The protection of Sutton Park was an issue of perpetual concern for the governing bodies of the town - the warden and society and, after 1886, the town council. .

Outbreaks of fires were not uncommon.

The most serious of these occurred in July 1868 when 500 acres of woodland were destroyed by a blaze that was started deliberately. The warden and society offered the-considerable sum of £100 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person involved in starting the fire.

There were also fines for cutting branches off trees, including holly trees in the weeks before Christmas. A spade maker who cut branches off an oak tree-in 1864 was fined 5s with damages and costs.

Chips

There were some who believed these regulations were too draconian; in 1889 one of them complained 'that if a lad went into the park to gather a few chips ... he would be pounced upon, the wood taken from him, and given a good hiding.’

After the opening of the railway line in 1862, the numbers of visitors from Birmingham intent on a day in the park grew significantly and the need to watch out for infringements of the regulations required more park keepers. By 1900 there were 24 of them, and a police sergeant was also .given special responsibility for the park. There were occurrences of drunken and disorderly behaviour in the park, such as the 'disgraceful scenes' at Easter 1904.

A regulation introduced in 1908 that dogs should be kept on a lead from April to June to protect wildlife during the breeding season provoked sustained opposition. Handbills proclaimed, 'Lost. The ancient rights of the inhabitants of Sutton Coldfield ... Lost. The brains of Sutton Coldfield town council: In the face of these protests, the regulation was withdrawn.

For shooting, fishing and ferreting, permits were necessary. A permit to shoot wildfowl cost two guineas, but local opposition to this practice was growing. The town council discussed the issue in 1890, but could not agree on- a ban. When the solicitor C.E. Matthews, however, wrote a powerful letter to a local newspaper protesting at the shooting of grebes on the pools in the park on the grounds that they 'would look good in a glass case', the hand of the town council was forced and from 1897 the shooting of wildfowl in Sutton Park was prohibited.

Part III of Glimpses into Sutton's.Past, covering the years 1886-1914, by Stephen Roberts is available from Amazon at £4.99.

Associate Professor
Stephen Roberts