-
Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.
We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
Villa Street Lozells
- Thread starter Astoness
- Start date
Eric Gibson
master brummie
I worked at Watsons in Villa Street from when I was about sixteen until I was twenty three or four (National Service excepted) but I only get a vague recognition of some of these photos.
Watson's was on the left hand side towards the top of the street, the workshop was a corrugated iron barn building lying well back from the road and we had a petrol pump with an arm that swung out over to footpath to serve cars at the roadside, the pump was operated by winding a handle not electric.
The Padmores filling station was built on the opposte side of the road just a little further up.
Going down the road on our side a few doors away there was a small grocery shop then further down Kent's factory where they made weighing and packing machines I believe, further down there was a small drapery shop then the cafe on the corner where we used to get our 'saus and tom' sandwiches.
I don't suppose anyone's got pics of that part of the street. E.
Watson's was on the left hand side towards the top of the street, the workshop was a corrugated iron barn building lying well back from the road and we had a petrol pump with an arm that swung out over to footpath to serve cars at the roadside, the pump was operated by winding a handle not electric.
The Padmores filling station was built on the opposte side of the road just a little further up.
Going down the road on our side a few doors away there was a small grocery shop then further down Kent's factory where they made weighing and packing machines I believe, further down there was a small drapery shop then the cafe on the corner where we used to get our 'saus and tom' sandwiches.
I don't suppose anyone's got pics of that part of the street. E.
Eric Gibson
master brummie
Thanks Lyn, I have seen that pic before and I think I posted some time ago on the thread you mentioned, haven't seen anything yet from the upper end of the street though. E.
sandracoley
master brummie
Hi everyone im searching for a deborah/debbie butler nee davies ..her last known address was 127 brantley road witton bham...i would think shes moved on from there ...she had a son called anthony roger davies who has a baby boy with a medical problem and we need to find anthonys mother to see if its hereditary..can anyone help .....all i have is that her birthday is 3 july i dont know what year.......
Kevkonk
master brummie
My family lived there for a while, he said there was a pub called 'The Vine', nicknamed 'Dirty' Dick's', as it was a small one bar pub, a bit rough.....
Also around the corner was 'The Waterloo', he spent his last hours of being single there before getting married in 1954. I have some snaps on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T6m-iLQs-s, Wills St
Also around the corner was 'The Waterloo', he spent his last hours of being single there before getting married in 1954. I have some snaps on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T6m-iLQs-s, Wills St
hi kev...i lived in villa st for 13 years and never heard the vine called dirty dicks...lol....i will ask our dad about that.....also the vine had two rooms undlees of course it only started out with one room....there is a pic of the vine under the pubs thread....the waterloo is now derilict and has a tree growing through the middle of it...will go and look at your u tube..thanks for posting it...
lyn
lyn
Kevkonk
master brummie
Hi, Thank you for watching it, I took my father round the place on his 50th Anniversery to get an idea of the area, and to St Francis where he was married. I wondered how long the Waterloo had been in that state and if it had just been forgotten about, I am surprised it has not been destroyed by vandalism, maybe we could claim it for nothing and rebuild it?
kev..its been like it for about 8 years i think....had a fire so i heard...tell you what..it it ever were possible to claim it and rebuild you can put my name down....was it your dad who lived in villa st...if you or the family have any pics of the street i would be very happy to see them...
cheers..lyn
cheers..lyn
Kevkonk
master brummie
Hi,
My father lived in Villa when he was single and also married while living there, so in all it was from 1953 to 1958. His landlady was Violet Devlin who was married to John Devlin. He lived at 193 Villa St, he said Violets mother lived across the road.
He said John Devlin had two sons Tyrone and John. He mentioned that John Devlin worked at McKechie? near Ladywood and he later moved to be closer to it?
My father lived in Villa when he was single and also married while living there, so in all it was from 1953 to 1958. His landlady was Violet Devlin who was married to John Devlin. He lived at 193 Villa St, he said Violets mother lived across the road.
He said John Devlin had two sons Tyrone and John. He mentioned that John Devlin worked at McKechie? near Ladywood and he later moved to be closer to it?
Kevkonk
master brummie
The rent for the week for the room at Villa Street was £1 then.
My father mentioned he worked for a couple of months on the lathe at 'Southalls', who made weighing machines etc. The money was not very good there and hence he moved on. He also worked a short time at 'The Angel' as a barman for Mr Harry Bishop(bit of a rogue?) at five bob an hour, with instructions to try and not fill the glass!!!!!
