Annie Murray, author

Scrapbook

Heartlands Local History Society

This year I have had the pleasure of making two visits to the Heartlands Local History Society, which meets in the Nechells Green Community Centre in Nechells in Birmingham. The society gathers its members from far and wide – I wasn’t the only one who had arrived from quite a distance away.

Right: Nechells Green Community Centre. Click on the image to enlarge

Above, housing in the Nechells area today.

There are over 200 members of the society and both meetings I visited were very well attended. As well as having talks, films and discussions, Eric Hill and the committee also have a substantial archive of local photos from the area and reminiscences about life there. What with slum clearance, city development and loss of local employers like the power station, the Nechells area has changed almost unrecognizably within living memory!

I received a warm welcome from everyone and met people eager to tell me about their area in the past.
Thank you!