BrownhillsBob's Brownhills Blog

Brownhills firefighters in the early 1970s train in front of the Holland Park bandstand. Striking how much their uniform resembled that of the police, in the days before modern protective clothing. Image very kindly shared by Alan Haycocks.

Alan Haycocks, a former Brownhills firefighter, posted a remarkable image on Facebook last weekend, which shows Brownhills Fire Brigade in training on the grass in front of Holland Park bandstand in Brownhills in the early 1970s.

The image is interesting for a number of reasons, and not just the fantastic representation of brave local firemen honing their skills. This is the best photo I’ve ever seen of the bandstand, now long gone, that many will remember well. It also shows, behind the fire engine, the building that was Brownhills own morgue.

Alan Haycocks said of the image:

Firemen of blue watch practicing for Staffordshire Fire Brigade annual drill competition, probably around 1972/73.

We used this spot because, somewhere on there, is a ‘dummy hydrant’ which was installed for this very purpose.

We also remained on call via radio.

These are the guys who would work so hard fighting grassfires on the Common in the hot summers of 75 and 76, when most of the area from the railway embankment on Coppice Lane the A5 completely cleared of scrub.

Of course, a task for anyone with time to kill – is the dummy hydrant still there?

This image sits well alongside recent contributions from Godfrey Hucker, also a Brownhills fireman.

Thanks to Alan for such a wonderful, evocative image – if you can add anything, please do – either by commenting here or mailing me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com.

Image of the Dame School, Norton Canes, apparently from around 1956. Image from the 1975 Norton Canes Historical Society Journal.

Following the recent donation of an article on the Dame School at Norton Canes from the NCHS Journal by local historian Bill Mayo, I’ve received a really interesting enquiry from reader Keith Whitbrook.

Keith raises several interesting questions, including a really intriguing one regarding a another possible article by the Norton Canes Historical Society.

You can read my original article here, or read a copy of the NCHS piece in PDF format by clicking here. It’s also worth noting that Paul Ford’s wonderful Wyrleyblog has also featured this subject,

Thanks to Keith for a fascinating enquiry, and I’ll say here and now that if hd like to add more, he’d be most welcome too. This is great family history and exactly the kind of thing I love to feature here.

If you can help, please do: either by commenting here or by mailing me – BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com.

Keith Whitbrook wrote:

Hi Bob

I’ve been reading the post re-Dame school. Mr Charlesworth of Cannock was mentioned. I’m wondering if this was my uncle Jack who lived in Bridgetown who also lived in the old school house with his sister, my mother and their parents?

I seem to remember sometime in the 70s someone came to my parents and interviewed them from the Norton Society.

I never saw the report and would be interested in seeing a copy, of the interview and relevant info.

My grandparents on Dad’s side lived in the area too. Dad’s mother was a Slatcher and and he often spoke about them,think most of them were miners.

Dad had siblings buried in Norton church yard that I knew nothing about till a distant relative visited and we spoke of the family he was a Bird who parents lived in Norton by the finger post.

My Grandfather was a miner in the early part of 19th century and took his family to Scotland I would think about 1910/12 to East Wyemes on the Firth of Forth. Here they mined coal under the ‘sea ‘.

Dad was the second child his elder brother did not enjoy the best of health. There were (I think) three other children died while they were there.

Dad told me that he came home from school one day and found his mother in a pool of blood and died from a miscarriage.

They came back to Norton Canes/ Great Wyrley some time later. Grandad Whitbrook was called up for the 1914-18 war, and he was discharged a few weeks later because his discharge papers said unfit due to his bad chest with Doctor writing on the discharge ”Don’t know how this man got passed for active duty’ or words to that effect.

Think that enough for the moment of you would like to hear more let me know.

kind regards
Keith

Children’s names and changes in society are fascinating. Andy Dennis continues studying data presented by the 1861 Census.  Image of Walsall Wood School taken from ‘Street names of Brownhills, Clayhanger, Shelfield & Walsall Wood’ by Betty Fox and Walsall Local History Centre.

Andy Dennis, a longstanding contributor and friend of the blog has been continuing his painstaking research into the data presented by the 1861 census, this time considering the names of Brownhills residents.

Andy is now also a blogger in his own right and his site is well worth a read – you can go check it out here. Andy’s blog is very detailed and packed with useful information – particularly for genealogists who’ll find Andy’s tips, views and methodology very helpful indeed.

If you have anything to add, please do – this is fascinating research which I’m proud and honoured to publish. Comment here or mail me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.

