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HOME |
Families
| Memories | Reunions | History |
I was born on the Mount Estate in 1923.
The address was Mount Lane - now Creynolds Lane.
Mount Estate was land owned by Philip Baker who divided the area into half acre plot's and
sold them for £70.00 each. This enabled soldiers and their families to build chalets for
weekend and holiday use. Solihull Urban district council would not allow any buildings to
be erected as permanent accommodation - yet! |
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| The roads were un-adopted and were repaired by the
‘new residents’. A working committee was formed to collect money (sixpence a
week) for brick, rubble and ashes to be used for making a base for the roads. Subsequently
ashes were purchased to fill in any potholes caused by wear and tear. The new residents
were more than happy to bring shovels and spades to carry out repair work – no
television to watch in those days. |
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My parents already had a general store on the Stratford Road
– by the Crown Hotel – now Jefferson’s. The store sold everything as well
as the usual provisions and clothing. My father was shrewd and was soon selling everything
needed by the new residents on the Mount to construct the chalets - timber, roofing, felt,
gas-tar, nails, hinges, creosote – you name it my father sold it! The new residents
borrowed – or should I say hired the wicker basket carriages to enable the
‘settlers’ to get their purchases to their plot. |
| To make certain they were returned a deposit
(refundable) was charged. Casual trade was a large part of the shop turnover. Walkers,
cyclists, horse riders and children with their Saturday pennies. Meeting days at Shirley
Racecourse were particularly busy, punters coming from all over the Birmingham area. Mugs
of tea by the dozen sold well on race days and weekends. The belt drive "Rudge
Multi" motorcycle was well used to fetch the 1 cwt. Blocks of ice from Digbeth cold
store (packed in salt petre to delay melting). |
| During this time my father
had a 200-gallon petrol tank put in the forecourt of the shop. It was branded R.O.P.
(Russian Oil Products) and was dispensed by a hand-operated pump. The petrol was first
pumped into glass half gallon bottles then hand lifted into the customer’s petrol
tank. The price was 10 pence a Gallon or 5½ d for half a gallon. I had three older
brothers and as we became old enough we were designated tasks to assist in running the
business. Turning the handle on the ice cream maker, carrying the ‘pop’ through
from the store (2d bottles of R Whites minerals with a 1 d deposit on the bottle), washing
mugs, filling shelves in the grocery shop and making up penny packets of biscuits etc. The
cigarettes and tobacco glass fronted cabinet was never locked! The most popular brands
were - five's of Woodbines, Park Drives and for the more affluent, Black cat, Gold Flake
and Senior Service –(with real photos) and tins of tobacco – Oh and of course
Twist. A Midland Red bus service was extended from the George and Dragon and people from
the Mount and Illshaw Heath cycled to our shop to catch the bus and we stored the cycles
for sixpence a week. There were only two buses a day 08.15 and 17.45. We also serviced
cycles and a charge was made for trimming the wicks and filling the lamps with paraffin.
The motor cycles had carbide (not paraffin) lights and water dripping onto carbide
granules made a gas that when burned was sufficient to be seen but useless to see by as
the beam only radiated about two feet. While the shop was making a profit - as it always,
did my parents purchased eight plots on the Mount Estate. |
| At this time Robinson's Removals (furniture) were changing from
horse drawn vans to motor vans. Dad bought six redundant vans and fitted coal-fired stoves
– (Parkinson's cast iron) and put them on the plots of land he had purchased. The
charge for renting the vans was three shillings a week. One van was kept as a sanctuary
from the shop. I was born in that caravan (That's why there is a little gypsy in me!). |
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| As time went on and the family got bigger the letting
vans became our home up until our parents had a brick bungalow built, complete with
dung-well-known as a dunwell which was emptied by Solihull Urban district council with the
"vinegar bottle", (no sewers in those days). |
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Our general stores were sold and a shoe repair shop was purchased
at 835 Stratford Road, Sparkhill. My father was a bespoke shoemaker and ex-pupil of King
Edward grammar school in New St, as my grandfather had insisted that his three sons must
learn cobbling as well as learning academics. The town air in Sparkhill was said to be no
good for me (my mother did not like living at the back of the shop and we moved back to
the caravan on the Mount). |
The shoe repair shop was kept on to give my brothers a
living. The land gave us ample room to play and separate sheds were built including a toy
shed, china shed and a kitchen shed with VALOUR paraffin oil stoves and gravity fed rings
and oven. (Nearly all the settlers had the above VALOUR oil stoves) Real mod cons!
The local Mount shops were Copes and Browns; they were wooden buildings and sold groceries
and sweets. Copes shop also sold paraffin. Mrs. Brown’s shop only sold sweets
cigarettes and matches and was approached not only from the Mount but from watery lane as
well. The Blacksmith George Bachelor’s was next door to the wheelwrights (Bullivent
and Bissell) at the corner of Watery lane and Salter Street. |
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Salter Street Church and School was the focal point of the area,
not only for the Mount residents but Hay Lane and Illshaw heath people also. - A long walk
to school. There was always secret rivalry between the youths of Earlswood and Mount
estate, football, cycling and the attention of the girls. |
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At the Earlswood fete teams opposed each other in challenges with
the Daily Mail Pushball. The diameter of the ball was about six feet and the challenge
continued until either side had no strength left to give it another shove. No time limit
was set. George Cope from the Mount shop lost his spectacles and couldn’t find the
ball, even a ball with a diameter of six feet! |
George ended up pushing with the Earlswood team –
without his spectacles he couldn’t recognise any of his own team! He had to leave
early anyway to do the papers (Mail & Argus).
