Author Topic: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940  (Read 37017 times)

barryellson

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Re: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940
« Reply #44 on: August 03, 2012, 01:52:20 AM »
The middle of the three pictures posted by Phil on January 20 2011 of Angelina Street, is in fact of No. 52 Darwin Street and the terrace behind it.  Thye terrace of houses was directly opposite Salop Street which led to Highgate Park.  I have seen the same photograph elsewhere as Angelina Street.  However, I knew the terrace well both as a child and a young adult.  It appears to have originally been named as Highgate Park Terrace.  By 1915 it was styled as Court 8, and later known as 'back of 52'  It was from Court 8, house 2 Darwin Street, that my grandfather enlisted in 1915.   My grandmother lived there at 2 back of 52 from 1913 until her death in January 1963.  The factory in the background is Samuel Heath in Leopold Street.   
Barry
3 August 2012
 

Phil

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Re: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940
« Reply #45 on: August 03, 2012, 09:03:51 AM »
Hi Barry
 
Welcome to the forum, normally I would accept that a photo has the wrong information with it, as when you have collected as many photo as I have you will accept that it is a common occurrence. Not that I doubt what you are saying, but I do have one concern and that is the OS map from the 1890's shows Highgate Park Terrace as being a different layout as to that of the photo.
 
A lot of back courts underwent a lot of improvements in the early 1900's so that might account for the changes, but they would have had to been pretty extensive.
 
As for the change in name, there was nothing unusual about that, a back court or terrace could be known by several different names at the same time. When we lived in Nechells our house was 1 Reuben Place, Inkerman Street, though our mail was always addressed to 1/144 Inkerman St.
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

barryellson

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Re: Darwin Street
« Reply #46 on: August 03, 2012, 03:05:50 PM »
Hello Phil,
 
Thank you for your prompt response.  Now that I have seen your map - I must try to get a copy - it is easier to distinguish Court No. 8 from its neighbours.  Highgate Park Terrace was indeed opposite Salop Street and unlike its neighbours, it seems not to have been numbered.  Court No. 8, where my grandparents lived, clearly underwent change in the Nettleforld improvements of 1901-4 that you refer to.  The buildings on the north side of the court yard must have been taken down for, as I recall it, the ground in front of my grandparents house was cleared.
The first three or four houses on the north side of Salop Street were missing too in the days that I knew the area.  Whether they were lost because of age and decay or through bomb damage, I don't know.  An 'aunt' of mine (actually a cousin of my mother) lived in the first house as you progress up Darwin Street on that side.  And then you come to Paradise Terrace.  These houses had a front and back garden.  The front doors faced down the street and were accessed by a fairly wide open passageway.  A narrow passage gave access to the back entrance and this passageway contained the wash house and toilet block.  The houses must have been regarded as superior to their neighbours.  My grandparents, William and Elizabeth Whitehouse lived at No. 1 Paradise Terrace from 1934.  My granddad bred greyhounds in what was the front garden.  Family legend has it that he bred the winner of the first race at Hall Green when it opened.  The story is backed by a brass model of the winning dog, named Galice.  The model was made by Pearson and Page (Pearage) whose works were close to where my grandparents lived in Lower Essex Street.  (Oh dear, I'm begining to ramble!)
One last point.  Had your map spanned out a tad further it would have taken in the courtyards on the other side of the road.  One of these, after undergoing Nettlefold improvements - I believe that the two houses facing onto the Street, with an entry between, were taken out and the court yard opened up -  was then renamed as Clifton Terrace.  It was here that I spent the first six years of my life.  However, as you will have realised, both sets of grandparents and other relatives lived in the street so that my memories stretch over a twenty year period. 
The time spent with my grandfather was a great joy to me.  My memoiries confound those who say back to back life was miserable.
Again, thank you for getting back to me
regards,  Barry
 

Phil

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Re: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940
« Reply #47 on: August 03, 2012, 03:16:34 PM »
Barry
 
