Top bloke and contributor Stevie378 recently commented that a relative was in a local mine rescue team. With that in mind, and especially for his mum, whom I know to be a keen reader of this blog, I’ve dredged the internet and fired up the scanner to bring you some pictures of the proud volunteers who saved many lives. These were men of immense bravery, the first into a dangerous situation, their only consideration the rescue of their workmates. Walsall Wood in particular has a spectacular and honoured history in this respect, and I will return to that in a later post.
I can’t really add much to the original captions on these, so please excuse the brevity.
I thank all those who have sourced these images – Brian Rollins, The Edditor, David F Vodden. Jan Farrow, Walsall Local History Centre. Please, please buy their books and support their tireless, invaluable work.
From 'Brownhills and Walsall Wood ion old picture postcards' by Jan Farrow.
Walsall Wood Mines rescue team 1957, from The Edditer's flickr stream. I find the serious faces and canary very sobering.
Taken from 'Coal Mining in Walsall Wood, Brownhills and Aldridge' by Brian Rollins and published by Walsall Local History Centre.
These fine men would have been based at the Grove Colliery. It's interesting that the nomenclature contains military overtones - perhaps some of these men fought in the war, even though they were in a protected occupation. Like the fire service I guess, military discipline and coordination would have been essential to success and teamwork. Note the similarity in kit and appearance to the Walsall Wood team, above. From 'Around Pelsall and Brownhills in old Photographs' by David F. Vodden.
Aldridge and Walsall Wood mines recue team, pre 1936 from The Edditer's flickr stream.
It's fascinating to see that these teams were the subject of immense pride and competition between pits and that competitions were held. These men must have been the pride of their communities and indeed, of the Chase Coalfield. Taken from 'Around Pelsall and Brownhills in old photographs' by David F. Vodden.
I’ve recently received a great enquiry from Tracy Bluck, training officer for Brownhills Air Cadets, who are celebrating their 70th anniversary this year. It’s incredible to think that this great organisation has been such a big part of Brownhills life for seven decades. I sense that readers will have memories, tales and recollections of this fine institution that they’d be happy to share with Tracy and other blog readers. If any of you have pictures, those would be great, too. I’d really like to see what readers can do here; this is a fine thing and there must be loads of stuff out there.
Tracy had this to say:
I regularly visit and enjoy reading your blog. I think you are the right person to help me.
I’m a member of the local air cadets, 1444 (Brownhills) Sqn on Barnetts Lane. This year is the 70th anniversary of the cadets. I was wondering if there were any ex cadets of the sqn still in the area who perhaps could give our younger members a taste of how the sqn was when it was first formed in 1941. Is this something you could put on your blog?
I was interested in this, the Air Cadets are a big part of Brownhills youth history, and are significant influence in the younger days of many readers of this blog. Sensing the opportunity to make a decent story for the blog, I asked Tracy to send me some more information and maybe a few pictures. Tracy kindly responded;
So, a bit of information on the sqn…
Records suggest that the squadron was founded in May 1941, it has seen a large number of cadets pass through over the years and currently has over 40 cadets parading every week. We meet every Wednesday and Friday evenings at the squadron headquarters on Barnetts Lane.
We offer a wide range of activities including adventure training, camping, duke of Edinburgh award, sports, shooting, not forgetting flying and gliding plus much more. I’ve attached a couple of photographs but similar to you this is something we lack.
As it’s the 70th anniversary this year not only for the squadron but also the air training corps we would love to hear from ex-cadets who perhaps have old photos and indeed stories of their experiences. We are also making a video for the anniversary, if anyone has an old uniform we could borrow it would be appreciated.
Regards,Tracy
T L Bluck
Fg Off
Training Officer
1444 (Brownhills) SQN
If you have anything, please do contact the blog by commenting here or at the usual address: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. I have a phone number for the squadron which I’ll supply on request. Please turf out those cupboards, photo albums and see what you can find!
1444 Squadron at a function outside The Terrace restaurant, Brownhills.
With the local election campaign in full swing and doorstepping at fever pitch here in the Northern Wastes, I was stunned to come home this evening and discover my second party candidate leaflet of the season. So far, I’ve had a Tory one, and this risible, miserable specimen from everyone’s favourite little Englanders, the BNP.
They’ve obviously undergoing some kind of identity crisis, as although the candidate lives locally, he has nothing to say about local issues at all. The flyer is quite mild, barely mentioning the favourite hobbyhorses of the far-right, and is clearly a standard issue with space for the candidate’s own text. Sadly, Terence can’t have proofread his and in turn gives an inkling of how much he cares about our council. I wonder, is that the Yorkshire branch of the Majorowicz clan or the Bristol?
If anyone from Labour would like to let us know they’re alive, it would be nice. I can understand the Liberal Democrats being in hiding, but Labour… oh dear.
May 2011 BNP local election leaflet. If you want me to vote for you, at least learn to spell the town name.
I thank Laura for the timely prod, and if you have anything you’d like to publicise, please don’t hesitate to contact me – BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.
April 30th
Celebrate the Royal Wedding with Vocalist Tony O’Dee – £4
Playing everything from Big Band Classics, Sixties and Modern Hits – Perfect for all the family!
Are you at a loose end this weekend? Why not take a walk up to The Memo on Lichfield Road, Brownhills. The committee have organised a fabulous night with award winning singer “Tony O’Dee” (Best Male Singer, Birmingham and Worcester District). Tony is not your usual entertainer, he is currently thrilling audiences all over the country and is becoming a smash hit wherever he goes singing everything from modern chart hits to big band sounds and sixties.
If you want to try before you buy why not visit his website: www.tonyodee.co.uk then get straight on the phone to Laura on 01543 899437 or e-mail her at brownhillsmemorialhall at yahoo dot co dot uk to book your tickets. At only £4 per person and a Bring Your Own Drinks event you can’t go far wrong! (Please call, we can’t guarantee tickets on the night and don’t want to disappoint!!)
Why not bring some nibbles too? The committee look forward to welcoming you and as ever appreciate your comments and suggestions for future events, Thank you so much for your continued support.
I realise that there was an incident at Clayhanger Bridge yesterday afternoon (26th April 2011) that has caused some understandable gossip and rumour in the area. The good news is that, contrary to what you may have heard, nobody died. The bad news is that an elderly local chap was found in a very perilous condition, and only saved in the nick of time and revived by paramedics. He remains in a critical condition.
West Midlands Police issued a statement this morning, which I reproduce in full below. The Express & Star also reported this, but not apparently online; the item made the front page of the Walsall edition yesterday, but was so badly edited that it was rendered thoroughly confusing and almost totally meaningless.
