I’ve had this one in preparation for a while, and to paraphrase, it’s an absolute boster of a post. Regular readers will remember with fondness Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe, who has previously sent scans of some remarkable postcards of Brownhills, a stunning large set of Aldridge, and another bunch from Aldridge and Stubbers Green – all of which were collected by her late father.
As if that wasn’t enough, Ruth also supplied tranche from Chasetown and around that prompted some great debate, and I have something for the bus-spotters from her in store for a later date too.
With a Christmas theme in mind, a further set has been lovingly assembled featuring postcards of disparate local subjects, and some very snowy seasonal pictures from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Ruth has documented the whole thing beautifully, and has some very touching things to say at the end about readers, fellow history ferrets and indeed this blog.
I’m sure you’ll all join with me in wishing Ruth a very happy Christmas and a peaceful, prosperous and contented New Year; I thank her for her wonderful scans and insight. I know well the work this will have taken. Thanks, Ruth. Always appreciated, and I always welcome anything you have.
I ask (probably in utter futility) that readers don’t strip these images and post them to Facebook – please share a link to the post, thus keeping discussion together. I love to share this stuff, but if it is to be useful, we need to keep the comment and discussion with the images as far as is possible. Cheers.
Comments please, or you’re welcome to mail me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com.
Ruth wrote:
Hello again Bob,
I have scanned some postcards and photos which all have a ‘Season’s Greetings’ theme.
As ever, if any of these are of no interest then please feel free to ‘Bah Humbug!’ them! I have done my best reading the hand writing, apologies for any howlers I have made in interpreting the script!
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Tixall Hall is post marked No. 10 05 and addressed to Mrs Parker, Marble Terrace, Studley Nr Redditch. It reads:
Dear Mrs Parker, Just a few lines hoping they will find you quite well we are having very wet weather, over here, and very cold hope we shall very soon have xmas here it does not seem very long since last xmas; I am very well myself and hope you are too, hope to see you when you come to Stafford again with love from Edith
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Stafford Lane, Hednesford, which interestingly looks far more colourful on the scan than in real life has the postmark date De 21 05 and is addressed to Miss M. Davenhill, Crossfields, Weeping Cross, Stafford. It reads:
Dear M. Just a line to wish you a very Happy New Year. I hope it will prove a more prosperous one than this last Had another present from W J this morning. Am sending S&F a p.c. Beachy (? word difficult to make out) cold here today have not been out yet. Feel very seedy. Hope you are well. With love H.C (? I think those are the initials)
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
View from Station, Shenstone has a hand written date of ‘Jany 15/41’ and reads:
My dear Fred & Maude. Am writing a few lines for Dad. We all thank you very much for the lovely fowl which we have enjoyed & finished off today it was very tender. Hope this wintry weather will soon go & that you all will keep free from colds. It is lovely to have a few peaceful nights. Dadda joins with us in wishing you all a very Happy Morosperons (? sorry can’t read this word well) New Year. With Best Love from all to all. Hope all keep well Yrs Alice (? may be Alies)
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Lichfield Street, Walsall. Is not posted but is dated on the front Xmas 1901 ‘With Season’s Greetings from’ and I think the initials read W. H. C.
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Arboretum, Walsall is postmarked 08 and is addressed to Mr & Mrs Osbourne, Station Rd, Aldridge and simply reads:
109 Victor (? I think) St. Wishing you a happy xmas & a bright and prosperous new year. Ash
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Arboretum, Walsall, Showing Grammar School is postmarked JA 2 05. As you can see the address has been partially obscured as has the signature but what is left reads:
Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous New Year from all of us.
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
Greetings from Walsall is post marked DE 24 07 and is addressed to Mrs N Noisey (? …. I really can’t read this but I love the idea of a Mrs Noisey!) 7 Meredith St, Garshon, Liverpool. It reads:
To wish you both a very Happy Xmas from E and J.
Image generously supplied by Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe.
The Castles, Walsall Wood isn’t posted and has no message but it is my Very Happy Christmas and thank you to Clive L Roberts for his wonderful ‘Snippets of History In and Around Walsall Wood’ which I was so very lucky to get from him via eBay – this would have been top of my Dad’s Christmas wish list if he had still been with us and it is a wonderful collection of Snippets! Thank you!
The snowy photos of Lichfield and Hammerwich were all taken during the same year, about 1979/80/81ish but I can’t remember exactly.
