Summer Fete at the Top Rec (circa 1950s)

 

Another photograph showing the many activities which took place on the "Top Rec". This is the greasy poll stall at a summer fete in about the 1950s, and the club house for the bowling club can be seen in the distance.

Pictured are George (Jimmy) Riddell (left) and Peter Savory (right) on the greasy pole stall.

The entrance to the Top Rec is on Kingsley Road.

Family Photo Album: 18 Kingsley Road

Thank you to previous residents for more family photographs, this time at 18 Kingsley Road (late 1940s?).

Standing: Florence Savory, Ernest Savory. Sitting (left to right): James Williamson (Jim), Barbara Savory, Peter Savory, Flora Williamson (nee Savory).

Ernest and Florence Savory moved into number 18 in about 1931. Ernest was born in 1873 and had been a railway clerk. Florence was born in 1878.

Family Photo Album: The Bailey's

The Bailey family were probably the first residents of 51 Kingsley Road, and they remained there until the late 1920s, when they moved to 9 Innage Road.

Above: Photo of William and Edith Mary Bailey with children Bertram, Donald and Edith Muriel in a garden, c. 1910. This was possibly taken in the garden of 51 as they moved in.

Below: Photo depicting Leonard, William and Bertram (at the back) and Edith Mary, Edith Muriel, Donald and Willam senior (at the front), c. 1914.
 

Below: Leonard and Bertram Bailey, c. 1918.

The Grigg Family at Rowheath Farm

William Grigg outside Rowheath Farm, early 1900s.
With thanks to a descendant of the Grigg family.

A previous post about Rowheath Farm, noted that the family farming the land from the early 1800s to 1918 were the Grigg family. The photograph above pictures the farmhouse with William Grigg outside, the last known tenant who kept it as a working farm.

Some of the farm buildings, date unknown.
With thanks to a descendant of the Grigg family.

The first Grigg tenants were Samuel and Jemima Grigg, who moved to Rowheath (sometimes Row Heath) Farm, then in the parish of Northfield, by 1841 when they appear together on the first census already in their 60s. It is likely, though, that they had been working the farm for some years before this. The previous known tenant was Robert Cotterell whose tenancy ended in 1813,** but Samuel and Jemima, who were previously living in Dudley, moved to Northfield in 1819 where they baptised their youngest daughter Jemima.*3* This may be when the family moved to Rowheath Farm.

Samuel had been born in Halesowen and Jemima in Hanley, and they had seven known children, the youngest son being another Samuel. Samuel senior passed away in 1857 and Samuel Junior took over the farm. He had married Martha Moss in 1850 and lived with his new bride in Stirchley, working as a farmer, before taking over from his father.*4* Samuel and Martha had six known children, Mary Louisa, Martha (who died young), William, John (who also died young), and Lucy. 

In 1861 Samuel junior's niece, Mary Ann Grigg (daughter of his brother Joseph), married Henry Chinn from a family of Kings Heath farmers. Henry and Mary Ann moved to Northfield, firstly in a cottage and then running a farm which was confusingly also called Rowheath or Row Heath Farm too. That these were two different farms is asserted in that the Grigg farm was 141 acres and the Chinn farm 16 acres when the two families were listed on the 1871 census.*5* The Chinn's Rowheath Farm was in Cotteridge and closer to the railway station, probably not far from Rowheath Road. Henry Chinn went bankrupt in 1867 and his brother William later took over.

Birmingham Journal, 14 December 1867.

With regards to the Rowheath Farm which was later converted to Rowheath Pavilion, Martha passed away in 1898 and Samuel in 1904, and after this his two youngest children William and Lucy, both unmarried, took on the farm. Below is a blank memo from William Grigg and a greetings postcard depicting images of Kings Norton produced by Lucy Grigg (provided, with thanks, by an ancestor of the Grigg's).

William Grigg retired from farming in 1918 with descendants of the family stating that it was no longer making money possibly due to the war.*6* William was 64 and his sister, Lucy, about three years younger.

The whole area was rural at this time, and some of the changes which cleared the way for the suburban village we have to day are seen in the removal of 78 oak trees.

Aris's Birmingham Gazette, 16 April 1860.

NOTES

**  Worcester Journal, 18 October 1810.

*3* Jemima Grigg was baptised on 11 January 1820 at Northfield Parish Church to Samuel and Jemima, father a farmer.

*4* Samuel Grigg junior and Martha was recorded on the 1851 census in Stirchley.

*5* 1871 census on Ancestry.com.

*6* William Grigg advertised the farm stock and surplus farmhouse furniture for sale, stating that he was 'retiring from farming' in: Birmingham Daily Post, 1 March 1918.

- Probate of Samuel Grigg, 1857, held at Worcester Hive.