If you know anything about this incident, please do contact the police, they’re interested in how this fellow came to be in such a serious predicament, which was so very nearly fatal. They had this to say:
Appeal After Man Is Found In Brownhills Canal
27 April 2011
Walsall police are appealing for any witnesses after an elderly man was pulled from the canal in Clayhanger, Brownhills yesterday.
The man, aged 80, was spotted in the Daw End Branch Canal in Clayhanger Road around 4pm. He was pulled from the canal and is currently in a critical condition in hospital.
The man has been identified as an 80 year old local man.
DS Andy Sheldon said:”We would like to hear from anyone who was in the Clayhanger area yesterday afternoon, who may have seen the elderly gentleman near the canal and can tell us exactly how he ended up in the water. He is a white man and was wearing a blue and white shirt, blue cardi, dark trousers and slippers.
Anyone with information should call police at Force CID , Bloxwich on 0345 113 5000
Edit 11:04 28th April 2011: sadly, the gentleman in question has passed away in hospital. Police are not treating the death as suspicious. My condolences to the bereaved.
Yesterday, I posted the video I took of the uphill climb to the summit of the Weaver Hills. It’s a tough climb, but worth it, and there’s great country when you get there. Calton is a lovely little village and an utter delight. I have to say though, one of the best things about the ride is what goes up… must come down.
The route down into the Manifold Valley from the Weaver Hills really begins in Calton, but starts to get interesting around Mere Hill. At the bottom, you enter Throwley, where the lane takes a sharp ninety degree bend through a farmyard, which can be a bit disconcerting the first time you do it. Crossing cattle grids, wary of cows, sheep and the occasional wayward pheasant, it’s speeds of 45 miles an hour on the descent from the preserved ruins of Throwley Hall to Rushley.
The ruins of Throwley Hall, taken during this ride.
At Rushley, the road hangs a second ninety degree bend, where on the Manifold Valley floor, one crosses the beautiful Rushley Bridge. From here, I stop recording near Steeple House, but it’s only a short way to the iconic village of Ilam, usually full of tourists, walkers and daytrippers.
If you try this one, beware of building up too much speed until you’re used to the road. The livestock can be very dopey and the cattle grids can come as a bit of a shock, but please do give it a go. I ride this route as often as I can. It’s what cycling and Staffordshire are all about…
The route of this video is shown dotted in red on the map. Click for a larger version.
As regular readers are aware, I’m compiling a post about last Friday’s crossing of the Weaver Hills into the Manifold Valley by bike. This is linked into my 30daysofbiking project, and also because reader and top bloke Steve Lightfoot – @66usual on twatter – was interested in visiting the area. I’ve loved the weavers ever since I started riding over them a few years ago. They demonstrate the amazing variety of landscape to be found in Staffordshire – they rise from the pretty, soft Dove Valley at Ellastone on their southeastern side to an open, wind-buffeted moor at the summit, oddly called ‘The Walk’. This is a place few really know, so one is usually fairly alone, even on warm, sunny days like this. It is also a pagan place, and on the slopes, mutiple tumuli and strip-lynchetts, you can almost hear the ancestors voices.
This is gorgeous countryside, well worth the climb. Photos can be viewed in my Panoramio Gallery (click on the images in the gallery to view them) where they are displayed with their location. Tomorrow, we descend from near Calton, in the north, to the Manifold Valley.
The route of this video is shown dotted in red on the map. Click for a larger version.
Yet again, The Plastic Hippo vocalises beautifully what I’m thinking. Is this the nastiest, most unpleasant government we’ve ever had? As every day passes, the pronouncements from the Prime Minister become more and more bizarre. I fear for my country, the social state and what is being done to it by people who have never once felt the cold wind of social hardship.
After a full and reasonably debauched life, there is little left that can provoke an audible gasp from the author of this humble blog. But as dawn broke over Cardigan Bay, a gasp was followed by a few tiny tears of joy. Camping is always a mixed pleasure. The connection to Gaia via a sleeping bag and a ground sheet is a penitence of dubious value and discovering rabbit droppings in your flip flops is not the best start to a day. However, lower ba … Read More
It seems like the muppets are out in force again. After a spell of dry weather, it looks like the heath fire season has started. As I came through Chasewater tonight at about 8:15pm, I smelled smoke, so took a trundle down the dam road to investigate. There was a fire appliance at the Innovation Centre end of the dam, parked near the 9-foot pool, behind the old bridge. Fire crew were damping down the canal embankment near to the spillway after a seemingly quite serious fire.
I know it’s the school holidays, and the weather is dry, but be careful, folks. It only takes on discarded cigarette end.
Sorry for the poor quality of the photographs, it was dusk and the light really was very poor.
The appliance was stationed near the nine-foot pool on the canal side of the dam. 8:14pm, Sunday, 24th April 2011.
The fire seemed to have been largely on the canal embankment, and firefighters were pumping canal water to damp down. 8:18pm, Sunday, 24th April 2011.
Damping down was still ongoing. 8:20pm, Sunday, 24th April 2011.
The fire appeared to have caught in a couple of places, and was still smouldering. 8:19pm, Sunday, 24th April 2011.
One of the challenges the amateur historian faces is that oral history is just that; oral. It consists of many threads, many truths and a huge amount of speculation, tempered by half-memory and rumour. Anecdote is neither fact, not proof, and without names, written histories or external corroboration, it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to discern the actuality.
We don’t know, we have no idea. It’s interesting, like a discussion in a pub. This is not an adversarial process, but a continuing, delicious engagement with landscape history. We don’t pretend to know the truth. but the black art of attempting to find it is worth the experience alone.
Current OS mapping for Jockey Meadows - note the wet area southeast of the field boundary north of the A461. Click for a larger version.
1884 1:2,500 map. No sign of any pit or extraction in Jockey meadows. Click for a larger version.
1919 OS 1:25,00 draft. Not a lot has changed, but Jockey Meadows are still just that. Click for a larger version.
1938 1:10,000 Epoch 5 plan (best available for the period) - again, much has changed, yet the fields are undisturbed. Click for a larger version.
By the 1956 1:10,000 drafting, a large marsh appears in Jockey Meadows. This is remarkable when one considers that by now, the extent of quarrying to the south and east must be lowering the water table significantly. Click for a larger version.
Sorry to readers of my 30 days of biking tumblr blog, but I kind of like this and would love to share it with Brownhills Blog readers. This is video compiled from my journey up the A515 on Friday, on my way to the Weaver Hills… on which subject I’ll post more later.
In the meantime, I love riding this road. Woodlands, open country, hills, river crossings, villages, thatched cottages, fascinating churches… every single British countryside cliche in one hour and a half run.
