00:00I'm standing at a corner that once buzzed with activity, now quieter but still full
00:06of stories. This spot played a big part in everyday life for generations. To help piece
00:11together what was once here, we're joined by local historian Norman Bartlem. His knowledge
00:16of Birmingham's past paints a vivid picture of lost shopfronts, familiar names and the
00:21role these places played in shaping the community around them.
00:27We're near the suburbs of the city, once a thriving shopping street. These in the days
00:33before we had the big shopping parades and shopping centres that we get today. The streets
00:38were lined with shops, small little community shops where everybody knew everybody and everybody
00:45went to the same shops. There was the butcher, the baker, perhaps even the candlestick maker,
00:51who knows? But you could buy furniture as well as your food and provisions for the day.
00:57We used to stretch around through the whole week and it was little local shops. These
01:00were in the days, of course, before people had fridges and things, so everybody was going
01:05out and buying food fresh. So they were using things like the local greengrocer and the
01:10local baker every single day. Where we are standing now is the corner of Monument Road
01:15and Icknillport Road. And you look at it now, there's no evidence at all there used to be
01:20any shops there. And we can work out what used to be there by talking to people, looking
01:25at old maps and old photographs. And here we can see the corner of Monument Road. There's
01:31the church there in the corner of Wood Street. And on this photograph, you can see where
01:36the church is located. So you can work out where the set of shops used to be just here.
01:42And there was a co-op. Next door to it, there was a petrol station. And next door to that,
01:48there was a baker. Can you imagine that these days? A baker right next door to a petrol
01:52station. And on the other junction, once again, another set of shops. So it's absolutely
01:58a magnificently thriving area. And it's stretched right the way down to Spring Hill, right the
02:05way up to Hagley Road. So we're talking almost a mile long street lined with shops. And over
02:12the years, trends changed, transport changed as well. And the Ring Road or the Ladywood
02:20Middle Way was built, which partly cut Monument Road in two. And consequently, that had an
02:26effect on the trade. And also, there's lots of houses cheeked by Joel. So the houses right
02:31next door to the shops. So you didn't have to walk a distance. You could just nip out
02:38your shops and there you were. All that has gone. And people now travel to the larger
02:45shops further up the road, into the bigger shopping parades like Harbour and at Five
02:51Ways and things. So small community shops that no longer exist in this respect on this
02:56particular street here on Monument Road.
Comments