Some history on Ladypool Road from Sparkbrook to Balsall Heath in Birmingham in the County of Warwickshire

Ladypool Road Pubs

Formerly known as Ladypool Lane, this long and old thoroughfare once extended from Sparkbrook to Moseley village. Brummie legend, Carl Chinn, reckons that the well-to-do of the latter, in order to distinguish themselves from the hoi polloi of Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath, renamed the lower part to Church Road in 1855.¹ It is supposedly from that place of worship that the lane gained its name. There was once a pool in the vicinity of Saint Mary's Church and, accordingly, "Our Lady's Pool" became the source of the thoroughfare's name. There are, of course, other theories, some fanciful and others simply absurd. By the way, Carl Chinn, bookie-cum-university professor, lived in this neighbourhood, his dad having a betting shop in Ladypool Road. I am not sure I buy the argument that the northern half of Ladypool Lane was deemed downmarket as there were many professional people living in rather grand houses, particulary to the north of Thomas Street. Gardens, trees and greenhouses can be seen on the map extract below.

Birmingham : Map extract showing Division of Parliamentary Borough & Municipal Boundary [1888]
© Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.

It is difficult to know where Sparkbrook, Highgate and Balsall Heath collide. Officially, the county boundary was slightly north of Highgate Road and Thomas Street, the southern section of Ladypool Lane being in Worcestershire. When the Midland Railway opened the Camp Hill line in the mid-Victorian era the embankment formed an unofficial man-made boundary and was perhaps adopted as a demarcation point by many. The earth mound also acted as a barrier to urban sprawl though, inevitably, the growth of the town slowly spread into the largely agricultural character of Ladypool Lane. Former estates of large houses, along with several farms were transformed into grid-like straight lines of housing, many of which connected with the old lane.

Amid the development Ladypool Road became a centre of shopping, social life, and religious buildings. There were not as many public-houses as one would expect of such an invasion of the proletariat. In the 21st century Ladypool Road remains full of hustle and bustle though, through demographic and cultural changes, there is little need for old taverns, most have which have been converted to other uses. The pubs were built to serve the local community but that role altered towards the end of the 20th century so economics, along with the building fabric providing new social and leisure amenities, has resulted in a fairly pub-free zone. Like Alum Rock Road, I find a wander along Ladypool Road a colourful and exciting experience. The pubs had not sold proper beer for decades so I do not mourn their passing. However, this page reflects a period when the older locals could enjoy a pint or two of Birmingham-brewed ale.

Birmingham : Notice for an auction of land for development on Ladywood Lane opposite Albert Street in Balsall Heath [1865]

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Photographs of Ladypool Road

I have not got many old photographs of Ladypool Road and a few of the images I do have are concentrated around the junction of Runcorn Road. Taken around 1907, this view shows the junction on the left. In the foreground is the walls of the front gardens of houses built between here and Brighton Road. Evidence points towards this image being captured in the mid-Edwardian period. The street sign certainly bears the name of Runcorn Road. An O.S. Map published in 1904 shows this thoroughfare as a short stub named Avery Road. It was listed as such in Kelly's Directory published in 1905. This publication records a bakery on the corner run by Mrs. Laura Penfold. From the signs on the building it would seem that she also catered for canines as the premises sold puppy biscuits and dog cakes. Next door, where the blind is extended across the pavement, there was a coffee house kept by William Rochford. These shops were erected in the late Victorian period on a site once occupied by a large house named The Hawthorns. It was one of two grand residences between Avery Road and Clifton Road, the other being Acacia House. In the 1880s The Hawthorns was the home of the retired hardware dealer Anthony Poncia and his wife Jame. Acacia House was occupied by the manufacturer John Heape and his wife Clementine.

The former bakery shop of Laura Penfold can be seen here in a post-WW1 image. I am guessing a little at the date of this postcard view. Judging by the skirt length of the young woman on the left, I would imagine it is around 1920, perhaps a little earlier. The name of John E. Hothersall can be seen above the corner entrance. The goods on display seems to suggest that there was still pet foods being sold on the same premises as groceries, along with cigarettes and tobacco. Kelly's Directory of 1921 lists Emily Tobias as a grocer at these premises. Next door to her was the bakery shop of Thomas Henry Baines.

Fast forward to 1960 and this is the former bakery on the corner of Runcorn Road. The blinds furnish the premises with the look of a café but it was a grocery shop run by William and Cecilia Richards. A van is making a delivery to the shop. If the driver is stacking goods next to the back door before making the delivery, it looks like the shop was about to be re-stocked with Gaiety Canned Fruits, Batchelor's Processed Peas and cans of corned beef - all staple foods of the 1960s in Great Britain.

A trade directory published in 1962 shows that No.301 was unoccupied. Here in May 1960 the premises was part of the television retailer Sam Carpenter and Son Ltd. In the following year Sam Carpenter died in hospital after a road accident. Aged 27, he had been managing director of the business for several years. In the following year the firm was wound up.² Next door at No.299 was the receiving office of the Acock's Green & Olton Laundry. In the shop window there is a reflection of Stonehouse's fish and chip shop, a business that traded between a greengrocery shop run by Cyril and Lily Cordle, and M. & J. Styles Ltd., the outfitters.

This photograph of Ladypool Road was taken from near St. Paul's Road in the Edwardian period. It is a busy scene along the road so it could be a Saturday. A woman is pushing an early version of the shopping trolley, a wicker basket on wheels, towards the junction with Alfred Street and Oldfield Road. She is about to pass Saint Paul's National School. On the extreme left is a section of the off-licence operated by Ansell's Brewery Ltd.. Their ales can be seen advertised on the signboards.

In capturing this photograph of shops on the east side of Ladypool Road, the photographer would have been stood close to the junction of Colville Road. The first shop was the butcher's shop of Henry Stiles. Next door was the draper's shop run by Herbert Rawlings. The next shop was Neale's Tea Stores, a shop that also sold provisions. George and Louisa Smallwood occupied No.202, where locals could buy a watch or have them repaired. A larger provision stores was the next business, operated by Powis & Co. The tall structure is the Congregational Mission Church, a building that has survived into the 21st century.

This photograph shows the shops on the eastern side of Ladypool Road, a short distance north of Taunton Road. The first shop, on the extreme right was the hairdressing salon of B. Butcher. No need to try and trace his movements - the lettering on the window pane informs us that he was formerly at City Arcade. Next door at No.366 was the "Special Lines Stores," an emporium selling hardware and kitchen utensils. The next building was occupied by the bookseller George Wells Riley, who was also a printer and retailer of picture postcards and stationery. A sign advertised that the premises was also a depot of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Some tinkering with the shop display is taking place next door, the shop of the bootmaker Thomas Frederick Pears. A little further along the extended frontage with eight lamps was the drapery of George Johnson.

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