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Coleshill
Coleshill maps
Historic maps of Coleshill and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Coleshill maps
Coleshill photos
We have no photos of Coleshill, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Water Orton| Castle Bromwich| Kingsbury| Hurley| Meriden| Yardley| Olton| Acocks Green| Solihull| Sutton Coldfield| Merevale
Coleshill area books
Displaying 1 of 9 books about Coleshill and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Coleshill
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Coleshill.
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Chantry House
We married here 26/09/1970. The grounds were beautiful.
West Midlands memories
The Blue Bell Wood
Having recently moved to Kingshust from Aston it was wonderful to have Chelmsley Wood within walking distance. Taking a picnic we would set off and thoroughly enjoy the walk, climbing over the style and venturing into the woods especially when the wood was carpeted with the most amazing blue bells. We would play hide and seek and be amazed at all the wonderful smells and beautiful things to see. It was nature at its best. We would all stagger home exhaused carrying arms full of blue bells. These were the days when we didn't live in fear of strangers and of course before the lovely woods were demolished to make way for the CHELMSLEY WOOD that has become home to so many. I feel privilaged to have enjoyed the wood in its former glory.
Chemo Woods
We moved from Aston, (Lichfield Road) to Tile cross, in 1948. Talk about a breath of fresh air??
We soon discovered Chelmsley woods, it was a grand trek, down Bell lane, past the smithy on the right and down to "Ye Olde Bell" .
Acoss the fields at the back of the bell, past the bomb crater, and on to the woods.
Absolutely wonderful, original primeval forest with Oak trees, Silver birch etc. truly wonderful, I can never forget it!! We had some wonderful days there as boys.
But alas, it had to be cut down to make way for a huge housing estate. I think that was a crying shame, I think, that if the same cirumstances came up, in light of the envirionmental considerations of today, they wouldnt be allowed to cut it dowm.
I now live in, Australia, and have done so for almost 40 years, but I will never forget the halcyon days of my youth when Chelmsley wood,... Read more
Poetry
This poem was sent to mac by Mrs S. Holmes:
Death of Chelmsley Wood
The sheer delight of summer afternoons,
As through the fields in cotton frocks we walked,
The long grass licking at our gangly legs,
While we in deep contentment laughed and talked.
The pure joy of living was all ours,
As we ran free in peaceful meadows green,
And sought the edge of every farmer’s field,
So’s not to spoil the yellow corn between.
It was so quiet there, so very still,
With Grazing cows contented as they lay,
Have you reached for heaven as you jumped the stream,
Have you lain on your back in the grass,
Have you felt the joy of the songbird’s cry
And watched the aeroplanes pass,
Have you been a child in Marston Green,
And leaned from the station bridge,
When the village was small and the fields were green,
Like a carpet over the ridge.
Like an endless landscape clothed in the gold
Of a sleepy hamlet’s love,
Self Builders on Chelmsley Wood
Pockets of houses on Chelmsley Wood were built by self builders. Usually by teams with 10/12 members building 10/12 houses. All done in their spare time after work and at weekends 10 houses would take around 18 months/2 years to complete. As the houses each became ready they would be rented out to a team member until all houses were complete. After this morgages would be taken out by individual members, the loan used to pay back the temporary loan from Birmingham City Council. In 1970 the cost for the freehold land to build one house was £800.00 The cost of all the building materials to build one house including central heating, fencing, even to turf the front and back garden was £2,200. So a £3,000 morgage was necessary. This was for a semi detached house. To compare the savings made by working for free building the self build house, a similar house in say Erdington, would at that time be valued at around £7,500. ... Read more
Village School
To the left of where the photographer was standing was the junior's playground of the old village school (St Mary and St Margaret's.) In 1963-4 we would have vacated the old buildings and moved into a new building in Southfield Avenue on the Hall Estate. The old school was basically a large room divided into classrooms by immense sliding concertina doors. The windows were very high and so were the ceilings. Because the old school was very cramped just prior to moving to the new one, our class with our teacher Mrs Huggins, had our lessons in two rooms of the old house. I remember immense coal fires in the winter while the rest of the school had hot pipes running around the rooms. Morning assemblies and P.E. lessons were held in the Victory Hall further down on the left. The Victory Hall was later converted into a working mens club. The building on the right with the white end wall and black beams was a general store but I'm... Read more
Post Office
We moved to nearby Kingshurst and the Post Office on the corner of Hurst Lane was the nearest for collecting the much needed Family Allowance. It was a good walk as the buses were not very frequent. When I was newly married 13 years later, our first house was in Hawthorne Road so this was my local shopping area. We moved away 33 years ago but having friends who live in Hurst Lane North we do visit the area occasionally. I have experienced many changes to these shops and the now very busy road.
