Radio shop and coal merchant Balsall Heath Rd 1920s

[OurKidsKid]

Hello ... I have some written memories of my grandfather who was born at 158 Balsall Heath Rd in 1917. His parents and older brothers and sisters had lived there for many years. Five of his brothers and sisters had been born there.

My grandfather mentions that his mother - 'a strict and very forthright hard-working woman' - was 'almost a celebrity around the Balsall Heath Rd area and was always helping people in any way she could even to settling rows and fights between man and wife. She loved a glass of beer and was often at the pub opposite our home.'

Does anyone know what pub that might have been?

And would anyone have any information about the kind of place 158 Balsall Heath Rd was and what happened to it? Was it cleared as part of 'slum clearing' at some point?

Any help would be most appreciated.
Sharon

 

[Astoness]

hi sharon and welcome....i am sure we can help you with a map showing where 158 was situated...we should also be able to find out the name of the pub that was opposite the house...did your family run the coal merchants and radio shop..i will check my old photos for you as i may have some of this road

lyn

 

[OurKidsKid]

hi sharon and welcome....i am sure we can help you with a map showing where 158 was situated...we should also be able to find out the name of the pub that was opposite the house...did your family run the coal merchants and radio shop..

lyn

Hi Lyn ... no, my Pop wrote a few pages in 1987 about his early life in Birmingham and mentioned the excitement of getting a radio (battery set). He said that one of his jobs was to take the 'accumulator' to the radio shop to get charged. He then went on to say 'Two doors away from the radio shop was the Coal Merchant's and I used to filch half a hundred weight of coal in an old barrow for our fires. As we got wealthier, we got it delivered'.

He said that Balsall Heath Rd was a rather long road stretching from Moseley Rd to Bristol Rd and that 158 was 'in the middle'.

Thanks for your help ... the more I research this, the more interesting it becomes!

Sharon

 

[Astoness]

ok sharon thanks...also if we can identify the name of the pub we may have a photo of that as well...as you said there is nothing left of the old balsall heath road now as it looks to be all new buildings..i am sure as the day goes on our members will be able to add a bit more history to where your family lived

lyn

 

[pjmburns]

Map already provided by Mike on Kensington Gardens thread

 

[Astoness]

Map already provided by Mike on Kensington Gardens thread

thanks jan does it highlight no 158

 

[mikejee]

The pub would have been the Lyttleton Arms at no 173. Here is a photo of it

 

[mikejee]

Here is the map from that thread. It gives the approximate position of no 158

 

[Astoness]

i am struggling to find pre demo photos of this road which i find odd considering the size of it however i do have these 2 to go with mikes map and his photo of the pub...will keep searching as there must be other photos somewhere

lyn

 

[mikejee]

There are some on posts 267,269,283 and 291 on thread https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/birmingham-1969-73.23229/page-15

 

[pjmburns]

thanks jan does it highlight no 158

Yes. Where Mike thinks it was.

Sorry replied and then saw Mike had reposted the map