Views across time, along
HERE we have another selection from Martin Simcox’s collection of Then and Now snaps of the Eve Hill area of Dudley.
Back in the early 1960s, Martin’s father Arthur, who had just moved to the area, went out with his camera and captured dozens of views from that part of Dudley. Dozens of shops and pubs lined Salop Street, and countless houses stood in the adjacent streets. All would later be removed at a stroke, so Arthur’s pictures proved more important to local history than even he could have realised. Recently, Martin followed quite literally in his father’s footsteps and we can now see just how drastically Eve Hill has changed.
Church
At top left is the Methodist church that once stood on Salop Street, between West Street and Dudley Street. Below is the same spot today, the church replaced by housing.
Above, centre, is another completely vanished scene, from the corner of Salop Street and West Street. Victorian houses and shops, admittedly looking like their best days were long behind them, were all swept away in the following years. West Street was wiped from the map, and that area, shown below, is currently part of Malthouse Drive, a cul-de-sac.
Yards away was Pelham Street, classic Victorian terraces fronting onto the pavements, and that too was not just knocked down but the street name changed. Now part of the re-routed St James’s Terrace, it’s name was partially preserved in a new cul-de-sac at the top of Himley Road, Pelham Drive.
A similar fate befell Dudley Street, (bottom right) which came off Salop Street at a right angle. More ninteenth century terraces cleared, eventually to be replaced by houses, half a century later, and the street renamed as The Shrubbery.