I will put you in touch with a site where you can buy all the OS maps you want through the years. I can't link you to them on the forum because they are a commercial site and that would be advertising. I will send you a PM with a link to the site, but I will warn you in advance that in 1938 both adjacent courts still looked the same layout on the map.
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

mikejee

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Re: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940
« Reply #48 on: August 03, 2012, 03:24:34 PM »
I cannot speak with any personal knowledge of the relevent streets, but thought I would check on the electoral rolls  (in this case for 1920) which number was next to court 8 in the two streets, and amazingly no 52 is next to court 8 in both Angelina & Darwin Streets. On the roll for Darwin Street, Highgate park terrace is not listed, so possibly it merged with court 8, not just changed name. This would make the Darwin St attribution possibly correct.However the c1913 map does not show this merging, and the c1938 map seems to have lost the buildings in the picture(see below) (if that is the correct place). It is a but complicated, and  still a bit of a mystery

barryellson

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Re: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940
« Reply #49 on: August 05, 2012, 10:29:39 AM »
Thank you for letting me have the site for the O.S. Maps.  I will go into it and make a choice.
The changes to those few courtyards by 1938 is noticeable.  It is from a whole decade later and the years beyound that my memories stem.  In 1948 I was six years old.  One of my regular tasks was to fetch a loaf from the samll grocer and general provisions store run by a Miss Alice Barton - then, I guess, in her mid-sixties.  Her shop was at No. 58, just two doors up from where my great grandparents had lived.  The crusty bloomer somehow never fully survived the short trip back, but lost at least one end.  "I banged into the wall as I turned into the yard, gran" I would say, to expalin the missing chunk.  My grandmother would smile and as she sent me off on the errand the next time would caution me to "mind that wall!". 
Just beyond the shop was some faded white lettering on the bluebrick wall - rather like the lettering on the Beatles album 'Abbey Road'.  In captials, it read HIGHGATE PK. TERR. and was meaningless to a small boy. A whole swathe of the housing on that side of the street had gone by then and the resulting space was taken over by T. J. Priestman.  That factory, like Samuel Heath, faced onto Leopold Street with the rear of their premises overlooking the houses in Darwin Street.  Priestman's was a metal factory.  By day and night it carried out the business of smelting down the fuselages of aircraft.  There was a constant screeching and groaning as the bodies were fed into the furnaces, to the accomaniment of sighs and roars as the fires did their work.  The furnaces were massive and seemed to gorge on this diet of broken metal without pause.  Like any constant noise it became so normal that it faded into the background.  As young boys we would try to get into the compound and find pieces of Perspex from the canopy of the aircraft.  You could shape this into all kinds of things.
Part of the area of the compound was once covered by a block of houses rather grandly referred to by my granddad as Brighton Avenue.  There can't have been many of those in that area.   Like Clifton Terrace, this must have been renamed in the wake of Mr Nettlefold's turn of the century improvements.
Thank you for replying - and for spurring the memory!
regards,  Barry
 

Maria

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Re: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940
« Reply #50 on: August 10, 2012, 03:10:28 PM »
Hi all, I am Maria Russell ( as was) the mother of Shelley, Cousin of Don. it is so lovely to be able to remember all the places and thoughts of yesteryear. I lived at 8 back of 78 Angelina street and my Nan (Ginny) Jane Russell and Aunty Beatey Uncle Martin and Cousin Christine McCarthy, all lived around the corner in Stanhope Street I think it was called.
We all moved out in around 1957 as the goverment decided to demolish the area. we moved to Kings Norton. very posh and in the country at that time.
I loved living in Angelina street, my Nan and Aunty and cousins around the corner, Grandad in Moseley area and I went to St Ann's infant school.
Love the photos. thanks all for the memories.  :)

Phil

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Re: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940
« Reply #51 on: August 10, 2012, 03:16:48 PM »
Hi Maria
 
Welcome to the forum, hope you can find somebody or something to relate to here.
 
Phil
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

dennis houghton

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Re: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940
« Reply #52 on: November 28, 2012, 04:43:11 PM »
can anybody help me i doing family tree i want to know anythink about william turner 3bk 86 stanhope st and amy houghton 8 angelina street they where married on xmas day at st alban the martyr in stanhope street 1917 during the 1st world war ???

Phil

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Re: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940
« Reply #53 on: November 28, 2012, 07:35:49 PM »
Hi Dennis
 
Welcome to the forum, I had relations called Houghton that lived in Vincent Street & Balsall Heath Rd.
Phil died in 2020. RIP.

dennis houghton

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Re: Angelina street and William Henry Street 1940
« Reply #54 on: November 28, 2012, 07:53:18 PM »
what where the names of the houghtons there might be a connection example robert monk houghton my dads dads dad ::)


 

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