One of the things about compiling the weekly old pictures post that irritates is that there are some really interesting old images floating about that you just can’t fit into a post. One or two-offs that don’t really fit in with themed articles. Misfits and misshapes. There are so many of these to feature now that I’ve decided to just wing it and post a group of unrelated images, because otherwise, I feel they’ll never be posted.
As always I thank the authors and originators of these pictures. Please support local history books when you get the chance.
It’s hard to remember the Terrace as being anything other than a restaurant, but if you look at it today, it’s not hard to see its origins. I love the name ‘Motrestant’, were there any more about, or was this a one off? Image taken from ‘Memories of old Brownhills’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
Although not that old – the author states that it was mid-90’s – this rainy shot of the High Street shows much has changed. The shops on the right have all now gone, replaced by the new block containing Wilkinson. How many remember CK electronics, and their discount seconhand TV’s and videos? I also remember the bubble gum dispenser outside Poxons butchers, on the left of shot. Image posted on Facebook in the ‘Brownhills’ group by Robert Gough.
Don’t know much about these, and I invite comments. Would these be where the recently demolished maisonettes were? Image from ‘Memories of Old Brownhills’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
This image accompanies the one above. I’m interested in the lady – is Dorothy still about? I just love the dog. A fantastic, unusual domestic scene. Image taken from ‘Memories of old Brownhills’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
This is a good image. I’m having chronological problems here. Clearly early middle eighties, it shows the new island, apparently functional but still under construction, yet the sign doesn’t show a turning for Silver Street, so it must predate Hillards (currently Tesco) being developed – I thought it all happened at the same time. Note the taxi office on the left, and what I believe to be the end window of the Station Hotel, lost under the Aldi development soon after. Image posted on Facebook by Robert Gough in the ‘Brownhills’ group.
Ah, the mill. I was talking about this building to someone just the other day – we kids from Brownhills used to go up there and hang out in the old building. Does anyone know anything about it or have recollections of those days? Image taken from ‘Around Pelsall and Brownhills in old photographs’ by David F. Vodden.
Such crime is thankfully relatively rare, but it’s horrifying to think it could be any one of us. Let’s nip this in the bud.
Robbery in Brownhills – police appeal for information
21 April 2011
POLICE are appealing for information following a robbery on the outskirts of Brownhills earlier this month.
The incident occurred along Lichfield Road, Brownhills near to Grasmere Gardens on Saturday 2nd April at approximately 12pm.
It is believed that three masked men in a black Vauxhall vectra, deliberately ran into the victim’s car causing him to pull over.
Whilst the 26 year old man and his passenger a 64 year old woman, inspected the damage the men demanded money and assaulted both. A third passenger was also in the car at the time and was not assaulted.
A passer-by disturbed the incident which caused the attackers to flee.
DC Pindy Matharu, from Walsall CID, said:” We are working hard to identify the three men involved in this particularly nasty attack.
Although masked, we have been able to establish that two of the men were white and the third man is believed to be black. We believe that they may have followed the victims from a local car boot sale before causing them to pull over.
This must have been a terrifying experience for the victims and thankfully they weren’t seriously hurt although the were left very shaken. These incidents are very rare and we are doing everything within our power to identify those responsible.
It is likely that other members of the public may have seen the incident take place and are urging them to come forward. If you have any information on the incident or the vehicle which had a distinctive large rear spoiler, then please call me on 0345 113 5000.
Barry is a remarkable talent and a thoroughly creative person. I’m hoping to get round to profiling him soon, but in the meantime, please check out these stunning images.
I thank Barry for his time, talent and generosity in publishing these singular pictures.
Richard Starbuck, top contributor to The Brownhills Blog, today sent me this fascinating piece of Brownhills Comprehensive School ephemera. Dated 14th November, 1988 (is that really 23 years ago?), this is the program for the School and Community Centre Annual Awards Day.
Anybody have any memories of these events? Win any prizes? I notice some names I recall – C.J. Hunt, the headmaster, and I’m intrigued to note an R.H. Massey prize.
Thanks to Richard for this top contribution, and if you have anything of interest, please do contact me. BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com… cheers.
Today, I went to the Chasewater Transport Show that I’d been plugging all week. I must say that it exceeded my expectations in every way possible. I turned up in the early afternoon, and cars were queing to get onto Chasewater down the A5, and overflow parking was being undertaken on the Highfield Farm site. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen Chasewater so busy. It was a delight to the heart.
All the usual stuff was there – classic cars, trucks, motorbikes, military, buses – even a vintage bicycle. There was plenty of entertainment, food and a great fairground. It was good to see the Chasewater Railway get a good headcount, too.
I congratulate the organisers on an excellent event, beautifully executed. There was plenty to see and do, and apart from one of the most remarkably petty acts of petulance by a PCSO, the day passed without a hitch. Fantastic stuff.
It’s nice to see such a great event taking place in Brownhills, and it was wonderful to see the community support it so extensively.
Yes, this is John Williams, black country artist, whose sketches feature in the Express & Star every Saturday. A wonderfully talented man.
Very orange. Very much from the seventies. Very beautifully preserved. Whats not to love?
Lovers of the art of the high-pressure kettle were not disappointed, either...
As usual, there were a great array of characters.
There were a whole range of vintage and classic vehicles, both celebrated, and otherwise.
I loved this MG. Part of the whole thing seems to be getting the accessories just right, like the picnic basket on the rack.
My absolute favourite was this Zephyr. A total period piece, including tartan rug and leopard-print cushion on the back shelf.
Elsewhere, my #30daysofbiking project continues unabated, with pictures and videos from every ride, every day. In the meantime, yesterday I enjoyed a burst of spring by cycling out into Warwickshire and back to Tamworth. Fantastic times.
Tomorrow, the Chasewater Transport Show 2011 takes place at your favourite local country park. It’s free, and if it’s anywhere near as good as last year, it’ll be a belter. There will be loads of vintage and classic vehicles, stalls, stuff for the kids and grownups alike. Last year I happened upon the event by chance, and had a great time. The weather forecast is good, so there’s no reason not to have a butchers….
I thought it was about time we revisited some of the lost shops and stores in Brownhills. I’ve heard lots of people – particularly commentators here – reminisce about Selwyn Smith’s shop, and Cooper’s seems somewhat legendary, too. Was this the same Cooper family that owned the shop now converted to flats at the junction of Chester Road and Freizland lane?
As ever, if you see any of the books mentioned here, do buy a copy. They’re as rare as hen’s teeth, and the work the authors put into them cannot be understated. I thank them all.
Edit: 16th April – I’m having trouble with this post and formatting. If it looks odd, my apologies. Something, somewhere, is broken and I’m not sure why. I’m working on it.
