Adderley Park

A fine article about Adderley Rd Park here

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/lifestyl...ey-park-1321555

in to-days Birmingham Mail, I only point it out to show even how the even greats can as easily caught out as the rest of us by a wrongly tagged photo, but those of us that really know Birmingham often spot "a wrong un" before we post it (but not always) though at least we are not making a living from it and we are not published in newspapers.

His last photo on the page is of a flower display purporting in Adderley Park, but a year or so some of us on the BF spotted this error and in fact discovered that it was taken in Ward End Park looking across the road at Ward End Library on Washwood Heath Rd.

Excellent story. I was interested to see Holders Band mentioned in this piece.

Yes, I thought that might interest Lynn. So if you want to become a Baron SB you know what to do, just donate some land and property to the city and you are on your way.

Quote: phil wrote in post #3

---

Yes, I thought that might interest Lynn. So if you want to become a Baron SB you know what to do, just donate some land and property to the city and you are on your way.

---

Phil, Very interesting and again an article like that let's me see the overall story of how the Rodney Inn became The Gaiety and so on until the Holder family finally branched out into the Brewery buisness.
I hadn't realised that they had knocked down the Rodney Inn to build The Gaiety - I had just always thought that The Gaiety was an extension of the existing building as Henry Holder managed to buy the adjoining buildings.
Any views on that anyone.
The first time I've seen a band mentioned and now I know were Adderley Park is.
Lynn.

Lynn

I'll give you a little tip, before you believe anything you read in a newspaper try a little research of your own. After all there is one glaring error in this article. Just because it says that the Rodney Inn was demolished to build the Gaiety it don't make it so. I'd ask mike to have a look at the maps if I were you.

An interesting article. It however did not make clear that Adderley originally wanted to give the park to the council for the city, and it was only when the council were not prepared to pay the running costs that he formed the parks committee to run it. Ten years later the council relented (or were shamed ) and agreed to accept it at a peppercorn rent. Adderley does seem , for his time, to be quite a forward looking guy aiming to do the best he could for his employees and others in the community

Does anyone know, were the houses built on parkland or were the buildings already there when the park opened?
The old school building was built in 1879, so unless it was built over some previous school it is another incursion.
A practice that thrives well to this day.

Volty

I think that before the park it would have been mostly fields and farmland. When Charles Bowyer Adderley inherited Saltley in 1835 he set about creating the village of Saltley. At that time the population of Saltley was only a few hundred by his death in 1905 it was 27,000.

Phil
Possibly of interest. I quote from my notes on the Alan godfrey map:
The junction of the present Adderley Road and Arden Road was the site of the moated Saltley Old Manor House, built in the 13th century and in 1343 purchased by Walter de Clodeshale who later added an oratory and chapel. The remains of the dried moat, known by locals as The Giant’s Castle were still visible when the Arden Road Board School was built on the site in 1879.

That answers that question then.
I have an Alan Godfrey 1901, Birmingham East that I had forgotten about. It shows most of the Park and has a good write up on the back about C.B. Adderley.

I recently worked on the heating controls in the cellar of the old school, pity I didn't have a clue about it's history at the time. I might have noticed a park over the back, for instance.

The few times I walked the length of Adderley Rd as I lad my only memories that I can recall is what a thoroughly depressing and drab road it was. Of course it was meticulously clean all slum areas were in those days, often the exterior of houses were kept cleaner than the interiors. Everybody scrubbed their front steps and swept and washed the pavement.

Even still with all industry along the one side of the road and houses on the other it was a pretty depressing place the park itself was almost entirely enclosed by housing and the library on Adderley Rd so there wasn't much greenery on show. I have to admit since they opened it up a bit in the 70's it looks a little better (not much) I didn't agree with the library being demolished though. or the park keepers house some time later.

I didn't go very far up Adderley Road, only as far as the play ground gates, but I found Arden Road / Landor Street to be a horrible dusty environment.
The road is a motorway, with even large trucks doing well above 50mph. Not the best place for a school.

When we worked for the Rover in Garrison St, I remember one particular day when we were rushed. We were running loads from Garrson St under the bridge into Landor St and tipping them at an outfit called Tip a Pak my uncle Dave used to roll down the tipping ramp with the tipping body still up and drive off while dropping the body to save time. This particular day when he drove under the bridge at Midland St the body wasn't down and he caught the bridge. It didn't do the tipping body much good I can tell you.

Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)I have just found a map showing Adderley Park in 1866. With the exception of what is probably the Keepers house and one other on the opposite side, there are no buildings on the perimeter of the park.