Went out Sunday specifically to finish up Route 30 which has promiscuously overlapped other route runs around West Brom since starting this project at the New Year. Looking back over the 30, I only found two photos along the way with the first this now closed but formerly Halal abattoir in Harvill’s Hawthorn near Great Bridge.
One of the motivations for the Bus Run project has been to force exploration of the realm. I actually hit some road segments I have never been on before on the 4th of Feb and one of those passed the Bromwich Manor great hall built sometime in the late 13th-century (roughly 1270 ad). It’s now a museum run by the council from April till October every year so now I’ve got a new bit of historical tourism to do this Spring or Summer.
The photo of the lions at the gates to the mental hospital behind the West Bromwich Central Library isn’t on any bus route but it did feature as I jogged down to tie up some loose ends on several bus routes including a wee bit of the 44 at the nearby bus station. The eyes on the lions look demented and I’m a bit troubled by the goo coating the walls beneath that big, round vent.
Nonetheless, the 44 route was finished this afternoon with the last of the runs overlapping it:
We had her just over 5 years but she was neglected and deserves better. I first test rode the Gazelle a week after putting in my notice at Oxford and, still a bit of hard work, I took her for one last spin the Friday after Thanksgiving whilst delivering her to a charity that fixes them up for refugees who need sturdy transport.
Along the canal journey, I worked out a few weather related hitches (the gear shift chain was a little rusty) and spotted some sites like the horse on the canal with the weird tower looming in the background. At home, I remembered to locate it and can kick myself for not going to inspect (I have another bike to drop off, so maybe then).
There was beer involved (of course) but the pub I most wanted to hit, the Staffordshire Knot, wasn’t open despite it being after published opening time. Still, I made it to the New Junction before and the Crown after so the holiday weekend ride wasn’t just for duty and honour.
The Badshah Palace is a lovely building and well preserved considering the delicate, 93-year-old brickwork. I reckon that some of it is replaced since I was unable to locate the cut benchmark on it ( and the bolt that constitutes Triangulation Point 18454 is somewhere, inaccessible, on the roof). Here it is in its original glory showing a Jean Harlow film):
It was a drenchingly rainy day but I did manage to find a couple of benchmarks, this one over on the Hamstead side of the canal on Rocky Lane:
It was right at the edge of the pet shop and the offie, shown below, but there were half a dozen others either lost to refurbishments or located on private residences.
The canal crossing, itself, was impressive though.
This was a section of canal I had run back during the lockdowns, well before the Commonwealth Games. Deep in the cut at the time I wondered where this bridge linked neighbourhoods.
That write up is here. It is dull and only there to show the canal furniture but if you want the crossing you’ll find it marked.
Of course, this trip also entailed a pub stop. Having started at the Beaufort Arms near my first unsuccessful search, the damp trek ended at the Towers Inn where the Cut Mark is still visible despite many layers of paint.
The area has built up quite a bit since this photo 75 years ago. As noted elsewhere, some of the customers this day were probably also here then.
Just above that we spotted the Blue Plaque commemorating John Freeman. We didn’t know who he was and I haven’t yet found his books in libraries but when I do I’ll give an opinion.
Along the way we passed a Gurdwara occupying an old bus and tram depot and the adjacent Wolverhampton District Electrical Tramways power station, c 1902. This was the generator building for the tramlines back then although they were superceded by buses within a few years.
The local museum and library (probably where I’ll have to go for the Black Country Sketches and Stories noted above) is another fantastic building. The landlady at the Trumpet told us that Bilston was an affluent town and someplace truly special to visit when she was a child. You can pretty well imagine it from some of these buildings.
The Bradley family made galvanized buckets in their Beldray factory, here (now luxury flats). Odd things to note: the automobile in the logo has nothing to do with the output of the plant and the name, Beldray, is the dyslexic signature of one of the children of the founder.
This listed yet derelict school is heartbreaking to encounter and I would invest lottery money — if my numbers ever came in — converting it to our residence.
The walls seem structurally sound but you can tell it needs the entire interior and probably the roof replaced.
Eleven years older than our house, we would know what to expect in these voluminous confines.
Trigpointing is always an Easter Egg Hunt with the real treasures scattered around as you follow the Bunny Trail to your quarry.
I caught up to my first and only Cut Mark of the day trip to Walsall etched into the corner of the fantastic Town Hall (above and below, here).
As I turned to head the wrong way to the kebab shop I planned to lunch at (and which was closed albeit listed as open), I spied the monument to the gunnery seaman JH Carless, VC. I love to read Medal of Honor and Victoria Cross stories, despite the blindly patriotic narratives most of them entail, and Carless’ was cast in bronze for all to see:
John Henry Carless, V.C. Born at Walsall 11th November 1896, killed in action Heligoland Bight 17th November 1917. Awarded the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. Although mortally wounded in the abdomen, he still went on serving the gun at which he was acting as rammer, lifting a projectile and helping to clear away the other casualties. He collapsed once, but got up, tried again and cheered on the new gun’s crew. He then fell and died. He not only set a very inspiring and memorable example but he also, whilst mortauly [sic] wounded, continued to do effective work against the King’s enemies.
Correcting my path, I ignored the ironic dereliction of duty of my targeted kebabery and continued through town to a second choice. Along the way, I encountered the former Taylor’s Music Shop, 29 Bridge Street, the decorative details of which were really worth a closer look.
Filled with my donner sandwich, at last, I looped back to the north side of the town centre and passed, on my way to the Oak Inn, this former Salvation Army site (lead photo is a detail of the building) which is now an occupational safety training site.
