Erdington

Erdington had its own manor house, Erdington Hall, which was protected on three sides by a double moat and on the fourth by the River Tame. It had developed from a small fortified homestead constructed by an Anglo-Saxon named Eardwulf in the area of Bromford.[2] Demolished in the 17th century, it stood on a hill at the junction of what is now Wheelwright Road and Tyburn Road. The double moat was drained in the 18th century by Sir Charles Holte. Until 1912 another building stood, but this was demolished for the construction of the Tyburn Road, though a small section remained until World War I.

Other moated properties included one at Fern Road, one at the junction of Moor End Lane and Berkswell Road, and another that surrounded a large farm called Pipe Orchard, the site of which can be seen in the Erdington Grammar School playing fields.

Erdington developed as a village as a result of settlers travelling up the course of the River Tame from Tamworth in the 9th century. The settlements of Minworth and Curdworth were also established. It is believed that the Roman track 'Ridgeway', now Chester Road, was another route for settlers, since the early nucleus of the village which was a very short distance from the path.[2]

At the time of the Norman conquest the Earls of Mercia had possession of the village: Edwin, grandson of Lady Godiva, owned the property. He tried to resist the Normans' attempts to gain possession of Erdington, but he was executed in 1071. The earldom then passed to William I who placed the manor and village in the possession of William Fitz-Ansculf, a powerful Norman baron who lived at Dudley Castle. He then gave the manor to Peter de Erdington.[3]

Erdington was mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name Hardintone and was under the possession of Peter. It had arable land for six ploughs, a mill and 5 acres (2.0 ha) of meadows and woodland. It was valued at 30 shillings and was one mile (1.6 km) in length and half a mile in breadth.

As Erdington was near Sutton Forest, the Normans imposed strict laws on the village forbidding the hunting of wild animals and the keeping of sheep. Tenants were permitted an allowance of timber from the forest, but with limitations to protect royal game. Erdington remained within the precincts of Sutton Forest until 1126, when Henry I exchanged the Manor of Sutton, with forest, for two manors in Rutland belonging to Roger, Earl of Warwick. The forest became a chase and the woodland laws were relaxed.[2]

The mill mentioned in the Domesday Book was located in Bromford, close to the manor house at a loop in the river, where a straight channel was cut to facilitate the milling of corn. The mill was owned by the lord of the manor and the tenants were obliged to grind their corn there. Erdington was connected to Bromford via Bromford Lane, which still exists today in the middle of a 1960s council estate.

In the 15th century, a chapel was built at the side of the manor house for the residents of Erdington. However, attendance was low and the chapel fell into decay. The residents were then urged to travel to the parish church in Aston; however, again the attendance was low. A south aisle was therefore added to the church and became known as the Erdington chantry.[2]

The Black plague affected Erdington severely as indicated in the 14th century local records. Henry de Pipe, owner of the Manor of Pipe (now Pype Hayes Hall), lost his wife and all but one child. His second wife, Maud, was the daughter of George de Castello of Castle Bromwich. However he soon discovered that she was pregnant with a child of another man, and he then died.

Around the 1500s the Gravelly Hill area began to become mentioned in documents. John Leland described the area as "by sandy ground, better wooded than fertile of wheat ... the soil is sandy and good for conyes." Thus there were many rabbits (conyes) and it is known that it remained as a rabbit warren for a while, as it was deemed unsuitable for cultivation. At the foot of Gravelly Hill was the River Tame, which was spanned by Salford Bridge. Salford Bridge was first mentioned as Shrafford Brugge during the reign of Henry III. It was originally a footbridge; however in 1810 it was improved to allow the crossing of vehicles. The word Shrafford was of Saxon origin, meaning "the ford by the caves". These caves were cavities in the nearby Copeley escarpment. The caves were artificially enlarged, and survived World War II. During the war, they were used as air raid shelters. After the war they were completely destroyed for the construction of the Gravelly Hill Interchange.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, new families lived at Erdington Hall. The Dymocks moved in: they were a prominent family, including several knights. However their strict manorial laws made them unpopular amongst the residents of Erdington.

As the English Civil War erupted, Erdington was expanding rapidly through the purchase of land for agricultural purposes. In 1643, Birmingham was plundered by the Royalists. After his victory in Birmingham, Prince Rupert passed through Erdington and Sutton Coldfield with his troops on their way to Lichfield.[2]

In 1759, a turnpike act was passed for the Chester Road and another act was passed in 1807 for a road that passed through Erdington village from Birmingham. This resulted in Erdington being a stop-off location for stage coaches which passed along the Chester Road to Chester from London. In 1783, the Birmingham-Fazeley Canal was completed. It passed along the southern boundary of Erdington at Tyburn. Planning requests included that the canal should not pass within 500 metres of Pype Hayes Hall.[2]

By the mid-1700s, Erdington had a population of under 700 and within its boundaries were 52 roads, one forge, 40 farms, 96 cottages, two smithies and a shop. By 1832, it had a population of 2,000.

Erdington has had historic ties with both Castle Bromwich and Water Orton through administration, governance and land ownership whilst being part of Aston Parish. In 1894 Erdington broke from Aston to become an urban district. Administrative offices were established at the Rookery on Kingsbury Road, which have since become Rookery Park.[2] In 1911, the urban district council of Erdington and that of Aston Manor were absorbed into the growing city of Birmingham.

Erdington shopping centre formed the core of the area with most of the older housing being located close to it. The railway alongside also attracted the development of many Victorian and Edwardian houses.