- Samuel Grigg senior on WikiTree.

From Rowheath Farm to Rowheath Pavilion

Rowheath Farm, c. 1900. Held at Birmingham Archive.

Rowheath Farm with the barns behind, 1913, when purchased by BVT.
Held at Birmingham Archive.

Rowheath Farm was situated at the top of where Oak Farm Road is now, opposite Franklin Road. Part of its barn survives, is grade II listed, and is converted into residential properties. 

The barns at Rowheath Farm, c. 1966. Held at Birmingham Archive.

The farm was originally part of the parish of Northfield rather than Kings Norton, until parish borders changed in about the 1920s. 

Worcester Journal, 18 October 1810.

In 1810 the tenant was Robert Cotterell, whose tenancy ran out in 1813 (newspaper clipping, above). From at least 1841 (and possibly 1820)* the farm was run by the Grigg family, passing through three generations, the last generation retiring in 1918 (see here).** Bill Dargue states that the name Rowheath came from the ancient word ruh meaning rough or uncultivated, making it better land for grazing, and the farm seems to have predominantly been run as a dairy farm. 

Before the last Grigg farmer retired the farm, then 130 acres, was purchased on 29 October 1913 for £13,000 by Bournville Village Trust and the Cadbury Firm for development into new recreation grounds which opened in 1924.*3*

The shape of Rowheath Farm purchased by BVT in 1913.
From the Bournville Works Magazine. 

By the 1930s the farmhouse was used as the groundsman's house for the Rowheath Pavilion Grounds which then included several cricket pitches, 30+ tennis courts, rugby and football pitches, and bowling, croquet and putting greens (map below). 

Click on the map to enlarge.

See more on the Pavilion once it was developed, here.

NOTES

Please feel free to share any of the images used here, but it would be appreciated if a link to the site was provided with them.

* Samuel Grigg, Farmer, Row-Heath, in: Bentley's Directory of Worcestershire, 2 vols (1842), II; The land of the farm was originally owned by the Moore family and Samuel Grigg can be found in rate books as 'occupier' from 1848 to 1864: Ancestry.com. Birmingham, England, Rate Books, 1831-1913 [database on-line]. Samuel Grigg's younger children were born in Dudley, but his youngest child was baptised in Northfield early in 1820, so the family moved to Northfield but it is uncertain if they moved to Rowheath Farm.

** Information from the Grigg family is taken from Ancestry.com. The Grigg family appear on censuses from 1841-1911. William Grigg advertised the farm stock and surplus farmhouse furniture for sale, stating that he was 'retiring from farming' in: Birmingham Daily Post, 1 March 1918.

*3* Sale recorded in: Birmingham Daily Gazette, 30 October 1913; Bournville Works Magazine (1913).

- MS 3375/1/1/233

Social Life: Bournville Tenants Village Council

When the Bournville Tenants Estate first came into being in the early 1900s, it was run predominantly by residents. One group ran the management committee, and another group ran the recreation committee; the latter generally known as Bournville Tenants Village Council. The Village Council undertook the 'management and control of the games, the fixing of the fees, and the collecting thereof, and the maintenance of the Courts and Playing Greens of the Recreation Grounds [...] and generally to promote the Social, Educational, and Recreational life of the village'.

In 1909 they produced a card which listed the names of the first Council members, as well as laying out the Constitution.

Click to enlarge.

Chairman: James Jones (24 Woodlands Park Road), Vice-Chairman: T. Bryan (Oak Tree Lane (also chairman of management committee)), Hon. Secretary: Chas. B. Green (10 Woodlands Park Road), Hon. Treasurer: J. G. Nicklin (14 Woodlands Park Road), Committee: W. E. Barnett (28 Woodlands Park Road), J. E. Blackadder (34 Woodlands Park Road), T. Brown (16 Woodlands Park Road), W. L. Barber (The Nook, Northfield Road), A. Banister (Northfield Road), A. B. Clements (6 Woodlands Park Road), W. Cunnington (Clyde Cottage, Northfield Road), J. Charlton (12 Woodlands Park Road), P. D. Keogan (Cropthorne, Northfield Road), C. O. Murdoch (13 Kingsley Road), G. E. Mountford (Northfield Road), A. W. Neal (Oak Tree Cottage, Northfield Road), T. J. Ward (2 Kingsley Road).

Click on the Constitution to enlarge.

It is uncertain when the Tenants Village Council ceased to be active, but below are some of the events that it arranged on the estate. 

1927 (June 18): Coming of Age Celebration (21st Birthday - see here).
1937 (May 12): Coronation Festival (see here).
At least the 1920s: Bowling and Tennis activities (see here).
At least 1928 to 1939: Winter Sessions (see here).
1953 (June 2): Coronation Festival (see here).

