Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group

The War Memorial in front of the Church of All Saints, Belwell Lane, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield features the names of thirty-six local men who died for their country as a result of World War One.  In this article, their lives and those of twelve further men with ties to the area who aren't featured on any local war memorials, have been painstakingly researched by Paul Harrison, a Sutton Coldfield genealogist, in collaboration with the Sutton Coldfield Great War Project, July 2025.  

“Trees can assist us to understand the history of their environment and this is true of the American red oaks that were planted in Sutton Park in the late 19th century. The research also introduces us to the first two Foresters, an office first created in 1889 and the establishment of a tree nursery on the north-western edge of Upper Nut Hurst.”

In Knighton Road, Sutton Coldfield, this air raid shelter lies forlornly in someone's back garden, reminding us of a time when the country faced  loss of life.  How close that feels these days, as we struggle with the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic!

Baldmore Lake, as it was known, was a sizeable area of water which lay mostly in Sutton Coldfield, with the remainder in Erdington. Why would such a large lake, which gave its name to the district of Boldmere, disappear? Why did some early maps show the lake in one place while present-day residents firmly point to an entirely different location? Did it really disappear without trace? What was the lake like, where exactly was it and why can it no longer be found?

This PowerPoint presentation by Stella Thebridge has a superb array of photographs depicting Holy Trinity Parish Church, Sutton Coldfield, and its surroundings over a period of nearly 200 years.  In and around 2016, a major re-ordering of the church took place and Stella has produced this wonderful record to show how it looked before and after that time.  A script of her talk is usefully included for the benefit of anyone researching the history of this beautiful church.

This article by Roger Lea, was first published in The Birmingham Historian (Number 9) in 1993. This was the twice-yearly news journal of the Birmingham and District Association of Local History Societies and was then edited by George Demidowicz.

On December 11th,1875, the trial began in Wolverhampton Crown Court of 2 persons, Frederick Musson (b. 1852) and Anna Maria Hillman (b. 1854). They had been charged with the murder of a young girl, Elizabeth Lowke (b. 1868).

How many readers have travelled along Somerville Road, seen this old “lamp post” but never noticed it. The lamp post in question is, in fact, not a lamp post but a Victorian stench pipe. Why itwas positioned in this particular spot and the story associated with it is unravelled in this research work. Note that readers with a sensitive disposition might be shocked at some of the descriptionsof Victorian Sutton Coldfield.

Having spent his childhood visiting the shops in the Parade, where his father worked as a newspaper editor/sub-editor, Adrian Lanchester-Hale is well placed to give a comprehensive account of the history of those shops as they became the bustling town centre of Sutton Coldfield.  Sadly, a lot of the twentieth century façades were lost when they were replaced by the Gracechurch Centre development.

This is the third article relating to the Headmasters of Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School. Charles Barker (1817-1842) was Headmaster of the school for a period of 25 years, during which time he was elected as a member of the Corporation and became Warden in 1836 and 1837.  In addition, he was appointed a County Magistrate for Warwickshire. He wielded a great deal of influence and moved in the highest of circles, both in Sutton and the surrounding shires. Unfortunately, his fondness for the better things in life, including hunting and shooting, caused him to neglect his responsibilities towards the school.  The number of pupils under his care gradually declined until, it was said, by 1840 this had been reduced to just a single scholar! His death in 1842 caused quite a stir, as he was found by his friend Baron Webster lying by the side of the lane leading from Penns to Sutton.  It was later discovered that he had probably suffered a heart attack and had subsequently fallen from his horse.