| A substantial quantity of papers exists concerning the
land owned by the Alders. It not only covers the Laurels estate but also the
remains of the former estate of the Acock family, unoccupied by them since
the 1700s. The research is in progress, and is being undertaken by Mike
Wood. For this page, additional material has been brought in by Mike Byrne,
who has also done some editing. At the time of the
Tithe map, in the 1840s, the area of interest was occupied by two families.
The large Acocks Green estate, as we shall call it, stretched eastwards from
the Warwick Road, bounded by what became Lincoln Road, Lincoln Road North,
to Clay Lane as far as the former Rover factory site (now housing). The
boundary westwards was the Westley Brook from here to the canal, then a
stretch of canalside southwards to a footpath and lane variously known as
Woodcock Lane, Muddy Lane and now truncated as Woodberry Walk at the Warwick
Road end. The Warwick Road itself completes the boundary. The Mumford family
were owners in the 1840s. The second estate occupied most of the corner at
the Warwick Road and Woodcock Lane, and was owned by Thomas Priest and
occupied by Frederick Smith and others. The final piece in the jigsaw was
the tollhouse, right on the corner, owned by the Road Commissioners and
occupied by one Charles Cockerill.
On the 1880s
Ordnance Survey map the house on the Acocks Green estate was identified
as Acocks Green House. The railway, opened in 1852, had cut through the
estate, but no change was visible to the overall rural environment. That was
soon to change. By the 1905 map
The Avenue, previously reaching as far as the Westley Brook/Roberts Road,
had been extended as New Avenue along much of the railway line (this had
happened by 1903). Some development had also appeared along Lincoln Road
North, mainly as shops. Housing was also present south of the railway on
Lincoln Road, and on the Warwick Road itself a laundry had opened c. 1902. A
nursery had also opened on the east bank of the canal by the old footpath.
This was to become Westwoods in the early 1920s. By
1916 the new part of the Avenue
was continuous along the railway, and a short row of terraces had appeared
adjacent to the canal at the Lincoln Road end. More terraces had been built
on the Warwick Road climbing the slope up from the laundry. In the
1930s council housing was
built between The Avenue and the canal, and private housing appeared along
Lincoln Road North c. 1936. Westwoods sold out to the government in 1936,
who built the Rover shadow factory on their land. The Co-op built a laundry
near the Vineries bridge on the canal. This opened in February 1939, and
was soon dedicated to the war effort as well. The Co-op laundry closed in
1975, and the Rover factory was replaced by housing in the 1980s. Acocks
Green House, after a period as a social club, Ye Olde House, was replaced by
municipal housing in 1957/8. The road to the new blocks was named Woodcock
Lane and the old lane towards the railway became Woodberry Walk. North of the
railway the old lane and footpath are still Woodcock Lane and Woodcock Lane
North.
Alders themselves have been responsible for the
development of the shops after Woodberry Walk down to the council housing
at Woodcock Lane. What follows has been compiled from notes by Mike Wood
(there are some references to land outside the estates themselves):
The old lane from the Warwick Road was cut as an access road to the
Acocks Green Estate and has been in use since at least 1847. Until 1958/9 it
was always known locally as Muddy Lane, an unofficial name, as the road has
never been adopted. This remains the case today, with no identified owner,
much to the chagrin of Woodberry Walk’s (the present name) residents. Muddy
Lane continued to a junction with the Avenue until it was truncated by new
housing development on the new Woodcock Lane in 1958. To the right of the
lane the high boundary wall of Alders Garage was built. To the left is the
site of undeveloped land to the rear of housing in Oxford Road and Woodcock
Lane. Before encroachment of new development the land occupied a
considerably larger acreage and was a congregating area for local children
playing cricket and football. The local scout group was based in a hut and
various annual events were held there, from dancing round the Maypole to an
always splendid Guy Fawkes night. Acocks Green House (Ye Olde House Social
Club) also held a major bonfire night and there was always fierce
competition for firewood in the weeks leading up to the event, as the two
venues competed to produce the tallest pile. Usually we were honest in those
days – but on these occasions there was much thieving going on of each
others’ scraps. The Guy burnt nearest to heaven was invariably on the
"Ponderosa".
The Laurels (now 1212-1214) was a substantial farm and homestead within
the Acocks Green Estate. The area behind the hedge was orchard. When Alder Bros
purchased the estate on 20th February 1920 Charles Alder alone
acquired ownership of The Laurels. His brother, father of John, lived at 46 Hyron
Hall Road. Planning permission was granted in September 1932 for the
creation of three new lock-up shop units (1206, 1208, 1210) to fill the gap
between the Garage and The Laurels. These were completed and the orchard
removed in 1933. The contractor, as for the garage, was Mr H. Smith,
builder, 100 Mayfield Road, Acocks Green. The tollkeeper’s lodge at the far
extremity of the Alder frontage had only just been demolished. The gable
appears on Alder’s original letterheads.
