Page 33 - Colin Wheeler's Memories

My Palace Theatre and other Memories Redditch Heritage

During this period private house building for sale had begun, but like council
house building this was restricted by licenses for building materials being
required and also a limit on the total cost of a house. Local builders were active

in building the majority of houses in the following areas, Dolton Brothers, Forge
Mill Road, Sergeant and Son, Meadow Hill Crescent, Harrison Porritt (later Wilf

Carpenter) Oakenshaw Road ,Jack Pettifer and Son, Crumpfields Lane, Melley
Brothers, Birchfield Road, Freddy Walker, Walkwood Road Hunt End, (nicknamed

The Yankee Builder) This was on account of the fact that he had previously lived
in the United States, he spoke with a distinctive American drawl, and it was

rumoured that he had once worked on the Empire State Building. He was known
to have built at least one pair of houses in that area without the use of
scaffolding, the bricklayers using the overhand method of working from inside

the building shell. Harry Quiney, Yvonne Road and later Harrison Brothers, a
village complex in Fairbourne, Wales and the New Youth Centre in Back Hill

(Ipsley Street) It was during this period they went into liquidation.

Other small and medium sized builders operating in the area included Nubould
and Sons, J Little and Sons, Bezant Brothers, Holloways, Jack Green, George Hill
and Sons, George Beacham and Sons . My apologies for any omissions to this list.

I was then employed by Atwood Bank Builder RH Wilkes and Sons and worked on
the new Rag and Bone building at the end of Albert Street, for Townsends, it

replaced the former yard which stood at the rear of the Royal Yard and Select
Kinema (correct spelling). It has since been demolished and replaced with other

buildings.

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