Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group

This delightful little book, aimed specifically at junior citizens, is also good read for those adults who are beginning to explore Sutton Coldfield’s rich history.  If this doesn’t whet your appetite to build up your knowledge of the town, nothing will!

This book is a study of drunkenness in Sutton Coldfield 1871-1881 (Sutton Coldfield Library Reference: QSH 41.9)

This delightful little book approaches the history of Sutton Coldfield from a different perspective, with an unusual map of Sutton Park and also some pretty pen and ink drawings. Both the park and the town are charmingly described and there is also a smattering of interesting advertisements from the late 1880s.

If you are searching Birmingham Archives specifically for documents relating to Sutton Coldfield, this Calendar will save you a lot of time and trouble by giving you reference numbers, titles, dates and descriptions that you can use to order such items from the Wolfson Centre for Archival Research in Birmingham Library. 

This selection comprises a large proportion of the guide books, mainly produced by Sutton Corporation, which are held at Sutton Coldfield Library, Local Studies Department, under reference SH97SUT.  Most have yellow bindings which makes them easy to find.  Between them, they give a potted history of the town and its park, advertisements, maps, photographs and local information.  They are yet another useful research tool for the local historian.

This report by the Department of Archaeology and Local History, City Museums & Art Gallery, Birmingham on the archaeological implications of development in the central area of Sutton Coldfield was written in July 1979.  It gives an insight into the position regarding the Conservation Area at that time and is a reminder at how important archaeology is in furthering our knowledge of the town’s local history.  

This small book, found in Sutton Coldfield Library under Reference SH06, would appear to have sat on many Birmingham Library shelves, bearing in mind the date when it was first printed in 1896.  However, the more important date here is 1777, because the book is a reprint of an old Directory giving Street names and Trades of those times, together with Notes of Comparison of Birmingham between those two dates.

These deeds have been on loan to Sutton Coldfield Library (Ref: QSH97.SUT) since 1976 by Eddowes, Perry & Osbourne, Solicitors, High Street, Sutton Coldfield.  They relate to properties in and around Sutton Coldfield from the early 17th Century. The Calendar includes useful indexes to help you locate people, places, subjects and trades. With this bundle, there is also a List of Items of a miscellaneous nature also borrowed from Eddowes, Perry & Osbourne in 1976.

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.

In October 2025, this 1734 Corporation Rental has only just come to light from Birmingham Library’s wonderful local history archive and is the earliest we currently have for Sutton Coldfield.  It certainly throws up some previously unknown names and properties and could solve a few unanswered questions!