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Soho Hill

hi folks i have received this reply from the head of st james school re the old milestone...although he has no knowledge of it ever being in the school grounds it is always possible that the stone was removed from the school before he started working the 15 years ago...i just think this because of the info we have stating that that milestone was removed and placed in the grounds of st james school...in other words no smoke without fire...will still try and find out how reliable this info is...in the meantime and just for clarity and im not sure if you knew this viv but the milestone was orginally outside the denbro works which used to be dennisons watch where you worked...its next to the beehive pub...not sure when the stone was removed but the second pic was taken in early 68 showing the stone and the first pic taken sometime in 1968 showing the denbro building...bare in mind that the first pic does not show all of the building which ran right down to meet with the beehive pub so it could be that the stone was nearer to the pub and so out of shot..denbro works 1968 2.jpgmilestone 3.jpg

here is the reply i had from the head of st james school..

Dear Linda,

It is with great regret that I have to tell you that I have never seen or heard of the fabulous milestone that you are searching for.

I have been head teacher at St. James for almost 15 years and in that time have never heard of anyone speaking about the milestone.

Our school was rebuilt in 2007 and the site was completely overhalled with every square metre of the ground being surveyed and developed; I am certain that such a thorough exploration of the grounds would have found the milestone, if it were here, but it wasn't reported to us.

I will send your email out to my entire staff just in case any of my predecessors (there are a few who have been here longer than me) know anything about the milestone.

Good luck in your hunting.

Yours truly

Mark Lanyon
 
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Thanks for looking into it Lyn. Think you're right about 'no smoke ... etc' . The two photos you've posted are from Phyllis Nicklin's collection and strangely enough the blurb accompanying the photo's suggests the milestone disappeared. I too smell a rat! Anyway, if anyone has any info as to the whereabouts of a slim, but tall milestone, showing the signs of age and answering to the name of Soho Hill, do get in touch!! It's not the sort of object you could make off with very easily without someone noticing. Viv.
 
oh lol viv this stone is giving us the runaround and its not the sort of thing one could pop into ones bag lol..

right its onto holyhead school next..thanks very much for that info phil if it is there its just round the corner from st james school...will get back to you all..

lyn
 
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Mile Stone at Milestone Lane,Handsworth. (2).jpg Is this the Milestone you are looking for I took this outside Milestone Lane / Soho road a couple of years ago. If you Google Milestone Lane,Birmingham you will see it is in the corner of the railings in Holyhead school.
Regards
John
 
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thats it john..thats our milestone from soho hill...ive just had another email from the head of st james saying that one of his teachers can confirm its in the grounds of holyhead school but visible from the road..gosh im so relieved that it has been saved...i still want to go and have a look at it for myself but no rush now...

cheers john

lyn
 
Hi Lyn
Just looking at the two photographs of the Milestone but are the mileage different. The one I took says 111 Miles. the other although not clear I am sure says 110.?
John
 
Hi All ... This milestone was at Milestone Lane near to the Post Office on Holyhead Road remember sitting on it and eating my chips when returning hom fro the cubs at St James School Rich Keep Smiling
 
oh crikey john you are right...all the 3 milages are on this stone are 1 mile out on the one that was on soho hill...thanks mrpastry its just the sort of thing we would do as kids ..so now its back to square one...where is the soho hill milestone??..i am just going to bang my head against a brick wall lol..

lyn
 
Yes Viv I have seen those photos before. Denbro Works was Dennisons Watch Case Co and I went to school opposite here (Soho College). The milestone was always there when I was growing up.

Your point about the heath and the warrener's hut was also known to me. I grew up at Soho House which I was always told had been built on the site of the Warrener's Cottage on the heath. In the kitchen, under the flagstone floor, was a well which I was always told was called Warrener's well. However when I visited Soho at the time it was undergoing renovation for the museum I was taken down into the cellars as part of my tour and directly under the kitchen was a room (where was found remnants of the time when Soho House was a school) and it was in this room that the well was positioned.

Judy
 
Hello Old Plumber - Coincidence! I also live in South Devon and not far from you either. I'm in Torquay. I try to go back to Brum at least once a year if I can, and find that lot of the areas I knew have changed beyond all recognition. I like to remember them as they were when I lived there.

Judy
 
Katie - I don't remember the dentist named Cheffins. My dentist was on Soho Road at the junction with Villa Road, just a few houses from the photo Viv posted. Sorry I don't remember his name - it was a long time ago.

Judy
 
Hi Judy, I am pretty sure Cheffins was between St. Michaels Road and Soho Avenue, but there again it could have been between Soho Avenue and Park Avenue, I think I have said before I went to HKPS. After moving to Sutton Coldfield we still went to Cheffins for some time until I found a dentists in Aldridge, where I worked, and I still go there, a few teeth less!
 
Astoness said:
oh crikey john you are right...all the 3 milages are on this stone are 1 mile out on the one that was on soho hill....... i am just going to bang my head against a brick wall lol..

lyn
Click to expand...

