Hi Could anyone tell me what kind of a residence would at Summer Hill, Birmingham, in 1820. Was it a posh area at that time. I had a look on Google but it seems to be all country by a lake. Does anyone know where I can find a photograph of houses there. JUDY ELKINGTON [N. Derbyshire, England] www.elkingtonfamily.com ELKINGTON@rootsweb.com www.one-name.org/profiles/elkington.html

Judy Elkington <JJupar@aol.com> wrote: Could anyone tell me what kind of a residence would at Summer Hill, Birmingham, in 1820. Was it a posh area at that time. I had a look on Google but it seems to be all country by a lake. ================== Dear Judy, My paternal grandmother was born in Garbett Street in the Summer Hill area (parish of Ladywood), Birmingham, in 1875. The family had lived there for some time. Summer Hill Rd was part of the main route out of B'ham, starting as Summer Row, then the Parade, then Sand Pits, then Summer Hill Road, then continuing as Spring Hill and then Dudley Rd. Summer Hill Terrace was terrace of houses running parallel to but overlooking 'Sand Pits'. At that time it had a high population density, with rows of workers' houses and lots of small factories and people working at home, on the fringe of the Jewellery Quarter. Google maps shows the area at: http://tinyurl.com/yffnm2u It's undergone rather drastic 20th century slum clearance and urban renewal, so I suspect that very few of the buildings shown on the Google satellite map date back more than 40 years or so. My great grandfather worked as a rule-maker at a toolmaker's factory in Camden Road, close to Summer Hill Road. I believe I have a few pictures of Camden Rd, taken in the early 1980s, before all the old buildings were knocked down. I'll look them out for you. Kind regards, John -------------------- John Ball, Brecon, Mid-Wales, UK E-mail: john@jlb2005.plus.com John's Homepage: http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/

Dear Judy, Carl Chinn refers to Summer Hill in his book "Our Brum - Volume 2", Birmingham Evening Mail, 1992 (ISBN 0-9534316-0-6). On page 67 he writes about the population density of inner Birmingham: ---------------- The whole of old Brum came to just 2995 acres - and by 1831 there were 142,000 people crowded on to that small space. Yet not all of that land was built up. Most of Brum's folk were packed into the even more limited district east of Monument Road and Icknield Street. Spreading out from the Bull Ring, they were gathered densely into old houses and back-to-backs around Digbeth, Hurst Street, Holloway Head, Newtown Row and the Jewellery Quarter. Beyond Summer Hill and Spring Hill there were few houses, shops and factories. . . . . ---------------- The implication of the last sentence is that even in the early 19th century, Summer Hill and Spring Hill *were* occupied by back-to-back houses, shops and factories. Perhaps early the trades directories would give you a better idea of the occupancy of Summer Hill? Kind regards, John -------------------- John Ball, Brecon, Mid-Wales, UK E-mail: john@jlb2005.plus.com John's Homepage: http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/ -------------------------------------------------- From: <JJupar@aol.com> Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 11:36 AM To: <ENG-WARKS-BIRMINGHAM-L@rootsweb.com> Cc: <GENBRIT@rootsweb.com> Subject: [B'ham] Summer Hill, Birmingham Hi Could anyone tell me what kind of a residence would at Summer Hill, Birmingham, in 1820. Was it a posh area at that time. I had a look on Google but it seems to be all country by a lake. Does anyone know where I can find a photograph of houses there. JUDY ELKINGTON [N. Derbyshire, England] www.elkingtonfamily.com ELKINGTON@rootsweb.com www.one-name.org/profiles/elkington.html _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ Research in Birmingham: http://www.bham.de/ Any problems, please contact the List Admin: ENG-WARKS-BIRMINGHAM-admin@rootsweb.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-WARKS-BIRMINGHAM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message