The Silver Blades

If you were to head off to the left at the Australian Bar (or Missing) along Bromsgrove Street you’d find that there have been many changes. Firstly, anyone arriving by car to visit the area would probably head for the Arcadian Car Park, the entrance is here on Bromsgrove Street. The three photographs of the Bromsgrove Street car park entrance all seem similar, but it can be seen that there are differences, in the distance, where one building has disappeared and another one arrived in its place.

In the photograph taken in 2015 (above) we can see the “Silver Blades” skating rink and 10 pin bowling alley in the distance. By November this had been demolished and replaced by an apartment block called The Forum. In fact if we were able to step back to the 1970s we’d have found other changes had taken place. Before then, Bromsgrove Street went beyond the junction that we can see here, but that part was lost when the Wholesale Markets were built on a site covering 42 acres facing Pershore Street and opening in 1974.

So, here we are are in the 1970s at the same corner. We can by now see the “Silver Blades” building dominating the north-east corner (there is a “tiled surrounds” shop on the extreme left). The 32 lane 10-pin bowling alley occupied the ground floor and the first floor, up the ramp, was where the skating rink was. A night club, at this time called Samantha’s was also on the first floor.

The “Silver Blades” was opened in 1965 by Mecca and this was the name given to the skating rink which was the training ground for many a championship skater. On the ground floor was the Top Rank Bowl – the 10-pin bowling alley.

This photograph was taken from Bromsgrove Street, in 1957 looking east with Pershore Street on the left. About 8 years later the Silver Blades would be built on the left side of the road beyond the junction. The shop selling tiled surrounds (to the left) was at one time the pub called the Stag and Pheasant. It seems that the ‘Stag and Pheasant’ was where two constables were attacked by peaky blinders in 1895. More recent views of the same junction can be seen above.

This next photograph was taken in the 1960s in the “lost” portion of Bromsgrove Street looking west towards Pershore Street. The side of the “Silver Blades” building can be seen on the right side of the street, and the tiled surround shop in the previous photographs is also there in the distance.

The “Silver Blades” was demolished in October 2015 – here are a couple of photograph of a sad moment in time for many skaters and 10-pin bowling adicts.

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We are now going to head back to Hurst Street.