Having just logged the Tipton Telephone Exchange the day before, I returned to Tipton to finish what I started. Along the way, I failed to find Cut Marks on canal bridges and at a cemetery (and confirmed that a spire at the cemetery which should be an Intersectional TP was indeed destroyed). But, I found an interesting blue brick as I left a quiet lane over some canal junctures. The Bloomfield Brickworks were operated by J Whitehouse from 1860-1889 so the date isn’t exactly pinpointed but I’m pretty sure some of the other bricks — including the Cut Mark — have been replaced in the intervening ages:
Rounding the corner of the road back in to Tipton, I was way-laid by a pub stop and just afterwards by the Malthouse Road Canal Stables dating to the early 19th century. Trying to get my heartrate back up, I opted to move on from the 14 stall, nearly-fully-refurbished facility before finding the Blue Plaque commemorating the Battle of Tipton Green (12 June 1644).
I approached St Matt’s from the north and took the lead photo, fully aware that the actual pin at the top of the tower was inaccessible. If I get more ambitious in coming months or years, I might try to weasel my way up there to complete the mission.
Still, there is a nice Cut Mark on the front of the building over to the left corner from the front doors.
The rest of the run entailed returning without crossing my tracks. I thought I was having especially good luck when I spotted the Red Lion but the dream lay as shattered as the pub is shuttered.
Endless British Pub Crawl (Part 3) 