Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group

Part 1: During the early summer of 1921, when Sutton Coldlfield, like the rest of the British Isles, experienced very hot weather. There had been very little rainfall for some time resulting in the ground being extremely dry and the heathland of Sutton Park being susceptible to random outbreaks of fire. The Borough Council's Park and Estates Committee initially took the view that the fires were started deliberately but later their attitude changed when they realised that the extent and frequency of the fires was largely due to natural causes. Outbreaks of fires in Sutton Park were first reported as occurring on 17th and 25th June.1921. Part 2: In complete contrast to the drought and subsequent widespread fires of 1921 described in Part 1, a sudden cloudburst occurred two years later on Saturday, July 14, 1923 producing excessive rainfall in Sutton Park. The Borough Council were once again faced with a natural disaster and its consequential effects.

An Archaeological Appreciation and Historical Notes to accompany a visit by Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group Summer 1992.

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.