It’s incredible really, how little this scene has changed in subsequent years. Anyone remember the coal merchant that would be just out of shot on the right? From ‘Memories of Brownhills Past’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
Ice cream seems another recurring theme – recently we mentioned the unfortunate wartime demise of the Pelari carthorse, Selwyn Smiths is also mentioned a great deal. For my generation, it was Joes, which had a fantastic selection of seemingly exotic flavours, including a face-curling lemon sorbet. Fro ‘Memories of Old Brownhills’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
I don’t remember ice cream vans looking like this – in my childhood there were two distinct sorts – the Walls vans who sold wrapped ices, not cones – the vans were yellow and white, with a distinctive three-note chime, and the Mr. Whippy type that sold soft, aerated delights. Taken from ‘Memories of Old Brownhills’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
I can’t really recognise this shop, it has changed so much. I love the old bubblegum machine and the shy-looking girl at the extreme right of the image. Did she sneak into shot or was her inclusion deliberate? From ‘Memories of Brownhills Past’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
Coopers is a mytery to me. Loads of folk mention it, and the family seem to have been notable locally, but I know little of them. I would love to hear your recollections. From ‘Memories of Old Brownhills’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
Just a quick headsup to point out that Sadler Road in Brownhills will be closed at the junction of Lichfield Road from tonight (Friday 15th April 2011) until Sunday (17th April 2011) for sewer works. The works are being undertaken by A&H Construction.
For what it’s worth, I’m not convinced that it’s just a wet patch in the fields in Walsall Wood; looking at several editions of aerial photograph show water nearby, but not corresponding with that outline. Besides which, compare the larger pool to the other two; does that not look like it’s surrounded by freshly turned soil? It’s a conundrum, for sure. I also can’t find any official sign of abstraction rights being granted for that side of the Lichfield Road, either. The plot thickens.
Reader Jim had this to say:
If its bomb craters you’re looking for Bob I’ve got a prime candidate I assume it must be from the Highbridges raid the Google earth coordinates are below just scroll back to the 1945 coverage. You don’t usually get perfectly round craters like that from anything other than bombs and I recon from its size its got to be from a 2000lb.
52°38’17.73″N 1°58’14.12″W
I dutifully headed off to Google Earth to check this out – Jim is quite correct, there’s something quite unusual there. To save time, I’ve taken a screenshot and highlighted the indentation that I think he’s referring to. I’s lost under a pool in more recent editions of maps and aerial photographs. It is, of course, possible that the pool formed because of the crater.
Gogle Earth 1945 imagery of Pelsall North Common, just by the Fingerpost Pub (formerly the "Royal Oak'). Jim's right: that's a big, round crater. CLick on image for a larger version.
If you have anything to add, please do comment here – I’d really like to form a comprehensive record of raids in the Walsall area, and the effect they had on local communities.
The Mushroom – crafter of fine rants about all manner of subjects, but mostly Walsall politics – has played a blinder. I just had to share this touching, very human post about the future of the National Health Service, those who work for it in the care of others and the vandals who are working to destroy it. This is a moving, warm piece. If you don’t read anything else today, please do read this.
My sister has one of the most demanding jobs in the world. She’s a nurse. Not a general nurse but a forensic, psychiatric nurse. Her patients range from the suicidal and self harming, to extremely violent individuals who have committed crimes which we, the public, have a dread of and puerile fascination with, but only at a distance…
At the weekend, top local history sort [Howmuch?] pointed this out to me, and we’ve decided to ask for opinions. This is just speculation, but seems an interesting point. I welcome any information that readers can contribute.
Google earth imagery dated 1945. The Lichfield Road runs top right to bottom left. North of it, there appear to be possibly two reasonably fresh craters. It may be possible that the pool directly to the south was so caused. Was this the same raid that dropped Hermann?
62-odd years later, this 2007 image shows fresh and strong vegetation around the still visible scars, consistent possibly with disturbed earth. To the south, of course, there's now a marlpit, latterly a domestic landfill site. Click for a large version.
What do you know about wartime air raids in Walsall Wood, Brownhills and Aldridge? It’s interesting to see that the excavation on the south side of the Lichfield Road didn’t yet exist during the war, so where was Hermann actually found? Did we have many bombs dropped in the locality, or was it a thankfully rare occurance? Is this really bomb damage, or something else?
If you have anything to add, please do comment here or mail me at BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.
1920 1:50,00 new popular edition map of Wolverhampton, West Walsall and the Watling Street corridor. Click on image to view. I recommned downloading it.
Twitter user and all-round top bloke Stu Davis asked me on twatter this morning if I could sort a map of Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire like my previously posted Brownhills and surrounds map. Plenty of stuff of interest here, even to non-Wolverhampton folk. The railway bods will have a ball – note the two stations in the city – and Monmore Green seems to already have a track in existence. Notice that Telford doesn’t exist yet. Pity we can’t rewind that one a bit.
Edit: that’s what happens when you crop a large map down late at night: you lose track of the cut line. TiredHippo is quite right, this map doesn’t cover where Telford would materialise. Oops. Sorry.
Great to see that Mark at Tamworth Time Hikes has returned to regular blogging after a brief hiatus. For those who don’t know the site – and there can’t be many locals now who don’t – this is a fascinating work of landscape history, archeology and beautifully mad presentation.
This post is an invaluable guide to some of the excellent historical books available in PDF and e-book form on the web, from free repositories like Google Books. These works are fascinating, and will captivate those interested in the history of our area.
Mark, it’s great to have you back!
This post is the first in taking on the challenge I put out on a previous post, about putting resources out there and info in aiding the exploration of a given landscape and material for different ways of interacting with that landscape. In this post it´s historic books found online and free. This post will be under construction all this week finding the time to add the online book links on the Tamworth Timehikes area to the list, correcting typ … Read More
1920 1:50,00 new popular edition map of Brownhills, Walsall and Lichfield. Click on image to view. I recommned downloading it.
I thought I’d post a treat for the mapping geeks amongst us (me included) with this 1920 New Popular Edition segment. This is the cartography – all hand drafted – that gave birth to our excellent ‘Landranger’ series. One to study closely.
Superhero? Cruelty? No, just a fly mask... Grangewood, Derbyshire, 2:46pm, Saturday 9th April 2011.
This horse isn’t blindfolded, and can see and hear perfectly well. He’s been fitted with a flymask by his owner to stop the irritation from flies, bugs and mosquitoes that drive grazing horses mad and spread disease and infection. They’re not a universal thing but their use seem to be more and more prevalent. The mask is acoustically and visually nearly transparent to the equine who can potter about the paddock untroubled by insects.
I hope that clears it up for the people who messaged me with some concern for dobbin’s welfare.