Highcroft Hospital was a former Poor Law institution, and then a psychiatric hospital. There was a social stigma to being treated there. Other large psychiatric institutions in Birmingham have been broken up.[4] Some of the old Highcroft Hospital grounds have been used for new housing. The main hospital building has been renovated into luxury apartments and has been named Highcroft Hall. Highcroft Hall was built between 1869 and 1871 by Victorian architect Yeoville Thomason.

The building, sanctioned by the Poor Law Board, was originally a workhouse providing housing to paupers, idiots, tramps, seniles, lunatics and imbeciles (terms used at the time with distinctive definitions).

The building was originally named the Aston Union Workhouse, but was renamed over the years as Erdington House (1912 – following the City boundary changes), and then Highcroft Hall Hospital (1942); and was more commonly referred to in later years as just Highcroft Hospital.

Over the years, the hospital has generally provided care for the mentally ill. In 1994, the hospital became part of the Northern Birmingham Mental Health NHS Trust. During the following two years, the facilities in the old buildings were gradually rehoused in more modern units nearby and in 1996, the main building was declared closed. The main house was derelict for the next eight years, before being refurbished by property developers between 2004 and 2006.

On the Sutton Road, a number of houses were demolished in 1957 for the construction of the Lyndhurst Estate. Number 44 was retained as it was an old building considered to be of interest. The demolished houses were detached post 1840 Victorian villas.[5] Constructed on the site were six tower blocks and numerous low rise maisonettes. The tallest of these, Harlech Tower, was 16 storeys and at the time it was the tallest tower block in Birmingham, though many taller blocks were later built. In 1961, the estate won the Civic Award for Housing for the retention of the original trees from the villas and the architectural qualities of the tower blocks which included an exposed concrete frame, a sweeping staircase and a false upper storey to hide the laundry facilities on the roof.[6]

The Lyndhurst estate has since been redeveloped. The low rise maisonettes were demolished along with Harlech and Burcombe Towers. Modern residential properties were built on the site and the remaining tower blocks refurbished.

Pitts Farm estate is off Chester Rd in some places bordering Pype Hayes Park.[7] There are plans to develop and improve the area.[8]

Nearby is Fort Dunlop, former home of Dunlop Rubber, a relic of Erdington's industrial past. At its peak, it employed 10,000 people but its industrial usage has declined since, with Dunlop maintaining only a small presence in the area. The factory closed in September 2014.[10]

The main building was redeveloped from 2005 to 2006 into office and retail space by Urban Splash. The area surrounding Fort Dunlop is used by logistics companies and also features showrooms operated by several car manufacturers, including Birmingham's only Lamborghini dealership.

Fort Dunlop lends its name to the nearby The Fort Shopping Park, constructed on reclaimed land by the Birmingham Heartlands Development Corporation in 1996.

The Parish Church, following the fire

Erdington has a distinct concentration of retail space, known as Erdington town centre or Erdington village, the main focus of which is Erdington High Street. There is also a market located on Barnabas Road and another market, Wilton Market, between Sutton New Road and the High Street, next to Wilton Market is Swannies which is intermediate between a market and a shopping centre. Opposite Wilton Market and Swannies on the High Street is a Cooperative Store which has been there since at least the 1950s and is the largest Supermarket in the town centre. Erdington town centre is now a Business Improvement District.[11]

Erdington Library

Also on the High Street is Erdington Parish Church, and nearby on Sutton Road is The Abbey Church. The original Abbey building forms part of the neighbouring Highclare School. The Parish Church was severely damaged by fire on the morning of 4 October 2007.[12] It has now been extensively repaired and modernised. Also nearby, on Mason Road, is Erdington Swimming Baths which were constructed by the Birmingham Baths Committee, this was a complex including Saunas and a fitness centre as well as a swimming pool, but has now been replaced by a new leisure Centre and Baths on Orphanage Road nearby. Erdington Library, Opened in 1907 as a Carnegie library, is a public library operated by Birmingham City Council. It is the meeting place of the Erdington Historical Society on the second Monday of every month.

Schools

Josiah Mason Campus, a campus forming Birmingham Metropolitan College, was formerly a further education college by the name of Josiah Mason College that merged with Sutton Coldfield College in 2006. Before the site was taken over by Josiah Mason, there were two grammar schools and a further secondary school. The two grammar schools were Marsh Hill Boys School and Marsh Hill Girls Schools (the schools were formally known as Grammar Technical Schools); the third school on the site was Stockland Green Bilateral School.

Other secondary schools in Erdington were: Erdington Girls Grammar School, Jaffray School, Moor End School and St Edmond Campion School which were "fed" by children leaving Primary Schools at Erdington Hall and others(list needs completing).

Community Facilities

To the north of Erdington, within the area of Pype Hayes on the border with Walmley, is Pype Hayes Park and Pype Hayes Hall, the former home of the Bagot family. A smaller park in the area is Sorrel Park.

The Old Green Man on Bromford Lane (now known as the Lad in the Lane) is one of the oldest public houses in Birmingham. Another, is the 'Charlie Hall', in Ward End. It's named after the Birmingham character actor who starred in many Laurel and Hardy films.

In 2017, a brand new sports facility opened to the public. It cost £7.5 million and provided the people of Erdington with a 25-metre swimming pool, a teaching pool, a 70-station gym and a community room/studio space. Fitness classes, children holiday activity area and birthday parties are also hosted there.[13]

Erdington is served by the Good Hope Hospital in neighbouring Sutton Coldfield. Erdington is also served by the Birmingham Hospice[14] and by Northcroft Hospital built on the edge of the site of the former Highcroft Hospital.