NextBackThese builders had a large reserve of self employed sub contractors to call upon and they included plumbers, painters, plasterers, electricians, glaziers, roofers, and blacksmiths, all well known but names far to numerous to mention.
When additional transport was required they could call upon three local firms owned by Arthur Swain Senior, Ernie Cater and Arthur Bennett.
The two local builder’s merchants were A D Foulkes, situated in the former Tarlton’s builder’s yard in Peakman Street and the Redditch Building supplies in Smallwood Street, opposite the SWS Electric Cooling Station.
Initially, local bricks were used for the house building and they were collected from Ferney Hill at Redditch, also brickworks at Studley, Earlswood, and Worcester. Later, however, when the giant brickworks at Stewartby in Bedfordshire went into full production “London” bricks were extensively used because they were lighter, of constant quality and cheaper. They were used on all the police houses, including those in Vicarage View, which I believe were constructed by Wheeler and Mansell, a Bromsgrove company.
