Frances Road lies just left off the Pershore Road as you're heading from 'town' over
Breedon Hill towards the centre of Cotteridge.  Cotteridge itself is a small parish
within the district of Kings Norton in South Birmingham...  Some of the more long-
standing locals still know the main shopping area as 'The Cotteridge' just as the 
neighbouring district of Stirchley is known as 'The Village', therefore, if you lived 
in Frances Road, you would go 'up the Cotteridge' or 'down the Village'...    

When I was born, 'Frances Rd, Cotteridge' was in Warwickshire.  When Frances Road was
built at the turn of the 20th Century (by local builders - The Grant's and the 
Ferris's), it lay within the County of Worcestershire...  Now, it lies within the West 
Midlands!  

Frances Road is a very ordinary road of some 131 terraced houses...  Some would even
say that it's an ugly road with uneven cracked paving slabs that vie for space 
alongside partially tarmac'd footpaths and an ugly galvanised gate blocking off the 
entrance/exit to Lifford Lane at the foot of the road.   Yes, Frances Road is not very 
pretty.  Trees that were planted when the street was in its youth have long since been 
removed, the only greenery being that of the occasional privet.  The congestion of 
parked cars is also another huge problem for those of us who have never had the 
pleasure or privilege of off-road parking.

To me and a handful of other families who still live in Frances Road however, it has
provided the hub of home life for us, our children, our parents, our grandparents and
in some cases, our great grandparents.  It is perhaps, a comfortable, safe link with
the past where long-lasting friendships formed in childhood still flourish. 

This website is purely a personal indulgence; an exploration of 'Who' moved here,
'Where' they came from, 'When' they came and 'Who' stayed... (although regarding the
latter statement, apart from myself, no living persons are named in the 'family trees' 
section).

Please feel free to have a browse; if you recognise a family name, click on it, you 
might be surprised and please don't hesitate to contact me with any queries, 
corrections, additional info or missing links etc., this site is being constantly 
updated.

'Nell'
April 2008