 

[mikejee]

The black country museum website ( https://www.bclm.co.uk/season/did-you-know-facts/172.htm ) says that the first recorded use was in March 1846.

 

[mikejee]

The writer has messed up the year *(which should be 1838 I think) but at https://www.itv.com/news/2014-05-16/queen-victoria-diary-reveals-trip-to-desolate-midlands/ the original reference by Queen Victoria is given as that year