Apart from the garage/property business the Alders were also successful
coal merchants. Occupants of the four shop conversions referred to were Miss
Pears at 1194, the local kids’ idea of heaven! Three ladies were required to
cope with the daily stampede for sherbet, gobstoppers, bubblegum, liquorice
and pop! At 1196 were G. E. Wyatt, Radio and Television Engineers, 1198 was
occupied by Busby’s furniture and Second Hand Goods, and 1200 by W. N.
Dixon. Wyatt’s accommodation was extended upwards and sideways over the arch
in 1950 to accommodate a store and showroom. L. E.
Wilkes occupied no. 1206 until the mid 1980s. The livestock was still here
until the early 1960s. I remember during the 1958 redevelopment Wilkes’s
concern as the animals were disturbed by the noise and close proximity of
the contractors. (Ingram and J. J. Gallagher and Val de Travers I remember:
we used to hitch lifts on their dumper trucks while the land was being
cleared). The former pig sties survive to this day at the rear as single
storey offices and were originally part of the Laurels farm. The Laurels
house survives into 2008 as 1212/1214 Warwick Road as a manicure centre,
barber shop and offices.
Dixons (1200, 1202, 1204) was extended to the rear and upwards in 1965,
which is when the present large headboard appeared, doubling as the front
upper wall. The complex now accommodates a motor insurance company head
office and reception area. Dixon’s business closed in April 2003 upon the
retirement of Mr Royston Dixon, who had been shrinking the organisation to
this end for some time. Only this one unit was active by 2003, selling
ladies shoes and clothing mainly to long standing account holders. There was
little passing trade here, and now specialist businesses thrive on the site.
I lived close to the Acocks Green laundry and remember as a child in the
1950s looking out of my bedroom window and watching the buildings to the
rear of the offices being gutted in a fire, which lit up the area for miles
around. It was all eventually rebuilt and I remember the washerwomen walking
past our house going to and from work. The frontage, which is now a car park
behind a modern brick wall, was previously a tiered garden with a Cotswold
stone enclosure dissected by a central flight of steps leading to the front
entrance/reception. They employed a gardener, Mr Millan, to maintain this
frontage. The buildings still stand and are owned by Initial/Rentokil, who
lease the site as small industrial units. Westair occupy the former offices.
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Part of an estate map, 1894 (John Alder) |
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Part of an estate map, 1920 (John Alder). The house on
the right, with landscaped garden, was known as Afonwen, and was
demolished c. 1958 |
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The old lane, known locally as Muddy Lane c. 1905 |
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Alder's Garage c. 1930 (John Alder) |
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Dixons, c. 1933.
Wilfred Norman Dixon said this display took two hours to put out. He
eventually had ten stores in Acocks Green!
(Mike Clarke) |
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A 1950s view (John Alder) |
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Alders were also coal merchants (John Alder) |
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Cars in the yard, ? 1930s (John Alder) |
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Mr Alder and one of his taxis (John Alder) |
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Oil dispensers in the yard 1970s (John Alder) |
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An Alders badge |
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The yard looking out to the road, late 1970s (Mike
Wood) |
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Mike Wood's P5 cannibalising another car (Mike Wood) |
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Mike's P5 when finished. In view are the back of the
icing shop and on the right what is today part of a wholesale warehouse
for electrical parts (Mike Wood) |
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The row c. 1980 (Mike Wood) |
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Another view, with one of the blocks on the site of
Acocks Green House in view (Mike Wood) |
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The Laurels 27 February 1961 (Birmingham Libraries). A betting shop can
be seen at the rear |
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The Warwick Road by the laundry 10 January 1962
(Birmingham Libraries) |
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The Acocks Green and Olton Laundry 9 November 1961
(Birmingham Libraries) |
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The corner of Lincoln Road and the Warwick Road, 6
September 1951 (Birmingham libraries) |
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This view, taken 21 August 1958, shows the garage on
Lincoln Road (Birmingham Libraries) |
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The Lincoln Garage, 27 March 1952 (Birmingham Libraries) |
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The Co-op laundry still with its wartime camouflage paint,
taken from over the only original canal bridge left in Acocks Green, at the
Vineries, 10 August 1972 (Birmingham Libraries) |
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