BrownhillsBob's Brownhills Blog

First up: Longstanding friend of the blog and top bloke Tony Jakement spotted this advert – it isn’t the one at Walsall, but could this be what Chaz Mason remembers being on the Midland Road Goods Shed in Walsall? Image from the North Fife blog.

Rail material is a very strong thread on the blog at the moment – and I love it so much, with Ian Pell, Simon Swain and others providing some great material – and as ever is the case, a highly tangential post following an enquiry by Chaz Mason has led to even more.

First up, though: that Banana advert (yes, Chaz remembered an advert for Fyffes Bananas, but had a significantly different recollection of it, which I’ll still not mention yet) – could it have been like the one above posted on the North Fife Blog? Quiz whizz Tony Jakeman spotted it. What do you think?

Tony wrote:

Bananas. That’s what the ad was for. Wall was painted black with an incredibly black skinned lady in a multi coloured skirt possibly with bananas on her head. Wasn’t it a banana ripening shed it was painted on? I’m off to consult with Google

Nest up, on the subject of the sidings – a mammoth post, just right for a lazy Sunday, from Ian Pell – thanks to Ian for all of his hard work, there is some remarkable stuff here. I bet that buffer mishap made the driver’s eyes bulge a bit!

As ever, thanks to all contributors, and if you have anything to add, please do: comment here or mail me – BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.

Walsall Shed Talk gets posted!

Hi Bob

I think the first place to start is with a map of the area after Bridgeman Street had been diverted and the underbridge created. This was probably not the best of ideas as immediately adjacent to the bridge was the Ford Brook. The rest as they say is history, the bridge flooding together with the station on numerous occasions.

Image generously supplied by Ian Pell. Please see text for details.

The map was produced after the quadrification of the railway between Pleck Junction and Ryecroft Junction in 1887 and shows the sidings which surrounded the station area. In Station Road the unmarked building was the stable block for the railway owned horses. Next to the grain shed was a wagon turntable which survived well into the 1960’s.

To the south of the station were sidings which became used for carriages. No.7 siding lead to the Potato shed (you can just see the “P” on the building. No. 9 siding lead through the Allsop shed. This was created by Henry Allsop who leased the land from the Earl of Bradford from 3^rd October 1855 on an 88 year lease. This building by the 1950’s was known as ‘Shannon’s shed’, a reference to John Shannon & Sons Ltd, clothing manufacturers of Shannon Mill. They ceased trading in 2000 and the beautiful building was destroyed by fire in 2007. (Hope I got the dates right!?).

Image generously supplied by Ian Pell. Please see text for details.

I haven’t been able to track down any photographs of the poster but here’s a Michael Mensing photograph (cropped and enlarged) of the north side of Shannon’s shed in 1976. The building was swept away with the development of the Saddler’s Centre multi-storey car park.

The small white building I think was a gate house/weighbridge (confirmation appreciated) in the Midland Goods yard on the other side of Bridgeman Street. The building behind was the NCL freight terminal which BR built in 1962-3 as a sundries and parcels depot to serve the North-east of the West Midlands. No longer standing, is the 2-storey Midland Railway Goods shed. This building appears to have gone just prior to this date, although later OS maps still show it existing.

Image generously supplied by Ian Pell. Please see text for details.

The above photograph is another by Michael Mensing, this time taken in 1959 and showing the former Midland Goods shed on the left. This is the building circled by Bob in the aerial photo. Presumably the poster was either attached to the gable end of the building or formed one of a series similar to those shown below on the boundary to the site. This photograph was not taken in Walsall; instead it shows part of Lawley Street, Birmingham in LMS days.

Image generously supplied by Ian Pell. Please see text for details.

The only photograph I have of the gable end of the ex-Midland Goods shed is a very grainy Walsall Observer picture of the early 1970’s. This shows the Tasker Street facing end rather that the gable facing Bradford Square. It is on the far right above and beyond the vans. Could they even be carrying bananas? Nice thought, but I think that type of banana traffic had ceased by that date. To the left of the Midland Goods shed in the far haze can just be made out the Shannon shed and just to the right of the shunting lamp is the Grain store. On the far left is the BOAK stack and building. If anyone knows how to “de-grain” such photos, I would greatly appreciate their comments, as the newspaper clipping comes from one of my very old scrap books!