Andy wrote:

Hello Bob

Here is some more from the 1861 census. As you know, I have been beavering away on this topic for my own blog – see this post here for example  – and this is essentially a by-product.

The spread of names is interesting. Image supplied by Andy Dennis.

The attached pie charts show just how dominant the top few names were at that time. The under 21 chart was an attempt to compare my own ancestors with the general population, but the two sets of charts show that the trend in frequency of the most commonplace names in the first half of the nineteenth century was more or less flat.

I hope to do some more on 1901 to show just how much trends in first names changed.

Trends in naming tell us much about social change. Image supplied by Andy Dennis.

There are some interesting thoughts on names, both formal and informal, on a site called Peter’s Pursuits here and I wonder of any of you readers have experience of nicknames and pet names that differ from given names?

Andy

A remarkable collection of pots, made at a local brickworks, owned by reader Phil Coopeer.

We’ve talked here a lot lately about local brick making, and also a little about curios and mementoes of coal mining – there certainly seems to be a culture of trades making ornaments or promotional items for their customers or families that remain fascinating years later.

One such collection of items is owned by reader Phil Cooper, who sent the above picture. He explains:

Hi Bob

Seeing the articles on brickworks I thought you may be interested in these pots. They were made round about 1900 at one of the local Brickworks but I don’t know which one.

They appear to be made from sections of pipes which have had their outsides modified to represent tree trunks, then ‘overlooked’ to produce the dark colour. Although having said that the smaller one appears to have been made from scratch.

Phil Cooper

Thanks to Phil for sharing – what remarkable, interesting pots! I’ve never seen anything like these before. Can anyone help identify their origin, please? Are there any more around?

I’d love to see other reader contributions of such ephemera – there must be loads around. One thing that does fasciate me is workmen who made their own tools, too – often as part of their apprenticeships. If you have anything like this you’d like to share with readers, please do.

Again, my gratitude to Phil – and please do comment here or mail me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Thanks!

Image by Madwblog.

I see from the excellent Madwblog that there’s a Community Spring Clean event going on in Clayhanger this Saturday morning (25th June 2016) from 8:30 to 10:20am and all are welcome – kit and gloves provided!

Tthis is being run but local community volunteers, not politicians out for quick publicity, so it’ll be a worthwhile event to get involved with and help improve the community!

Save the date! Next Saturday 25th June.

Meet at Co-op carpark 8.30am. Finish at 10.20am. Anytime you can give will be much appreciated.

Pickers, bags, high vis jackets are provided.

You can check out the event’s Facebook page here.

The spring event was a huge success, so let’s see if we can make this one even better!

Image of the Dame School, Norton Canes, apparently from around 1956, although there’s some dispute about this. Image from the 1975 Norton Canes Historical Society Journal.

An interesting thing reaches me from top local historian Bill Mayo, via David Evans – a study of the long-gone Norton Canes Endowed, or Dame School, which was demolished in the early 1950s, but seems to have been one of the earliest local schools.

The article Bill shares is from the Norton Canes Historical Society Journal of 1975, and covers some great, otherwise lost history of education in the village. It’s well worth a read, either from the gallery below or the full, searchable PDF file by clicking here.

It’s worth pointing out that Paul Ford’s wonderful Wyrleyblog has also featured this subject, and a commenter there also pointed out an anomaly in the text; although the article suggests the school was demolished in 1952, the drawing is allegedly as it looked around 1956! I wonder if the 1952 is a typo for 1962?

David wrote:

Hi Bob

Over a cup of tea and chat with local historian Bill Mayo recently one of the topics that arose was school and the Old Schools.

Locally we have very little information… Sue Lote’s admirable research has shown that there was a ‘schoolhouse’ in Walsall Wood, where a Mr Smart was the schoolmaster.

Margaret Thompson’s superb photo of Brownhills High Street circa 1910 showed some school pupils looking at the camera.

But little else has come to light.. until Bill showed me this amazing 1975 Norton Canes Historical Society journal, which has a full article on a long lost school.

I am delighted to be able to offer this article to your readers, and hope that, in due course, we may learn more of other ‘Dame’ schools, and I thank Bill Mayo for his ongoing generosity

kind regards
David

Thanks to David and Bill for this – another great piece of the local history jigsaw. If anyone has anything to add – or even better, has a picture of the buildings in question – I’d love to see it. Comment here or mail me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail do com. Cheers.

Image kindly supplied by Emma Smith – the enquiry that kicked the whole thing off!

Back at the end of May, I received an enquiry from reader Emma Smith who was interested in the history of an old smithy in the garden of her Grandmother’s house in Coppice Road, Walsall Wood, which spawned a lot of interest.

