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.

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

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]

The Top 'Rec'

Click to enlarge.

Above: The grand opening of the top recreation ground, known more fondly as the top 'rec', on Saturday 3rd July, 1909. The crowd includes many of the first residents of the estate, and the man speaking was Mr. T. Bryan (Tom Bryan, Bounville Tenants' first chairman), and George and Elizabeth Cadbury were seated to his left (our right). The six houses in the background are the backs of (I think) 36 to 46 Kingsley Road.

The Tenants Estate was built on twenty acres of land, with two acres of that being leased rent-free from Bournville Village Trust for 'the purpose of providing permanent open space and recreation grounds'. There were two the recreation grounds, the bottom 'rec' (see here), and the top rec', with the latter being the first to be opened; it contained provision for 'games of Bowls, Croquet, Tennis etc'; and the whole area being fringed with trees and shrubs 'with charming effect'.*1 Originally, the top recreation ground was for adults and the bottom recreation ground for children, which is why the bowls, tennis and croquet areas were set up here.

An article in the Birmingham Daily Post (5 July 1909) described the recreation area as:

'a triangular plateau with a charming outlook from all points of the compass. Citywards can plainly be seen on the horizon Warley Woods, while Frankley Beeches stand out prominently on the skyline in a south-easterly direction'. 

Above: Invitation card to the grand opening, which began at 3.30pm with speeches (top photo), where Mrs. Cadbury and Mr. Bryan were both presented with 'an album of views of the village' (it would be nice to find out if these still survive). After the presentations the group took a tour of the village, and then played 'sports and pastimes on the green'.*2

Above: The areas laid out for the bowls and tennis courts in 1909 (the houses in the rear are Northfield Road).*1

1930s

Above: A top 'rec' running event for young children in the late 1930s. The boy on the right is Brian Court, who still lives on the estate. The girl second from the right is Margaret Paxton (later Cowe) who lived at 12 Kingsley Road and 49 Kingsley Road.

About 1950s

Above: A Summer Fete at the Top Rec. Pictured are George (Jimmy) Riddell (left) and Peter Savory (right) on the greasy pole stall. Thanks to the Savory family for the photograph.

See more about Woodlands Park Bowling Club (situated in the top 'rec') here.
See more about the Tennis Club, now gone, here.

Thanks to Brian Court & Pete Done for the photographs.

*1: From the 1909 prospectus.
*2: From Birmingham Daily Mail, 5 July 1909.

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.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

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

Click to enlarge.

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.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

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).

Click to enlarge.

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.

Memories of Woodlands Park Bowling Club: Phyl Hurst

The written memories of Phyl Hurst, recorded in the 1980s. 


I joined W.P.B.C. in 1958. At that time Des Done was chairman. Rita Jackson, Joan Field, Kath Wilkes, Joyce Buchnall, Muriel Snowden, Netty Colley, & I think Kath Sweeney comprised the Ladies. Our fee was £1.50 per year and we were not welcomed by all the male members. We were only associate members, allowed to attend A.G.M but not allowed to vote.

The tennis club was flourishing & occupied most of the pavilion. They provided cups of tea & profits were supposed to be for pavilion improvements, however, it appeared any profits were probably used for tennis equipment with the result that after much argument (mostly by Rita & Hetty with tennis folks), we ladies made tea & kept accounts. This happened in 1959 & the ladies section of W.P.B.C. was growing rapidly. I think Rita was our first Captain and we were strong enough to start playing marches with the ladies section of Weoley Hill & Moorpool.

Three or four years later George Middleton joined our club. He was a great character, became very keen on bowls & the W.P.B.C. & it did not take long for him to be elected chairman. Things then really began to take off – ladies were made full members. Douglas Hurst became Social Secretary; Bowls Drives, outings, whist drives in Woodlands Park Hall during closed season & presentation suppers all happened. (In the early days, before the Ladies Cup appeared, I had seen the men’s shield & cup handed over wrapped in newspaper!) Albert Wilkes donated the Ladies Cup in 1959 or 60. The Mixed Doubles Trophy, Ladies Doubles Trophy & Men’s Doubles Trophy were all donated by D. Done, K. Sweeney & G. Middleton. The senior members trophies were both made by Jack Quiney.

Jack Quiney, being a retired wood-work teacher, did a great deal of work for W.P.B.C.. He replaced the pavilion floor, made all the honors [sic] Boards, name cards, hand rail on green, & many other improvements.

Eventually ill-health overcame George Middleton, & Douglas Hurst became chairman. That was in 198[?] I believe. By this time, the tennis club was on the decline & the Bowls had a membership of 90 & a waiting list.

Tea was still made using an old gas-stove top, calor gas & two old kettles. We then purchased the [Man] which was a great improvement but took ages to boil! New crockery (the white and yellow ones) had been purchased, paid for out of profits on tea. The [Man] was used until this year, 1998, when Bournville Tenants provided the Club Pavilion with electricity.

I have seen many improvements made during my membership – pavilion re-roofed, new water (metered) supply to ease the task of watering the green, veranda added to Pavilion, to name just a few. I made all the cushions for the benches & the Club Flag. A new large shed provided by the Bowls Club for the Tennis Club so freeing the Pavilion of all the storage of nets & equipment for tennis. New benches donated by members in memory of deceased members, new tables & chairs, replacing old heavy ones.

The club today owes much to the constant endeavours of Roland Harrison, George Middleton, Douglas Hurst, Jack Quiney and the keenness and devotion of many past members. The club always has been a happy club, & still is under the present management team & members. Long may it continue.

During dry weather Douglas & Roland used to water the green. Douglas would be on the green at 6am to set the traveling spray going & Roland would attend to it at the end of its run about 3 hours later. Other men members, who lived nearby, would give a hand but often the green would be very brown & even crack during drought. At the end of [the] season the men used to tyre the green with garden forks then cover with fertiliser. This was very hard work indeed. Eventually a professional green keeper was found & he came with machinery & know-how in October & the Spring resulting in our lovely green today.

Of course, years ago we had not the funds to pay for professional care. In the very [missing section]

[missing section] public raffle to purchase a much needed new mower! We also had several jumble sales!

Looking back over the years – we have had, & indeed now have, several outstanding characters. To me, George Middleton stands out & he was an excellent speaker, always spoke his mind, & could ‘insult’ anyone & get away with it! Full of fun, very practical & straight forward. I remember one example. Gwen Wakeman, Daisy – George’s wife, myself & Muriel Snowden were sitting enjoying a cup of tea when along comes George. “What a lovely bunch of old Broilers” was his greeting, said with a smile & no-one took offence. Muriel Snowden, known as ‘Blodwen’ on the green, always stuck out [?] left leg as she delivered her wood. Gwen Wakeman, who almost always bowled “googlies”, which somehow nearly always found the jack. Have you noticed how many men deliver their bowl then stand & watch it with their arms tightly folded across their chest? Rita Jackson always bent sideways the way she wanted the wood to go.

W.P.B.C. has always been meant fun, friends & happy times to me – may it always be so. Also may we always remember the ground belongs to Bournville Tenants Ltd whose management committee keep us in many ways. We are, indeed, very lucky.

P.S. Woodlands Bowling’s Social Club was discovered by Gordon Jackson at least 20 years ago, we have remained friends ever since.

P. Hurst

NB: Woodlands Park Bowls Club is still flourishing and is keen to welcome new members. Contact Rosemary Shutt (Sec.) on 0121 458 2547.


Notes
Phyllis Hurst was married to Doug Hurst, and they lived at 59 Kingsley Road from the early 1950s.