And while I am thanking all those amazing local historians out there, can I also throw in a very sincere and heart felt thank you to Graeme from the Great War Forum, Index to Walsall newspaper, for his amazing research in finding and putting a face to my Great Uncle who died in action in 1918.
And a HUGE thank you to Brownhills Bob for your super site. Sharing Dad’s love of Staffordshire and Midlands local history with you, and your enthusiasm has helped me so much this year. So to echo these messages from the past I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a very happy and prosperous New Year. (I’ll keep scanning in 2015)
Very best wishes
Ruth
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Brilliant post, thanks Bob and. Ruth
Hi Bob
excellent! Thanks to you and to Ruth..The Shenstone postcard ..I think the wooden single storey hut was a shop at one time..possibly,selling fruit and veg..early 1950s..can readers confirm or correct, please. .and a bright and prosperous New Year to you, fully endorsing the sentiments expressed by Ruth. Looking forward to hearing from Mrs Noisey, too!
kind regards
David, youngish
What a lovely post. Aldridge mostly as I remember it – until the planners got their mits on it and cut its heart out and left it the heartless concrete mess it is now.
A recent picture of the remaining gateway of Tixhall Hall
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/20138332?tag=English%20Buildings%20Listed%20Grade%20I
A view from across the Canal…
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/20140075
An illustration from 1686 by Robert Plot’s Natural History of Staffs..
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/91553549
For a walk round the locality see 19 photos from here…
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/20143157
Google Street View shows that the old terrace house, 7 Meredith Street still survives.
Lovely cards, thank you Bob and Ruth, and a very Happy Christmas and New Year to everyone.
Great post Bob lovely postcards I think the word you cannot read very well on the Shenstone postcard is prosperous
I love these old pictures; thank you very much, Bob and Ruth. The Hednesford Tourist Board should use the one of Stafford Road: most idyllic!
I’m sorry to disappoint everyone but I think that “Mrs. Noisey” is in fact Mary Ann Worsey, who was born in Cannock in 1859 and was living with her husband William, a railway policemen, at 7, Meredith Street, Garston in 1911.
I’ve tried deciphering the postcard to Miss Davenhill and think it’s something like “am sending S & F (two mutual friends?) a p.c. (postcard). Blowy cold wind here today. (I did wonder about “Bloody cold wind” but doubt that would have been thought appropriate in Edwardian times, let alone on a postcard to an unmarried lady!)
The postcard of Stafford Lane may give a glimpse of Stafford House on the right, as shown on the 1900 map. Long gone and not much information.
There is a view that could be taken in the opposite direction seen here…
http://www.oldukphotos.com/staffordshire-hednesford.htm
Nice one Ruth thankyou
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I was just re reading this item and was prompted by the card of “The Castles” to
think back to my very early years in Castle Rd. It would have been late 1940s and
my grandfathers sister Grace Wright (nee Edwards) was married to Doug Wright.
They lived in the double fronted house 1st past the farm/timber yard which in those
days was number 3 Castle Rd. Doug was one of the few people who I knew who had/drove
a car. Doug was the chauffeur to the Goodyears who lived in the house in the grounds of
“the Castle Hill fort”
Oops….
Sorry folks and the family, It was Walter Wright not Doug, he was Wal’s cousin.
Walter Wright was the chauffeur and was married to my great aunt Grace
Thank you for sharing the postcards, particularly intriguing is the one of Tixall. Having seen it often as it stands today , it was nice to see how it was previously with the grand house behind.
Thank you Ruth and Bob for sharing these. They are beautiful. I had to look twice at the ‘morosperons’ word too,i think it is &prosperous.it seemed to be a common sentiment in cards years ago.I think its lovely that people sent postcards like this to preserve scenes for future generations. Among my Moms photo’s were a couple of Christmas postcards with photographs of my parents as children, in fact its the only photo i have of my mom as a child and i treasure it.I’ll post them on the facebook link to this for you to see. My mom came from a large mining family,certainly not well off and i dare say camera’s and photographs were the last things you would buy,with a big family to feed, so i wondered if these postcards were done at school, although my Dad’s says 1931, so he would only have been 4 and i don’t think they started school until 5, back then… did they ? Thanks again and keep the old photos/cards coming as they are lovely to see.
Just remembered my Dad was actually born 1926 so he would have been 5, so the photo postcards could have been done at school.Maybe some of the older members of the group may know ?