As soon as I saw the question, I knew this was one for roving investigator and fully paid up member of the Walsall Wood contingent, the young David Evans, who got in touch with Emma, and checked out the smithy and it’s history, and prepared the following, rather wonderful account.

I’d like to thank David for another amazing piece of work, and for recording yet again a piece of otherwise undocumented local history, but my gratitude is also extended to Emma and the Hewitt family for their generosity and kindness in allowing us to share this wonderful thing online. A true act of local felicity.

Just a note: I have two spellings of Hewitt; apologies if I picked the wrong one. The one I used is that specified by Emma in her first enquiry. Apologies in advance for any error.

As ever, I welcome further contributions, comments and clarifications. Please do comment here of mail me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.

David wrote:

The Old Smithy, Coppice Road Walsall Wood 

This simple, single-story building was local horse nail maker, Mr Abraham Harrison’s workshop in the 19th century.

Abraham Harrison, nailer of Walsall Wood… Census records:

1851, in ‘Clanger’ a lodger, aged 25. ‘Nail Maker’
1861 in Walsall Wood, age 35 ‘Nail Maker’ Wife Esther aged 22 and son aged 1 month
1871 in Walsall Wood, age 45 ‘Nailer’ Wife Esther age 32, daughter Ann Marie age 10, daughter Esther age 8, daughter Sarah age7, daughter Alice age2, son Abraham age 1
1881 in Coppice Road, Walsall Wood, age 54 ‘Nail Maker’ wife Esther age 47, daughter Ann Marie age 20, son Charles age 9
1891 in Coppice Road, Walsall Wood, age 65 , ‘Horse Nail Maker’
1901 in Coppice Road, Walsall Wood, age 75, ‘living on own means’, wife Esther age 69, son Charles age 29, bricklayer, daughter Alice age 32
1904 Abraham Harrison died . Will £402 19s 9d. Probate to Charles Harrison (bricklayer) and to Sarah Ann Harrison( spinster).

See also:

Walsall Wood, a short history,(page 2) Margaret Brice
‘The last nailmaker in Walsall Wood was one Abraham Harrison, who ceased trading in 1896 and died in 1904’

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

The two plastic shuttered windows are modern and cover the original windows. To the left the large white plastic garage door was formerly two large barn doors which opened on to the courtyard by the side of the cottage. The forge chimney was inside this corner of the workshop, near the camera, and was removed some years ago.

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

The image shows the corner of the workshop where the forge chimney used to be.

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

It is possible to make the outline of one of the two original workshop windows on this end wall.

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

The rear of the building has no windows, and I was told that there was once a ditch by this wall.

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

This shows the stable part of the building, with an original window, and ivy creeping up the outside wall. What lies behind the ivy?

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

At the far end of the stable is a small building, much more modern and quite amazing. The thick flat concrete roof gives a clue….

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

This is a complete, intact, Second World War air raid shelter! Part of the original door frame is still visible.

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

The entrance to this shelter shows the blast protection inner wall, and the space inside the shelter measures some six feet by six, The roof is low and corrugated patterning in the concrete roof is clearly visible. The building is quite dry!

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

The small window is seemingly original and its original purpose becomes clear as one explores the inside of the building. The ivy obscures another feature of the smithy.

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewett family.

This is the window that is covered by the ivy. It is possible to make out that this was the formerly the stable doorway that had later been modified to an arched window. Close examination of the outside wall under the ivy showed that the brickwork was different.

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

In this stable part of the building there are two doors which lead from the forge workshop to the stable. The roof has been repaired in modern times, but we there was once an upper floor…the holes show where floor joists had been. This was the hay loft, above the stable. The pitched wall is a load bearing inner wall that divides the workshop from the stable. The forge/workshop roof timbers are bare, telegraph pole style timbers. What had the iron hoop been used for? What had the old chain been used for?

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

In the corner of the stable we can make out the iron ventilation blocks and some old white- washing or lime -washing of the inside. This corner was under the stairs or ladder the led to the loft (the space between the wall and the first joist is greater than between the other floor joists).

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

And in the other corner we have the little window, to light the way up to the loft.

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

Throughout both the stable and workshop we can see the brick flooring, well worn and intact.

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

And, in the corner of the smithy workshop part of the building, just visible , the soot marking where the old chimney had been.

The workshop seems to have been well laid out….a pair of wide-opening barn doors, a forge in the corner by these doors, two good windows to let in the light, and possibly in the corner to the left, a pump.

