Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group

This delightful little book, aimed specifically at junior citizens, is also good read for those adults who are beginning to explore Sutton Coldfield’s rich history.  If this doesn’t whet your appetite to build up your knowledge of the town, nothing will!

This book is a study of drunkenness in Sutton Coldfield 1871-1881 (Sutton Coldfield Library Reference: QSH 41.9)

This delightful little book approaches the history of Sutton Coldfield from a different perspective, with an unusual map of Sutton Park and also some pretty pen and ink drawings. Both the park and the town are charmingly described and there is also a smattering of interesting advertisements from the late 1880s.

This selection comprises a large proportion of the guide books, mainly produced by Sutton Corporation, which are held at Sutton Coldfield Library, Local Studies Department, under reference SH97SUT.  Most have yellow bindings which makes them easy to find.  Between them, they give a potted history of the town and its park, advertisements, maps, photographs and local information.  They are yet another useful research tool for the local historian.

This report by the Department of Archaeology and Local History, City Museums & Art Gallery, Birmingham on the archaeological implications of development in the central area of Sutton Coldfield was written in July 1979.  It gives an insight into the position regarding the Conservation Area at that time and is a reminder at how important archaeology is in furthering our knowledge of the town’s local history.  

This small book, found in Sutton Coldfield Library under Reference SH06, would appear to have sat on many Birmingham Library shelves, bearing in mind the date when it was first printed in 1896.  However, the more important date here is 1777, because the book is a reprint of an old Directory giving Street names and Trades of those times, together with Notes of Comparison of Birmingham between those two dates.

These deeds have been on loan to Sutton Coldfield Library (Ref: QSH97.SUT) since 1976 by Eddowes, Perry & Osbourne, Solicitors, High Street, Sutton Coldfield.  They relate to properties in and around Sutton Coldfield from the early 17th Century. The Calendar includes useful indexes to help you locate people, places, subjects and trades. With this bundle, there is also a List of Items of a miscellaneous nature also borrowed from Eddowes, Perry & Osbourne in 1976.

A Selection of Corporation Rentals (otherwise known as 'Chief Rents') from 1742 to 1924. These have been copied by Janet Jordan, Member of Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group, from the originals deposited at Sutton Coldfield Library.  These can be useful in tracing the owners of some of the older properties in the area. (View the photos in sequence.)

This updated selection of Corporation Rentals (otherwise known as 'Chief Rents') from 1742 to 1924 has been copied by Janet Jordan, Member of Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group, from the originals stored at Sutton Coldfield Library and Birmingham Archives Library. These can be useful in tracing the owners of some of the older properties in the area.

This History of Sutton Coldfield was written by Reverend William Kirkpatrick Riland Bedford, the longest-serving of any Rector of Holy Trinity Parish Church (forty-two years), who retired in 1892.  It was not the only book he wrote as he is also well known for the popular Three Hundred Years of a Family Living, being a History of the Rilands of Sutton Coldfield.  Less well known was his collaboration with Richard Holbeche as joint authors of The Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem published in 1902.

Are you searching for the planning application of your old house in Sutton Coldfield? If it was built after 1887, you may be able to find it in these books. They will give you theplanning application number so that you can request this from Sutton Library who hold the collection. All pages of Books 1 to 27 have been copied and cover the years 1887 to 1967.

Using details from these maps and books you can find out who owned land in Sutton Coldfield at the time of the Corn Rent in 1824 and Enclosure in 1851.  (With thanks to Sutton Coldfield Library for allowing us to make these available on the Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group website (www.sclhrg.org.uk)

This very useful little book contains a wealth of interesting information about Sutton Coldfield, its notable people and places, and its park at the beginning of the 20th century.

Here you will find a copy of Sutton Coldfield Trades Directories for the years 1830 to 1940.   These are a useful tool when tracing ancestors who carried on business in the town or its immediate surroundings.  The originals books are available in Sutton Coldfield Library under Reference SH.06 SUT. × Warning! While this page works with most modern browsers, for the best experience we recommend: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari or Edge Browser.Internet Explorer is known to have problems viewing the enlarged images in this section.Due to the large image size, this section is not recommended for mobile devices, other than when using WiFi.

When Sutton Coldfield became a Municipal Borough in 1886, building plans had to be submitted to the Borough Surveyor to ensure that building regulations were complied with.

This useful guide book to Sutton Park was first published in Easter 1965. One of its Editors was Peter Wilfred James who was renowned for his study of lichens in the park.  Yvonne Moore has made this scan of the guide but added to it some interesting research relating to his past.  He died in Sutton Coldfield on 13 February 2014 but there is an indication that he spent some of his childhood in Sutton, proof of which is still sought.

In this book you may recognise some of the legends that have cropped up about Bishop Vesey over the years.  Whilst a very entertaining read, these ‘tales’ blend fact with fiction and you should seek elsewhere for original sources!

This remarkable article is the result of painstaking research and offers a myriad of facts relating to Sutton Coldfield from the 13th century onwards.  The Warden’s Calendar for 1899 lists a commemorative event for every day of that year.   Kerry Osbourne has used this document as the basis to discover more about each event, thus enabling him to paint a small pen picture of each one. 

This is my iPhone copy of the Town School Admittance Register to be found in Sutton Coldfield Library under Reference QSH 48.32TOW. It is an invaluable source of information if you are searching for a family who lived in Sutton Coldfield between 1826 and 1904.Janet Jordan, Member of Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group, March 2020. × Warning! While this page works with most modern browsers, for the best experience we recommend: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari or Edge Browser.Internet Explorer is known to have problems viewing the enlarged images in this section.Due to the large image size, this section is not recommended for mobile devices, other than when using WiFi.

In this little black book ‘Wandering among the Aisles’ which has graced the library shelves for umpteen years, Bernard McEvoy, in 1878, wrote of his visits to all the churches in Sutton Coldfield at that time.  His object was to give his impression as an average man of the buildings, the ceremonies, the music and singing therein.  At times, he pulls no punches, but some of his descriptions are quite delightful! Janet JordanDecember 2024