The old photos I’ve selected this week are all unusual pictures of the area from unusual angles, and show the myriad of changes to our locality through the last century. As ever, do try to get copies of the original author’s work if you can find a copy. These people have worked hard to document and collate the local historical record and deserve our support wholeheartedly. I wish them well.
A very unusual picture of a rainy Brownhills High Street and the Warreners Arms from Waine House, which must have been quite new at this point. Note the petrol pumps on the forecourt of Forward Garage. Do you know who the man is in the picture? It certainly shows why one should take care with the captions in local history books… Cannock Road my arse. Taken from'Memories of Walsall: A Pictorial Record' by Alton Douglas.
Fascinating aerial shot of Brownhills at the turn of the last century. Aerial photography must have been a new and wondrous thing when this was taken. From 'Memories of Brownhills Past' by Clarice Mayo and Geoff Harrington.
Spot the difference - and what changes 50 years bring. The same view from 5 decades later. From 'Memories of Brownhills Past' by Clarice Mayo and Geoff Harrington.
A sadly poor reproduction of a picture I'd like to see better: an aerial shot of Walsall Wood. I don't believe you can actually see the Chester Road in this picture, but it's interesting, nonetheless. If you have a better scan of this photo, I'd love to see it and share it with the readers. This was taken from a recent acquisition 'Street Names of Brownhills, Clayhanger, Shelfield & Walsall Wood' by Walsall Local History Centre and Betty Fox, whom I'm sure may readers local to the Wood will remember being taught by...