Tag Archives: Lichfield Mercury

The Metz office?

An intriguing enquiry reaches me from local historian and blog dynamo the young David Evans, who’s after a rather specific bit of history relating to a lost courtyard of dwellings in Brownhills High Street Called ‘The Metz’.


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A pictorial record

Readers may well recall the awful and largely forgotten story surrounding Colenal James Kilian, and his cruelty and subsequent disgrace following the mistreatment of soldiers at the U.S. Army base stationed at Whittington, near Lichfield, duringWorld War Two – it’s a subject we’ve touched on occasionally and is little known about here in the UK, but somewhat notorious in the USA. Continue reading

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The Warners, the Wheatsheaf, and Pat the dog!

Further to Wendy Gates’ enquiry about the Wheatsheaf pub last week, and of her father, Jack Warner, Wendy posted some more family images to share with readers and maybe jog a few memories of the family and the popular lost Brownhills pub.

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Do you remember the Wheatsheaf?

Wendy Gates has been in touch to ask if anyone remembers her family who owned and worked at the long-gone Wheatsheaf pub in Ogley Road, Brownhills up until the 1970s – Wendy has fond recollectionsof this popular lost pub, and wants to know if anyone has any memories to share?
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Brains and Brawns

I love it when I ask an innocent question here that I think is throwaway, and through some mistake I make, or some side debate, a whole new historical vista opens up – and this has been the case this week the the history of Sandhills, Shire Oak, and the Brawn and Lane family dynasties.

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The Old Hednesford Pit Disaster: a question of Merrit

Incisive and tenacious historian Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler has been quietly continuing his investigations into the Old Hednesford Colliery Disaster, the 1911 accident that was brought to our attention when Reg ‘Are Reg’ Fullelove donated a poem he’d come to have in his collection to the blog.

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The estate we’re in

I had an interesting email from reader and top local history technician Andy Dennis a couple of weeks ago that expands on a recent topic beautifully: that of William Roberts and his empire.
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For the want of timber

Last week I featured an article by local history Rapscallion Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler about a text, available for free via Google Books called ‘Black Diamonds or the Gospel in a Colliery District’ written around 1860 by mystery author HHB.
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The Wheatsheaf, Brownhills – what do we know?

Here’s a quick one I’ve been asked about on twitter, and it’s piqued my interest to such an extent that I thought I’d post the question here, particularly while there’s a similar discussion centring around the Royal Exchange in Walsall Wood.
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Hey, Sally Anne…

Another research project for those so inclined came in this week, again via Twitter – Rob Kinnon-Brettle contacted me on Wednesday evening looking for information about the Salvation Army in Brownhills.
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A fit of Peake?

I had this one in a couple of days ago from Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler, who continues his dogged research into local mining history, and the relationship between those above ground and those whose labours they depended upon beneath them.
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The lights that shone bright in the Blackout

On the continuing theme of wartime Brownhills, air raids and the social upheaval that went with all that, I dug into the newspaper archives for examples of people fined for breaking the lights-out rules.
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The displaced

The more I look at the question of Second World War evacuees in the area, the more I am astounded and puzzled by the matter – a search of the newspaper archives reveals that we absorbed huge numbers of folk, not just children – this has been a revelation to me.
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On the nightwatch

Now here’s a wonderful thing from local history Rapscallion Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler, who in his usual inimitable style, has been rootling trough the newspaper archives for references to the air raids alluded to in the St John’s School log book I featured at the weekend.

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I don’t like that beer

The Ogley Square slum was indeed cleared – and as can be seen today – the area of Catshill and Ogley Hay around it became the site of huge social housing development – however, the site of the Square itself became the location of a new pub..

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Space, air and light

This week, we’ve got the follow up article regarding Ogley Square from the Lichfield Mercury of Friday, 8th February 1935 – this is a great summation of what’s happened, and also points out that Brownhills was one of the first towns to act on slum clearance legislation.Untitled 4 Continue reading

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An unearned income

It is with great pleasure that I can now continue the story of the slum clearance of Ogley Square in 1935, thanks to the efforts of an anonymous reader and top friend of the blog Richard Burnell.

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Fit for a queen

Continuing the Carnival theme (can there be a better one for such a summery spell?) Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler has been weaving his rapscallion magic and dredging the newspaper archive, finding two pieces in the Lichfield Mercury of 12th July 1935 and 25th July of the same year.
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In the soup

Walsall Council, unwanted silver tableware and a disgraced, abusive US Army Colonel – Walsall hasn’t recently become mad, it’s always been a bit bonkers.
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Haute couture

Amy Palmer seems to have been quite notable in Ye Olde City in the 1930s, at least – I think her store stood on the corner of Tamworth Street and Conduit Street, where the empty former Julian Graves store is today.

