The Bottom 'Rec' (Bigwood Dell)

The bottom 'rec', or bottom recreation ground, is one of two areas which were part of the original 1906 design of the estate designated for leisure and sports. I have always been told that this area was for older children, and the top 'rec' (behind the the main block of houses) was for younger children.

The area was originally part of Middleton Hall Farm, and the field within the farm was called Bigwood (hence Bigwood Dell). The ground was difficult to build on due to its incline, so was designed as a green-space instead. The reason for the dip leading towards the overgrown area (filled with blackberry brambles, see above) was that this had been a clay pit, used for excavating clay to make bricks (see maps, below). It was one of three clay pits nearby, with another surviving in gardens of Heath Close and the other being filled in and built on, on Heath Road.

In the 1880s, it was already called the 'Old Clay Pit', and trees were marked at its edges, so it was probably eighteenth-century in origin.

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During World War II the area was converted into allotments to help with the war effort. Today, the area is great for blackberry picking.

The bottom 'rec', or Bigwood Dell, is accessed via Hawthorne Croft, which is off Hawthorne Road.

Bournville History: Bournbrook Hall

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Above: Photograph of the ornamental pool in the old 'Girls' Recreation Ground', taken in about 2011.

If you go exploring around the Bournville area, one of the old remnants of George Cadbury's original village design is an ornamental pool situated at the far end of the old Girls' Recreation Ground off Bournville Lane.

It was originally a quite retreat for female employees at Cadbury's, framed by the rural landscape of the early 1900s.

Below: Two postcards depicting the pool in about the 1920s.

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Near to the pool was also a walled-garden, which is still there today, and gives the sense that the area was once the grounds of an eighteenth-century villa. This villa was sometimes called Bournbrook Hall, at other times Bournbrook House, and occasionally Barnbrook, but the park around the pool was once its grounds, and the pool itself was its cellar.

The house was still standing when the Cadbury's arrived, and can be seen in early photographs, where it was situated on Bournville Lane, facing the men's sports grounds (see below).

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Above: Men's sports grounds, Pavilion club house, and Bournbrook Hall to the rear on the right, 1902. The house had been demolished by 1910.


The Cadbury's bought the Bournbrook Hall estate in 1895, which included lands which later became both the 'mens'' and 'girls'' grounds. The walled-garden which survives was the kitchen garden, and the premises also had stables, which are still standing, and Grade II listed, although getting little care and attention at present. The map (below) shows the area in the 1880s, just as Cadbury's was moving in.

Bournbrook Hall area in the 1880s. Click to enlarge.

Bounbrook Hall was a gentleman's residence, and would have been a fine building in its day.

Bournbrook Hall area in the 1930s. Click to enlarge.

Close-up of Bournbrook Hall, 1902.

Middleton Hall and the Manor of Middleton

Middleton Hall stood on the corner of - what is now - Woodlands Park Road and Bunbury Road, its land being the site now taken up by Redmead Close. Middleton Hall Road was named after the hall, stretching from Pershore Road to the hall itself, but is a relatively modern addition, being constructed in about 1870. In 1871 about three families lived along it and it was called Middleton Hall Lane.

The area around the Hall, including the Tenants estate, was part of Northfield until the 1920s. The parish of Northfield was anciently divided into several parts; the manors of Northfield and Selly (or Selley), and later Weoley, as well as the sub-manor of Middleton (later Haye and Middleton), and Middleton Hall was the manor house of Middleton. Middleton was the youngest of these sub-manors, with both Northfield and Selly being mentioned in the Domesday Book, but Middleton was formed in the latter part of the twelfth-century. It is thought to have been named after its position half-way between the villages of Northfield and Kings Norton.

Within Middleton were several farms including Rowheath Farm and Hay Green Farm; barns of the former surviving off Selly Oak Road and converted into housing. Middleton Hall itself had a sizeable farm attached called Middleton Hall Farm, which stretched along - what is now - Woodlands Park Road, out along Northfield Road, and down Popes Lane behind the Bunbury Road. The Tenants estate was built on three fields originally belonging to the farm; Pool Close, Bigwood and Near Lady Field, and its shape was influenced by the boundaries of each.

