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

History of Rowheath Playing Fields & the Pavilion

Click to enlarge.

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
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