History and Information on Bradford Street at Digbeth, Deritend and Bordesley in Birmingham in the County of Warwickshire.
www.midlandspubs.co.uk
Some history of Bradford Street
More information on Bradford Street to follow. I probably created the page as I had a link to Bradford Street from another page. When building the site it is easier to place links as they crop up rather than go back later on. I realise this is frustrating if you were specifically looking for information on Bradford Street. There is information on Birmingham dotted around the website - click here for a suitable starting place.
Street Scenes in Bradford Street
Genealogy Connections
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Related Newspaper Articles
"In Birmingham, we briefly alluded to the disastrous flood at this town, in our last Courier. The first indication of the flood was
observed about ten o'clock on Thursday morning, when the River Rea rose suddenly much beyond its usual level. The current was very rapid, but still, there
being no obstruction, it was supposed the water would pass off the usual way. The river, however, gradually continued to swell, and about five o'clock in the
afternoon a sudden and overwhelming stream rushed through the flat grounds on the left side of Vaughton's Hole, and inundated the thoroughfares leading from
Moseley Street through Cheapside and Bradford Street to Digbeth. The water this time had risen about six feet in the river, and was so high that it could not pass
freely under the bridge at Deritend. This obstruction considerably swelled the river between that point and Moseley Street, and the momentarily increasing current
forced the water over the banks, and completed the inundation of the streets. In Rea Street the passage was entirely stopped by water to the depth, in many places,
of nearly four feet; in part of Bradford Street the water was of the same depth, and covered a space nearly two hundred feet in length. The houses were deluged,
and not only were the cellars of many of them filled with water, but the lower rooms were also flooded to a depth of nearly three feet, thus greatly damaging the
furniture and goods of the inhabitants. The hucksters, provision dealers, and grocers sustained severe losses, their goods being either swept away or irretrievably
injured. In several instances barrels of treacle, oil, and other commodities in cellars were stove in, and their contents mingled with the water. At the works of
Messrs. Henn and Bradley the water rushed through the gateway into the lower part of the premises, where a great number of women and girls were employed. The
machinery was immediately stopped, and the terror amongst the females was indescribable. Numbers of them waded through the rising water, and serious fears were
entertained for their safety. A cart was at length procured, and six men having attached themselves to it, the women were safely removed from the premises. At the
screw manufactory of Messrs. James, Bradford Street, a considerable loss of property was occasioned by the flood, as was also the case on the premises of Mr. Hill,
timber-merchant, and Messrs. Nicklin and Sneath, wire-workers. Mr. Palmer, of the Anchor Inn, sustained very heavy loss. His cellars were completely filled,
and about twelve hundred gallons of ale were spoiled, and several barrels of spirits and dozens of wine rendered unfit for use. Fortunately, before the inundation
attained its height, Mr. Palmer succeeded in removing a quantity of hops, but had not time to secure his other property. At seven o'clock the violence of the
flood was at its height, the whole this part of the town, extending from the waste land near Vaughton's Hole to Moseley Street, Rea Street, Barford Street,
Cheapside, Bradford Street, Digbeth, and to near Oxford Street, was covered with water varying in depth, from one to four feet. In Digbeth, Mr. Bayliss of the New
Bull's Head, suffered great loss; his cellars were completely filled, barrels carried to and fro, and not less than £100 worth of ale and spirits were
destroyed. The water penetrated to the premises of the Battery Company, causing some damage, and nearer Deritend Bridge, where there is a footpath below the level
of the road, the houses and yards were literally filled with water, and from the Leathern Bottle the people made their escape from the upper windows. At the Old
Bull's Head the inundation was very destructive, and Mrs. Ferrer, the landlady, has been a considerable sufferer, as has also Mr. Bennett, of the Horse and Groom.