The Sub-Manor of Middleton
Ralph Paynel was the first known holder of Middleton in the late 1100s, and gave 'the land of Middletune and lahaie' to Bernard Paynel. 'lahaie' was later recorded as 'Le Hay', and was probably the Hay Green area.

In the 1200s the owners of Middleton took their name from the lands. John de Middleton was first mentioned in 1273, and the Middleton family held the lands until about the mid-1400s. After this, Middleton passed through the hands of several families.

Throughout the early centuries of Middleton's history there is no mention of a hall, although there would have been some form of manor house on the lands, most likely on the Woodlands Park Road/Bunbury Road site, which was near the roads running between Northfield and Kings Norton. This would have been a prime position to take goods to market, and to move around the rest of the manor.

Middleton Hall
The first known mention of 'Middleton Hall' was as 'Middleton Hall Farm' in 1596, when it was occupied by Henry Cookes. This was probably the timber-framed building which survived until the early 1800s, and was possibly moated, as traces of a moat were discovered during its demolition, but no archaeological survey was conducted so any evidence is now lost.

One hundred years after Cookes, the interior of Middleton Hall is brought to life through an inventory drawn-up after the death of its then occupant, Robert Fox. Fox was described as a 'yeoman', a gentleman farmer, and occupied Middleton Hall from at least 1684 till 1698, although in 1684 he would have been about 50 years old so he, and his wife Barbara, had probably been living there for several decades previously.

Fox's inventory shows that Middleton Hall had six rooms downstairs and five upstairs. Downstairs was a hall, parlour, kitchen, cheese chamber, back house and buttery. The back house had a malt mill, so was used for brewing, and the other rooms are pretty self explanatory. The parlour contained '2 looking-glasses' and the hall a 'brass candlestick' which were expensive items for the time, showing the wealth of the family. The five rooms upstairs all had beds in them, but some would probably have been used for entertaining guests, especially the chamber over the kitchen, which would have been warmer as it had a fire (meaning it had a brick chimney, another expense). This room also contained a 'closet of books', again showing a family of wealth as well as literacy (see Fox's full inventory here).

Middleton Hall probably bore several similarities to Selly Manor, which was moved from its original location in Selly Oak to its present site in Bournville Village between 1914 and 1916. Like Middleton Hall, Selly Manor was originally a manor-house, both were timber-built, and both a similar size, although Middleton Hall was possibly a little larger (although both probably had several additions made to them over the centuries). But the best way to get a sense of what Middleton Hall was like at this time is to visit Selly Manor (visit details here).

In 1789, the occupant of Middleton Hall was William Henshaw, another yeoman running the farm as well as residing in the house. His diary for that year survives, and outlines the maintenance of the farm from winnowing grain and sowing peas, to helping 'Cherry' the cow give birth (other cows were called 'Kurley' and 'Prat'). His story will be added in the farm section, below.

Henshaw's diary suggests that he struggled financially, and in the 1790s Middleton Hall Farm was bought by George Attwood, a wealthy ironmonger, and grandfather of Birmingham's first Member of Parliament, Thomas Attwood (whose statue was at the rear of the Town Hall, presumably to be replaced after the current works are finished). Attwood cared less about farming, and more that the land contained mineral deposits. He still owned the Hall in 1840, which was tenanted out to Robert Thornley.

It was perhaps Attwood, or one of his tenants, who remodelled Middleton Hall sometime in the first half of the nineteenth-century. The historian Leonard Day states that the front was 'encased in brick, which gave the Hall the external appearance of a gentleman's residence in the Victorian style'. Because the old building was beneath, the brick encasement (see below) gives a sense of the shape of the timber-framed Hall.

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Photo: Sketch of Middleton Hall from a, now lost, photograph; showing the Victorian re-build from about the early 1800s.

The 1911 census noted that the Victorian Middleton Hall had twelve rooms (excluding workrooms, landing, hall, closets and bathrooms), so had been slightly extended from its 1690s predecessor.

The Hall was demolished in 1952.

Middleton Hall Farm & William Henshaw
Coming soon!

The story of Middleton Hall Farm will be added shortly.

MAPS OF MIDDLETON HALL

1880s, click to enlarge.

1900s, click to enlarge.

1910s, click to enlarge.

1930s, click to enlarge.

1960s, click to enlarge.

