Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group

Thomas Vincent Holbeche, Sutton Coldfield’s First Town Clerk, may not be one of Sutton’s better known characters, but his influence on the town in the late 1800s seems to have been remarkable and he deserves to be remembered.  This is his story:-

One of a set of pamphlets researched by the late Ken Williams, this on the subject of Town Mill, Water Corn-Mill.

This article follows on from ‘The Hunt for the Forgotten Staff of Chester Road Railway Station’ on this website.  The Friends of Wylde Green Railway Station were anxious that the staff of their local station should be remembered in the same way and this piece of research reveals ever more interesting facts – this time about the station masters of those times.

In February 2026, a photocopy of the Sutton Coldfield Rental 1635-1642 was discovered amongst Albert Fentiman’s Research Collection which is lodged with Archives & Collections at the Library of Birmingham and is now the earliest Rental we currently have for Sutton Coldfield, preceding the 1734 Corporation Rental. This now introduces many names and places that might appear on other 17th century documents.

A reason for why Tudor Road is so called has yet to be established. However, for many years, Richard Morris has been researching its early history, including the houses, tennis courts and bowling green. One of his earlier accounts is to be found in the Group’s publication of ‘Proceedings, Volume 6’. This updated article goes into greater detail, using the 1901 and 1911 Census to ascertain far more about the residents of the houses.

The profiles of two remarkable tenants and their association with the foundation of The Vesey Club in Sutton Coldfield.

These maps have proved to be an exciting find for Sutton Coldfield historians!  Here we have two of the earliest maps of the area around Minworth and Sutton Coldfield, together with a very comprehensive explanation as to what they both depict.  In addition, there are a couple of other pertinent maps and all together they will keep the local enthusiast happy for hours!

It is now too late to take this piece of research any further, which is why it is so important to seize the day and record details of old properties that look ready for demolition!  Did we miss the opportunity of proving that Waterworks Cottage in Coleshill Road was one of the fifty one built by Bishop Vesey in the early 1500s?  In 2001, when this article was written, this old cottage is said to have had a spiral staircase and bore a similarity with a cottage at Moor Hall that required dispensation before being demolished.  So, we shall probably never know, as it has now been replaced by a new house. Janet JordanJuly 2019

St. Mary’s Hall was one of the properties owned by Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School from the 16th century.  This article explores where it was situated and also looks at the well-known painting of the Old School in the Aylesford Collection and ask whether the building in the painting was St. Mary’s Hall or some other property.

Rector of Sutton Coldfield for forty two years, William Kirkpatrick Riland Bedford made a name for himself as an antiquarian, an expert on heraldry and an enthusiast for archery and cricket. The eldest son of, William Riland Bedford who had married Grace Campbell of Dumfries, he was born at the rectory in Sutton Coldfield on 12 July 1826; though he died and was cremated in London, his ashes were placed in the family vault at Holy Trinity Church.