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Bentley
Bentley maps
Historic maps of Bentley and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Bentley maps
Bentley photos
We have no photos of Bentley, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Redditch| Bromsgrove| Feckenham| Hanbury| Astwood Bank| Barnt Green| Sambourne| Studley| Lickey| Wychbold| Beoley| Hopwood| Portway| Rednal| Belbroughton| Alcester| Tibberton
Bentley area books
Displaying 1 of 12 books about Bentley and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Bentley
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Bentley.
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Bentley Pauncefoot C of E School
This excerpt is taken from the memoirs of my late mother, Jessie Gorton. I am currently busy typing these out from notes I made as she reminisced about the early days in Worcestershire. Jessie joined Bentley Pauncefoot C of E School in the 1920s. She loved it! The teacher was managing three groups of children in the one room. There was a big round stove in the room, with an iron guard round it. Across the passageway was a smaller classroom for Standards One and Two. That teacher was plump, kind and friendly. The children used to collect her on the way to school and walk along with her. There was a little coal fire in that room, sometimes meetings were held there. The third room was for the Top Class. There were double desks with lift-up lids and bench seats. The desks had inkwells. In the one room, there was a dias at the one end, which was used for plays and singing.... Read more
Worcestershire memories
The Barber Shop
My name is Andrew Simon, The grandson of Richard Simon. He was the Barber in Headless Cross for some 35 years.
Next door at 100a was my aunt, and she ran the wool shop.
Woolworths
As a 'floor walker', or trainee Woolworth's manager, one was expected to work quite a lot of unpaid overtime especially over the Christmas period. For the anticipated Christmas rush much larger amounts of stock were ordered, resulting in huge piles of unpacked cartons. I remember working throughout the night to reduce one of these mountains and at two o'clock in the morning was well ahead of schedule when disaster struck as I struggled with a 1cwt box of marbles. I tripped and the box burst, releasing a veritable tsunami of marbles that bounced through the store and out in to the street, on its way filling and immobilising the lift well. Instead of being 'two steps ahead" I was suddenly five steps behind and my managerial potential took a huge nose dive.
Mr James Bishop.
The elderly man on left is my grandfather Mr James Bishop. He had probably popped in to the Post Office to get tobacco for his pipe. He was born in Worcester in 1883, his father was a master builder and from an early age he used to help carry bricks. He then delivered meat on horseback and went on to manage Redditch Meat Company butcher's shop on Church Green. Then he worked at 'Terry Springs' in the warehouse for 35 years retiring at 65. He couldn't settle in to retirement so went on to work for Taylor and Johnson's a fishing tackle firm where he stayed until he had to have the lower part of one leg amputated at the age of 95. Unable to bear the thought of being confined indoors he was fitted with an artificial leg so he could still get around on his own. He died aged 97 in 1980.
Working in Evesham Street
I remember Evesham Street in Redditch in the early sixties very well. I was 15, had just left school, and was working at Liptons the grocers which was about half way up on the left just past the department store. There was a small chapel just opposite and also other grocery stores: Farrands, George Masons, the Home & Colonial stores. The Kingfisher coffee bar was on the corner, half way down, and the Co-op stores were further up. There was a wonderful greasy spoon cafe at the top end on the right, Smokey Joes. I remember carnival days in September each year and the talent competitions held down by the old library ~ my sister Mary invariably won the singing contest! I never knew a town change quite so quickly or as dramatically as Redditch did back in the early 70's. I suppose that's progress but I do remember with fondness the town before the building of all the new estates: it was a nice town, a good town to... Read more
Bates Hill Methodist Church
This was the year that I was christained there. My grand parents and great grand parents attended the chapel. As a child I also went to Sunday school there. It was a beautiful church and should have been given a heritage listing, what a shameful waste when it was burnt down, probably arson. All the nice buildings have been pulled down and the town of Redditch has been destroyed completely by the 1960,s Planners and so called Architescts. Not a very nice place anymore and I am glad that I no longer live there. When aretheyever going tp stop building? They have not stopped since itbecame a so called newtown in the 60's.
Those Were The Days
Who remembers being compared to Robbie Burns's "wee sleekit cowring timrous beastie" as we first crept into that hallowed school? Then how we quickly got used to all the pranks and fun that could be had, despite the rather formidable presence of Jimmy Morrall, "Goofy "Stranz and Miss Lericheux.
Boys and girls had to wear their hats to and from school, and faced detention if seen without one. "Harty" the maths teacher was usually on the ball with that one as he always came to school on a bike and passed a good many of us on his journey. Harvey Morris conducted our choirs and, although looking serene and professional with his back to the audience of doting parents, his facial expressions were enough to frighten the more timid of his protegees.
Then there was Mr Hayes, sweet Doc Deuchcrow and lovely Mr Yapp, Peggy O'Neill (who always liked to dress like a bumble bee), Miss Moore and Miss Cooke, who started the same year as me. Mr Body... Read more