History of Rowheath Playing Fields & the Pavilion

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Image: An undated picture postcard of 'A CORNER OF THE RECREATION GROUNDS AT ROWHEATH, BOURNVILLE'. Probably dating from the 1940s or 1950s.

Before the area around became built up, Rowheath was a stretch of farm land between Rowheath Farm and Haygreen Farm on Haygreen Lane. It had an old public footway running north-east through it, which later became Heath Road, and another running north-west, which still forms the main route through the playing fields. At the rear of Rowheath Farm was a marshy pool, possibly mentioned in a charter of AD 699, which was signed by Offa. The charter described the route of a boundary passing through this area, and mentioned 'spa thaet cume in Usan Mere' [then it comes to Usan Pool].*1 Whether over 1000 years old or not, the marshy pool became the fishing pond in the Pavilion gardens (see maps below).

In the 1920s the land was purchased on the behest of George Cadbury, with the intention of creating grounds for a variety of sporting activities. The Pavilion was built to supply the need for a clubhouse and changing rooms, and the garden and pool of the Pavilion was landscaped for leisure activities. The site was opened in July 1924.

In the 1930s Rowheath Playing Fields spread over about seventy-five acres, and included 'eleven grounds for association football, three for rugby and seven for hockey, eleven cricket pitches, three bowling-greens, two croquet lawns, and forty-one lawn tennis courts. But not only is provision made at Rowheath for the out-and-out athlete; for the benefit of others there is a Garden Club, occupying nine acres, where there is a pavilion, together with gardens, shrubberies, ornamental waters (used by the Works Model Yacht Club), and facilities for playing gentler games as clock-golf, bowls, and croquet. A shallow pool is provided on which children may sail their boats'. The 'shallow pool' was probably the smaller pool on the other side of the arched bridge.

Idyllic view from c.1930. Click to enlarge.

Some of this land has since been built on, so the area does not have quite as much sporting activity as it once had. In 1931 it was thought that more than 5,600 hours of tennis had been played in the year 'at Rowheath alone'.*2

In July 1937 an outdoor swimming pool was also added to the area, called the Bournville Lido (which has its own post here).

History in Maps

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References
*1. Bill Dargue, 'Row Heath' from A History of Birmingham Places & Placenames 
*2. Iola A. Williams, The Firm of Cadbury 1831-1931 (London: Constable and Co. Ltd., 1931)

The Bournville Lido (at Rowheath)

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Photo, above: Rowheath Pavilion and Bournville Lido at the far right, probably 1940s or 1950s.

The Bournville Lido was an outdoor swimming pool, one of many across the city, which were very popular in their heyday. Bournville Lido was built on a spring of natural mineral water, and was opened to the public on 2nd July 1937.

1937

2 July 1937, click to enlarge.

2 July 1937, click to enlarge.

The two photos, above, show Edward Cadbury opening Bournville Lido on 2nd July 1937.

The image, below, depicts the Lido later that year, on the August bank holiday, when nearly 3,000 tickets were sold.

1st August 1937, click to enlarge.

During WWII it was used by the RAF barrage balloon section, and after the war was rebuilt and reopened in style by the Lord Mayor. The image, below, shows the event and dates it at 23rd May, but does not include the year.

Mid 1940s

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About 1947

c. 1947. Click to enlarge.

The photo above is dated 1947 by some and 1950s by others. It shows a district event.

1959

1959. Click to enlarge.

1959. Click to enlarge.

1959. Click to enlarge.

The three images above are stills from a short silent film of the 1959 Kings Norton Girls School Outdoor Swimming Gala. The full video can be seen here.

1960

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In 1960 a short film was made showing the lido being used for baptising Jehovah's Witnesses. See the film here.

1960s

1960s, click to enlarge.

1960s, click to enlarge.

Above: Two photos of a sunny day at Bournville Lido in the 1960s. Added with permission from Ian Knowles.

1970s

In 1972 the lido was closed down, but a group of local residents raised money to rebuild it, which was done between 1976 and 1977, but at a diminished size to the previous lido.

1977

1977. Click to enlarge.

The photo above is from 1977, and it shows the lido after it's been reduced, with the workers putting some finishing touches to the pool-side.

The lido was closed again in 1987 and demolished in 1997. The images below depict some time during those years.

c. 1990s

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Above is the lido in disrepair, with two more below.

