Birmingham Hidden History | Key Hill Cemetery, Brookfields' Catacombs & The Massive Dig In-between
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ก.พ. 2021
- Join me on a full tour of the Key Hill Cemetery, Brookfields Cemetery and the history of the land inbetween these lands on Pitsford street - as I investigate the current works going on in the old Hockley Goods Yard area, figuring out whether that land also used to be full of graves!
This 40+ minute special tackles this area from all angles, diving into 200 years of history - looking at the land use, the planning permission, the upcoming 'Hockley Mills' development, the revealing of the old subway and storage tunnels from the rail works...all in an easy to follow and fun format which should get you easily learning more than ever about your local history, without the boredom!
Also featured Victorian Iron Urinals, Massive Quarry Sites, Huge Plateaus of land where Birmingham now proudly stands.
There are many many questions, and many answers - please enjoy!
Squatter.
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My home! I've lived away for many years though. Enjoyed watching this🙂
The urinal next to the JQ train station used to be open when I worked there 1985-2002. Spent many lunchtimes walking/exploring the same area. It’s worth walking from Warstone Lane/Vitoria Street down towards the GPO tower. The canal system there is amazing and an unusual view of the city centre.
Oh brill! I never knew there were still in use for so long!
Cheers for the heads up on the canal bit - I’ll be heading down there soon! Also want to pop in on the old Jewish cemetery under five ways…
This is brilliant. A fantastic on the spot history. Really loved it. Thanks.
It was always 2 separate cemeteries. Keyhill was I believe for nondenominational burials. And the opposite side of pitsford street when we were kids was the old train line and sidings. They then built work units from Clissold street down to icknield street then the other side from icknield street upto the jewellery shops at the top. Then when they decided too reopen the line into snowhill. They had to widen the bridge so some graves in keyhill had to be dug up and re buried to make way for building work. Also the metal work around warstone lane cemetery is new. The buildings in the computer generated pictures will stand on icknield street by the bridge. Good video though
I love your accent...am part English myself..
Would love to visit England..
Ha! Thanks a lot!
It’s a weird ‘midlands’ accent - I think it’s a mash up of Birmingham, worcester and Nottingham…hope you do get to visit one day - some lovely places to see!
The part where Mr Tyre used to be is now built on, looks like it’s going to be flats. Nice touch, which may just be for structural/parking reasons is that it’s on stilts...the stilts are (at present) open arches which nicely echo the archways of the older structures.
Brilliant video. I grew up in Hockley and used to play about in the cemetery on my bike as a kid..
Me born hockley 72 now
Fascinating ! Many thanks.
Also, nice to see on the artist’s impression of the apartments where Mr Tyre was, there is a wall ‘sign’ which reads Hockley and has a large anchor underneath. The anchor is the symbol of the Birmingham Assay Office, used as a hallmark to show that the item was assayed in Birmingham. The story goes that two Assay Masters met, at the end of the 18th Century in an inn called The Crown and Anchor. They flipped a coin...Birmingham Assay Office got the anchor, London got the crown (though I believe London have since changed their mark). When the development is finished I sincerely hope that they do put up that piece of wall art.
Thanks for this video. Have been to the jewellery quarter hundreds of times never really took much interest , will be visiting including the gents. Had family from the area and some worked in the jewellery industry , maybe I have family buried there.
Hello. Well done on this really good, informative report. I used to live nearby, and would regularly walk my dogs around that cemetery.
As for the catacombs, you will probably find that they were there for the use of the well off people in the city at the time, and that over the years the details on the front entrances have just worn off. The rooms were said to be for families, and the family members were stacked up on a shelf system inside, with the shelves being on both sides of the individual plots.
As for the tablets you looked at whilst walking up from the lower level, they are said to be memorial details for the poor of the area, those that could not afford a proper burial. Were you to look at the details on some of these tablets, you could see many different names, ages and years of passing all mixed up of each tablet.
There were many open public burial plots in the cemetery to accommodate such "poor persons" burials.
As for the Key Hill side, in the late 80's or early 90's, during a heavy prolonged storm, part of the exterior support wall collapsed, taking part of Key Hill Drive down with it. I seem to remember that some children were playing in the cemetery at the time, but I think they got out uninjured.
Interesting info... good video. Had a look cycling through a few weeks back. Was amazed by the graves seeing the graves with shrapnel damage in what i'd always known as Key hill not realising its actual Brookfields.
Looking on old history sites , it was a clay quarry up to the 1700s should imagine it was clay removal for bricks to build houses , when finally it had it's use it was bought by the city council for the use a cemetery so I have been told
That would make sense! Lots of clay under Birmingham by the sound of it - I read the other day that the Town Hall had its own kiln sent to site during construction so they could produce the bricks needed on site with the clay from the foundation excavations…pretty brilliant!
I wish there was a way to strip back the whole city back to where it was originally just to see the crazy topography of the area clearly
Been 28 years since been down Key Hill Drive, used to part own 1 - 9 sold off in 1996. 3 was b omb damage from WW2.
The tunnel to Key Hill was much wider, could drive through apart from the sticking out steps before the car backed up parked.
Looks a lot of car parking spaces as well, used to be double parked up there from 70's to 90's, maybe congestion zone to blame especially when accomodations being built with only car spaces for 1 in 4.
Many times walked down to the flat, totally changed many years ago used to be some real good shops.
Very interesting !
Hey man that was sertiously good yt, had some American friends visit this a few months ago and wanted to do a video on this, you should do more happy to share and subscribe
Some famous people there
just dont forget these very interesting also watch the channel called UAP, paul cook and jon levi.... you will never look back!!!