Last spring, as long-time readers may recall, I happened upon a great classic car show at Chasewater. At the time, I complained that there hadn’t been enough publicity, so this year, I’m publiscising it in advance.
The show is next Sunday, at Chasewater Country Park, off the A5 in Brownhills. Running from 10 until late afternoon, it’s sure to be packed with great classic cars. The organisers have now announced that exhibitor entries are now full, so a great day should be had by all. I highly recommend this show, last year was fabulous.
Please feel free to print out and post up the flyer below, and more details are available from the show website, or by calling Helen on 01543 500926.
I’ll be completely honest with you guys here, I know nothing about football whatsoever, but this week in the pictures from the past slot, I have a soccer special. Top reader and contributor [Howmuch?] recently located some interesting newspaper scans showing popular local teams of our area in 1921. Some of the names seem very familiar, and I’m hoping that readers can shed some light on the dashing young players in their team photos.
Also in the mix are a couple of images from the 1960’s, which I’m sure will stir memories for those discussing the old Central Boys’ School, pupils and teachers from which must surely be in these two teams.
I thank [Howmuch?] for another top quality contribution, and of course, David F. Vodden for putting together such a wonderful book. If you get chance, bag a copy – it’s brilliant.
Little Norton 1921: (left to right) back row: W. Millerchip (secretary), P. Bentley, J. Hurley (Treasurer) Middle row: E. Bates (Trainer), H. Bayley, W. Shenton, A. Thompson, W. Tonks, H. Taylor Front Row B. Jones, F. Turner, J. White, (captain), S. Sharratt, E.Fairfield.
One for the Central School historians, I feel... Taken from 'Around Pelsall and Brownhills in old photographs' by David F. Vodden.
Brownhills Town 1921 (left to right) Back row: Adams (injured), Wilkes (Goalkeeper), Gregory, I. Humphries (Committeeman) Second Row: W. E. Cooper (secretary), Jones, Cooper, E. Lowe, Madhan (Trainer) and J. Brown Front row: W. Cooper, W. Biggins, Davis, Ellis, Shingler, Cole.
Possibly some Central School pupils here. Taken from 'Around Pelsall and Brownhills in old photographs' by David F. Vodden.
Chasetown Colliery 1921 (left to right) Back row: Walker, Roberts, James, N. Evans, Copper, Kent, Jukes (Trainer), Jack Roberts, Broadway Front row: Corbett, Barton (Captain), Ebury, R. Evans, Parsons. THe cup on the left is the Wednesbury Charity, and the right the Walsall Charity, both won last season.
Blake Street/Little Aston Lane lights yesterday evening at about 5:50pm. How not to turn right – a fine display of patience and graceful road use. Not dangerous, I could hear and see what they were doing, but it still causes dismay. Numpty…
I’ve been following the work of Aldridge photographer Barry Carpenter for a while – his flickr photostream is a wonderfully diverse portfolio of images. However, Barry has a quite special photographic technique that he employs. He attaches a camera to a kite, and photographs the view. I’ve been meaning to share these images for a while, taken last autumn on Clayhanger Common.
Click on each image to go to flickr, where you can see the full size images. If Barry is reading this, I’d love to run a profile old chap. How about it?
A few folk seem concerned about an upcoming road closure in Shire Oak, so I just thought I’d publicise it here.
From Sunday, 10th April 2011, traffic will be one way only on the Lichfield Road, Shire Oak, between the Shire Oak pub and Street’s Corner, Walsall Wood. Vehicles will only be allowed to travel in the Walsall direction. Those travelling from Walsall to Lichfield will be diverted along Brownhills Road/Lindon Road and are then to turn right up the Chester Road to the Shire Oak crossroads to rejoin the A461 Lichfield Road.
As a consequence, traffic will be one way only on the last stretch of Lindon Road between Chandler’s Keep and the Anchor Bridge, and traffic that would turn right from High Street into Lindon Road is diverted up to the Shire Oak Junction instead. This is done to facilitate easier right turning by the diverted traffic. It’s not clear if temporary traffic lights will be in operation at the Anchor Bridge junction as they have been in previous cases.
This system is expected to remain in place for two weeks until Monday 25th April 2011. The work is to facilitate junction modifications for the new Morris Homes development, Shire Oak Close, on the site of the former reservoir.
This information has been lifted directly from the Walsall Council’s weekly roadworks update, kindly sent to me each week from the Grey Lubyanka.
Wipe your arse on it? There's not an app for that.
I see that the Express & Star have finally jumped the shark. They’re introducing a paywall, so that most of their online daily content is subscriber only. In short, there’s very little on their website that you’ll be able to read for free. This is a bold decision, by which I’m more than a little perplexed, to be frank. It’s possibly one of the most customer hostile things I think they’ve ever done.
I buy the paper every day, and I have it delivered from my local newsagent. I will now be prevented from accessing the online content of a newspaper I’ve paid for because I don’t have an online subscription with the Express & Star itself. Were I to set one up, I could have the paper delivered at home still, but the Express & Star gets the money upfront instead, and the newsagent loses out in terms of cash flow and delivery charges. What have the Midlands largest newspaper got against my newsagent?
Since the online content of the paper has never really extended to the Walsall edition, I assume the one online would be the Wolverhapton version. I presume the daily news feed will be the same mixture of 70% PA syndicated articles and 30% locally generated content as it is now, which to be quite honest, is piss-poor, whatever application you choose to wrap it up in.
I’ll be curious to see how the venture fairs. With good local sites like WV11, The Lichfield Blog and a host of others kicking the local inkie’s backside all over town, both in terms of content and journalistic standards, it’s going to be a hard sell. Even harder in the light of the fact that the likes of The Birmingham Mail and The BBC have decided to embrace, rather than eschew, the local newshounds. Of course, the Express & Star doesn’t reject us, especially when it comes to sourcing stories. It’s just handing out the credit that makes them choke.
I always thought the Express & Star had a much higher opinion of itself than it warranted, it’s interesting to have that premise confirmed.
This afternoon, I cut loose and headed for Cannock Chase. The weather wasn’t great and I felt quite down; however, after a heavy downpour as I came through Hednesford and Penkridge Bank, the most perfect, sunny scenery emerged blinking and dripping into the sunlight. Magical. 40 miles later, exhausted and happy, I hit home. But not before an encounter with a petulant goose.
Wolseley Plain, 4:35pm, Sunday, 3rd April 2011.
Wolseley Plain, 4:40pm, Sunday, 3rd April 2011.
Wolseley Plain, 4:44pm, Sunday, 3rd April 2011.
Abraham's Valley, 4:46pm, Sunday, 3rd April 2011.
