Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group

Is this one of the oldest cottages in Reddicap Heath, Sutton Coldfield?  This brief history suggests it might be.

In April 2005, what initially appeared to be a simple hobby of collecting garden sprayers and spraying machines made in Birmingham has led me on a fascinating journey into the history of, and to some extent the people behind, these varied products.  My particular interest, however, is the Four Oaks Spraying Machine Company which was situated in the Mere Green area of Sutton Coldfield.  Hopefully this article will be of equal interest to you.

On a 33-acre site in the north of Sutton Park, a large anti-aircraft base was built to defend Birmingham against the threat of German bombing during the Second World War. The base held up to 200 personnel - initially manned by the regular army, but subsequently by the local Home Guard. After the war, the base housed homeless families - mainly ex-servicemen - until being demolished in the mid-fifties. Whilst in operation, knowledge of the site was kept secret, and after the war, existence of the site was forgotten. This is the story of Sutton Park’s anti-aircraft base and how it came to be rediscovered.

“This is the illustrated account of the creation in 1924 of the Children’s Paddling Stream in Sutton Park by the Sutton Coldfield Borough Council.”

Albert Wood, tenant of Midland Lodge in Sutton Park from 1892 to 1917, was a typical Victorian lower middle-class gentleman who had many interests. He was a chemist by training but from childhood took an interest in horticulture and natural history. These interests included ferns and alpine plants as well as birds and molluscs. He was also a founder member of The Vesey Club and counted Benjamin Stone, Sutton Coldfield’s first mayor, as one of his friends. He wrote this article for the 1900 edition of a guidebook of the Town which briefly presents his research of the snails and molluscs that inhabited Sutton Coldfield at the turn of the 19th century.

The corn rent map and schedule gives details of the ownership, occupancy, field names and value of all the estates which could be charged a yearly corn rent in 1824.

It is well known that elementary schools were established in Sutton in the 1820s, but less well known that the Warden and Society ran a secondary school from 1830 to 1853, called the Corporation Upper School.  This article explains how the Upper School started and why it closed down after only twenty-three years, and shows how two Headmasters of Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, both members of the Corporation, were largely responsible for the Upper School’s establishment and its closure.

Not many people are aware of the existence of a Georgian cottage at Powell’s Pool that was demolished nearly seventy yeas ago. This article describes the architecture of the cottage, its history, as well as the history of Powell’ Pool, its spade mill, the mill’s lessees and the creation of the community of Boldmere, previously a tract of land comprising farmland and heathland.

The post of High Steward of Sutton Coldfield was created by the 1528 Charter, but he was authorized to appoint a deputy to carry out his duties relating to the administration of justice in the town.  At first, the High Steward appointed a deputy on an ad hoc basis, but by 1723 the post of Deputy Steward had become a permanent one and incoming High Stewards confirmed the appointment of the existing deputy on the recommendation of the Warden and Society.  The first known appointment of a Deputy Steward was in 1552 and the post was abolished and replaced by a Town Clerk in 1855.  This article lists the Deputy Stewards from 1723 to 1885.

If you were to look for ‘the Cottage Estate’ in Sutton Coldfield today, there would be no current maps that would indicate its whereabouts, or give a clue as to its size or where it was situated, and yet, in the 16th century, it was to became a major feature of the development of an extensive area north of the town. The first cottage thought to be built on the estate was derelict by approximately 1800 but was replaced by a new building known as ‘the Cottage’, which became a local landmark in the 19th and 20th centuries.  This house can still be seen today, although considerably changed from its original design. ‘Mulroy Road’, in which ‘the Cottage’ is situated, was built around 1910. What follows here is the early history of this estate, using archival material in Sutton Coldfield Library, together with research articles written by the Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group and now on its website (www.sclhrg.org.uk), particularly those of Roger Lea in his ‘History Spot’.  I also have to thank Ian Phillips for passing on to me all the notes and plans which he made in the 1990s, which now form an important part of this article, and whose former house deeds provided the evidence leading to the foundation of the ‘the Cottage Estate’.