Image kindly supplied by David Evans, and used with permission of Emma Smith and the Hewitt family.

Just visible in the floor near the back corner of the forge, by the back wall, are the remains of some kind of drain, which discharged in to the ditch outside.

I would like to give my sincere personal thanks to Emma Smith for contacting the blog and to the Hewett family for so kindly welcoming me and allowing me to visit, view and photograph this building and so bring this part of our local history to light.

David, June 2016

Gordon Payne, Edgar Pritchard and Billy Cotton in a remarkable photo supplied by Gordon Payne. That’s a great pair or smiles!

I’ve had a fascinating email from Gordon Payne of Brownhills Air Cadets who’s got a rather exciting item that requires a caring and experienced film technician to help with – a so far unseen Edgar Pritchard film.

Edgar was of course, the talented brother of Syd Pritchard, and Edgar made fantastic films that have provoked so much interest here previously – from the 1934 Brownhills Carnival film donated by Aer Reg, to the comedic short Hope Springs Eternal and the truly stunning Poacher’s Apprentice.

Grodon wrote:

Hi Bob,

Just enjoyed reading all about Edgar Pritchard on you website and thought you might be interested in the attached.

Edgar made a 16mm Kodachrome film in 1943 called ‘They Want to Fly’ to promote the ATC and encourage people to join. The photo is of me and Billy Cotton who played in the film.

I have the two original reels which are largely intact but need restoration. I wondered if you new or had a contact who might know who we could responsibly trust to restore/digitise this heirloom. Also I would like to contact Billy Cotton if he is still with us.

Kind regards,
Gordon Payne

Thanks to gordon for sharing this. Can you help with news on Billy or do you know a good film restored who can be trusted with such a precious artefact?

If you can can help, please comment here or mail me on Brownhillsbob at Googlemail dot com, and I’ll put you in touch.

The film in question – precious indeed. Image kindly supplied by Gordon Payne.

Claremont Cottage. Do we have a picture of that? Image kindly supplied by Gordon Payne.

The horrifying moment a lady is nearly hit by a turning lorry in Brownhills High Street recently. Image from a dascam clip by AutoElite.Biz.

AutoElite, the vehicle security and audio specialists from Shenstone have kindly allowed me to share this alarming video on the blog which was recently recorded on their dashcam, showing a lady walking along the pavement by Farmfoods in Brownhills, when the rear of a container lorry, apparently turning into Brickiln Street, nearly hits her.

Thankfully, the lady noticed and managed to take evasive action – but were this someone less aware of their surroundings for whatever reason, this could so easily have been far more serious.

Have to say, she’s as cool as a cucumber. Respect for that, and to the chap that warned her!

I can’t make out the registration in the video: if you fancy a go at working it out, you can study the original clip and the one it was zoomed from which are in the original post on AutoElite’s Facebook page here.

My thanks to AutoElite for kindly allowing me to share this here – be careful folks, this is absolutely shocking.

You can find AutoElite’s website here, or contact them via Facebook here – they really are top people, and I thanks to them for highlighting such a concerning issue.

You can find out more about AutoElite and the products they sell and support in this video posted on their page yesterday.

Click for a larger version. Image courtesy David Evans.

Here’s a curious thing I’ve been meaning to run for a few weeks now – noted local historian Sir Gerald of Reece, now resident in Devon (from whom, more later this week) has recently been in communication with David Evans, and amongst other goodies, has sent the above poster.

The poster details an extensive sale of land and property in the Brownhills, Shire Oak and Stonnall area, and is dated 10th June 1846. What we’d like to know is who was the original seller (Mr. Harris is an auctioneer, not the original seller), and how the sale of so much property came to happen?

I’ve had a delve in the newspaper archive and can’t find reference to the sale at all (although a more experienced archive trawler may well find something I’m too stupid to see)…

David wrote:

Hi Bob

Shire Oak for sale, but why?

This amazing poster was given to me by Brownhills historian Gerald Reece. The details, places and persons will be of immense interest to readers , I feel sure

The poster was too big for me to scan so I had to resort to camera , focus and prayer to obtain these images.

My sincere thanks are offered to Gerald Reece for his generosity.

David

Some closeups feature below – any ideas?

My thanks to David and Gerald, and if you can help, please do – comment here or mail me: Brownhillsbob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers….

Click for a larger version. Image courtesy David Evans.

Click for a larger version. Image courtesy David Evans.

Click for a larger version. Image courtesy David Evans.