Image generously supplied by Ian Pell. Please see text for details.

The next photograph shows you why it is important to fix your posters firmly! This is Bridgeman Street looking away from the station towards the LNW Goods shed in Long Street. The class 25 ran through the buffers before performing its balancing act. Unfortunately, no date, number or author is known for this marvellous photo.

Image generously supplied by Ian Pell. Please see text for details.

Finally, I think I’ve kept the best till last. This photograph is probably an ‘official’ BR photograph. It recently appeared in a By-lines (Dec. 2015) railway magazine article together with several other s of the area. The photograph dates from 18^th June 1953. The posters are for National Savings, Ansells Spotlight Ale and Royal Navy courses. Perched above and to the left of the bridge is Walsall No.2 signal box.

Image generously supplied by Ian Pell. Please see text for details.

Hope the above is of interest.

Kindest regards
Ian

There’s loads of great material – like this wonderful image of Norton Canes British Legion. Image from Norton Canes History.

I seen Philip Burton, friend of the blog and moderation of the Norton canes History Group on Facebook has got together with other members to create a great new website for Norton Canes history material.

There are great photos, and the content is growing all the time – it looks like it’s going to be a great resource for anyone interested in the history of the village over the water, and I know many Brownhills folk have family and other interests in Norton; after all, we were under the same council for years!

Click here to go and take a look!

My compliments to Philip and friends and I recommend you add Norton Canes History to your favourites and keep popping back!

There’s wonderful material like this out mines and canals, too! Map from Norton Canes History.

Here we go again – this is my followup to Monday’s post on the subject of local politics. I’m expressing here a view of my own, of things as I see them – I’m aware many readers will disagree. But this blog has always been mindful of local politics, and will continue to be so. To the person who sent me a lengthy email decrying my ‘slide into politics’ – don’t read it, don’t read the blog. I don’t care – the receptionist will happily refund your subscription at the desk on your way out. To everyone else, back to history, bad typing and incorrect assumptions about railway vehicles tomorrow.

Ravens Court, Brownhills: years of broken promises – it’s a state that we’re in. Photo by Pete Hummings.

Back on Monday I pointed out that there are local Council and PCC elections in the borough of Walsall this week, on Thursday, 5th May 2016, when you get to vote for one of the three councillors to represent your ward at Walsall, as well as selecting the next Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands.

Every ward in Walsall has three councillors – ours are currently Councillor Steve Wade – Labour, Councillor Ken Ferguson – Conservative and Steve Craddock – UKIP. It’s Steve Wade that’s up for election this year. Councillors are elected for four year terms, in consecutive years with one year in the cycle when no elections take place.

This time around, Councillor Steve Wade is up for re-election, standing against Conservative candidate Ben Brittain and UKIP candidate Derek Bennett. Steve and Ben live in the area of Brownhills.

On Monday I took an unusual step – in seven years of this blog, I’ve never really expressed a preference for any candidate in local elections. I know readers have their own political views and that’s fine, and most readers will know I’m a left winger at heart. But the reason I’ve spoken up this time in support of Councillor Steve Wade and this is not political, it’s about fairness and about the best candidate for the job.

I’m old fashioned. I believe being a local Councillor is a job that carries a lot of responsibility, and in reality, for little reward. It’s a job I would be totally unsuitable for, and I have deep respect for anyone serving their community in that role who does so diligently and well, whatever their political affiliation. In Walsall there are good Councillors across the political spectrum, and I appreciate them. I was happy to pay tribute to Conservative Mike Flower when he stepped down, still in his 20s, after a period in which he showed care and concern for Walsall Wood that went beyond simply ‘doing the job’ – likewise, much as I find him annoying, I recognise that Liberal Democrat Leader in Walsall Ian Shires owes his continued success to his passionate support of his ward residents. For Labour, you’d have to go a long way to beat the commitment to their position that Richard Worrall shows. I respect any Councillor doing a good job.

I believe Steve Wade to be a dedicated and caring man – I haven’t managed to find anyone outside of the local Conservative circle who has a bad word to say for him. He’s a Brownhills resident and has been a dedicated, committed Councillor since 2012. Steve, on the few occasions I’ve met him has been softly spoken but passionate, and a man committed to helping those he serves.