Abraham's Valley, 4:53pm, Sunday, 3rd April 2011.
Colwich from Seven Springs, 5:08pm, Sunday, 3rd April 2011.
I just wanted to point out to regular blog readers who don’t follow me on twatter or Facebook that I’m taking part in the ‘30 Days of Biking‘ project. The idea is that you ride your bike every single day in April, and record something of that ride online for others to see and share.
I’ve started a mini blog on Tumblr – a great service for posting snippets of media, photos video and suchlike, and I’ll be updating it every day with something I’ve captured while out and about.
Tumblr – interesting. Click on the image to visit the mini-blog.
I thought that a little blog would probably be a better way to to do this than just swamping this one with material some readers won’t be interested in. So far, there are photos and a video of a ride round Brownhills Common.
The 30 days project is an interesting idea from Minneapolis cycle nuts Patrick Stephenson and Zachariah Shaap, who started the project two years ago. Challenging hardcore bikers, fair weather cyclists still dormant from winter and newcomers alike using only blood, sweat, bike grease and twitter, the challenge has reached more than 87 countries across the globe. It encourages riders to document their everyday rides on the net and share them with the world, and the 1700 plus enthusiasts also signed up.
You can find out about the 30 days project at their website, on twatter, Facebook, Flickr and Dailymile. It’s too late now for new signups, but spring is in the air, the flowers are out and spring is a fantastic time to get out and explore the world around you by bike.
Trent and Mersey canal bank, Hopwas, Staffordshire. 4:31pm, Saturday, 2nd April 2011.
Trent and Mersey canal bank, Hopwas, Staffordshire. 4:29pm, Saturday, 2nd April 2011.
These caught my eye today, cycling the Trent & Mersey canal towpath in Hopwas, Staffordshire. About 40 in all, someone had made little flags, from laminated fluorescent card and sticks, and popped one in at every pile of animal mess. Remarkable, dedicated, and a bit OCD, to be frank.
Everyone hates dogshit, and irresponsible dog owners deserve all they get. Regular readers will know my feelings on this sort of thing. But there’s something a bit unsettling about this; wouldn’t it just be more time productive to bag it up and hand it back to the offender? That’s an awful lot of work. And not all the flags were on dog mess, either. At least three were clearly fox droppings. Good luck with training them…
I mention this now, because in coming weeks, I want to think about stuff like this, litter, flytipping and what we hate, how it manifests itself and what we expect from those who have to deal with it. Dog mess is a nuisance, and we not only have to deal with the raw product where it falls, but there’s now an annoying trend for people to bag it and leave the bags hanging, like some bizarre fruit, from trees, fences and hedgerows. I have no idea what those people are thinking, but please stop it…
I will return to the subject of our environment soon. In the meantime, I salute the phantom flag erector, although I’m not sure I’d want to meet them…
I seem to be getting a lot of history requests, lately. I love those, and welcome questions about any local topic you want to know about. Last week, I was contacted on Facebook by Julie Le-Moine, from The Crib in Church Road. She had this interesting question to ask:
Hello Bob,
Firstly I would like to commend you on all your hard work you put into your blog. I love reading about the history of Walsall Wood and Brownhills as that is where I was born and bred. My husband is in the Armed Forces and 5 years ago we bought a house in Church Road (opposite St James Church). It was built in 1896 and we have all the history paperwork wise dating back that far, however, whoever I talk to in Brownhills all seem to know all about my house and the people that lived in it (it belonged to the same family the Dukes).
I would love to know if you have anymore photos or information as it intrigues me and would love to learn more, and maybe you could help. Any photos of the church or Church Road, Brickiln Street would be fab! Thanks so much and keep up the good work.
Thanks to Julie for her contribution, and if you have any more information, please do comment here.
From 'Memories of Old Brownhills' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
1901 Ordnance Survey 1:2500 map showing Central Brownhills. Click on the image for a legible version.
Take a close look at the above map segment – notice then that Church Road was called Church Hill and Brickiln Street (pronounced ‘Brik-lin’ by real Brownhillians) is actually Brick Kiln Street. The contraction of the name to it’s pronounced form gives a clue to the distinctive, clipped form of our accent. When you’ve lived here a while, you can tell the difference audibly between Walsall Wood, Brownhills and Shelfield voices…
A clue to the genesis of these names can be seen between Church Hill and Great Charles Street – there’s a gravel pit there. Near the canal at Sandfields on the Lichfield Road – where the caravan park is today – was a sand pit. These excavations clearly were formative in the building of Victorian Brownhills. I don’t know where the brickworks was, or indeed, which houses were built with Brownhills bricks. Can any readers help me out?
From 'Memories of Old Brownhills' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
From 'Brownhills and Walsall Wood on Old Picture Postcards' by Jan Farrow.
From 'Memories of Old Brownhills' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
From 'Memories of Brownhills Past' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
From 'Memories of Old Brownhills' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
The Railway Tavern… One of the members of the Chasewater Railway had a clearout of magazines and brought some of the old ones into the museum to sell or keep. I had to go through them all of course – great stuff! One picture more than any other took my interest – the Railway Tavern formerly in Lichfield Road.This photo was taken from the ‘Railway Forum’ of 1970 I can only remember going to this pub once. There was a Darts League Dinner and Presentation … Read More
Click on the image to see the full version over at The Stymaster's Pigblog.
Rushall Carnival, like those of Brownhills and Pelsall, was hugely popular. Although the first two have passed into history, Pelsall Carnival still continues. If you have any recollections of this event, or any pictures, film or other material relating to Brownhills Carnival, please do contact me. There must be a huge amount of this stuff in shoe boxes, family albums etc, yet nothing seems to exist in the public domain.
It seems odd that events such as this – that were the cornerstone of our communities for years – seem to have little or no historic record. I congratulate and thank Stymaster for his contribution and hard work. Lets see if together, we can assemble something, before it’s lost forever.
Since the system is automated, there’s no archive of new material, but the old one is preserved for posterity. I wish Mark, Paul and Tim all the best, and here’s to the new life of an essential part of Walsall’s online community.
The Greene King offer is for a food led, family friendly pub that will sit well within the site and will provide a valued service to both commercial and residential areas surround the site. The accompanying Planning Statement provides further detail regarding the’ Hungry Horse’ operation.
And…
The development of a pub/restaurant will create around 40/50 new jobs for the local community, a positive factor in the current economic climate.
Also…
At the front of the pub an existing external patio with smoking shelter has been retained. A paved patio extends round to the side of the pub where there’s a new family beer garden and play area.