One and a half centuries later, bricks are still made locally from a material recognisable to the writer in 1850, using process that although automated, really haven’t substantially changed.

I am this week indebted to fellow Black Country blogger and history wonk Simon Briercliffe of the superlative Up The Oss Road blog for pointing out the following text about Walsall Wood that he spotted in a Victorian account of brickmaking and structural ceramic manufacture, published in 1950.

‘A Rudimentary Treatise on the Manufacture of Bricks and Tiles’ was written by Edward Dobson, and published in 1850 by John Weale. The book is originally scanned from the Cabot Science Library at Harvard College, but made available free to all via the wonderful Archive.Org project. By it’s very nature, the book is a little dry, but it is actually packed with interesting stuff. You can take a look at here, and the pages in question start at the bottom of page 117.

What’s most interesting is the account of brickworks (which are also producing tiles and chimney pots) in Walsall Wood – note that this has to be pre-1850, so is long before deep mining started in the Wood.

There’s so much of interest here, it raises some excellent questions. Who was the account writer, J.L. Brown? Is George Brown a misunderstanding from Brawn? (Brawns, of course, owned Home Farm at Sandhills and the land there, and seem to have had a hand in the lime trade). Where were the brickworks, and the marl pits they dug?

Walsall Wood Colliery latterly had it’s own brickworks, but this is much earlier than that. What can we find out?

My thanks to Simon for an excellent spot – if you have anything to add, please do; comment here or mail me – BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.

BRICKMAKING ON THE SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE RAILWAY.

38. The following additional particulars respecting brickmaking in Staffordshire were sent to the authorof this volume by Mr. J. L. Brown, of Farewell, near Lichfield, and are given in his own words:—

‘The brickyard I visited is on the highway iron Lichfield to Walsall, at a place called Walsall Wood; it is worked by Mr. George Brown, of the Sand Hills, near that place. Mr. B. has another brickyard in the neighbourhood, more extensive than the one I visited, and from these brickyards have been supplied all the bricks used for building the bridges, viaducts, cattle- arches, culverts, &c., &c., on the South Staffordshire Junction Railway.

‘The brickyard I visited has six kilns or cupolas, and three large moulding and drying sheds for use in the winter season, each 40 yards long by 8 yards wide, having fire-places at one end, and traversed by flues, longitudinally, to a chimney at the other end.

Brick making has been consistently big business locally for hundreds of years, as this image from Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe of Aldridge Brickworks shows.

‘The material used is not a clay, but a friable kind of marl. The first stratum under the surface soil is about 4 ft. thick, very compact in body, and requires the pick to get it; it .is of a purplish hue. This is succeeded by a stratum, 3tft. thick, of bright yellow-looking marl, equally intermixed with marl, of a bright scarlet colour, and afterwards, down to the depth of 20 ft., the purple-coloured marl comes in again.

‘The earth, in its raw state, is drawn up an inclined plane on a common railway truck, by a steam-engine of 20-horse power, and at the top of the incline it tips itself into a hopper placed over the cast-iron rollers, between which the marl passes and comes down an inclined board, after being ground quite small. It is afterwards wheeled into heaps and tempered, and is then wheeled up an inclined plane of earth to the engine house, where it is passed through vertical cylinders of cast iron, in the centres of which are revolving pistons armed with flanges, like the screw propeller of a steam vessel, which grind the tempered clay and force it through holes in the bottoms of the cylinders to chambers beneath them, whence it is wheeled to the moulders.

‘They make red and blue bricks of the same marl, prepared, in each case, by rolling and grinding. To make the blue bricks, they keep the fires very much sharper and hotter, which changes their colour, and seems to run or fuse the material more, giving them at the same time a shining appearance. They make very few red bricks.

‘The price of the best bricks at the kiln is 30s. per thousand; common bricks, 25s. per thousand. Plain-tiles for roofing, 28s. to 32s. per thousand. They also make chimney-pots, pipes for the conveyance of water, splayed bricks, coping bricks, and bricks to any model.’

Looks like a great event!

Old friends of the blog Brian Stringer and Geoff Harrington have asked me to point out that on Saturday, 2nd July 2016 there will be a Community Fun Day at St. James Church, Ogley Hay, Brownhills.

All the usual favourites will be there – cake stall, tombola, toys, books, lots of stuff for kids and a grand prize raffle, and there will also be a barbecue. It all kicks off at 11am, so make a note in your diary.

Brian has also mentioned that there are still a few copies of his local football book ‘Who’s Putting the Nets up?’ still available, which would make a great present for a local football loving dad this Father’s Day! You can find out more in this post here.