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The Woodman pub on Easy Row. The woodman's heyday was during the 1850s. It was around this date when Jem Irons was the host and Joe Allday, who was founder of The Ratepayers Protection Society and leader of The Economists on the Town Council would lay down the law in the smoke room. Mustard, gelatine and soda water manufacturer John Walsh Walsh, was another regular. He organised two fetes at Aston Park in 1856 and raised over £5,000 for the Birmingham Hospitals. The Woodman was refurbished in 1891. The second picture is of the interior in 1949.
 

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PMC, nice photo. The angular tall building, half way up on right side, stands on the spot where the old canal coal wharf building used to be facing the end of Paradise Street and the wharfes would have been in bottom right hand corner. You can just see Bridge Street (bottom right) and the place where the old Cadbury's factory used to be when they moved from Bull Street. I wonder if they used canal boats to deliver ingredients next to the coal wharf.

Link below to an old picture posted by Aston ('canals of birmingham' thread) Taken around 1890s similar view to your photo from lower down. I think that this may have been taken from the old Cadbury's building in Bridge Street, which had been turned into a school at this time. At the end of the wharfs you can see the side of the wharf building and Paradise Street behind. That is the exact spot of the building in your aerial shot.
 

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Ratcliff Place, Central Library looking from Edmund Street. in 1962.
The Central Lending Library opened in 1865.
 

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This is an unusual view of St Pauls Square.
 

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I believe the big doors from king edwards are gates for a old house in water orton now in the older part of the village
colin
 
By the late 50s, the large Edgbaston houses which were impossible for a normal family to run without domestic help, and were expensive to maintain and keep warm started to fall to multi-occupation. Many leases began to expire and in 1958 a plan for re-development was put forward. The plan put the area nearest to Five Ways up for Office and commercial use. The picture shows Five Ways in 1974, although the skyline has changed again since then.
 

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A view of the area around Spaghetti Junction in 1976.
 

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Sticher, that brings back my memories of the GEC SITE, It still has the Turbo Bay shown on the left, That is were they made the LARGE TURBO GENERATORS for Power Stations all over the World & the UK.
Now they are saying we do not have the skills to build the next generation of POWER STATIONS in this country.
WHAT A WAIST OF ENGINEERING & ENGINEERS in such a shot time.
THE BARON(ASTON)
 
The Baron, large numbers of brilliant engineers are working for other countries now, along with many of our nurses and Doctors.
 
Looking across the city from Central library in 1976.
 

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It makes me happy to know others enjoy the pictures Graham. Each time I look at them I remember things from many years ago.
 
Steelhouse Lane was dominated by the Wesleyan and General Assurance Society building. In the 1930s the Gaumont was built between Slaney Street and Weaman Street, and was converted to cinerama in 1963 and from that date it showed many musicals.
 

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The Bull Ring Market Hall after an air raid 25/26 August 1940
 

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In 1939 temporary stalls were set up in the Bull Ring. Barrow boys were allowe to sell fruit and veg whilst the stalls sold trees, shrubs, flowers and plants. The traffic was intermingled with the shoppers to some extent. Here are two shots of the area. 1939 and 1975.
 

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Good pictures Stitcher. When you open them, the chap on the left of the 1939 one looks a bit like Adolph paying an early quick visit to Birmingham
mike
 
mikejee, I hadnt noticed until you pointed it out. I dont really look at the faces because I wouldnt know anyone from that era.
 
mikejee

What about this one of Adolph surveying the bomb damage in Vincent St, Balsall Heath. What appears to make it even stranger is the fact that it looks as if he has no legs and he is just floating there.
 

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I'm posting this view to make up for my last slightly off thread post. This is a photo of Broad Street. I would think it was taken sometime in the 60's. It is the only one I have ever seen that shows the Tow Rope Café. A place where I had more meals than I did at home in the mid sixties.

It has been mentioned many times on this forum on many different threads, but I have never seen a photo.

Phil
 

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pmc, could I tell you some stories about the Tow Rope? The place itself and the regular customers.
 
mikejee, a bit off thread but I have an old mate who moved to walse. He is 90 next birthday and was a good motor mechanic after 6 years in the engine rooms of light destroyers during ww2. I writ to him every week and used to sen one like that every week until I could find no more on the net. I send him a few pages from the BBC peoples war now.
 
Stich you could tell all sorts of stories About lots of different things and I am sure we would like to here them perhaps we could start a thread just by you we could call it stitches stories I would love that not sure if the censors would though LOL
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