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Perry Hall Park

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Foley

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Edit. This thread is about Perry Hall Park. There is a separate thread about Perry Hall (the house) here https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/perry-hall.7197/page-2

In Perry Hall park there was a"Perry Hall". I thought the hall was in the middle of the moat.... also what you would expect. Anyway a discussion arose and I have looked on the internet and there is no back up to what someone said.

They said that the Hall was not actually in the middle of the moat but on the outside of it.

Does anyone know where the hall actually was.

Thanks

Russ
 
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This photo has puzzled me, I think I had seen it somewhere connected with the forum. It looks like Perry Hall park with moat - paddle boat pool, when I was young - but it says Calthorpe Park on the photo??
PHP.jpg
 
Foley said:
Those of you may know that in Perry Hall park there was infact "Perry Hall". No as far as I was concerned I thought the hall was in the middle of the moat.... also what you would expect. Anyway a discussion arose and I have looked on the internet and there is no back up to what someone said.

They said that the Hall was not actually in the middle of the moat but on the outside of it.

Does anyone know where the hall actually was.

Thanks

Russ
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I spent quite a lot of my spare time in the fifties playing at Perry Hall playing fields as we only lived a couple of streets away (dewsbury grove). The only buildings i remember were the cafe, shop and parkies office on the right as you entered from perry avenue. The picture that states calthorpe park certainly looks like the paddle boat lake.
 
I just looked something up and see that Perry Hall was owned by the Gough Calthorpe family, so maybe thats where the Calthorpe Park title came from. It was always Perry Hall Park to me, with memories of the paddle boats - twice round, and no hanging about where the 'Parkie' couldn't see you. The link below shows a picture with water nearby, but difficult to work out whether it is a moat.
https://www.perrybarr.info/tour/page1-10/6.php
 
My husband used to play Sunday afternoon football at Perry Hall playing fields. I used to go frog and newt catching there and if my memory serves me right the train line was very close by. Jean.
 
Way back in 1943-44 my girlfriend, now my wife, and I used to go to Perryhall Park on Sunday afternoon and rent a Row Boat for an hour to row around the Pool that was there. The guy who was in charge of the boat rental used to live close to my house up Cooksey Lane, Kingstanding. Sometimes I would see him come home in the evening on his bicycle. To get there we would catch the 29 bus on the Kingstanding Circle and get off at Perry Barr Park and walk through the park to Perryhall Park. I was 16 then. Good old Days.

Have a Nice Day, Wally.
 
G G Jean said:
My husband used to play Sunday afternoon football at Perry Hall playing fields. I used to go frog and newt catching there and if my memory serves me right the train line was very close by. Jean.
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The rail line used to run over the far side by Cherry Orchard. I also remember the smelly black river. We always expected great black water rats to jump out at us but i doubt anything could live in there in those days (1950s).
 
Hi there, great replies. I still live so close to the park and I also do have memories of the boats.... funny that one of the replies reminded me about the good ol days.....

"twice round, and no hanging about where the 'Parkie' couldn't see you." wow I so remember that went with my sister and friends over and over again.

The second photo from postie caused a little confusion to me. Was the boat hut built after that picture as the picture looks like it was taken by the second bridge looking towards Lynton Square (now one stop) as that is the only part where the pat curves to the edge or the water and back away (remembering following the first half of the path on my bike and then lost a little bit of concentration and as the saying goes "ended up in the drink". I would have thought that the boat shed would have been in the distance.

Has anyone got any photos of the parkies hut (which now looks totally different) and also the cafe that was next to the toilet block which got burnt down along with the boat hut. (can I ask whilst in this thread if anyone has photos of lynton square or the prefabs in church road). Hope you do not mind me putting that one in.

Also the old bridge in the chinese gardens. (I know there are a lot but those of you may remember that one special bridge). It was a wooden bridge that needs no explaining if you know it.