This item is held at Birmingham Archive.

Welcome to the Bournville Tenants Blog!

1906 plan of the estate, click to enlarge.

Bournville Tenants is a block of housing consisting of four streets, part of Hawthorne Road, Kingsley Road, part of Northfield Road, and part of Woodlands Park Road (see above). The Bournville Tenants estate was formed in 1906 when Bournville Village Trust established it as a housing co-operative, and built 145 houses in open fields previously belonging to Middleton Hall Farm, which were completed by 1913.

The aim of the blog is to explore the history of the area. If you have any photos, memories, information, or anything else of interest, also contact at: jenni.a.dixon@gmail.com

The 1911 census has been uploaded for each property (where a 1911 census was unavailable electoral roll information has been added). The 1911 census probably shows the first residents for each house for most of the properties - to find your address use the search tool to the right or click here to see all the houses.

To find out how to research your address further click here.


The Bournville Tenants estate is unique in that it is a relatively small group of houses, designed as a garden village, and often filled with many members of the same family in its many properties. Old photographs show many of the community activities which have been taking place locally for over 100 years, and this blog has been created in the hope to continue that legacy.

We hope you enjoy browsing the blog, and keep coming back for new content and current events! You can also get email updates by adding your email address to the box to the right (this will only send emails with posts added to the blog).

Click to enlarge.

Photo: Hawthorne Road from Kingsley Road, looking across the triangle in 1912. Some of the houses (12, 14, 16 and 18) in this image suffered bomb damage during World War II, and were rebuilt in 1949 in a similar style, but further back from the street.

Bikes in the 1950s, Hawthorne Road

This photograph has been sent by Derek Kyte, who still lives in the area, and depicts him and his friend Noel Booth outside the house where Noel lived.

The bikes were Christmas presents, and bought at Kings Norton Cycles in Cotteridge in the late 1950s.

Green Spaces: The Triangle

Click to enlarge.

A photograph looking down Kingsley Road across the Triangle, in about 1910.

The image was taken by Mr. Dyer junior from the bedroom window of 30 Hawthorne Road. This was Charles Dyer, who lived with his parents, and was about 18 in 1910. Both he and his father worked at Cadbury's; Charles junior was a clerk, and Charles senior was an advertising clerk.


By the 1940s, the trees which had been planted around the triangle had become overgrown (see below).

Image: 'Cutting the hedge round the Triangle by voluntary labour of Tenants during the War, in July 1943. The Corporation was unable, owing to shortage of labour, to cut the hedge, & a S.O.S. brought an abundance of helpers'.

The caption attached to the photo includes some of the names of the residents, but it is difficult to distinguish who is being named. From left to right there is: J. N. Bluck [61 Kingsley Road], Miss. Smith, R. W. Price [7 Hawthorne Road], H. Titley [36 Hawthorne Road], G. L. Short, L. Bruce, R. Brannon, W. H. Griffiths, A. Gibson, B. D. Wilkes, F. Birchley, Per. Roberts [51 Kingsley Road], K. Sinclair. [addresses added where known]

Woodlands Park Recreation Committee

April 1921, click to enlarge.

The Woodlands Park Recreation Committee ran the activities of the top recreation ground, which were originally quite broad, but by the 1920s included bowls and tennis.

Several leaflets about events survive in Birmingham Archive, which have been added to this post, along with transcriptions.

April 1921 (image above)

At this time the Woodlands Park Recreation Committee were:
P. W. ROBERTS, Chairman.
P. R. BRANNAN, Hon. Sec. Bowls Section, 218, Northfield Road.
W. CUNNINGHAM, Hon. Sec. Tennis Section, 14, Kingsley Road.
Bowls Committee:
Messrs. R. R. BRANNAN, V. BAGNALL, E. BRESMAN, F. J. LOCKWOOD, A. SMITH, E. W. WASHBOURNE.
Tennis Committee:
Miss. A. BENNETT, Mrs. J. R. GITTINS, Messrs. P. W. ROBERTS, A. W. EYLES, N. LOCKWOOD, W. CUNNINGTON.

April 1926

Edits for April 1927

The edits made, above, suggest that by 1927 the Woodlands Park Recreation Committee was beginning to split between the bowlers and tennis players, with the 'Tennis Section' planning to produce their own leaflet.

Birmingham Archive (reference: MS 1536/Box 28).

Social Life: The Winter Sessions

In the early years of the estate the Bournville Tenants Village Council would run a series of winter events at the Village Hall on Woodlands Park Road. It is uncertain when these started or ended, but programmes can be found between 1928 and 1939. It is possible that they ceased during the war and were not rejuvenated in the peace.

