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Smithies

Vivienne14

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
This is the Co-op smithy on Great Brook Street in 1950. A necessary operation for the many horses used for Co-op transport. But it's days must have been numbered as lorries and vans soon took over their role. Viv.

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Presumably was somewhere around here - Co-op Transport Dept still visible on the building. Viv.

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When I worked on Co op milk at Hall Green, the stable hands used to do whatever smithy work was required on site. When it had snowed in the night we would have to wait while the studs were fitted into the metal shoes. In each horse shoe there were I think three but there may have been four square holes and the studs were fitted into the holes.
Excuse my attempt at drawing, but you can see now why I sew and follow a pattern for a hobby.
This is what the studs looked like, they were about an inch long and the square peg was hammered into a hole in the shoe. This prevented the horse from slipping on the ice.
 

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The Royal Small Arms smithy at Sparkbrook in 1897. Image from the Navy and Army Illustrated, April 1897. Viv.image.jpeg
 
Born and bred in Sparkbrook, 1938/61 and whilst I've always thought of it as "Residential " I realize that there were many small factories scattered throughout the area.
As kids we would help ourselves to goodies from skips just inside the doorways, which must have been placed there for pickup.
These goodies could be anything from reject golf balls to metal offcuts which we used as throwing knives which we threw at advertising hoardings.
Oh happy days, cheers Tim
 
As regular readers of transport threads will know I have always had a great love for trams, buses and trains.
A friend and I decided we would build our own bus. We scoured the area for metal and metal objects which we considered would be suitable for purpose - strangely we ignored timber - and stored them at the bottom of my friends garden. We were both about 12 years of age at the time.
Sadly this venture came to an abrupt end when his father decided that there was far too much junk accumulating in his garden.
 
There was a blacksmith on Ormond St, close to Newtown Row. We would watch him make horseshoes for hours, we knew what to do...
Dave A
 
The old smithy and open forge at Digbeth. From Dent's History of Birmingham 1880. Viv.
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