A relatively late postcard of Brownhills – card spotted for sale on eBay from seller ‘mycab’. Click for a larger version.
Here’s a great one for a Bank Holiday weekend from local history author and history whizz Clive Roberts – and we’re interested to see what readers think about it.
Just about everyone interested in Brownhills local history has seen the above postcard showing Brownhills scenes, haven’t they? Fairly typical, postwar images; probably late 50s, early 60s, going by the cars and shops. We have St. James Church, the High Street looking north from the top of Silver Street, and looking south from near the Station Hotel.
And then, a canal scene. The canal scene has always been perplexing.
Note the level of the canal compared to the rooflines. I always tried to apply this to Silver Street mentally and failed.
Clive has been thinking about this image, and has postulated that this isn’t Brownhills at all: He thinks, and I’m inclined to agree, that this is a picture taken from the south eastern flank of the Black Cock Bridge in Bullings Heath, Walsall Wood, looking east towards Walsall and Pelsall.
This I think bears further investigation, and I’d be interested to see what readers think. The closest I can get at the moment is this augmented 3D image from Apple Maps, and the chimneys do correspond, but there seems to be a fair bit missing.
The ground levels appear correct, and the chimneys close, but a fair few buildings have gone. I need a better angle, I think. Image from the remarkable Apple Maps.
If readers have views on this, I’d love to hear them – particularly in reference to the subsidence legends in the area we’ve covered before here and here.
Thanks to Clive for a wonderful observation, and don’t forget folks, Clive’s latest book – ‘The Pubic Houses of Brownhills Part One’ is still available, and it’s a cracker – more on that later in the weekend. Click here for details.
Feel free to comment here or mail me – BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Thanks.