Personally, I think this is an excellent proposal. The Hussey has been a landmark for decades, and it would be sad to see it decay to rubble like MacWarreners or so many other lost local pubs. The proposed extensions and facelift seem sympathetic and in keeping with the general character of what is a lovely building. This pub has always – even in the good times – seemed to be dozing, to never have reached it’s full potential. Let us hope, that with decent management, good beer and food, that this lost hostelry can thrive again. Brownhills is getting desperately short of good boozers these days, with the nearby Swan closed again.
Proposed front elevation of the refurbished Hussey Arms, from the planning application. Click on the image to see the full plan.
While I’m on the subject, does anyone have any idea what’s going on with the former Spring Cottage at Shelfield? No planning applications seem to have been submitted, yet work goes on apace. I’ve heard the rumours of the conversion to a Co-op supermarket, but the building wouldn’t seem entirely suitable without a lot of alteration, which would presumably require planning permission. Any contributions welcome on that one…
I note from Sunday’s entry on the Chasewater Wildlife Group daily diary that we’ve yet again had a horse and rider get in trouble with the mudflats created by draining the reservoir. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. If you wander out onto that mud you need your head examined. As Graham says, there are still springs dotting the lakebed, keeping the mud dangerously wet, and with the waterline in Jeffrey’s Swag now also lowered and showing huge expanses of very wet mud there is danger there, too.
Please take care, I fear a real tragedy may occur before too long if the message isn’t communicated to all concerned. I thank Graham Evans for his tireless work with the Chasewater Wildlife Group, and would urge all readers interested in the wildlife and welfare of the park to visit their informative and entertaining site.
Picture by Graham Evans and posted on CWG's daily diary.
27th March 2011 (from Chasewater Wildlife Group Daily Diary, written by Graham Evans)
Leaving Walsall Town Centre, about 5:00pm 28th March 2011. Note that right turns at the junction of Lichfield Street and Hatherton road are prohibited for ordinary vehicles. Red lights, bus lanes and give way lines seem to count for nothing these days.
Conservative Councillor for Pelsall Marco Longhi has recently made the welcome decision to re-enter the online community, joining in with twitter and recommencing blogging. I salute Marco for this, and although we have our differences, I respect any Councillor that like him, Mike Flower and Ian Shires are prepared to do engage with the public in this manner. It’s a pity more of Walsall’s Councillors – particularly those of the Labour Group who seem to be in hiding – can’t follow the example.
If you care about the local train service, please read Marco’s post. We are being poorly served by a company that apparently feels no compulsion to serve the public or to provide the service we pay for. Pressure needs to be exerted to ensure that London Midland sort out their industrial relations and realise that they can’t just duck out of the commitment we expect from a public service organisation.
As this is rightly attracting interest I thought I’d try to make it available to as many people as possible – as quickly as possible. I believe that London Midland have a contract with the people of the West Midlands (through the franchise agreed with the former Sec of State) and that they should keep to it. LM were aware of the service levels and commercial terms and staffing levels when they signed the franchise. To try and change this now is t … Read More
Down from above – click to enlarge. The image is huge, so you might want to save a copy and load it outside of your browser.
I’ve just been very kindly sent this extraordinary and fascinating image by Brian Stringer, top chap and author of the excellent book ‘The Clayhanger Kid’. There is little I can actually say about this extraordinary, captivating image except click on it, zoom in and study. I’ll produce an annotated version later, but for now, just marvel at this beautiful record of a previous time. Clayhanger and Brownhills, before everything changed.
Brian had this to say:
Hi Bob,
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had come across an old ariel pic of Clayhanger. I’ve took it to Stuart at Esssex St and asked him to send you a copy but in case he forgets I’m sending this one although it may not be as clear. I reckon it dates between 1952 and 55.
The pylon can be seen on the batters and that was erected when I was at the Central circa 52. Singh’s shop on the corner of High St and Church St looks quite new but it appears that behind it, (from where we look) Howdles butchers has not yet been built. I’m informed that that was built in 55. The gasometer can be seen in Brownhills High st, and if you look closely you can see the pumphouse over the ‘spot’. Clayhanger Church and old infants is quite clear so you can see that there is plenty for a historian to get their teeth into. My guess? 1953, Coronation year, just a hunch.
Readers finding material like this, which can be shared through this blog, is why I do what I do. This is a terrific find for which I thank Brian and Stuart from the bottom of my heart. Cheers, lads.
Last weekend, I received the following inquiry from Neil Taylor, who is interested in the history of the Newtown area of Brownhills, specifically Howdles Lane and Anglesey Road. Neil had this to say:
Hi bob,
I’ve been a resident of Anglesey Road, Brownhills for the last five and a half years and I’ve been trying to find out some history of what was around the immediate area before our houses were built, i believe the two old semi’s in Howdles Lane were farm houses and the Prince of Wales was originally a house, I would be grateful if you could tell me where to look for any in depth history.
many thanks,
Neil.
I thank Neil for his intriguing enquiry, and must admit that I know little about that area of Brownhills, and invite contributions from the readers. I had a reader recently take me to task for not covering much about the areas north of Watling Street, like Newtown and Brownhills West. There’s a very good reason for that: little in the way of photographic record seems to exist, and I don’t know these areas at all well, I’m sad to say. If any readers have information or pictures to share, please do contact me, either by commenting on the blog or mailing me at BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com.
In the meantime, I dug some maps out of the archives, which show – even at the turn of the century – that the area was quite densely built upon in comparison to the rest of Brownhills.
Sadly poor quality Ordnance Survey 1887 map of the area, Howdles Lane is central. Click on the image for a slightly more legible version.
Better quality 1938 1:10,000 Ordnance Survey map of the same area. Click for a legible version.
As for other places to look, Brownhills Library at The Parkview Centre has an excellent local history section, and there are several books there that may help, but the very best place to go for these kind of things is always The Walsall Local History Centre, where top researchers and archivists like Stuart Williams and Paul Ford are ready to help interpret their fantastic collection of historical information. Use of the centre is free, and it’s located in Essex Street in Walsall.
Today, join me as I take a historical stroll up the Pelsall Road from the old council house. I have memories of many features of this busy thoroughfare from when I was younger – the Kingdom Hall, Taylors Cafe, The Potters Clay works. It seems as if, at one point, this was the prosperous end of town, around which the early growth of Brownhills spawned, rather than the older Ogley Hay. I well remember the old railway bridge, before the island was built, and the traffic lights that controlled the junction, seemingly taking forever to change.
All the photos in this feature are scanned from books written by Clarice Mayo and Geoff Harrington. I strongly advise readers to grab a copy if they ever get chance. They’re like gold dust, and with good reason. As ever, I thank Clarice and Geoff for their sterling work.
