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Old street pics..

Post #1908. Great and intreagueing photo by Berniew. Not an Abbey at all realy but a wierd house built by an industrialist who made thimbles, to keep his workforce employed in lean times. Built using ashes from Aston Furnace down stream...of which there were lots and lots. The 1890 link shows the location which became the Hockley Abbey Works. Although a ruin by the time of the photo the ivey that was planted is still growing and covering the walls. I would have thought that the photo might have been earlier since the site does not look factory like does it. I suppose down the hill would have been Hockley Brook and somewhere down there the Cable Car drive houses. Anyway a great addition and one that got me Googling away my time...ah well what does it matter.

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/m...d=10076&ox=4004&oy=1366&zm=1&czm=1&x=379&y=40
 
Hi Rupert you may well be right about the age I couldn't make out wether it said 1885 or 1865 65 seemed early so I chose 85
 
Here is another picture of Hockley Abbey with a little info.

Richard Ford whilst in the drinking houses of Birmingham listening to his drinking buddies bragging about on how much they spent building their houses
At the same time noticing how much they spent on drink in the alehouse he decided he was not going to go down the same road as they went. He decided he would cut the drinking out, that would save him two shillings a day and build the house of his dreams.Not in the city or in a street like his friends but in the middle of a waste boggy land at Hockley.He had a small business were he used his horse and cart every day and noticed the slag mountains getting bigger from slag (or dross) from the furnaces of Aston lying round in great abundance. This set him thinking, free building material, as much as I want. Each day he loaded up his horse and cart with the slag and transported it over to the boggy wasteland in Hockley and set about building the house of his dreams.
Richard Ford built his “Abbey” and on the front he set into the front of the building the date of 1473 made out small pebbles to add to the deception.The date should have been around 1780.



Hockley Abbey.jpg
 
Wow, now that's interesting info on both Hockley Abbey and the Rookery. Thanks Bernie and Carolina for the links. Well worth a look. Thoroughly enjoyed reading them. Also enjoyed Bernie's quality buildings and statues photos link. Absolutely love the beauty of the various styles of the older buildings. But I'm also drawn to the Deritend car park photo for its quirkiness and the statement it's making. Viv

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1371071905.052658.jpg
 
Lyn
Regarding the photo of Hockley Abbey you put on, the Images of england book shows the same photo and said it was taken after the house had fallen into disuse around 1860
 
Charlie Drinkwater's butchers in Church lane was at the top of Gladstone Street. He was a great man and I spent much time in his shop waiting around for meat rations during the war. Regards, David.
 
HI Dave top of the morning to you nice to hear from you just read your thread about the drinkwater family
i just like to asked you do you know whether or not there was any famiy connections to the drink water family of Aston church road
As i knew the drink water family down Aston church road and i worked with one of them at the bromford rolling mills at bromfrd bridge way back in the seventys
He was clocking on abit i was the tube drawer and he was my mate on the other end of the machine they called the dog he used to go and sort the
blue prints and fetch my requirements nice little old fella i also recall glastone stone street i used to p[lay around there with the boys and recall the old lady selling the toffe apples for 1d and i used to court a girl down there she died very young of age of cancer her name was sue ;im not allowed to mention
her surname but i have fond memorys of the old area
dave ; have a nice day speak soon i hope ; best wishes Astonian;; ALAN ;;;;
 
berniew said:
Aston Street
Click to expand...

I would question the 1930s date on this postcard. I think that the corporation bus is in wartime livery. My guess is that it is a Guy Arab deliverd in 1944/45. And I think the bus disappearing off the right hand edge is a postwar Midland Red
 
Last time I was down there (quite a while ago) "The Stores" was still there, but boarded up and abandoned. Will try and get around the area again soon.
 
Anyone any ideas as to where Joe Hillman's was? Doesn't ring any bells with me. Looks like it was near a theatre, maybe the Theatre Royal? Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1371240334.837463.jpg
 
Congratulations Viv. I didn't know you were around to remember it in 1888. You are doing well. It was in Paradise st, near the junction with New St. his photo shows the position more clearly and you will probably have seen the hotel before


Joe2520Hillman25272520Hotel.jpg
 
Ha, ha Mike. Must have seen that photo many, many times and never spotted Hillman's on it. Thanks Mike. Viv.
 
Funny, I can't remember seeing #1946 before. The best one I think of the old buildings at the top of Hill Street. They seem to take you back to way before...photography and the Town Hall and even Christchurch. Maybe to a time when New St station was not in being and Pinfold Street ran down past Portugal House to the actual pinfold and further to Dudley Street and the Cold Bath.
 
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