The bottom gate of the park by one stop.... There is something else that has changed where the dog track used to be.

I am just after photos of those few places,

Park,

Old Dog Track,

Lynton Square (including underground car parks where I smashed my uncles car learning to drive, (oops)

And the prefabs..... Old Perry Barr photos interset me as I lived in the house I was born in for many years and then moved next door so have never left the area.

Just remember back what it was like but wish I had some pictures to show others.

Thanks all for the commets so far.

Russ
 
Foley said:
The bottom gate of the park by one stop.... There is something else that has changed where the dog track used to be.

I am just after photos of those few places,




Russ
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I remember that at the gate to the park nearest One Stop there was a shop/cafe there - As a child living in Lozells, my dad would, at weekends, take me to Perry Hall Park on the 33 bus. We'd get off at Perry Barr Railway Station and walk down to Regina Drive and up that to the park. I'd always have an ice cream cone from the aforementioned shop/cafe. Of course, not only has it gone now but the whole topography has changed, with the river Tame having had its original course diverted at that point
 
I never realised there was a cafe at that end of the park. What was the building that used to be at the end of the stream. Was that it?
 
I remember Perry Hall Park and the Paddle Boat Lake spent many happy hours there.

Sunday morning's we used go down to railside to wait for diversions from the Trent Valley Line which used to go Walsall, Perry Barr, Witton, Aston then take the LH loop over the Aston Church Rd. to Stechford and then on to London.

The Paddle Boat Lake in the 1950's and drained and then filled in.

I can't remember whether it was filled in because of death of a child drowning, or that the lake sprung a bad leak and the City Council didn't want to spend money on it.

From that time on the park was run down a used as poor football playing fields.
 
I used to fly model aircraft in Perry Hall Playing Fields, from the very early 1960's until about 1983. Most Sundays there'd be upwards of a couple of dozen enthusiasts - we got the usual noise-complaints, etc.

There were 2 caffs - one at the end of Regina Drive where I remember there was a genuine Amercian Coca-Cola dispenser and a cheery lady who apart from Coke sold crisps, chocolate, and so forth. There was also the larger caff at the Perry Avenue entrance to the Fields, but as someone said this place burned down.

When I was very young I took out a paddle-boat with a friend, and when my mother found out where we'd been and what we'd been doing she went ape - "could've drowned", and so forth.

On hot summer days (remember them?) the River Tame stank to high heaven. It was oily and green....

Big Gee
 
Foley said:
I never realised there was a cafe at that end of the park. What was the building that used to be at the end of the stream. Was that it?
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No, the cafe I spoke of was just outside the gate to the park at the top of Regina Drive - where the concrete steps are now. The building which used to be at the end of the stream was in fact a shelter with bench seating inside - I believe this dated from the time there was a miniature railway which used to run along what is referred to as the 'cinder path' from the paddling pool which used to be at the opposite end of the moat from the two bridges down to the end of the bog garden stream - this was way before my time however - I can remember the park from age 7 ( 1960 ) and it certainly wasnt there then
 
The reason the Tame was black was because they used to wash the coal at Hamstead Collery which was was up stream by Great Barr Railway Station.

I expect a lot of people will remember Hamstead mine they bought in 250 miners for Scotland and housed them in a large estate near by, then decided to close the mine.

There used to be a bridge across the Old Walsall Rd which buckets on a cable system used to transport waste from the mine to a slag heap on the Birmingham side of the road.
 
Nice to see that train, I rode on it as a child. I had my first sight of someone ice skating in that park. With regard to the miners from 'up north' some of them came from Durham and when the mine closed, many came to work in the maintenance dept at our factory. I remember their accents. One of them told me that the mine workings reached as far as the Kingstanding Circle !
Looking at Google earth, the Paddle Pool (moat) still contained water in 2007, but I suppose the boats have gone.
oldmohawk
:)
 
This is the paddle boats at perry hall park...prob taken around early 60s..

lyn
(Replacement)
 

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That photo brings back memories. I think we were allowed two circuits and no hiding under the bridges from the 'parkie' or going the wrong way or in circles. I also remember rowing boats on the large lake, but I can't tell from Google Earth whether it's still there.:)
 
Lyn Oldmowhawk I used to come off those boats with blisters all over my hands. We used to play the parkie up and jump back on and do another circuit. Jean.
 