There were lots of small factories scattered around these streets at this time.
Unfortunately cameras and film were expensive then he mentions, and we have very little photographs of our childhood at all. Maybe he just was not inclined to take pictures or too busy working........
My father mentioned he worked for a couple of months on the lathe at 'Southalls', who made weighing machines etc. The money was not very good there and hence he moved on. He also worked a short time at 'The Angel' as a barman for Mr Harry Bishop(bit of a rogue?) at five bob an hour, with instructions to try and not fill the glass!!!!!
There were lots of small factories scattered around these streets at this time.
Unfortunately cameras and film were expensive then he mentions, and we have very little photographs of our childhood at all. Maybe he just was not inclined to take pictures or too busy working........
thanks for the post kev...so your dad moved out of the street as we moved in then....i went to school with a christine devlin...small world...and you are quite right there were little factories almost everywhere you turned...as you probably know the angel is still there..well the building is anyway...our dad spent many an hour in that pub and most of the others in the area...have you seen the pic of the vine inn...it was taken in 1958...
lyn
lyn
Kevkonk
master brummie
Hi again,
I think my parents wedding photo shows Mr & Mrs Devlin and 2 sons, and Mrs Devlin's mother, can show it if you like, just seen your picture it is great, I gotta put it on disc so dad can see it.
He mentioned to us many many times about a shop next to the Angel where an old man passed away and his niece came down from Scotland and was selling items from the shop. He bought an old cupboard/sideboard from her for £1 and despite it being small it seemed very heavy to carry down the road.. When he got it home the door on the cupboard was jammed solid and he had a job to prise it open, he finally got it open after a long time trying and found a rusty old sweet tin, like the assortment ones you get today, it was crammed full of half crowns!!!! which where slightly rusty themselves. Considering eight half crown coins made a pound, it was a very large amount of money!!!
Mother, upon being told of this find would not allow him to even count the money, and was adamant it must be returned asap, it was perhaps a sign of the honesty of the times and being perhaps godfearing that dad reluctantly, I suspect , returned the tin to the shop in the thought that this good deed would at least merit a reward from the lady. He got back to the shop and the lady barely thanked him at all and did not offer him a penny...... He has told us this story many times and I think this would rarely happen now.
I think my parents wedding photo shows Mr & Mrs Devlin and 2 sons, and Mrs Devlin's mother, can show it if you like, just seen your picture it is great, I gotta put it on disc so dad can see it.
He mentioned to us many many times about a shop next to the Angel where an old man passed away and his niece came down from Scotland and was selling items from the shop. He bought an old cupboard/sideboard from her for £1 and despite it being small it seemed very heavy to carry down the road.. When he got it home the door on the cupboard was jammed solid and he had a job to prise it open, he finally got it open after a long time trying and found a rusty old sweet tin, like the assortment ones you get today, it was crammed full of half crowns!!!! which where slightly rusty themselves. Considering eight half crown coins made a pound, it was a very large amount of money!!!
Mother, upon being told of this find would not allow him to even count the money, and was adamant it must be returned asap, it was perhaps a sign of the honesty of the times and being perhaps godfearing that dad reluctantly, I suspect , returned the tin to the shop in the thought that this good deed would at least merit a reward from the lady. He got back to the shop and the lady barely thanked him at all and did not offer him a penny...... He has told us this story many times and I think this would rarely happen now.
hi kev...what great memories your dad has...i could listen to these stories all day long....fancy him not even getting a reward for returning the money.....yes please we would love to see a pic of your parents wedding...glad you liked the vine in photo i thought you may want to show it to your dad....
lyn
lyn
Kevkonk
master brummie
Hi,
I found out from that picture that my uncle lived in a house to the left of the Vine for a while around 1958 and our dad did odd jobs for them, laying lino etc( another story there for another day) then had a pint or two next door, I never knew about any of this, so your picture has opened up much interest for me, amazing....
I showed him another picture of Villa St, and he mentioned some names of people who lived there, ' Paddy One Eye' who used to be a Warble Fly Inspector in Ireland, Clare? He also mentioned Susan Riley.
I found out from that picture that my uncle lived in a house to the left of the Vine for a while around 1958 and our dad did odd jobs for them, laying lino etc( another story there for another day) then had a pint or two next door, I never knew about any of this, so your picture has opened up much interest for me, amazing....