Finally back to catch my bus home with no other targeted Ordnance Survey marks to report, I spotted this ACTUAL ordnance mark from the First World War on a building just across from my bus stop. Really fantastic that they preserved some of the damage. As one who is proud of the scars he has accumulated over the decades, this made me feel even more kinship with these locals.
Lichfield is just lovely. While the Cathedral is by far the most ornate, gothic architecture abounds in the medieval city. Note the middle of the three spires is also trigpoint TP12463.
Heading through town to grab a bite to eat at the Feathers, I walked past the old St John’s Hospital, above, which appears to still be in use.
The Swan Hotel appears to converted to a cut rate Italian restaurant. The Cut Mark is to the lower right in the above photo (photo of the mark is on the Map linked here). The sign for the old hotel is still there, though:
Just beyond that is the library (I try to find a library in every town I visit).
Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of the naturalist Charles Darwin, holds court on the edge of the park just outside the southwest corner of the library:
He also guards the Flus Bracket # S8687 just beyond his left hand on the library wall:
After lunch, I wandered down to the George and Dragon but spotted another Cut Mark kitty-cornered from the pub on corner of a house now sheltering a dental clinic (the Cut Mark is on the corner around from the Dental Offices door):
Passing the Cathedral, I jockied for photographic angles with a Japanese tourist and we both settled in at the statue of Carolus Rex (the original King Charles whose fate is too good for those who still cling to ‘royalty’).
Charles’ Cut Mark is on the door buttress just out of shot to the lower right (photo on The Map).
Heading toward some bric a brac places and just around the corner from the Cathedral on Dam Street I spotted one more Cut Mark before I cut the scavenger hunt short:
First time in Shrewsbury and I am blown away by the lovely architecture, starting with the rail station, above. Usually utilitarian and coarse and ugly this one seems a church to the industrial age.
The Market Clock Tower caught my eye on my first loop around the city and I realised later that the vane isn’t just pretty but is a triangulation point (TP11863)…lucky find.
After a breakfast beer at the Shrewsbury Hotel, my next loop involved a narrower circle and a more targeted trigpointing effort. I found the Lion Hotel’s mark (too early for the bar there) but prowled the exterior a bit for pictures, info, and any loose souvenirs (no luck on this last front, alas).
The Blue Plaque, on the other hand, really tempts another trip and perhaps a stay (in Disraeli’s suite if we’re lucky).
I got caught behind a pool of about 30 pensioners trundling up the street opposite as I searched for the Flush Bracket on the old Guild Hall (now a residence). They stopped the walking tour for the docent to give her spiel right in front of the building I thought it was but after inspection I decided to continue on to my next spot. Looking back one more time, I spotted it two doors up from my first guess and ran over to get ahead of their slow blockade:
Then, it was on to St Alkmund’s church but not before marvelling at the houses in the adjacent square. Not for the likes of me unless that Lotto ticket finally works.
St Alkmund has a dubious backstory even questioned by the parishioners of this gothic church, but they were out in force doing some grounds tidying as I prowled about looking for my Cut Mark.
It was on a buttress on the north side but not near a corner nor facing out. These are often the most satisfying finds.
Done with the trigging, I moved on to simple tourism and a bit of lunch before exploring the magnificent library. Here is Darwin, guarding the entrance.
The walls must be 18 inches thick and awe inspiring. Well worth ten minutes visit a couple blocks from the station (I was there two hours).
The first pedestrian subway I met in Kidderminster surprisingly didn’t smell like a urinal: surprisingly because of the quality of the graffiti and the young couple drinking beer at 8 in the morning.
However, the graffiti improved as the day progressed from the politically eloquent to some sublime Republican sentiments.
It was new TrigPointing territory, as well, and I found my first on Exchange Street as I hiked between the Swan and the library (helpfully highlighted in yellow chalk):
Peckish, I headed toward the Home of Souvlaki for a gyros and stopped by an old Telephone Exchange to bag another Cut Mark. But, I was also treated to a quite special post box (yes, I’m still doing THAT, as well):
The building also had a lovely Blue Plaque for the ‘instigator’ of Penny Post (so I got to triple dip at this tourism site):
The mark itself was somewhat anticlimactic:
Lunch done and the rain chucking it down, I worked my way back to the station withonly a modicum of exercise under my belt. Only one of the four Cut Marks on my list still exists, the one at 31 George St.
Soaked but safely back at the station, I noted an old horse trough (how 19th century of these people).
There is also an old but still operating Bundy clock there. When still used, there was a spool of paper inside and the bus drivers reaching this point would stick in a key unique to them and the time of arrival would be stamped on the paper spool.
Likewise well preserved was this Victoria Regina post box, on the short walk to the King & Castle pub in the Severn Valley Rail (historic steam trains here) portion of Kidderminster Station:
Rainy day mid-September and I had the afternoon free from lunchtime. I hopped off the train at Sandwell & Dudley and headed toward a lunch kebab with the idea of picking up some trig points along the way but the kebab shop, like the marks I sought, no longer existed. I continued on toward the Soho Cottage and found the BIP Plant (British Industrial Plastics, a polyurethane factory) which purportedly sports an inaccessible rivet designated TP18376:
A few dozen meters up and across the road a Benchmark kept this from being a total washout:
Still unsure of what the building is used for now, the one I was standing before when I snapped this picture is the home of the Hope In A New Age cult.
Endless British Pub Crawl (Part 3) 