At Vaughton's Hole whence the torrent burst forth, the effects were most ruinous. The extensive brick-yard of Mr. Harrison was completely submerged, the
machinery swept away, and the clay pits filled; his loss will be very heavy. A substantial wooden bridge opposite the brick-yard was also swept away in the
course of the night. Mr. Brown, the same neighbourhood, has likewise suffered severely from the partial destruction of several newly-erected houses. They were
completely filled with water, and their foundations, and those of other houses, are said to have been undermined. The flooding in the parts mentioned was so excessive
that all traffic was stopped, and unless by means of waggons, carts, cabs, and horses, ingress to, and egress from the houses was rendered impossible. Considerable
sums of money were realised by the carriers, whose charge for each person conveyed varied from one penny to one shilling. Following the outward course of the river
where it runs parallel to Heath Mill Lane, or Gibb Street, the end house of a row abutting the stream, and recently erected by Mr. Muddyman, was destroyed, the gable
end giving way. The occupants lost the whole of their furniture, which was carried down the stream. A wall thirty feet long and nine inches thick was also swept away,
with its embankment. Fortunately no lives were lost, the inmates of the houses providentially escaped before the building gave way. Lower down the river a portion of
the abutment of the wooden bridge leading into Floodgate Street was broken down, and from this point to Fazeley Street, walls, pigsties, and outhouses have been much
damaged, and in many instances completely demolished. The ground formerly occupied by the old Mill Pool was also partially overflowed, and the whole of the streets in
that neighbourhood, from Bordesley Street to Deritend, were more or less flooded. The water appears to have forced itself a passage up the culverts, and broken into
the cellars of the houses. In the neighbourhood of Little Ann Street, the proprietor of the Swan public house, and Mr. Hudson, of the Woodman, sustained considerable
loss from the bursting of barrels, bottles, etc. Perhaps the most alarming spectacle in connection with this catastrophe was that which presented itself in Lawley
Street and its vicinity, where the water accumulated vast bodies. From the viaduct over the Liverpool Railway to Garrison Lane, Lower Dartmouth Street, Great Barr
Street, a distance of nearly a quarter of a mile, it was almost one sheet of water several feet deep. The danger here was considered exceedingly great, and many
instances of a distressing nature occurred to increase the apprehensions of the inhabitants. The working men coming home were unable to reach their houses, and not
knowing the fate of their wives and children, were in the most distressed condition. Some of them plunged through the water regardless of consequences, and endeavoured
to reach their houses, and many narrowly escaped with their lives. Hundreds of the inhabitants were taken from the windows of their houses in carts before the flood
had reached its greatest height; and a gentleman residing in the neighbourhood of the Midland Railway Station, secured his family by means of a boat. So sudden
was the accumulation of water, that many mothers were separated from their children for several hours, and, as may be readily supposed, were during that time in the
most distressed condition. The landlord of the Viaduct beer house, in Lawley Street, narrowly escaped while endeavouring to save some of his property. He had succeeded
in removing several barrels of ale from his cellar to an apartment at a higher level, when his strength failed him, and he was only saved from drowning by clinging to
a corner of the staircase. He was completely exhausted, when someone came to his assistance and dragged him out of the cellar. The Midland Railway station was under
water to a considerable extent, and it was not until the floodgates near the spot were cut away by order of Mr. Pigott Smith, the Town Surveyor, and Chief Superintendent
Stephens, that the water abated. In the lower part of Saltley, near Aston Park wall, the water accumulated to great extent, and the immense body rushing down the river
near this place caused the bursting of a portion of the canal bank. The effect was most extraordinary. Three boats laden with metal were carried into an adjoining meadow,
where they are now stranded. The villages in the vicinity of the town, including Harborne and Nineveh, are much flooded, and agricultural operations have been suspended.
Various opinions were at first entertained to the cause of the flood. It appears that a considerable volume of water descended from the Lickey Hills, and inundated the
fields along the course of the river, but the main cause of the vast overflow is supposed to have originated with the Birmingham and Worcester Canal. The water in the
canal had risen considerably during the day, and the officers of the Company found it necessary to relieve the unusual pressure on the embankment by opening the valves
at Selly Oak and Edgbaston tunnel, and cutting a short trench in the footpath. The water thus liberated instantly rushed into the adjoining fields, and formed a junction
with the River Rea. The destructive element in a few minutes forced a channel through the low lands running parallel with the Birmingham road, where it was joined by
the branch of the Rea. The Dog Pool speedily became full, and the water ultimately united into one immense sheet on the lands at the back of the Pershore Road, about a
mile above Vaughton's Hole. At this spot the flood received a further accession from Bourne Brook, which had swollen to such an extent that the water could not find
passage under the ordinary arch. The hedgerow was forced down, and the waters rushed in torrents across the Pershore Road into the river on the opposite side. The three
branches of the Rea having thus become united, the whole of the surrounding country was deluged, and the waters forced their way into Birmingham with the disastrous
results above detailed."
"Recent Fearful Floods"
Leamington Spa Courier : November 20th 1852
"Henry Perkins, [25], packer, Bradford Street was charged with indecently behaving himself to three little girls yesterday. The
offence was proved, and the prisoner, who received a good character, was fined 40s. and costs."
"Indecent Behaviour"
Birmingham Daily Post : December 29th 1880 Page 6.