Hi Lyn, like buses, you're waiting for one and two come along together! Two theories: maybe two stones were made at the same time OR the original stone was altered when it was moved. (Don't know if that's possible for a stonemason to do). Viv
 
Hi Judy. That's brilliant info, thanks. How incredible that those features are still there at Soho House. Viv.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Hi Lyn, like buses, you're waiting for one and two come along together! Two theories: maybe two stones were made at the same time OR the original stone was altered when it was moved. (Don't know if that's possible for a stonemason to do). Viv
Click to expand...

viv i thought that but then reading mrpastrys earlier post he remembers that milestone being near the post office on holyhead road near to the post office when he was young so it looks like there were two of them...

lyn
 
Vivienne14 said:
Right, got it Lyn. Now my turn to go and bang my head on a brick wall! Viv.
Click to expand...

or maybe on a milestone viv lol... i am now thinking that if our stone had been saved and placed elsewhere it would have been not far from its original spot and what better place to put it than in the grounds of soho house but a bit too easy i fear..anyhow when i have time and its a good day i will be taking a good walk around just in case i do bump into it..never say never..
 
For info, just found this photo of the '111 miles' stone on the Digital Handsworth site. Looks to me that it's against a wall, although it could just be the photo. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalkHD1389307352.236433.jpg
 
On this 1832 map extract from the Boundary Commission Report it shows 2 Milestones (MS) and and a Tollgate (TG - think Hamstead/Villa Rd Tollgate) around the Soho Hill area. Against both MS's it has a #2. Don't know what the '2' represents. Can anyone help here? Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalkHD1389436463.270429.jpg
 
Hi Katie . Cheffins was 129 Soho Hill ... Btw Soho Ave & St Michaels Rd ... premises are still standing but look a little tired now ... also it was approx; 30yrd away from the milestone that has been the subject of several messages as to its present location.
Regard Rich ... Keep smiling
 
Re. the milestones:
I grew up just off Soho Road, and regularly passed the milestone near to Milestone Lane - logical that the lane was so named because the milestone was there? Presumably, this is the stone reported to be at Holyhead School.
I also passed the milestone outside Dennison's at the top of Soho Hill, when on the bus into town. The last time I remember both of them was, I think, around 1970.
The concept of milestones is that there was one placed every mile along a route (hence one shows 111 miles, and the other, 110 miles), so not only were there the two mentioned in this thread, but there must have been others!! Working towards the city from the top of Soho Hill, a mile away is Great Hampton Street -does anyone remember if there was a stone along there?
Similarly, there should have been one near the Birmingham/West Bromwich boundary.
 
Hi Judy,
It sure is a small world?.Yes Birmingham has changed so much since I left,the house I was born in [Gt Brook St]has gone,the school I went to [Birchfield Rd] has gone & even the church where we got married in in 1955[St Agnes,Cotteridge] has gone,do's that mean our marriage is now null & void !!!!.The Beacon cinema,Gone,The old "Scott Arms",Gone,The old "Horns of Queslett" Gone.But I do have all the memories of these places.
Best wishes Brian
 
The c 1889 maps show the milestones at soho Avenue and Milestone road, but none (unless I have missed it) , nearer the centre. They were probably removed when the area became
milestone_near_Hawthorns_map_c_1890.jpg
more built up. the one near the Hawthornes is shown below.
 
Bryn Meurig said:
Re. the milestones:
I grew up just off Soho Road, and regularly passed the milestone near to Milestone Lane - logical that the lane was so named because the milestone was there? Presumably, this is the stone reported to be at Holyhead School.
I also passed the milestone outside Dennison's at the top of Soho Hill, when on the bus into town. The last time I remember both of them was, I think, around 1970.
The concept of milestones is that there was one placed every mile along a route (hence one shows 111 miles, and the other, 110 miles), so not only were there the two mentioned in this thread, but there must have been others!! Working towards the city from the top of Soho Hill, a mile away is Great Hampton Street -does anyone remember if there was a stone along there?
Similarly, there should have been one near the Birmingham/West Bromwich boundary.
Click to expand...


yes bryn you are correct the stone that was near to milestone lane is just inside the gates of the school so we know that one is safe..thanks for letting us know when you last saw the one outside dennisons..my ideal place to put it when it was removed would have have in the grounds of soho house..i cant think of a better place for it..be great if it was there but ive not heard of anyone saying that it is..next time i am that way i will just have a quick look around the grounds of the house..

lyn
 
Astoness said:
yes bryn you are correct the stone that was near to milestone lane is just inside the gates of the school so we know that one is safe..thanks for letting us know when you last saw the one outside dennisons..my ideal place to put it when it was removed would have have in the grounds of soho house..i cant think of a better place for it..be great if it was there but ive not heard of anyone saying that it is..next time i am that way i will just have a quick look around the grounds of the house..

lyn
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Am I correct but is the West Bromwich boundary with Birmingham-at Island Road- only a relatively 'new' border (early 1900's) since Handsworth at one time (and everywhere west) was in Staffordshire. However the route is the famous A41 road from London to Holyhead so one would expect a milestone at that location coincidentally.
 
hi richie and mr respectful
you also had the well known boundry cafe for truckers and travellers as a land mark
it was well known and popular just like the M1 cafe was for travelers and of course bikers i used to go there quite often
It was known as the BOUNDRY CAFE right through until about mid sixties if i am correct possible thou seventys
i know there was members whom also recall it best wishes Astonian;;
 
Richie
Earlier I showed a map giving the 4 mile milestone marked near the Hawthorns. The othwer two mentioned would presumably be the 3 & 2 mile ones, leaving only the 1 mile stone, which seems to have disappeared before 1889
 
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