Author Topic: Runcorn Road  (Read 9171 times)

Anne from Stirchley

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Runcorn Road
« on: April 27, 2011, 09:53:43 PM »
Anyone have a clue where Runcorn Road is? Moseley maybe? My aunt who lived next door to us had a little grocery store there for decades. It was the greatest treat for me to be taken there by my aunt and allowed to wait on the customers.
 
Also, anyone ever heard of Walker's cafe in Highgate? That was run by my father's family too.

Phil

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Re: Runcorn Road
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2011, 10:27:02 PM »
Runcorn Rd runs from Moseley Rd to Ladypool Rd in Balsall Heath, between Clifton Rd and Brighton Rd. You can see it in the middle of this map section.
 
Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

frederick

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Re: Runcorn Road
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2011, 10:29:45 PM »
A cousin of mine lived in Runcorn rd, it ran from Ladypool rd to Moseley rd.
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Anne from Stirchley

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Re: Runcorn Road
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2011, 11:27:28 PM »
Phil, thanks for the map. Is that area anywhere near Highgate? That's where my late father grew up I think. Is there such a place as Highgate?

Bruce

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Re: Runcorn Road
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2011, 01:30:12 AM »
Just have a look on google maps, you will get to see everything very clearly in streetview.

I live around 200yards from runcorn road, in moseley.

Ladypool road (balsall heath) is a 1 mile street full of grocers and restaurants which connects stratford road (sparkbrook) to moseley. Ladypool road runs parallel with alcester road, which joins the south city centre (highgate!!) all the way to outskirts of the city (druids heath etc) where it begins to get slightly rural (horses etc).

Runcorn road, connects ladypool road and alcester road at a right angle. It is solid rows of compact terraced housing with a few courtyard/squares towards one end, which contain more tiny homes.

The balsall heath, sparkbrook & sparkhill areas are mainly inhabited by people of south asian origin, 3rd generation immigrants. Im told by older local people, that ladypool road used to be very run down in the early 1970's with a lot of closed shops/abandoned buildings. The new people came and made the grocers and restaurants, and it is now thriving with well-kitted out independent businesses.

The homes are in very high demand, runcorn road is very popular with bangladeshi's who run the restaurants. It is common to find two families or more sharing the tiny terraced houses.

There is no signs of any grocery store actually on runcorn road. There is also not many old things still in highgate. Highgate is mainly 1960's-70's high rise flats and cheap/bad housing estates stuck in between the big roads that enter the city centre. There are ugly schools, shops and churches from the 60's and 70's too. A lot of it is being knokced down, but there is little new being put in its place.

Phil

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Re: Runcorn Road
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2011, 09:34:09 AM »
Hi Bruce
 
Welcome to the forum, from your comments you obviously know little of the area that you now live in pre 1970's. I hate to disagree with a new member but it was from 1970 onward that Balsall Heath problems started. Prior to that it was a bustle of industry, activity and community.
 
Ladypool Rd was one of the best known shopping streets in the area and only started to struggle when the planners started to rip the heart out of the area.
 
All the present residents seem to want to do is pat themselves on the back for what they have done since the 70's. They seem to forget it was them that let the area decline into the state that it became. I have said often they keep going on about the miracles they have wrought since the 70's but say very little of what the area was like prior to that.
 
Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

Phil

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Re: Runcorn Road
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2011, 09:39:26 AM »
Anne
 
The shops you refer to were halfway down Runcorn Road on the right hand side going toward Ladypool Rd. I used to pass them by quite often if I went to school that way. If I remember correctly there were three or four of them. The first photo shows the location of the shops today. They were located between Oak Avenue & Ash Avenue.
 
The map shows the distance between Balsall Heath & Highgate, just follow the Moseley Rd and you will find both locations.
 
Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

frederick

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Re: Runcorn Road
« Reply #7 on: April 28, 2011, 09:56:04 AM »
The paper round that i had for a short time was Runcorn rd the news paper shop was on Ladypool rd oppersite Runcorn rd, to get to the rear of my cousin house we had to go up the first very nice Avenue on the right coming from Ladypool rd.
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roy one

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Re: Runcorn Road
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2011, 10:02:15 AM »
hi fred
          i remember a diffrent runcorn road and ladypool road going back to the late 40s and 50s most had a bathroom and an inside loo not like us lot from the other side of Moseley road
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Phil

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Re: Runcorn Road
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2011, 10:06:32 AM »
Were there any inside bathrooms in Birmingham Council housing stock before Councillor Jackson got the contract to fit them?
 
Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

Bruce

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Re: Runcorn Road
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2011, 06:20:13 PM »
Hi Bruce
 
Welcome to the forum, from your comments you obviously know little of the area that you now live in pre 1970's. I hate to disagree with a new member but it was from 1970 onward that Balsall Heath problems started. Prior to that it was a bustle of industry, activity and community.
 
Ladypool Rd was one of the best known shopping streets in the area and only started to struggle when the planners started to rip the heart out of the area.
 


I admit I know little about what the area was before, I started living on ladypool road in 1984 (when I was born!) so only know it well after then. I spoke to an old chap who used to be a delivery/sales rep for ever ready batteries who used to visit the area on his rounds. He is th one that told me that it used to be very run down before the immigrants started coming in.

I have seen something similar occur in sparkbrook, the end of stratfrod road which was near the city centre. While I was growing up it was just a mess of abandoned/poorly kept shops, a lot of them literally selling scrap/junk. A few years ago the somali's starting moving in and making grocery stores, internet shops and cafe's. I presumed it was a similar scenario with ladypool road.



 

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