The Old Walsall Road links Hamstead Village to the Walsall Road. Originally it was the main route from Birmingham to Walsall until the new turnpike through Perry Barr was made in 1831.

When the main shaft of the Hamstead mine was completed, the call went out for miners to work the coal-faces. Hamstead was then only a sleepy hamlet and not ready for an influx of miners. The housing shortage was met by rows and rows of small two-up, two-down terraced houses being built in a very short space of time. They were uniform brick dwellings with no unnecessary ornamentation, and as they sprang up they would adopt the name of the principal building in that particular row. Hence we had "Police Row", "Butchers Row", "Canal row" and more oddly "88 Row" taking shape. This latter row was so-named because on the wall of the end house there was picked out in blue brick " 1888"

From Hamstead Herald 1986.
The different rows shown on the plan did not go all the way down to the Hamstead Road as indicated in the plan as Hamstead House was situated here.

The white building in the photograph below is the "Workmans Institute" on the map above.

Amongst the many shared facilities of this time was the Wash-House, which each house-wife used in turn for the family wash. A lane branching off to the left beside the canal, and officially named Canal Row, became known locally as Maiding Tub Row because of this hot bed of Monday activity.

Hamstead Cottages East later became Bradford St.

Fred Probyn worked at Hamstead colliery from 1952 untill 1962 along side his father Fred Probyn and brother Gwyn.The family lived in Bradford Street or 88 row as the old folk called it, there was no bathroom and the toilet was outside. The house over looked the brickyard from out the back of the house, and the Canal was just above above the houses.

Mr and Mrs Probyn taken outside the back of 88Row about 1953 and on their wedding day, with David, Fred, Fred snr., Gwyn and Arthur David Probyn. All except Arthur worked at the colliery.

The rows of houses across the other side of road was called Post Office Row (part of this still exists and was an off-licence for many years). Canal Row, Middle Row and Back Row being replaced by a block of flats.

The name partly lives on as Bradford Close, which links to Langdale Road, occupies the canal side area here.

Many thanks to Fred Probyn for providing the photographs and background information. Aditional information researched from Victorian Hamstead by Roger Clive Meachem, 1988, Brewin Books ISBN 0 947731 38 5 (out of print)