South Birmingham

Note that you can click on any old picture to see a larger version

Dogpool Lane Bridge
28/2/1954	3/4/2006
I thought it would be interesting to include these two pictures as the changes over 50 years are minimal - but not for long!  The modern view shows a 17T limit on the old bridge and there has long been a plan to replace it.  2012 is a likely date for this to happen.  I guess time will tell...

NX359 Fashoda Road
23/8/1954	3/4/2006
It's hard to believe that steam road rollers were still being used in the 1950's but my father's photograph proves it. On the corner of Fashoda Road was Allen's, purveyors of Barbers Teas.  I was surprise to find a much faded 'Allen's' sign just visible on the much altered shop building when I visited in 2006.

GPO Building, Dogpool
29/5/1955	3/4/2006
In 1955, a modern addition to the Selly Park section of Pershore Road was taking shape - a new telephone exhange for the GPO (General Post Office for those too young to remember!).  It's still there today but largely empty and unused as modern electronics have replaced the clumsy and noisy Strowger switches of the past.

Dogpool
27/3/1961	23/10/2005
Why isn't my modern view an accurate copy of my father's picture?  Because it was more intended to duplicate this old post card.  Comparing all three is interesting. The post card shows the Ten Acres Tavern on the corner of Pershore Road and St Stephens Road.  This was replaced by the Dogpool Hotel, seen in both pictures above, and it is now known as the New Dogpool Hotel.  On the corner of Dogpool Lane was the Dogpool Inn and the building was still there in 1961.  The row of shops to the right have remained in place, though much changed over the years.

Edwards Stores, Stirchley
July 1963	3/4/2006
Edwards Stores lay in the centre of Stirchley Village.  My parents were back in Birmingham and stocking up with goods after moving to Ledbury a few weeks earlier.  A view of the interior shows my mother on the right hand side with my brother, Keith, in his pram.

Holly Rd, Cotteridge
8/2/1960	3/4/2006
My parents moved to Holly Road after getting married and my brother was born in one of the houses on the left.  I have to say that I much prefer the consistency of the old days compared to how things look today.

Pershore Rd, Cotteridge
13/2/1962	3/4/2006
The most obvious difference between these two pictures is the loss of St Agnes's church to the left of centre.  However, note the missing first floor bay windows on the three storey buildings on the right, a real detrimental modification, in my humble opinion.

Friends Hall, Cotteridge
17/1/1963	3/4/2006
Another sad loss for Cotteridge, a village that otherwise maitains many nice old buildings, is the attractive Friends Hall that was built on Watford Road in 1901.  In my father's picture of 1963, the site is up for sale for the construction of shops.  There is still a Friends Hall behind the modern shops.

Jct Pershore Rd South, Wharf Rd
2/4/1964	6/4/2006
The busy five road interchange at Kings Norton.  Clockwise from the scene of both pictures are Pershore Road South, Wharf Road, Masshouse Lane, Redditch Road and The Green.  Note how many cottages have been lost on the approach to Redditch Road.  Also lost here was the characterful newsagent that was originally built as a chapel.

The Bell, Northfield
14/10/1962	3/4/2006
I remember The Bell at Northfield, but not the one in my father's picture.  It's modern replacement had a bad reputation and it was replaced by the shops seen in the photo from 2006.  Note how the little tower on the shops reflects a feature seen on the left of the original pub. The shop on the corner of Bell Lane was Huin's, a much loved shoe shop.

Bridge, West Heath Rd
9/5/1962	3/4/2006
The old bridge over the River Rea on West Heath Road was too narrow for modern times so had to be replaced.

Rubery Village
3/5/1962	5/4/2006
Rubery itself was (and mostly still is) part of Worcestershire and not part of Birmingham.  This picture, and the one below, show the border.  Where the grassy central reservation ends, the rear of a sign can be seen and that sign says, "City of Birmingham". The proof that these pictures really are of the same location can be seen in the shop building visible under the flyover on the left hand side of the picture from 2006.

Rubery Terminus
3/5/1962	5/4/2006
Now looking the other way towards the scene of the picture above, we can see the major changes that took place to accomodate the A38 flyover. The boarded up shop, ready for demolition in 1962, had been owned by M.Slim. Why Rubery Terminus?  Well, up until 1952, this had been the site of a tram terminus as seen in this picture.  For some colour pictures of this location in the early 1960's, click here.

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