Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group

Sutton Park was originally larger than it is now, extending beyond Monmouth Drive, and up to the town centre and Lichfield Road. By walking around the outside, you can appreciate the land it included, and how its boundary was laid out.

In 2016, Walmley residents were expecting a vast swathe of their ancient landscape shortly to be engulfed in housing and industrial development.  As a result, Mike Hodder, formerly the City Archaeologist but also member of Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group, decided to lead a walk around the area to point out many of the places there which still had some historical significance.

“Sutton Park Town & Promenade Gardens” by Absalom Peers was published in 1869.  It is a short book of 32 pages with a further 28 pages of advertisements.  To a large extent it copies details contained in Agnes Bracken’s “History of the Forest and Chase of Sutton Coldfield” of 1860, but it also gives accounts of some of the events which occurred between 1860 and 1869, as well as introducing new stories from the past.  This article contains the whole text of the book, including the fascinating advertisements, with a commentary intended to supplement, and in some places, to correct the text. There is also an index to the Guide.

In this article you will see some unusual clay roof tiles, but to what period of history do you think they belong?  Even archaeologists have difficulty dating such items.  Mike Hodder just gives you the facts and leaves you to ponder.

Proof of pottery manufacture in Sutton Coldfield in the Middle Ages discovered by Mike Hodder in medieval papers.

This is the fourth in a series of articles on the Headmasters of Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School. The Reverend Albert Smith M.A. was Headmaster for nearly 40 years between 1863 and 1902. An intelligent and kindly man, he was in charge during periods of great change at the School.  At one stage it looked possible that the School would move to the old Royal Hotel, later to become the offices of Sutton Town Council, but this did not prove to be a practical proposition.  Later, a move to Moat House was contemplated, but again this did not come to fruition.  He did, however, oversee a large extension to the south side of School House in 1887. Throughout his time at Bishop Vesey’s he constantly strived to increase the number of pupils at the School but, in the end, he was not successful.  This was mainly due to the fact that two schools, forming part of the King Edward VI Foundation, proved to be more popular, due in part to their close proximity to the newly created railway line between Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield in 1862.  The schools in question were King Edward’s High School in New Street, Birmingham, situated just a few hundred yards away from New Street Station and King Edward’s School in Aston. Albert Smith eventually retired on the 30th April 1902 and took up a ‘small living’ as Vicar of St. Mary Magdalene’s Church at Duns Tew in Oxfordshire.

Roger Lea was one of the founders of the Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group in the 1980s.  He set up a course which new members could attend to equip them with a sound knowledge of the history of the area.  These walks were an invaluable part of the course, leaving members with a visual knowledge that would  remain for ever.  Of course, some things have changed since then, but these notes can still be used as a guide to finding out more about the surroundings of area

(The Men who died during the Great War)   This project, edited by Yvonne Moore (a member of the Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group), assisted by Paul Harrison, Rob Rolfe and Dave Phillips, commemorates all those men listed, plus others who are not listed, on the Royal Sutton Coldfield War Memorial. However, this particular document sets out details of the project’s sponsorship and contributors, together with a key to the genealogy abbreviations and an interesting history of the Royal Sutton Coldfield War Memorial.  There are also two very moving war poems chosen by members of the project and an alphabetical index of the names to be researched. Volume One, follows and features those who died with surnames beginning A to C.

Sarah Holbeche (1803-1882) was a Victorian lady who lived in High Street, Sutton Coldfield. This is the record of a talk given in 2001 in Sutton Coldfield Library about her life, the facts of which were gathered together from the many interesting recollections contained in her diary, which itself was only discovered in 1999 at the home of one of her descendants. A copy of the diary can be found in the Library under Reference: BCOLQ942.496081HOL

This collection of Newsletters and Ancillary Papers were sent out to the members of the Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group between the years of 1989 and 2020.  The accompanying Index is very useful in locating specific activities that were offered to the group in order to increase and enhance their knowledge of Sutton Coldfield’s fascinating history.