Author Topic: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans  (Read 15176 times)

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Offline Ian

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #15 on: December 30, 2018, 09:23:39 am »
It's no problem, Barry;  I already have your email from when you joined.  If you're happy that's the one I'll forward to Jack.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline A.Muse

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #16 on: December 30, 2018, 09:51:06 am »
Yes, please do that, sorry to have caused all this trouble.

Many thanks, Barry
You don't know what you don't know until you find out that you didn't know.


Offline Ian

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #17 on: December 30, 2018, 10:00:47 am »
You're welcome, Barry.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Jack

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #18 on: December 30, 2018, 12:16:40 pm »
Thanks Ian. Barry, have forwarded it to Chris Draper.

Offline A.Muse

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #19 on: January 02, 2019, 05:59:59 pm »
Many thanks for your help Ian and Jack. Chris Draper has been in touch but unfortunately does not have any information.

I'm still trying to identify the car in the link that Hugo provided - all I can tell so far is that it was registered in Birmingham sometime after March 1936.  Unfortunately Birmingham destroyed all of their registration documents when vehicle registrations were centralised in Swansea.

The make and model are still puzzling me and a good friend who is a car 'nut'.
You don't know what you don't know until you find out that you didn't know.

Offline Hugo

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #20 on: January 02, 2019, 10:41:04 pm »
Apart from the different coloured grill, Ada's car looks like a 1936 Ford Standard

Offline Hugo

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #21 on: January 02, 2019, 10:47:10 pm »
Here's another one with white wall tyres

Offline A.Muse

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #22 on: January 03, 2019, 10:50:57 pm »
Thanks Hugo, that put me out of my misery, I might do a bit more digging about the car and its' Birmingham origins.

Thanks again,

Barry 
You don't know what you don't know until you find out that you didn't know.

Offline Helig

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #23 on: January 07, 2019, 01:31:01 pm »
I remember my mother, born Llandudno 1923, saying how splendid it was inside Villa Marina as she had visited it at one time. She said that the insides of all of the rooms were curved and didn't have corners.

I take it you have seen this:

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/scribbans-bakery.11340/

Is this the picture of Ada with the car?

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dPI6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT95&lpg=PT95&dq=harry+scribbans+birmingham&source=bl&ots=QP-v4fBq5v&sig=lk5xVeBfpnHrYchApWHOj1xZj-0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_1ZOK4dvfAhUoURUIHbybBtAQ6AEwDHoECAMQAQ#v=onepage&q=harry%20scribbans%20birmingham&f=false

Helig

Offline Cambrian

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #24 on: January 07, 2019, 02:28:14 pm »
Some years ago I saw a drama on TV which featured the interiors of Villa Marina as the home of one of the leading characters.  Unfortunately I can't recall the name but it involved murky dealings about a development and planning officers - although Villa Marina was featured, the external sequences were shot in Aberystwyth.  Anyone else recall this ?

Offline Hugo

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #25 on: January 07, 2019, 02:56:35 pm »
Happy New Year to you Helig, hope that you are keeping well up there in Scotland.  Mull and I wondered how you were as we hadn't see you posting on here recently.

Yes, that's the car in Chris Draper's book but not the one A Muse was looking for.   Your mother was lucky to see inside the property as I've often wanted to see inside.   I believe that Lenny Holland's daughter lives in it now and it really looks good again.    Lenny was an old neighbour of mine in Cwm Place and worked for the RAC,   my old car used to break down frequently and Lenny often came to my rescue

Offline Ian

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #26 on: January 07, 2019, 02:59:26 pm »
I remember as a child being transfixed by Villa Marina;  it seemed the epitome of the exotic and continental.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline A.Muse

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #27 on: January 07, 2019, 03:09:22 pm »
Thanks for your interest Helig, unfortunately the picture in the book is of a car similar to the one that Hugo has posted above, a 1936 Ford Standard.

Our car is a 1926 Bullnose Morris MG Super Sports, now in two tone blue, but in Scribbans ownership it was originally engine turned aluminium on the bottom and maroon on top, although the log book shows that he had it re-sprayed to green and putty in 1928.  Perhaps a sop to a more sombre era of the coming depression?

I have posted a picture on this forum under the 'Hobbies and interests' - 'Cars'  on Page 50, Reply No 745.

Try getting DVLA to register 'putty' as a colour on a V5!

I had seen the Birmingham History web page, but did not post on it as it was the same day I joined here, and didn't want too much going on at once. There is also
another good thread about the Local Defence Volunteers that were based at his residence at Little Aston Hall nr Sutton Coldfield.

As it says in the history of Villa Marina Harry died in 1936 before it was completed, sadly also the year he was banned from driving for life following an accident in one of his Rolls Royces.   
You don't know what you don't know until you find out that you didn't know.

Offline Helig

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #28 on: January 10, 2019, 10:28:09 am »
Hello Hugo,

Happy New Year to you too. Please pass my best wishes on to Mull.

I haven't been very well of late and my online activities have been curtailed. At the moment I am waiting for the results of some tests and return to the consultant next week.

I seem to think that my mother knew someone who lived at the Villa Marina, or that she had visited someone there when it was a convalescent home perhaps. She did tell me about it but she has been dead for nearly 20 years now, so memories tend to fade.

I have seen the photo of the gorgeous 1926 Bullnose MG Super Sports car. Would there be any history on this in any of the MG Owners clubs?

The reason I thought the car was the one with Ada posing by it was because it looked to have the registration number B.P 626.

Helig

Offline Hugo

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Re: Villa Marina and Harry Scribbans
« Reply #29 on: January 11, 2019, 11:30:28 am »
Hi Helig. we were sorry to hear that you hadn't been well of late and hope that you get some good and positive results from the consultant when you go there.

The Villa Marina is really impressive from all directions and I'd love to see inside it one day.   I had a look at that  1926 Bullnose MG Super Sports car and it was really a fabulously looking motor.
In 1964 I took my driving test in a Morris Bullnose van and that was good to drive.     I remember it having a starting handle in the front which was to crank up the battery when the car wouldn't start but you had to be careful when doing it or you could have your hand damaged
My Dad taught me to drive in that van so I didn't have any other lessons and it only cost me £1.00 for the driving test fee so I was very  lucky then