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A bride in Jasmine

Here’s an excellent find sent to me this morning by Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler, in response to my somewhat tenuous enquiry about Jasmine Cottage.

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The far pavilion

I said I’d return to the subject of Walsall Wood F.C. in due course, and today, I have some interesting pieces of the jigsaw to throw in, courtesy of readers. I’ve got other contributions on the subject to come, too, which will be developed in a subsequent post.

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Two halves to Aldridge, please…

Following on from the interest in Tony Martin’s picture of the early seventies Harpers bus at Aldridge, Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler found the following timetable from 1965 in the newspaper archive.
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Bradford on Brownhills

Here’s something found by Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler in the newspaper archive that crosses over from the Ogley Hay school into the area covered by Doctor Bradford’s predecessor, Dr. Maddever in his report to the health of Brownhills in 1910.

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Serving all his days

FIFTY years of unremitting service in the employ of the South Staffordshire Waterworks Company is the proud record of Mr. Joseph Plant, of Christ Church Gardens, Lichfield, who has recently retired as foreman engine driver at the Sandfields Pumping Station.

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A spectator writes…

What I really enjoy about doing this blog is those times when we get a historical snippet, then explore it through various avenues, take it and run with it. Often, this not only reveals the story to be different to that originally stated, but also a fascinating journey through what would otherwise be lost local history.
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Stand up!

In honour of the great footballing occasion currently bestowed upon Walsall Wood, the inexhaustible Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler, assisted by young David Evans has been making busy with the newspaper archives, and unleashed a deluge of historical articles about our favourite local soccer club.

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Ghost train

This one has pulled me up short, and I haven’t got a clue what to do with it. But it’s fascinating for a number of reasons; for one, it clearly describes the railway at Brownhills in the late Victorian era. For a second, it details the water main alongside the track. For a third, it’s utterly mad and delightful at the same time.
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Well, that was unfortunate…

Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler continues his patient, thorough research into the Harrison empire. This was, of course, the local industrialist family that owned mines in South Staffordshire, and particularly the Grove Pit and others locally.
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Musical youth

Here’s an odd one I’ve been meaning to sneak in for some time here on the blog. Readers and top contributors David Evans and Pedro Cutler regularly muse over the newspaper archives, and have found this gem from The Lichfield Mercury in 1903.
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The social contract

There has been some discussion here recently between regulars David Evans and Peter Cutler about miners working at Walsall Wood Colliery on day to day contracts. As a consequence, Peter found the following article in the Lichfield Mercury of Friday, … Continue reading

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Stirling Moss

I’ve a puzzler for readers of The Brownhills Blog. It’s more of a clarification, really. Top local history ferret [Howmuch?] has been rootling throughout he archives again, and came up with this snippet from the Walsall Observer. I’ve transcribed it … Continue reading

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On the ‘Shawe

Since there’s been so much interest in the Aldershawe Estate, sate high on Harehurst Hill overlooking Lichfield, I thought I’d try and get some pictures of the place yesterday. It’s been part of my cycling world for years, but until … Continue reading

Posted in Churches, cycling, Environment, Features, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

‘Shawe thing

Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler has been little short of prodigious this week, demonstrating just why I love curating this blog. Peter, together with Andy Dennis and others has been gradually untangling the history of the Harrison family and their home at … Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, Churches, cycling, Environment, Features, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Sunday papers…

Pedro Cutler has been a bit of a whizz of late with the newspaper archives. It seems he’s been scouring the old editions of the Lichfield Mercury for Walsall Wood relevant news. More to follow. He’s found some great snippets, … Continue reading

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The sobering influence of the church, 1936 style

Top friend of the Brownhills Blog, and curator and amateur local historian behind the excellent Lichfield Lore, Lichfeldian has turned up a real gem. The fellow blogger recently spotted the stub of a historical article in the Lichfield Mercury which … Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, Churches, Environment, Features, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Michael Fabricant: away with the fairies?

Many of us in the Northern Wastes who follow events over the border in Staffordshire via sites like the superlative Lichfield Blog, will be well used to the hyperbole, wild statements and attention seeking of the Staffordshire MP Michael Fabricant. … Continue reading

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