I know nothing about Betty, and even less of the Yates family. A great photo from Clarice Mayo and Geof Harrington’s book ‘Memories of Brownhills Past’.
So, back to some history – this is one I’ve been wanting to explore for ages, and never come up with a conclusive answer, but flicking through an old book, a caption popped on a lightbulb in my head.
Betty’s Lane in Norton Canes runs between Red Lion Road and Walsall Road, broadly parallel to Allbutts Road, which before the motorway came though, also joined the Walsall Road.
The roads crossed an area of heath and former mining land called Commonside – now partially host to the service area on the M6 Toll, but otherwise, mostly still scrub and farmland.
Commonside is broadly the area of no man’s land between Brownhills West, Little Wyrley and Norton Canes. Imagery from Apple Maps. Click for a larger version.
What interests me is Bettys Lane – who was Betty? I’ve never found a definitive answer.
Now whilst flicking through ‘Memories of Brownhills Past’ by Clarice Mayo and Geof Harrington, I noticed a photo, featured above of the Yates family who ‘Lived at the top of Allbutts Lane, on the way to Betty’s Well’.
Whoa. What and where was Betty’s Well?
There is still a farm at the truncated end of Allbutts Road, which existed on the 1902 map overlay below, which had a well. Was the Yates Farm Bettys? Was there a Betty Yates, or am I barking up the wrong tree?
If you have a view, please do comment here or mail me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers!
1902 1:1250 sale map from the NLS archive – Commonside overlaid on modern Google Earth imagery. No clue to Betty here. Click for a larger version.