The mount always had an
entry in Shirley carnival. Woolaston Mill, (John Woolaston being the
councillor
representing the area), gave the transport. |
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Personalities of the Mount
We knew one of the best as Jimmy Jesus
who lived at the bottom of the Mount by Watery Lane and spread the Gospel in the Bull Ring
in Birmingham. He had long hair down over his shoulders and was a good scrounger calling
at local houses for his food. He went into my father’s greenhouse and picked the
first ripening tomato. Yes my father was quite annoyed. If there was no body about Jimmy
would sneak into the fowl pen and help himself to one or two eggs.
Mr. Moore sold milk straight from the cow. He walked to Illshaw Heath
to collect the milk with his yolk and two buckets, selling the milk as he returned home.
Saturday nights most residents went to the Crown, Mild ale sixpence a pint and Atkinsons
Brewery special Brown & Rough at five pence a pint. And for the ladies a shandy or a
baby Guinness. Or a stick (measure) of beer or bitter. The live music was provided for
dancing by three musicians from the mount.
Billy Groom pianist and singer, Bill Bayley on the banjo and Jack
Derrick drums and percussion. The assembly room for the dancing got overcrowded and the
overflow danced on the lawn. Charabanes (coaches) from Birmingham came on evening mystery
tours (2/6d) all helped to swell the Saturday night crowds on the dance floor. Many people
used the Plough Inn, quieter and more sedate than the Crown.
Walter Ward the Crown's owner made home made wine all sorts at 1/9d a
bottle. On the counter in the ‘smoke room’ were always bits of cheese and
occasionally finger-bites of pork pie. In the shop a corrugated iron roof shed attached to
the Plough, Walter sold meats and cooked meets. In the cottages on the same grounds as the
Plough lived Walters sister. Miss Ward turned her front room into a shop. My mother would
send me to the Plough for a pint of M&B Nourishing Stout, 9d a bottle including a
penny on the bottle.
Miss Stokes housekeeper and Bar person to Walter Ward could always
find us a few salted peanuts or crisps if Walter was not looking. If I collected bottles
of beer for my father it was law to fix a label over the cork. Before the sticky label had
dried I would take it off and have a swig. Nobody noticed, as Miss Stokes would always
give the beer measure "a long pull".
The plots of land on the Mount were quite long and a box or drainpipe was left for the
milkman and postman to deposit their deliveries. The postman would come to a plot, blow
his whistle and shout the name of the person who had a letter. Other residents would here
and pass the information on. The Postman’s voice was like a foghorn and could be
heard down to the river and up to Tanworth lane. |
Road Map of the Mount Estate |
During the war smoke screens were lit to help to black out Birmingham and the North
Midlands. This depended on the way the wind was blowing. The oil containers were placed in
lines about ten yards apart.
The smoke and fumes caused a lot of problems and the soot got everywhere. No matter how
hard we tried the smoke and soot got into the house. Before we had cleaned up from one
night’s operation came the same thing the next night. Planes in distress came low
over the Mount.
On the corner of Kineton Lane and
Stratford Road Reeves Farm was demolished. The land was then turned into a landing strip.
Fortunately the area was never used for such an emergency and was used by the Home Guard
for training purposes.
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Extracts From "Life on the
Mount" By Bill Gilbert
Sadly Bill died in March 2002. He was a nice man and will be greatly missed.
His memories made me realise the lasting effect that the environment in which you grow up
has on the person you become.
Thanks Bill.
See Also:-
Salter Street Church,
Shirley Racecourse,
Rudge Multi
12 February 2002
I am planning a trip to England in May and happened across your web site.
I read an article written by Bill Gilbert, Growing up on the Mount, and I showed it to my
Mother and she said she knew a Bill Gilbert when she was young.
My maiden name was Bissell and the Bissell, Bill mentioned in his article as a wheelwright
at the corner of Watery Lane and Salter Street was my grandfather. My Grandparents names
were George Joseph Bissell and my grandmother was Nora Tomes. My Great Grandparents
were John Bissell and Emma and they were born around 1850.
My family emigrated to Canada in 1957. As a child I lived at 182 Yoxall Rd and attended
Sharman's Cross Junior School, Shirley Heath, and Sharman's Cross Secondary School. My
sister Margaret and I sang in the choir at Salter Street Church. My family also attended
Church at St. James' Church in Shirley, and my sister and I were girl guides there.
I thought it was very coincidental that I happened across that article and am going to
send it to my mother's cousin who lives in Shirley as my mother said she would get a kick
out of it. My husband and I are really looking forward to our trip and seeing our friends
and relatives. We were also trying to trace our family back before my grandfather lived by
the blacksmith shop (which I have a picture of) so if anyone has any suggestions on how we
do this, we would appreciate it.
Janet (Bissell) Smith
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