Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group

Francis Smith of Warwick (1672-1738), together with his brothers William and Robert, worked hard on the rebuilding of the town of Warwick after the disastrous fire of September 1694. The brothers became the most famous architects and building craf...

Plantsbrook School occupies the site in Upper Holland Road where once stood Holland House. This was a big house whose ornamental grounds extended over the land now occupied by Town School and Holland House School, and was in its hey-day in 1900 wh...

Woodland was carefully managed in the Middle Ages, when woodland products were in great demand. Different tree species were grown for specific uses, and while our native holly was not a timber tree, it used to be encouraged because its foliage was...

In the sixteenth century there were several families named Bull living in Sutton. Nicholas Bull had a large farm in Bulls Lane, once called Bulls Farm but now Fairview Farm, and Josiah Bull owned land next to Sutton Park. A much poorer family came...

The building known as the Guildhall in Lichfield Road was built in 1834 as Sutton’s Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Chapel The opening mass was conducted by Bishop Walsh on Tuesday October 21 1834. Although there were said to be only six Catholic fami...

Several families named Honeybourne lived in Sutton in the seventeenth century. There is some evidence that skilled weavers from the village of Honeybourne (near Evesham in Worcestershire) came to Sutton in the 1530s as part of Bishop Vesey’s plan ...

John Ireland was paying the Warden and Society of Sutton Coldfield an annual rent of 6d. (2½p) forhis cottage and garden in Maney. This was in 1780, and the rent was due to the Warden and Societybecause the cottage had been built on a piece...

When War was declared on August 4th 1914, a local newspaper reported on the mood of the occasion, noting that many events, including the Royal Sutton Coldfield Horse Show, went on as usual on that day. The Horse Show was an annual event, started i...

Sutton’s town charter, granted in 1528, provided for two annual fairs to be held there. The Trinity Fair was held “every feast eve and morrow” of Trinity Sunday (eight weeks after Easter), while the other fair was held for three days at the feast ...