Stourbridge in the 1950's and 1960's - a stunning collection of photos
taken by the late Harry Cartwright

Stourbridge.com is privileged to have permission to publish a collection of photos taken by the late Harry Cartwright, a Stourbridge resident and keen amateur photographer. An active member of the Stourbridge Photographic Society, Harry took hundreds, if not thousands of photos of Stourbridge and the surrounding area in the late 50s and early 60s, and the end result is a fantastic pictorial chronicle of Stourbridge and how it has changed over the past fifty years. See also: Videos of Stourbridge town centre and ring road in the 60s

These photos will be of great interest to anyone associated with the town, young and old, across the globe, they will also be of great value for genealogical research as well. Stourbridge.com wishes to remind you that copyright for the photos lies with Harry's family and these photos are not being published for any form of financial gain. In parts the collection is rather sad, looking at some of the lovely old buildings that have gone over the years, but it's easy to say this with hindsight and we should be grateful for the fine buildings that remain in the town centre. Also, we get genealogy enquiries from all over the world and often people refer to family members having worked in a certain shop in Stourbridge, so maybe this will help when researching family history.

Anyway, make a cup of tea, sit down and enjoy the photos, they are amazing and you will have lots of fun trying to work out where things are today, you might even find your own house! Please take time to go through the equally great collections of Bill Pardoe and Hal as well

We have categorised them as follows:

Stourbridge Town Centre

Stourbridge Old Quarter and Norton

Lye and Wollescote

Oldswinford and Wollaston

October 2011 - The Bill Pardoe Collection
A fantastic collection of old photos and illustrations
of Stourbridge going back as far as the 1860!

January 2012 - Photos by "Hal" of Stourbridge
Only a handful of photos but well worth a look

Please note that the quality of the images is not great, that is because we had to literally photograph the photographs, in the interests of speed, crude but the only practical route in the circumstances and time available. It has taken many hours to put this together, but we think it is well worth the effort for all the world to see these fantastic photos.

More photos of Lye and Stourbridge can be seen at www.lyetown.co.uk, a compilation of photos taken by Bill Hart 1928 - 2009. The photos are for sale through Hart Photography, full contact details are on the website. Bill Hart was one of the very nicest of people and will be sadly missed by all who knew him, including me.

Look out for more collections from other Stourbridge photographers from the past!