In May 2008, following a newspaper article in the Sutton Coldfield News, it was discovered that the entire Household Contents & Personal Items of 'Chalford', a Victorian house situated in Belwell Lane, Four Oaks, was due to be sold via public auction. The Auctioneer, Charles Hanson (of television fame including "Bargain Hunt' and 'Antiques Road Trip') subsequently went on to say that "It was like walking back in time and had the magical feel of a Mary Poppins era".
The research traces the various owners of the property from Edward Hill James, a prominent Wine & Spirit Merchant in Birmingham who had the house built between 1883 and 1884, via Millicent Mary Ryland of the well known Ryland Family, Henry Owen a successful Jewellery Manufacturer in the Jewellery Quarter, Alfred Roberts, Alfred Cheatle a partner in the architectural firm of Newton & Cheatle to finally Herbert Smith who was a Lord Mayor of Walsall.
This research is availible to view online here: A History of 'Chalford'