June24th – Franchise Street, Darlaston. On an otherwise decaying, unremarkable house, a silver dragon fineal tops the gable.
I have no idea. The house was hard to photograph, as the neighbours were about.
Is this culturally significant somewhere do we know?
April 4th – The people living by the pool formed from the Trunkfield Brook at Cathedral Walk in Lichfield have a rare treat right outside their front door: nesting swans. Presumably, mum is sitting while dad stands cautious (and probably bombastic) sentry. How lovely to be able to watch cygnets grow at such close quarters.
Not so lovely perhaps for any pet cat or dog at the same house who will be unable to go about their business without the noisy attentions of a protective swan…
February 5th – In the backstreets of industrial Darlaston, part of the former Guest, Keene and Nettlefolds works: Salisbury House. Half derelict now, decaying ungracefully, a red terracotta brick edifice in mock victorian gothic complete with bay windows and cornices. The saddest part is that it’s almost impossible to get a good photographic angle on it.
This is a remarkable building – rather ugly, but beautifully executed; it has a proud heritage and it’s sad to see it carried to dust like this.
I think the internal light fittings are probably collectors items, and that lost football must have been frustrating for the poor kids that kicked it up there…
December 16th – This huge house in Mill Green has been empty for years, and had piqued my interest ever since I first noticed it on the corner of Mill and Forge Lanes. It’s huge, and must, when in good condition, have been worth a lot of money.
I’ve always wondered how such a property – in quite an exclusive area – comes to be derelict. There’s a story there, but I’m not even sure I want to know it, and attempts to find out have never been successful.
The gardens and hedges – long since overgrown – have now been cleared, I noticed as I cycled past. There has been outstanding planning permission to demolish the place and build another house for a while. I suppose work will soon start.
A mystery.
June 6th – I came through Walsall at 4:30pm up the Wednesbury Road, and was met with a large degree of congestion. I’d been seeing smoke from way back in Darlaston and wondered where it was emanating from.
As I got closer, I discovered there had been some kind of house fire in the terraces there, and a couple of engines were in attendance. I have no idea what happened, and the incident doesn’t seem to have made the news.
Everything seemed generally calm and under control. I hope nobody was hurt and any damage wasn’t too bad.
April 29th – There’s a lovely old house on the corner of Forge Lane anfd the Walsall Road in Little Aston. Sheltering under a huge pine tree, imaginatively named “The Cotaage’ is a lovely, well-maintained landmark on the busy road from Aldridge to Sutton. But what I really like about it at this time of year is the gorgeous lilac creeper – I think it’s Wisteria.
Beautiful, even passing by on an overcast Tuesday evening in rush hour…
December 3rd – An evening ride up to Walsall Wood had me crossing the High Street at the Ogley Road junction, just by the former Warreners Arms, after checking out some of the old names scratched into the brickwork of the former pub.I noted in an instant how much this view had changed in a decade; ten years ago, there would be two tall high-rises on the right, and a row of grim maisonettes on the left. The intervening years have seen them all carried to dust, a period of dereliction, followed by new build. On the right, Knave’s Court, a care complex for the elderly, and on the left, Ogley Hay Court, modern flats and houses.
Change happens slowly. Occasionally, something snags on your memory, and you realise how much changed without you registering it.
August 15th – There’s a story here, I’m sure of it. This house is on the A460 Uxbridge Street, just next to the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Hednesford. Looking up by chance, I noticed it bore the plaque ‘Forge Street’, whose junction with Uxbridge Street is about 50 metres to the south. Underneath the word ‘Street’, another word seems to have been chiselled out. Why would a house bear a street name to a thoroughfare it’s not standing on, and why would part of the inscription be so wrong as to require removal?
Any ideas welcome.
January 8th – The house that stands on the junction of Mill Lane and ForgeLane in Mill Green, Little Aston is still lying derelict, unloved and appears to be falling into ruin. This is a very large house in an exclusive, rural area. When occupied, it must have been worth at least £500,000, maybe more. I can’t even work out how such a property comes to be abandoned and left to vandals. This was once, clearly, a family home. Someone must own it, their must be a backstory. Nothing has changed here for years. Anyone know anything? It’s a crying shame.
August 16th – Redditch, despite its tedious, unrelentingly bland modernity, has an old quarter of sorts. Heading from Church Green down to Abbeydale on the cycle route that passes trough town, I recently noticed this unusual pair of house plaques. Celebrating the coronation of Edward VII and his queen Alexandra in 1902, it’s an unusual thing. Edward was the classic long time king in waiting, Victoria’s son, he spent years in waiting, a situation resonant today. He did, however, more or less invent the modern Royal Family, encouraging his mother to make public appearances, attend openings and suchlike. In the end, the king they called The Peacemaker died in May, 1910 after being on the throne only eight years. Edward was widely considered to be a decent, good monarch and was nicknamed ‘The Uncle of Europe’, due to his scholarly love of peace and foreign affairs.
All reflected in one house in a bland street in a new town.
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