Brownhills Activity Centre: home to the Community Association and gardening club. Image from What’s On Walsall.

Bonita Clayton from Brownhills Community Association has been in touch, asking me to let you all know that tomorrow, Saturday 5th April 2014, there will be a special event at the Activities Centre, to celebrate the annual reopening of the Brownhills Community Association Gardening Club.

The whole shiboodle kicks off at 9:30am, and there will be free plants and refreshments and lots of green-fingered chatter and fun.

There will also be a tree planting ceremony in memory of the Seedhouses, who kept a popular Chip Shop in Brownhills for years; many of my generation will remember Harold well from the Galleon, but older folk will certainly recall Harry and Emma with equal fondness.

The event is being attended by our MP, Sir Richard Shepherd. It’s always nice to see him in Brownhills…

How gratifying to see that while Brownhills School finds supporting the local community way too much of a burden to bear, that the Community Association are still going strong.

The Community Association are based at Brownhills Activities Centre, just by the Miner Island in central Brownhills.

Bonita wrote:

Hi Bob

On Saturday 5th April 2014 we have Sir Richard Shepherd MP coming along to Brownhills Community Association at 9.30 am for the planting of a tree in the memory of Nita Jones’s parents and grandparents who for many years kept the Galleon fish and chip shop in Brownhills.

Everyone is welcome to come along, it should be quite an event as we have Yoke van der Meer our tutor to give demonstrations and advice on planting etc.

Yoke grew- up in Holland (the Netherlands) and trained and qualified as a Florist. Came to England in the early 80’s to learn more about plants and gardening.

Studied at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to obtain the prestigious RBG Kew Diploma in Horticulture in 1989 and since then has been employed in various nurseries and gardens.

She also worked as Head Gardener for South Staffordshire College, Rodbaston Campus for 11 years and in the last years has been a self-employed Garden and Plant Consultant!

We are very privileged to have Yoke working for us to create our Community Garden. I have attached our poster and a short piece of history about the galleon written by Nita. We would be grateful if you would put it onto your blog to give us a bit of publicity.

Many thanks Bob for all your support.
Bonita

Written by Nita Jones:

My grandfather Richard Henry (Harry) Seedhouse was gassed in the trenches in France during the First World War. This injury affected him for the rest of his life. When Harry came home, he and his wife Emma opened a fish and chip shop next to the Warreners Arms calling it the Galleon which then ran for many years.

During the 1930’s they had a van delivery service delivering to outlying villages  fruit, vegetables, fish and chips. This was at a time when there was very little public or private transport, fish and chips were wrapped in newspaper and the customers would warm them up in the oven, a real treat. This service was invaluable to people around Brownhills and the further afield.

Harry died in 1961 and Myrtle his daughter took over the shop, her husband Harold joined her shortly after. In 1975 the Galleon II was opened in the High Street, due to ill health the Galleon II was sold in 1980. Harold and Myrtle found it hard to retire so decided to take over the Shire Oak Newsagents which then ran until around 1990 before it was resold. 

Why not pop along?