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

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.

Click to enlarge.

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.

Hole Lane Farm

Click to enlarge.

Painting of Hole Lane Farm by Frank Taylor Lockwood, 1945.