A drone shot of the last remains of the Grove Colliery off Lime Lane. Image kindly shared by Steve Martin.
Last year I featured a very popular set of images from a place I genuinely didn’t realise still existed: The Grove Colliery, the remnants of which – the house and offices situated just off Lime Lane, between Pelsall, Brownhills, Norton and Great Wyrley – were documented by old pal off the blog Simon Swain and posted here as a gallery I include below.
Since then, drone wizard Steve Martin also captured the site from the air.
The Grove was one of the last collieries around Brownhills to go, and many local people worked there and were involved with it and the Harrison empire that ran it for so many years. Memories of this colliery are always bittersweet, as it was the site of the notorious 1930 disaster in which 14 men were lost.
In 2015 I posted a gallery of images of the Grove Colliery and surrounds, taken in the late 1950s and held in the Canal and River Trust archive – so those images have a waterways slant to them.
You may wonder why I’m returning to this now: Well, I’ve been contacted by reader Julie Smith who has strong family connections to the Grove and is seeking more information and maybe access to the remaining buildings, so I’m opening this to readers to see what you know.
Julie said:
Dear Bob,
Good afternoon
I was reading your blog about the above dated 24/4/16 where Simon Swain posted some photos of my nan and grandads old house! I have recently been in touch with Norton Canes Parish Council, as my grandparents lived in the house in Lime Lane for many years. Indeed I have many very happy memories of staying there in the school holidays in the 70’s.
The NCPC have had recent meetings regarding an historic building on Lime Lane known to them as the old Harrisons Building. I think this could be the house where my oldies lived; the house has office buildings and a kind of another house attached to the back of the house where they lived. Also there is the weighbridge building and some other houses further along the canal side site that remain.
It is the house where my oldies lived that interests me. I drive past every day on my way to work and would dearly love to get into the house again to take a look round. I don’t think anyone has lived there since my grandad died in 1977 and it would be interesting to see if any of their things remain in there.
Any other information that you have about the ownership of these buildings would be so gratefully received.
Thank you
Kind Regards
Julie Smith
I’m not certain, but I think the Wallace Estate may own the site. Can anyone help with that, or a contact pease?
Thanks to Julie for a remarkable and interesting enquiry!
If you have anything to add, please feel free: comment here or mail me. You know by know – BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Thanks.