I don't recall Perry Hall having a large boating lake---there was one in Perry Barr Park. The photographs of the paddle boats are much as I recall them in the 50's. I fell in once ensuring my grey woollen knitted swimming trunks absorbed about 50% of the available water. There was also a small cycle track near the exit by Collerane (???) road perhaps in the early 60's. The river always looked evil and I believe it is not much different now.
 
DJRVST said:
I don't recall Perry Hall having a large boating lake-.
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There was a boating lake in the park. It was long and not very wide. I'm looking at a 1995 AtoZ on page 59. As I mentioned before I saw my first ice skater there. The small railway ran the length of it. Looking on Google Earth something can be seen, although there are many trees. Perhaps the lake has been filled in since 1995. The lake at Perry Barr park was square shaped and I put a photo of it #29 here.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3525&p=172898#post172898
With regard to the River Tame, it was cleaned up somewhat after the Hamstead Mine closed, and maybe improvements to local Sewage Works. At a factory I worked in at Hamstead, we discharged cleaned up effluent into the river, and when Severn Trent made unannounced inspections, we could point out little 'tiddlers' busily swimming near our outlet.
oldmohawk
:)
 
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You don't get that vile smell coming from it now. It has been tidied up too with weeping willows hanging over it by the industrial park and that too is a pleasure to drive round with pools and water features plenty of grass too. Jean.
 
I remember the railway but not the lake ---just proves what memory is like---the "video player" in my head must need attention. I have not been in the park since the mid 60's when playing football over the far side near the railway. I was told about the river about five years ago by a relative who was dragged in by his dog ( a large old boy) perhaps a bit of bias crept in!!! I'm glad to hear it is much improved fom my last visit. I have a lot of happy memories of the place.
 
DJRVST said:
I remember the railway
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Hi,
You started to have me worried about my 'internal video recorder', so I done a search in Google by typing in 'Perry hall park lake' and about the 4th item down saw a site call Digital Handsworth. It's not the easiest site to browse but I found a whole bunch of wonderful photos of the paddle boat pool and one of a man in a rowing boat on a lake. I could see what looked like a rail barrier between the paddle boats and a lake, and even some wintry pics. I haven't looked at all the pictures yet. I would have posted some of them here but the terms and copyright conditions were rather strict. They will bring back memories, they certainly did for me. If you can't find it I will post a link (rather long) to the pics.
oldmohawk
Phil:)
 
G G Jean said:
This is a photo of the river Tame taken off an old postcard. Jean.
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Hi, Jean,
On the Digital Handsworth site there is a pic of the bridge being built in 1932.
They also have some good pics of Great Barr, the Aldridge Rd looks like a lane, also an air view of it when it wasn't in line with Beacon road and long before Asda etc. Only thing is I didn't expect Gt Barr to be in Handsworth !
oldmohawk :D
 
Photos of Perry Hall Paddle boat pool as I remember it. The bridges were nice, the flowers were nice and the paddle boats were fun. We were allowed to do two circuits of the moat shaped pool, but we used to hide round the back going backwards and forwards until the 'Parkie' spotted us.

Perry_Hall_Park_View.jpg

Paddle_Boats_Again.jpg
 
used to cycle to perry hall playing feilds from perry barr with my brother and school frendies. we would go on the paddle boats, do a couple of circiuts, then go to the cafe for refreshments. then go and play for the rest of the day in the feilds by the river, as long as it had not overflowed onto the feilds. happy times.
 
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