Help to understand areas in Birmingahm

[Karina001]

Hello fello family researchers.

I've recently started researching my family history and it's led me to Birmingham.....not being a Brummie or knowing the city at all I'm having difficulty locating some of the addresses on Census returns.

My family appear to have moved around Birmingham as in every census it's a different address mentioned.

I've located one to Ladywood - Ledsam St

The rest I can't find.

1841 - Coleshill St, Birmingham (reg dis) St Peters
1851 - 16 Potter St, Birmingham (reg dis) St Mary
1861 - Garlock Buildings back of 221 Ledsam St (Ladywood)
1871/1881 - Green St, Birmingham (Reg dis) All Saints
1891 - Heath St back of 215 (reg dis) All Saints

Could someone locate the areas the streets other than Ledsam are in.

Would be very grateful for help.

Karina

[jim1]

Hi Karina
I've found your streets on my old B'ham maps but as you are not familiar with B'ham it's difficult to give a description.Go to this site and download all the maps and street index and you will find the steets you are looking for except Heath St. which is just off the map in Winson Green by the hospital on Dudley rd.
Hope this helps
Jim
 http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=12942&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=12803

[Karina001]

Thanks Jim

Thats excellent...... 

Much appreciated

Karina

[mezentia]

Coleshill Street doesn't exist any more - it's now part of the campus at Aston University but used to run in front of the old computer centre, Sumpner and Chemical Engineering buildings. The Sumpner building used to be where they made the old fashioned beer handles for pulling pints. You can still see these in use: a label in a diamond-shaped mark on the brass arm in some older pubs will display the Sumpner name. Before the old houses and pub on the corner of Old Cross Street buildings were demolished tho', I managed to rescue the old Victorian street sign for Coleshill Street. Sadly, the other street signs were mangled by the demolition gang before I could get to them. The area must have been hit by bombs in the war as I recall the Bomb Disposal squad being called in when the Chemical Engineering building was being  built. Together with a number of colleagues, we lined up in the corridor on the computer centre - where we kept a critcal eye on the new building's construction, as you do - and I recall being waved away vigorously by one of the Bomb Disposal officers. Mind you, the risks must have been quite small otherwise I expect we would have been evacuated.

[Karina001]

Thanks so much for that excellent information. My ancestors used to work in a Brass Foundry, do you know if the Sumpner building was in use back in the 1800's as a brass foundry?

I'll take a look on Multi map to get an idea of where Coleshill St used to be.

Karina

[jim1]

Hello Karina
Coleshill St. is still there.It's a continuation of Dale End and finishes at the junction of Prospect and Belmont Row.You can download the 1847 maps and road index from 1847 here:
 http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=12647&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=260
Regards Jim

[mezentia]

Sorry Jim, but the continuation of Dale End is now the Inner Ring Road! Go under the subway at the end under the ring road and you emerge onto Aston University Campus. Coleshill Street ran parallel to what is now Jennens Row, the  B1114 leading on to the A47. I worked there for many years and saw the remains of the houses in the street demolished, and probably walked the entire length of the A47 between Birmingham and Norwich in the days when I used to hitch-hike home. There is a tiny stretch still left, I think, where the filter lane off the ring road heading south took you onto the staff car parks.

As for the Sumpner building, it was, I think a brass foundry, but it housed one of the engineering faculties when I was working next door.

[jim1]

According to my 2003 A-Z Coleshill St. runs parallel to Jennens Rd. up to Woodcock St. just prior to the junction of Cardigan St. and Belmont Row with the Uni on the left and the car park on the right and at the Queensway end finishes at Chapel St. and then runs under The Queensway into Dale End.Comparing it to the 1840's map I gave to Karina it's still running the same course.I think the confusion is that there aren't any houses there anymore and is probably barely recognisable as a street but whatever it is it's still called Coleshill St.
Regards Jim

[rugbywolf]

doesnt show on streetmap ,just a stump of a road and having been around their recently  a  lot of redevelopment is going on.used to live around steelhouse lane and the area has changed dramatically since then.