Four programmes are held in Birmingham Archives (reference: MS 1536/Box 28), and give a sense of the activities residents could attend over the winter months, which were mainly dances and whist drives, as well as the annual 'Children's Christmas Party'. By the late 1930s the popularity of the dances seems to have waned, as only whist and the children's party were part of the programme.

Click the images to enlarge.

Bournville Tenants Ltd in 1909 (Booklet)

In the early years of the Bournville Tenants Estate a promotional booklet was produced filled with photographs of the new housing and information about the society, published in about 1909. A copy of the booklet is owned by a local resident, and is reproduced below, but other copies are held in Birmingham Archive (see here). There are some differences between the two copies, and those held in the Archive were probably produced a year or two later.

Click on the images to enlarge.

Page 1.

BOURNVILLE TENANTS LTD
Registered Office: ESTATE OFFICE, NORTHFIELD RD, KINGS NORTON

Page 2.

The "Garden City" has come to stay. It provides ideal conditions for English homes: it enables the workers to live amid beautiful and healthy surroundings. In the future the people may work in the city, but they will live in the country, and the homes of the children will be where there are fresh air, sunshine, trees and flowers.

Page 3.

THE BOURNVILLE TENANTS LIMITED

Page 4.

PAIR OF COTTAGES, WOODLANDS PARK ROAD.
Each Cottage stands in 600 yards of ground: the house is set back 10 yards from the road, thus giving a good garden plot or lawn in front. The accommodation afforded includes two sitting-rooms, large kitchen, three bed rooms, bath-room (hot and cold water), w.c., and the usual outhouses.

Page 5.

 NORTHFIELD ROAD, SHOWING THE APPROACH TO THE ESTATE FROM THE STATION.
The Estate is most conveniently situated, being from six to ten minutes' walk from the King's Norton Station (Midland Railway), with a frequent and convenient service of trains to New Street, Birmingham.
[NB: This is actually looking towards the station]

Page 6.

NORTHFIELD ROAD, SHOWING FRONT GARDENS.
The large gardens provided with the cottages on the estate afford opportunities for pleasant occupation after a day spent in the city. The tenants are enthusiastic gardeners, and during the summer months the front gardens present an attractive and pretty appearance, with a large variety of flowers and evergreens.

Page 7.

THE BOURNVILLE TENANTS LIMITED IS A CO-PARTNERSHIP BUILDING SOCIETY.

Page 8.

ENTRANCE TO WOODLANDS PARK ROAD.
The road winds gracefully down the side of the hill towards the north-west, running at the further end into Bristol Road. This position commands a view of the well-wooded Worcestershire and Warwickshire countryside, towards Bournville and Harborne, to the famous Frankley Beeches and Warley Woods, the latter being about seven miles distant.

Page 9.

A FEW HOUSES IN NORTHFIELD ROAD.

Page 10.

WOODLANDS PARK ROAD.
The Society began to build in Woodlands Park Road, on the site here shown, in November 1906.

Page 11.

COTTAGES ON KINGSLEY ROAD
The Society has secured the services as Architect of Mr. W. Alex. Harvey of  Birmingham (Consulting Architect to the Bournville Village Trust), who is one of the foremost experts in Garden City Development. Mr. Harvey's site plan combines the advantages of picturesque grouping of the cottages with economy in road-making, and also provides most efficiently for the residents' use of open spaces and recreation grounds provided in the village.
[NB: The top-left photograph shows 170 & 168 Northfield Road, not Kingsely Road]

Page 12.

 QUADRANGLE, KINGSLEY ROAD.--A group of twelve cottages, in three blocks, designed in a simple character, and arranged on three sides of a common green. Breaks the building line in a pleasing manner, and forms an attractive feature of the road.

Page 13.

EDUCATION AND RECREATION.

Page 14.

 COTTAGES IN COURSE OF ERECTION, HAWTHORNE ROAD.

Page 15.

FINANCE.

Page 16.

Designed and produced by J. Charlton & Co., Ltd.

Design & Illustrations
The back page is printed with 'Designed and produced by J. Charlton & Co., Ltd.', but this is underlined in pencil, and the text 'Stanley Williams, Lench, and Charlton is written. Presumably, 'Stanley Williams' and 'Lench' were the '& Co.'. James Charlton, an illustrator and wood engraver, lived at 12 Woodlands Park Road, probably moving in as the house was built, and remaining until the early 1930s, when Stanley Williams moved into the same address. No-one called 'Lench' has yet been found on the estate. 


Copy of the Booklet in Birmingham Archive
The booklet in Birmingham Archive is almost identical to the one owned locally, but the colours of the front cover are inverted, and a new photograph of the top recreation ground has been added to page 13. Apart from this, the booklet is the same, but photos are included here for reference.