I never realised that the old Central Boy's School - or the annex as my generation knew it - was built in separate chunks. When I was a kid in the 1970's, I seem to remember the railway yard - complete with small brick hut - was a woodyard or something like that.Taken from 'Memories of Old Brownhills' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
I can just about remember some of the terraces here being demolisedhed in the seventies, but some of the old houses remain. Taken from 'Memories of Old Brownhills' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
This scene has changed totally - except for the Swan, which, as a number of readers have pointed out, is boarded up again. Taken from 'Memories of Old Brownhills' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
I had to think about this one. Today, there is postwar housing on the left, and a thicket hedge on the right, round a small paddock also bordered by the canal, just visible heading in from centre right. Taken from 'Memories of Brownhills Past' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
I'm aware that Pelari's ice cream was an institution for a long period in Brownhills. The name did not die, however, as today a hairdressers opposite Silver Court is called Pelari Hair. I wonder if there's a family connection? Taken from 'Memories of Old Brownhills' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
I don't know anything about the Yew Tree Inn and can't seem to find a picture anywhere. It seems to have been demolised to build the Edward Rose factory - which in turn has been cleared for the new council depot. Everything must pass. Taken from 'Memories of Old Brownhills' by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
2:24pm, Tuesday, 22nd March 2011. Another dry season looms for Chasewater.
Well, conditioned to expect a big feature on the long-dry lake, I tuned in to the BBC iPlayer on Sunday night to learn all about Chasewater’s draining. As it was, the forlorn reservoir was barely mentioned, and the bit that did make it past the edit was along the Michael Fabricant ‘biblical disaster averted’ pitch.
Neil Turner, the apparently somewhat tense spokesman for the project, is seen talking to John Craven. In the dialogue, it’s made to look like Lichfield District Council are undertaking this task out of pure benevolence and concern for safety, rather than having their hand forced legally after years of closing their eyes and hoping the issue would go away. I note the cost has now risen to five million pounds. All is not well, clearly.
Answers as to why John and Neil are wearing high visibility gear in a public area are welcomed. The helmets are a nice touch, too. Wise considering the size of the gull roost of an evening. Perhaps that’s where Neil keeps his marmite sandwiches.
2:29pm, Tuesday, 22nd March 2011. The Pool Road bridge has been removed, ready for reconstruction of the spillway and nine-foot.
The last enquiry I posted – way back on the 27th January 2011 – was held in moderation for a month before being deleted. After prevaricating and attempting to subvert the thread in to one of my personal credibility, the team failed to address why Chasewater was drained and had lain idle for nearly a year before works were started. Here’s the simple question I asked:
Click for a legible version.
Come on, you know full well what I’m getting at. I’ll put it plainly.
When Chasewater was drained, press releases and signage on the site recorded that work was due to be complete by ‘late 2010′. Press releases showing Cllr Val Richards somewhat ungracefully manhandling a valve stated that the reservoir would be allowed to start refilling in September 2010. They’re still up on the web, on the Lichfield Blog and various newspaper sites.
What went wrong?
It’s clear the plan collapsed at some point. Only the most naive press office would go to the public, print signage and make reassuring noises without being sure the work was to be completed. Your letter from the Dam Inspector is plainly telling you to open the valves immediately to facilitate work in May. This didn’t happen. Why?
In May, it emerges that you haven’t even got a contractor. December before anything actually happens. A season without water and you claim it’s now about safety. This is just a few months after blindly stating the signs saying the work would be completed late 2010 are correct and that I’m scaremongering.
Now, it’s nearly February, critical design points are still being finalised, you haven’t found suitable filter material and it looks to any observer that we were either lied to, or LDC haven’t a clue what they’re doing.
Which is it? You can answer this on this blog, in public, so all concerned Chasewater users can see it. Please reply to these points here, without prevarication, obfuscation or throwing up smokescreens about myself. This isn’t about me, whether I’m prepared to meet you or what experience I have. It’s about why your statements were misleading and incorrect.
If this isn’t covered, I’m prepared to take it to a Freedom of Information Request. The truth will come out.
At first glance, it may not seem too important that there has been a delay. Work is now well underway, and indeed, seems to have reached an almost feverish pitch. However, there are businesses – like the boat club and watersports people – whose members are still paying subscriptions to clubs without their most basic facility. Every month the reservoir remains dry, the longer the hydroecology will take to recover. Every week that passes the damage grows greater – the damage to Chasewater’s ecology, it’s economy, and to the council’s credibility.
2:55pm, Tuesday, 22nd March 2011. The inconvenience to Chasewater users is nothing when compared to that of the clubs, but is marked and evident. The causeway is now closed for the upgrade of the culvert beneath.
Questions need to be answered about why this project was so delayed, why the costs keep escalating, and just why Lichfield District Council claimed the project would be completed when they did. Chasewater’s users and interest groups were either lied to, or something went horribly wrong with the project. Neither possibility can be considered the mark of successful management; indeed, late completion seems to be the order of the day for the council, with the Beacon Park project now running late, too.
I had started out on the subject of Chasewater with the hope that Lichfield District Council were undertaking something openly, in plain sight, with a new-media approach to the public that could later be held up as an example of how to successfully deal with potentially contentious and problematic projects. Twelve months later, I’m somewhat disillusioned. Lizzie has put in sterling work, but the clear management policy of refusing to answer an honest, basic question has saddened me immensely.
I’m currently preparing a set of requests under the Freedom of Information Act, to find out what has gone on. I’ll keep readers updated, and the request will be submitted via Whatdotheyknow.com so that the process is clear and visible to all. Those of us who love Chasewater and it’s wildlife deserve a decent answer.
2:40pm, Tuesday, 22nd March 2011. The Causeway is now out of bounds. Watch out for the temporary rail crossing, it's treacherous to bikes.
On a more practical note, the causeway, where the path crosses the creek between Jeffrey’s Swag and the main pool via the little metal bridge, is now closed, and will be so until at least Easter. The swag itself is being lowered to facilitate the replacement of the culvert between the two pools. There’s a long way round, via Norton East Road and a temporary level crossing just south of the Causeway. Take care if you’re on a bike; I was on Tuesday and the slabs of the crossing are just far enough apart to swallow a bike wheel. Supervise any kids crossing there carefully.
2:46pm, Tuesday, 22nd March 2011. Jeffrey's Swag has been lowered by about a metre so far, and is now taking on the appearance and birdlife of an estuary.
I note from the 
I don’t remember ice cream vans looking like this – in my childhood there were two distinct sorts – the Walls vans who sold wrapped ices, not cones – the vans were yellow and white, with a distinctive three-note chime, and the Mr. Whippy type that sold soft, aerated delights. Taken from ‘Memories of Old Brownhills’ by Clarice Mayo & Geoff Harrington.
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