Sorry I’ve been largely missing in action for a couple of days. Festivities, and other stuff, including quite a bit of research, have kept me very busy. The research has been a revelation, the value of which will become clear in the next couple of weeks.
Posts may be a little odd over the next couple of days. I have had lots of odd, but important little queries to cover. Stick with it if things seem a bit disjointed.
In the mean time, blog stalwarts David Evans, Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler and Andy Dennis have been doing their bit to cement Anglo-Antipodean relations by helping Aussie reader Kesa resolve her family Genealogy in Brownhills.
Kesa’s enquiry found its way here all the way from Tasmania, itself a heartland of mining. It really is an odd thing that the reach of this tiny blog seems to stretch so far!
David Evans sent me a few images for the blog, one of which I never knew existed, to help Kesa get a feel for the history of Brownhills, and I include them here. Some have featured before, but they bear repeating.
Thanks to Kesa for her enquiry, and please do keep the questions coming! It has been a thing of fascination and true community so far, and I’ve been thoroughly gripped by the whole saga. Great stuff.
An incredible picture of Mount Zion, which stood in the High Street, Brownhills, round about where the Kwit-Fit garage is today. This wonderful image was found on Walsall COuncil’s ‘A Click in Time’ collection by David Evans.
This image – a 1926 Aerofilms classic of Brownhills shot from somewhere around the Catshill Junction area – shows Mount Zion clearly. It’s the large barn-like building, just down and right from centre. Click for a larger version.
This oddly-named chapel stood on the spot now covered by the Rising Sun Island, and was demolished to make way for it’s construction. Taken from ‘Memories of Brownhills Past’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
Mount Zion seems to occupy a prominent place in the hearts of many old Brownhillians. I can recall being told by an old lady that as children, they would stand in the road in front of Mount Zion and strain to see the time on the Council House clock. I hope it was more accurate then than now. From ‘Around Pelsall and Brownhills in old photographs’ by David F. Vodden.
I’m quite pleased to locate this picture. This church stood at the corner of The Parade and Watling Street; I remember it being demolished in the early seventies, watching the bulldozer destroy it from the field of Watling Street School. The perimeter wall remains to this day, as do the footings if one carefully explores. From ‘Memories of Old Brownhills’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
Another illustration of why one must be wary of statements in local history books. The chapel itself – the building on the left – is still extant and converted into apartments. The one on the right – the hall where I remember Jack Smith taking Sunday School is now a car park. Taken from ‘Around Pelsall and Brownhills in old photographs’ by David F. Vodden.