RE: Alleys & Passageways of Birmingham - 10

#136 by astoness , Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:09 pm

i know it does lynne...i was going to say it must have been awful living in those conditions(and it probably was) but as we have said before it was a way of life back then and all that folk knew...

#137 by mikejee , Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:56 pm

Lyn
There seems to be another name for Crussell court, as you can see . Not sure who posted this . I assume it cannot be you, but it is clearly the same court, and I think yours is a cropped version of thsi one . You can also see in both pictures (part of) the Queens Head sign on the right. Also an 1889 map showing the yard, which agrees with the view

#138 by astoness , Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:00 am

thanks mike thats great...by the way there is still a queens head pub in steelhouse lane and i know its quite old..i wonder if by any chance it could be the same one as in the pic....ive just googled it and its down as number 28....think phil has got an older pic of this pub but here is a modern one...must do a bit of research on this one..will try and find out how old it is...mike maybe you can tell from the number if this queens head is on the same side of the road as the one in the old pic i posted...

lyn

#139 by phil ( deleted ) , Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:48 am

Lyn

The Queens head before the one that stands there now only dates back to the 1920's. I think there was a pub there prior to that, but I have no idea how old that one was. Perhaps Mike will know.

Phil

#140 by astoness , Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:14 am

phil is the pic of the queens head you have just posted and the todays queens head one and the same pub then...

#141 by astoness , Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:29 am

just going to raid my files to look for that gullet pic...sure i have got it somewhere..actually i will just go through all the posts in case its already been posted....no it hasnt so onward with my search...

#142 by mikejee , Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:25 pm

Lyn
McKenna shows a drawing made from the photgraph that I posted (& which seems to be the same as your picture) and says it is c 1870.There were three pubs called Queens Head.. The first was colloqueally known as the Stamp, because of the penny black stamp picture over the door. It was built in early18th century, but only became a pub in c1840. It was demolished 1884 as part of the Improvement scheme for the area around that which became corporation St. This was hil's picture and was built in 1889. This was demolished In 1960s for inner ring road development. although the map I posted is labelled c 1889, it must be before demolition of the first one, so is probably about 1883-4. Looking at the map and comparing it to google it would seem that the old pub was in the same positionn as the Jeckel & Hyde. I think (?) that is what the Queens Head is called now.
Mike

#143 by astoness , Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:17 pm

thank you mike for all that info..it all becomes much clearer now....

lyn

#144 by phil ( deleted ) , Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:40 pm

Posted by astoness
phil is the pic of the queens head you have just posted and the todays queens head one and the same pub then...

No I think the one in my photo was replaced by the one in yours, although quite when I'm not sure.

Phil

#145 by astoness , Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:46 pm

thanks phil..i thought it was...

#146 by Geoff1940 , Fri Nov 25, 2011 1:59 pm

Hi all,
I'm not familiar with forums so I hope I'm doing the right thing.
Regarding Alleys and Passageways of Birmingham, when I was a photography student at B'ham College of Arts 7 crafts in the 1950s, we were once given the task of night photography.
My photograph was a dark passageway in the city centre which I think was leading off New Street. I haven't lived in Brum since 1958 but go back now and then and have always searched for this passageway. I think it is Fire Office Passage aka Insurance Passage but if it is there have been major changes to it.
I have hopefully added my photographs of 1956 and 2011 to this post.
You will see that the 1956 pic has what looks like a connecting "bridge" between the buildings on which is painted "Journal Printing Offices".
There is also what appears to be a T junction to another passageway at the end.
The recent picture is definitley Fire Office Passage but it has no upper bridge and the passageway is now blocked off with some temporary structure which hides any T junction that might be there. There are also many fire escapes and bars at the windows which change the appearance so it may be the same passageway.
Can anyone confirm the location of my original photograph?
Geoff.

#147 by signman ( deleted ) , Fri Nov 25, 2011 6:14 pm

Geoff I think the Journal printing office was in Cannon Passage,which was the continuation of Fore Street (off Corporation Street) and ran into Needless Alley which is still there and your photo certainly looks like Needless Alley at the end, you would be able to check this out as Needless hasn't changed much over the years. , but Cannon Passage is now covered by a shopping plaza.

#148 by Geoff1940 , Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:13 am

John you are right!
I did a Google search for Cannon Passage Birmingham and came up with a Wikipedia article about a Dr. Sampson Gamgee. References to the article mention a book - "65 Years' History of the Birmingham Saturday Holiday Fund 1873-1938", published by the Journal Printing Office, Cannon Passage, Birmingham, 1938. This ties in exactly with the photograph I took.
Thank you for identifying the place. I can now sleep at night!
Geoff.

#149 by phil ( deleted ) , Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:55 am

Hi Geoff,

As far as I am aware Fire Office Passage still stands today, one of the last jobs we ever did in the city centre was to strip out the building that housed Bogarts Piano bar on New Street. Fire office Passage was at the rear of the building and one of the things I had to do was check out the alley to see if was accessible to our vehicles, which of course it wasn't. In the end we had to erect hoardings on New St outside the job.

If I remember correctly, this is Fire Office Passage between the bus stops and the Morris van.

Phil

#150 by Geoff1940 , Sat Nov 26, 2011 11:29 am

Hi Phil,
All sorted now.
I was in Brum this week and took a pic of Fire Office Passage which as you say is still there and is the one next to Paige in your pic.
It is now full of dumpsters and shoppers use it to park their bikes (chained to the dumpsters.) I attach that photograph.
I wouldn't like to be down there at night!
My 1956 photograph is certainly Cannon Passage and I attach a section of an old street map which shows it clearly.
Regards, Geoff.

Posts:	15.017
Date registered	02.24.2010

Posts:	3.265
Date registered	12.26.2009

Posts:	15.017
Date registered	02.24.2010

Posts:	15.017
Date registered	02.24.2010

Posts:	15.017
Date registered	02.24.2010


	Mainly For Brummies But All Are Welcome To Join In The Birmingham Fun & Chat