My decision to speak up for Steve was made way back in November 2015, when one single post on Facebook by Ben Brittain left a very nasty taste in the mouth, and summed up my unease with the nature of the then ongoing, but silent election campaign in the ward.

It prompted me to do some research, and after talking to a number of people, I found the following.

I don’t think many people realise but the building constructed as the Senior Citizens Centre in Pier Street, Brownhills – just next to the old marketplace – is used as a day service facility by Walsall Social Services in the daytime, and at other times, is used for the Senior Citizens Club. The building provides a vital hub for not just for vulnerable adults, but for older members of the community. The services it provides are appreciated and cherished by those who use them.

It was with some disquiet last autumn that Steve was approached by concerned members of the Senior Citizens Club who were worried about the future of the building. Rumours had been circulating for some time about cuts to Walsall’s social care services, resulting in the contraction of day service back to central locations to save money – a process which has been ongoing for some time. The seniors were concerned not just for the daytime service users, but also for the future of their own social club.

Steve set about trying to find what the plan was. As any caring Councillor would. Steve and some of those concerned attended a couple of meetings with Council Officers to discuss the implications of such a move, but could obtain no reassurances of the future of either group of users at Pier Street, being told that they would merely be ‘acomodated’. After advice to contact the Portfolio Holder, no assurances were forthcoming and Steve used one of the few tools in a Councillor’s armoury: he started a petition.

As acts of civil insurrection go, starting a petition is pretty low down the scale. At every council meeting petitions are presented to varying effect and they serve to bring a matter to wider prominence, and to show a degree of support.

What happened next was most surprising. A post appeared on Facebook posted by Ben Brittain on 3rd November 2015. At this point Ben was clearly being presented as a future Council candidate, but has no more right to speak for Walsall Council than you or I. He has not yet been elected, but seems to speak a lot for Ken Ferguson, their relationship seeming akin to Keith Harris and Cuddles.

Quite an odd post, attacking a serving Councillor for supporting concerned ward members. Posted to Facebook on 3rd November 2015.

Here we have the spectacle of a young man in his early twenties with no Council experience whatsoever, repeatedly asserting that an elected representative lied and suggesting he was unfit to fulfil his role for what heinous crime? Speaking up for the concerns of his ward residents.

I regarded this post with incredulity. Pulling the rug from under opponents by suddenly changing ongoing policy sadly isn’t unusual in politics and is to be expected – but the sheer unpleasantness of this attack made me decide to speak up for Steve when appropriate.

Ben, I’m sure, is a very passionate young man. He’s been telling Brownhills he’s a suitable and community minded candidate, and I’m sure his desire to serve and speak up for Brownhills is genuine. But this attack on a decent, hardworking man was unpleasant and disrespectful, particularly from a youngster with such a lot to learn.

Steve was approached by people who were concerned, he sought to allay those concerns, Unable to get a definite answer, he started campaigning for them – in that respect, it worked; the Conservatives moved on the matter. That is the job Steve was elected to do, and will be a position that the next incumbent – be it Steve, Ben or Derek – will on occasion find themselves.

Further, how long does this assurance of Ben and Councillor Ferguson last? Since neither can tell the future budget or plans of the council, it seems a pretty bold statement to make.

Like a lot of people, I’m not prepared to be be lectured to about integrity by a person younger than much of the content of my sock drawer; such an unpleasant attack for what equates to Steve offering support to those concerned shows a lack of maturity and speaks of the politics of the playground.

The last time I saw a political campaign of this nature locally was Walsall North in the last General Election, where a concerted and prolonged attempt to oust David Winnick with some pretty harsh campaigning failed. I’m personally not a fan of Mr. Winnick but if ever there was natural justice, that was it.

Then, there’s the question of Ravens Court, the derelict shopping precinct in the centre of Brownhills. The history is long and involved, and can be read up in this post here… But in essence, following the withdrawal of Tesco’s plans to develop a new store using the site, the owners of Ravens Court – a London based property company, not connected with Tesco –  have allowed the precinct to fall into disrepair.

Jam tomorrow: From the Express & Star, November 28 2014.

