Local History 12

Middle House Drive, B60 1HB

Middle House Drive marked in red on the plan now has four houses, each one was sold as a ¼ acre individual building plot, during 1991. It is a private unadopted road, and the owner of plot 1 owns the land in front of the house, and down to where it joins Old Birmingham Road. The first owner was asked to choose a name for the road, and he wanted to call it “Iris Drive” after his late mother. This suggestion was put to Bromsgrove Council, who decided it would be called Middle House Drive, because, High House Drive was further up the hill. Previous to the plots being sold it was used to store caravans over the winter months. In the 1950s, 60s & 70s it used to be Hattons Nursery, with four large commercial glasshouse, accessed from a narrow drive (now called Middle House Drive) between 279 and 277 Old Birmingham Road. Local residents remember coming and buying, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, carnations & chrysanthemums from the wooden hut, which was “the shop”. Old maps show that before this it was farmland.

Tesco 199 Old Birmingham Rd, Marlbrook, Bromsgrove, B60 1DL

Colour photograph copyright Roy Hughes black and white photograph copyright Charlie Bateman

Tesco opened in 2004, and before that was One Stop, with a Post Office counter inside. Marlbrook Post Office on Birmingham Road, had closed and moved to One Stop.  Brian King was the owner the shop before it became One Stop and it was known as "Kings". In the late 1950s it was owned by the Holtham family, Charlie and Elsie with son John. The black and white photo shows a young Charlie Holtham delivering bread in Smethwick, written on the reverse - the baker has just called "How much bread do you want" 

109 to 111 Old Birmingham Road - 1945 V E Day

A young Charlie Bateman far right celebrating V E Day 1945, the photograph was taken in a field which is now 109 to 111 Old Birmingham Road. The house in the background was 88 Old Birmingham Road, now replaced by new housing.

79 Old Birmingham Road

This old nailers cottage remained in the same family from 1871 to 2008 (largely unaltered) The first photo (copyright Mike Dodman) was taken 30 June 2012 and was waiting to be dismantled and rebuilt at the outdoor Avoncroft Museum just outside Bromsgrove. The second photo (copyright Sue Hughes 23 May 2019) shows the two replacement houses on the site. The third photograph (copyright Roy Hughes) is the cottage now erected at Avoncroft Musuem, and also is a photo of the notice board with its history