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 Inside the pool house (above), and the pool itself (below).

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Please share any memories in the comments below.

LINKS
Birmingham Forum 

History of Woodlands Park Hall

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This post is about the history of Woodlands Park Hall, to see current activites at the hall click here.

Woodlands Park Hall was part of the original plan for the Bournville Tenants estate in 1906, and has been used for a variety of activities over the century-and-a-bit since it was built. It was opened in November 1909 by George Cadbury.* In March 1966 Bournville Village Trust took over ownership of the Hall, although the Tenants Committee maintained management.

The School
In the early years of the estate the Hall was used as a school for younger children, and was run by two sisters, Miss. Pane and Mrs. Blanchard, who lived at 34 Kingsley Road and 18 Kingsley Road respectively. The school opened in about 1910, and on the 1911 census Miss. Pane was recorded as a 'School Mistress' suggesting that she was already running Woodlands Park School at this time. It continued until the 1960s, although after Miss. Pane and Mrs. Blanchard, Mrs. Rose was school mistress. Mrs. Rose was still running the school in 1966, when BVT took over ownership of the building, and planned to continue, but it is uncertain how much longer the school continued.

Children who attended, now grown, remember practising during World War II in case there was an air raid while they were at school. They would all traipse across the other side of Woodlands Park Road where there was a shelter large enough for them all.

A rather dubious claim to fame is that a former student was probably Jack Enoch Powell. There is no official evidence, but his attendance is considered to be the case by older local residents, especially as he grew up with his family at 52 Woodlands Park Road, a few doors down.


Children's Parties
Woodlands Park Hall has been the site of hundreds, if not thousands, of private children's parties. On 2nd June 1953, though, it was used for the children's tea-party celebrating the Coronation of Elizabeth II, below (more photos of the Coronation party here).

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Former Caretakers
1940s-1965: Tom Lowrie (lived at 214 Northfield Road)


Notes
* From the Bournville Works Magazine

The Architect: William Alexander Harvey

William Alexander Harvey, 1905.

William Alexander Harvey was born in 1874, and studied architecture under W. H. Bidlake at the Municipal School of Art on Margaret Street in Birmingham. Aged only 20, Harvey was asked by George Cadbury to begin designing houses for his model village, and he continued working on buildings in the Bournville area until 1929. Among his works were Bournville Infant and Junior Schools, Ruskin Hall, the Friends Meeting House, St. Francis Church, as well as almost all of the houses on the Bournville Tenants estate.*

Harvey was highly influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, which can be seen in the Tenants houses.

Above: A Corner of the Village drawn by Harvey.

Find out more about Harvey here.


NOTES
*Two blocks of two houses on Woodlands Park Road were not designed by Harvey, but David Glass, who was a surveyor and later secretary of Bournville Tenants, living at 4 Woodlands Park Road until the early to mid 1910s. Glass's father-in-law, George Tallis, was a bricklayer, so it is likely that he was involved the actual building work.

NB. 12, 14, 16 and 18 Hawthorne Road suffered bomb damage during World War I and were completely rebuilt in the late 1940s.

Old Photos: Northfield Road

Northfield Road, c. 1908. Click to enlarge.

Above: Bournville Tenants housing on Northfield Road, from the Reports and Accounts Book, 1909. Photograph probably taken 1908. Taken from near the entrance (now a gate) to the top 'rec'.

Further Down Northfield Road

Northfield Road, c. 1913 (stamped on back). Click to enlarge.

Above: A picture postcard of Northfield Road, further down towards Cotteridge.

Notable Residents
Phyllis Nicklin was probably born at 59 Northfield Road on 9 May 1909, although her parents moved away in about 1911. Phyllis Nicklin lectured at the Univesity of Birmingham and took hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs around the Birmingham area in the 1950s and 1960s. A selection can be seen here. The postcard below was sent out by her parents at Christmas in about 1910.

Old Photos: Middleton Hall Road

Early 1900s. Click to enlarge.

A selection of picture postcards of Middleton Hall Road in the early 1900s.

1908. Click to enlarge.

Early 1900s. Click to enlarge.

Middleton Hall Road was a Victorian addition to the area. It was laid out in about 1870, and at the time of the 1871 census only three families were recorded as living along it.