There was good news on the horizon in autumn, 2014, when Brownhills UKIP Councillor Steve Craddock – working apparently with Conservative regeneration whizz Adrian Andrew – had been in deep negotiations with the site agents and there was going to be a planning application ‘in the new year’ to redevelop the eyesore that is Ravens Court.

While this was happening, and for some time previously, Labour Councillors Steve Wade and Barbara Cassidy were working to get Walsall Council to apply a section 215 notice to force the owners of the site to at least tidy it up and bring it into better repair.

This action was held off to allow a planning application to be made. It never happened. Ravens Court continues to decay, but all the time there are rumours ‘a big name is interested’, or we’re primed for a ‘big announcement’ that never seems to come. Understandably, residents are keen to see action, and made this a local election issue.

So in last Autum’s edition of ‘In Touch’, the Conservative party promotional freesheet, we have this:

Come on, if you’ve got a plan, let’s see it.

On the face of it this implies there’s good news. We are, apparently, a ‘step closer’ to ‘redevelopment’ and there is, apparently ‘a plan to regenerate Ravens Court’. Oddly enough, they don’t mention what this plan is, or where details can be found. Which is a shame, as without substance, it looks a bit like waffle. There’s certainly no planning permission, and the only hi-vis around there is not building workers, but local volunteers, having to do tidy days because the landlords won’t.

Subsequently, last December, Ben  issued the following statement, which was helpfully shared to my timeline.

Helpfully shared into my timeline, this Facebook post from Ben Brittain appears to be celebrating a… brochure.

What this flowery codswallop boils down to is that the agent is preparing a ‘Marketing Brochure’ for Ravenscourt (one assumes) and that nobody is interested, there’s still no planning application on the horizon and absolutely nothing has been achieved.

But hey, there’ll be a lovely new brochure. Any sign of that yet…?

Interestingly, I can find no evidence of the Lightquote owned area of Ravens Court being even for sale. Can anyone find something I can’t?

While all this redevelopment hasn’t been happening, Ravens Court continues to decline, suffer ASB and attract vandalism. Steve Wade continues to push – as he has all along – for legal action to at least force the owners to take some responsibility for keeping it maintained and secure. There’s no easy solution here as I’ve been pointing out for a very long time.

Beware of those promising solutions around the corner – there is no evidence of them and we’ve heard this repeatedly. In order to deal with this we need people around who aren’t easily taken in and actually have a hard head for Brownhills.

If there’s a plan, share it with the community. Let’s all have a gander. But there’s been one common factor to the years of redevelopment failure of Brownhills from the ludicrous by-pass plan to Tesco: that’s Conservative politicians making promises and then failing to deliver.

I would suggest it’s time to stop swallowing developer flapdoodle and get tough. We need a Councillor capable and experienced enough to do this. Only Steve Wade appears to be be able to see through it.

All in all the unpleasantness of some of the campaigning, the politicisation of local issues like unauthorised traveller encampments on which councillors should stand together, and the general posturing, I feel the only candidate I can personally support is Steve Wade.

You should and will make your own decisions – but this is my view. Ben Brittain may be keen and have a high profile – but high-vis littler picks and press calls with the new MP aren’t what the job is about. It’s about listening, understanding, and putting people before politics.

It’s about Brownhills.

This 1921 Aerofilms image shows what I believe to be the goods shed Chaz remembers; the Bridgeman Street bridge or subway is lower centre, with the street itself running broadly left to right. Image from Britain from the Air.

I get some unusual enquires here, and sometimes the best way to approach them is somewhat obliquely – this is a cracker from the wild man of Clayhanger Marsh, Chaz Mason, who’s trying to confirm his memories of an advertisement painted on the wall of a railway goods warehouse in Walsall, that existed in the 50s and 60s.

I have edited the message Chaz sent me; he’s told me what he thinks the advert was for, and what it said, but I think it would be more useful in this instance to see what was remembered by other people or could be pulled from the archive.

I’ll let Chaz explain:

Hi Bob

I wont to tap into the local history expertise of your readers with a local history enquiry which is a bit unusual..

As you might know I was born on the Pleck Road in the fifties and to get into town we used to walk down Bridgeman Street, under ‘The Subway’ and up to the cenotaph. As we did this two things stand out in my memory. One is some graffiti on the left hand side saying ‘Yanks out of Cuba’ (I have looked for any surviving evidence of that particular bit of social history but to no avail) while on the opposite side of the road (where the car park is now) was a railway Goods Warehouse and that is the source of my enquiry.