I showed him another picture of Villa St, and he mentioned some names of people who lived there, ' Paddy One Eye' who used to be a Warble Fly Inspector in Ireland, Clare? He also mentioned Susan Riley.
lindev
master brummie
Hi Kevkonk, so your dad lived in Villa street, i lived in wheeler street, not far from you but the strange thing is my dad was name john devlin but my mom was name kate, and my granddad was name john and i believe his wife was lizzie, then i have a uncle, name john devlin still alive 80 years old, my dad lived in the sasme house since he was child then we left in 1965, just wondering if this violet and john devlin could be any relations of mine, iv never ever hear anything about them from the family but my dad lost a lot of relations through one thing and another, christine devlin LINDEV
Kevkonk
master brummie
View attachment 44161
Hi Lin,
Thank you for your comments, I will ask dad tomorrow if he knows any more for you. I will have to ask him about their parents position on this photo
The two boys in the kilts ( is there an Irish version of this) are the ones called Devlin, 17th March 1954, St Francis.
I only found this colourised version I made from the original b/w one a while back.
Hi Lin,
Thank you for your comments, I will ask dad tomorrow if he knows any more for you. I will have to ask him about their parents position on this photo
The two boys in the kilts ( is there an Irish version of this) are the ones called Devlin, 17th March 1954, St Francis.
I only found this colourised version I made from the original b/w one a while back.
Kevkonk
master brummie
lindev
master brummie
Hi Kev, My dads family years ago came from tipperary ireland, and my dad went to st, francis;s school, he would have been 95 this year, hope this little bit of info helps your dad, thanks for your reply, very nice photo Kev thank you for showing it to us
christine devlin lindev
Kevkonk
master brummie
Hi,
The John Devlin my father knew came from Tyrone, he named one of his sons Tyrone. In fact John Devlin did not appear on the picture as he was working, he was a caster, but he came to the reception in the evening at The Man O'War pub in Wheeler St. The three lads in the photo are all Devlins son's, his wife Violet is on the right of the groom as we look at it, her sister is to the left of the bride as we look at it. A niece of John Devlin is the fourth from the right side, her friend is third from the right. Violets mother is the second from the right side as we look at it.
My father says that this John Devlin was older than himself, so this makes him a possibility. One of John Devlins boys, Patrick was he believes a very good boxer at the time and had fought some matches.
I wll continue to ask him more if I get the chance soon.
Cheers
Kev
The John Devlin my father knew came from Tyrone, he named one of his sons Tyrone. In fact John Devlin did not appear on the picture as he was working, he was a caster, but he came to the reception in the evening at The Man O'War pub in Wheeler St. The three lads in the photo are all Devlins son's, his wife Violet is on the right of the groom as we look at it, her sister is to the left of the bride as we look at it. A niece of John Devlin is the fourth from the right side, her friend is third from the right. Violets mother is the second from the right side as we look at it.
My father says that this John Devlin was older than himself, so this makes him a possibility. One of John Devlins boys, Patrick was he believes a very good boxer at the time and had fought some matches.
I wll continue to ask him more if I get the chance soon.
Cheers
Kev
Kevkonk
master brummie
(Hi,
The John Devlin my father knew came from Tyrone, he named one of his sons Tyrone. In fact John Devlin did not appear on the picture as he was working, he was a caster, but he came to the reception in the evening at The Man O'War pub in Wheeler St.)
This pub was called The Acorn at the time I understand.
The John Devlin my father knew came from Tyrone, he named one of his sons Tyrone. In fact John Devlin did not appear on the picture as he was working, he was a caster, but he came to the reception in the evening at The Man O'War pub in Wheeler St.)
This pub was called The Acorn at the time I understand.
F
Folio
Guest
The shop was once a cake shop and l used to live a few doors down in the 60's and early 70`s. I remember playing in this shop and in the house as l knew the family. The shop was at the front and a glass door led on to their lounge and the rest of the house. This cake shop once made a massive teared cake for a family who lived in the street - the photograph of the couple and their cake was in the Evening Mail at the time. The cake and the wedding went on for days and cars and vans of the guests stretched along the whole of the street - nearly from top to bottom. I recall my father saying that both local pubs ran out of beer on the night of the wedding and the brewery had to send another lorry out to resupply. Strange what you remember from when you were a child.....