THE buildings in this corner of Bromsgrove fell into disrepair after this photo was taken in the 1950s and serious doubts were expressed about their future.
But fortunately today this area of The Strand has been sympathetically restored. The photo shows a steam engine belonging to haulier Charlie Lamb undergoing a test run.
Charlie was landlord of the Mitre pub, seen in the background, for a number of years, but later moved to Charford. He bought the engine for £37 and, after restoring it, sold it for £600. A few years ago, according to Bromsgrove reader Don Burden, who kindly loaned us the photo, it was withdrawn at auction for £100,000.
Don's dad Alf, seen with his back to the camera, worked for Lamb's for many years.
As a young man Alf, a native of Dorset, travelled the country for his firm Eddisons, also of Dorset, with a steam engine repairing roads for councils. Away from home for months at a time, he lived in a van pulled by the engine. While in Bromsgrove he met his future wife and decided to give up the nomadic life and settle in the town. Don recalled his father was the last of the old-time steamroller drivers in Bromsgrove.
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