Painted on the wall of this building was a huge advert – possibly for fruit. Does anyone remember what it was?

Were you aware of this and if you were, are you aware of any photographs of it? This really came to mind with Jack passing away as I am pretty sure that if anyone had a photograph of this it would be him.

What do you know muka? No rush with a response, I don’t want to add to your load but thought you might be the man to ask.

Chaz Mason
Clayhanger

I’d like readers to please wrack their memories for this advert, and see what they can recall. Cheers to Chaz for a brilliant, brilliant question, and for the continual friendship and solidarity he offers. Chaz is one of the longest-standing local bloggers, and although our subjects don’t often overlay, his blog is always top of my reading list.

Check out Chaz’s work here.

In the meantime, if you have any ideas, do get in touch – comment here or mail me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Thanks.

This si the same area from a different angle captured by Apple Maps, just after the BOAK Building was demolished. The rail sidings are now the Saddlers Centre and the goods shed a car park.

I’ve had this wonderful selection of pictures and a video from friend of the blog, Ukulele whizz and Nordic Walker Barry Shaw, which were taken by his partner Jan during her annual dawn Nordic walk at the country park on May Day, Sunday, 1st May 2016 – I think readers will agree that they’re stunning.

Jan runs a popular Nordic Walking group at Chasewater – Dancing in the Rain – and you can check out what that’s all about here – I commend it to anyone. A great way to get fit, meet new people and above all, have fun in a great local natural wonder!

Thanks to Barry and Jan, these really are wonderful!

There’s going to be some political stuff here over the next few days – I’m aware some readers will take exception to this, or my opinions – if you do, go here instead – whilst I value everyone’s opinion and contribution, I have views and opinions, and this is my blog. I’ve never shied away from political stuff, and that’s what started this blog, seven years ago to this day.

Local policing cuts have been savage and show in the increasing incidence of crime here. Despite fine words, tour local station still closed. Image by John M and posted on Geograph.

In case you’re unaware, there are local council and PCC elections in the borough of Walsall this week, on Thursday, 5th May 2016, when you get to vote for one of the three councillors to represent your ward at Walsall, as well as selecting the next Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands.

The election is separate to the EU referendum in June, and is not connected with it.

Right now, Brownhills has Councillor Steve Wade – Labour, Councillor Ken Ferguson – Conservative and Steve Craddock – UKIP. It’s Steve Wade that’s up for election this year.

Steve Wade is standing against Conservative candidate Ben Brittain and UKIP candidate Derek Bennett. Steve and Ben live locally.

Whilst many here can’t fail to notice I’m a left winger, I have criticised here in the past Walsall Labour, Tories and LibDems – in fact, I’d tenure some of Walsall Labour probably loathe me more than the Tories. Likewise, I’ve not been slow to praise good Councillors of any stripe; Mike Flower may have been a Tory, but he was good in Walsall Wood and gave a toss. I continue to hold Pelsall Tory Marco Longhi in high regard, despite disagreeing with him stridently on lots of issues.

I hold off on telling people who to vote for, because that’s not my place and we all must decide for ourselves. however, I’ve been watching politics for a few months in Brownhills and have noticed a rather unpleasant note to proceedings.

The Conservatives in Walsall are currently holding power in a ramshackle coalition with UKIP and independents, and are desperate to win seats and consolidate power on Thursday. Recently their budget was voted down and unless they increase their number of councillors, life could be very difficult for them.

Control of Walsall Council probably rests on about four seats this year, one of which is Brownhills.

Walsall Council has traditionally been finely balanced, but the Conservatives have held power here either by themselves or in coalition for most of the last 16 years. Since Brownhills is an unpredictable ward electorally, the Conservatives have thrown a lot of energy into campaigning in Brownhills over the last few months. They want your vote, and don’t seem to care much how they get it.

‘Our drive to regenerate Brownhills District Centre’ – as erected in 2007. How’s that going, folks?

I wasn’t minded to comment, but something changed my mind a while ago which I’ll come to later in the week, and I think it’s time to speak up for Councillor Wade.

I have found Steve – who lives in Brownhills West, and whose lad goes to a local school – a pleasant, quietly spoken man on the few occasions I’ve met him – but I know that he’s been working hard here for years. Steve doesn’t shout about what he’s doing, or make a big fuss with press photos and showy publicity stunts – he just gets on with being a Councillor, taking time to help people and try and improve life in Brownhills.

Steve has dealt with flyposting by removing the posters himself, he’s swept accessways and  collected littler of his own volition. Because he cares.

Steve has been battling for years to get Walsall Council to legally enforce the owners of Ravens Court to clean it up; Steve has never had any truck with the vague promises sold to more credulous politicians of upcoming big names and redevelopment; he recognised a long time ago that only legal action could make a difference, and has pursued the cause doggedly.

After years of other politicians being willing, useful fools and relaying false promise, it finally looks like legal action may be imminent.

on the few occasions I’ve met Steve, he’s been a quietly spoken, but passionate advocate for our town and the people within it.

As to other matters locally, Tory promises were made to fight for the local Police Station before the last election, yet it still closed without a whimper, and whilst Conservative candidates and the local MP have been asked about other local cuts and closures – like the upcoming loss of the Walsall Housing Group office in Silver Court  – nothing has been done.

When the Brownhills to Birmingham bus service was under threat, it was Steve Wade who raised petitions, organised meetings with the authorities and bus company, and actually invited the public to join him in those, only for the Tories to attempt to take the credit after the event.

Steve shares the work he does on his blog and via Facebook, and has recently been interviewed by the wonderful Madwblog for Clayhanger. I commend readers who may be interested to check it out.

I’m not telling anyone who to vote for, you must think for yourselves. But I know who  I support, and who best supports our town.

Think about it: in the last decade and a half in Brownhills, what has a Tory council ever done for Brownhills?

Over in Clanger, Madwblog is doing great stuff. Click on the screenshot to read their interview with Councillor Steve Wade.

This is the only historical photo I know from the Anchor Garage – I would say this is late 80s to early 90s and was posted on Panoramio from the wonderful BrownhillsGeorge. I have no idea what’s going on, but it’s a great shot.

Here’s a good one for a Sunday – I’ve been asked about the history of Anchor Garage in Lindon Road, between Brownhills and Walsall Wood – it’s a very longstanding business, and I remember as a kid it sold petrol and did car repairs, whereas now, it’s just the latter.

Reader Maz has asked if anyone remembers the garage, and the man who owned it for a while – Bernard Bullock, who sadly passed away a few weeks ago.

Maz said:

Hey Bob.

Have you got any historical information on The Anchor Garage in Brownhills?

My friend Bernard Bullock owned that garage for a while. Sadly he died a few weeks ago. Just wanted to reminisce really, to see if anyone knew of him or even had any stories because he was a wonderful man who helped anyone with anything…

Thanks Bob
Maz

I know nothing about the place, but it is a very old local business, and I’d love to hear what you know. Please do comment here or mail me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers – ant thanks to Maz for a great enquiry.

I had to scan it quickly before it decomposed. I think this bookseller had a mask and pistol… but here it is: Men of Aldridge, published in 1957 and written by Jim Gould.

Following the posting here of part one of Jim Gould’s wonderful book ‘Men of Aldridge’, last week, which was inspired by a great contribution from reader Brian Edwards, I now feature the second half of the book for you to download and read.

If you missed part one, click here to get it.

I have read the whole book, but I’m not going to comment on the contents because I want to see what you readers think and I’d rather not lead the witnesses, so to speak… Suffice it to say Jim Gould was clearly a man of no little talent and charisma, and I pay tribute to an interesting, engaging and fascinating work.

Please, feel free to download the PDF at the link below, and have a good read. The file is optimised, and a better scan than part one. It’s been straightened and is searchable for text.

It’s a big file and may take a while to download on slower connections.

Men of Aldridge Part one Chapters IX-XIII plus appendix PDF format 18 megabytes

This is a fascinating book and I recommend it to anyone interested not only in Aldridge and it’s local history, but in Jim Gould too.

Please feel free to comment, and let me know what you spot – there’s even a reference or two in there to early Brownhills! Go for it – post your thoughts here, or mail me – BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com. Cheers.

A gallery of the first 20 pages is below – click on any image to see the full size scan.