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Brookvale Park & Witton Lakes

I believe there was a drowning at that end of the lake Peter but the details I don't know about. I think there have been other drowning incidents over the years at Witton Lakes. My eldest brother Peter, who at three years old, got up out of bed early one morning, opened the unlocked kitchen door and made his way to Witton Lakes, not too far away. My father went to the police houses on Marsh Hill to report him missing. Fortunately. a lady walking her dog had found him walking along near the lake and took him home close by. Her husband went to the police houses on Marsh Hill and reported the "find". He was soon reunited with his Mom and Dad. They were lucky he was quickly found. He had been taken to the park several times and knew the way!
 
Hello, my name is Simon Hensley and I am the neighbourhood Sergeant for the Stockland Green Ward of Erdington. Stockland Green is the council Ward that covers the beautiful Witton Lakes and Brookvale Park. I have read some of the threads about your experiences with interest and I think that my latest community initiative may be of interest to some of you..... I am currently working through a heritage lottery application to apply for funding to rebuild the old boat house that used to be on Brookvale Lake. I have been instrumental in reintroducing watersports to Brookvale Park and on the 23rd July 2011 we lauched our brand new canoe club to the lake! The idea is to provide todays young people with the same opportunity that you all once had. If you want to learn more about the work I am doing in Brookvale check out https://www.simonhensley.com another project is protecting the eroding island in the middle of Brookvale (work starts next weekend 17/9/11)

I do however need some help from you to support my heritage lottery application. I need information about the band-stand/boat house i.e. when it was built? when it was demolised? What it was used for? When were the sides filled in?

And it would be great to include some testimonials about your experiences of the building and what it meant to you as a local resident to really add the heritage aspect to the proposal.

I'd also love to include some old photographs of the boat house, firstly to aid the architects get as close to the original as possible (as we're going to rebuild it just as it was, externally whilst having a community room/cafe/toilets/heritage room, internally) and secondly to add visual impact to the application.

Can anyone help?

Kindest regards

Si Hensley
 
Hi Simon: Thanks for your post outlining plans for several projects in Brookvale Park. I have had a link to your site for several months now. There are several members on this forum besides myself who have memories of the Park and hopefully
you will be able to gather their memories together. It isn't at all easy to obtain Lottery Heritage money I know and the more information that you can provide for the presentation the better your chances of receiving some funds will be. I will have a look for some photos and wish you much luck in fulfilling your plans for Brookvale.
 
G G Jean said:
I don't want to appear morbid but haven't there been several drownings and a couple of suicides in both the lakes. One suicide victim lived in our road. Jean.
Click to expand...

I have just come across the new National Archives Site with the access to old newspapers.

I noticed this from the Aug 11th 1911 Tamworth Herald concerning a drowning on the previous Monday evening.

A man, his wife and 2 children from Deykin Avenue went to the park around 6.00pm in the evening and hired a rowing boat. About 12 yards from the landing stage the boat capsized, with the help of the Park Keeper and Boatmen the wife and one child were brought to the side, but despite all the efforts go the father his 5 year old son never came to the surface.

(the account names names, but I think due to privacy and copyright restrictions it is best to paraphrase the article. if anyone is interested in the details go to the site and put the Paper and Brookvale into the search. Of course you have to pay!)

RIP Peter
 
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Hello all, my first post, hope it works ok!
I've been reading with interest people's memories of Brookvale Park and Witton Lakes. I am particularly interested in Witton Lakes. I currently live on Marsh Hill and enjoy walking around the lakes. I am also a member of the Friends of Witton Lakes group and I volunteer at the Velvet Community Orchard, which is, I believe, where the boat house and cafe I have read about used to be.
I was looking for old photographs of Witton Lakes, in particular the boat house area. I don't seem to be able to access the photos, I'm not sure if this is because I am a new member or because of the hacking problem mentioned. If anyone can repost their photos or let me know where I may be able to access some I would be very grateful.
I believe many of you would be very pleased with the recent improvements to Witton Lakes. This weekend there was a Community Sports Event which was very successful.
Thanks, Melanie
 
I am re posting the photo of the Boat House long ago destroyed by fire.Boat_House1.JPG Melanie had requested a photo and I managed to find one on my computer
 
Nice photo Jennyann.

Either my memory is playing tricks or the original boathouse was replaced.
The one I remember was a wooden building with a large veranda/gazebo structure on the end.
I spent many hours there on summer evenings in the 1950s, chatting with other teenagers.
I lived in Marsh Lane Erdington and there was a brook behind our house , it led straight to Witton Lakes.
The Veranda was on the left of the building(looking at the photo)
 
Hi Alberta:
The roof may have been replaced over the years from the original one. I remember the verandah style at the left of the building. There used to be a small
shop where you could buy ice cream and pop at the left end of the building. They used to have row boats before my time and they were housed at the front
where the long window doors were. Later on a club who raced sculls on the original lake kept their boats in there.
I know exactly where you hiked to come to the Park, Alberta. You would have crossed Bleakhill Road from the area behind your house in Marsh Lane.
I spent so many hours in the Park myself over the years and am happy that basically it is still the same today.
 
This is a watercolour i painted of Brookvale park boathouse for a members mother, I would say about the 1960's
Brookvale_Park_002.JPG
 
I have just noticed my painting depicts 'spagetti' junction in the distance, so that should help to date it. Eric
 
Hi
I am trying to find out as much as history as i can about the witton lakes cottage, the old park keppers house. Ive found it advertised to let, I cant seem to find anything, pictures of or any information about the history,
if anyone has any information about the house at all id be really greatful.

Stacey
 
Brookvale Road was very close by just across Marsh Hill, so we were doubly blessed as children to have two splendid parks very close by. I also worked for a few years at
R.M. Douglas (Civil Engineering) Ltd in George Road, now sold a couple of times. We used to spend lunch hours in Brookvale Park after running across to Ken's deli for sandwiches. It was great in the summer.[/QUOTE]

Hi jennyann, you seem to be blessed with a good memory so can i ask you this....... My sister tells me i was responsible for "pulling the plug" & emptying Brookvale lake. I can`t ever remember there being a "plug" to pull so i reckon it`s my leg she`s pulling ( she insists she isn`t ) I can remember walking across the lake when it was frozen for a 3d dare, & when i was half way across a freezing mist descended & i couldn`t see either side of the lake. I worked for R M douglas 58 to 60 as a wages clerk. I used to hate going into the typing pool with my face blushing bright red. I was a shy boy! Smudger
 
Hi Smudger: I think your sister is pulling your leg as you say about emptying Brookvale Lake. I like the information on Bill Dargue's great site about Brookvale Lake.
https://billdargue.jimdo.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-b/brookvale/ I can remember the times that the lake froze over. You were very brave to walk over the lake. I used to worry about the ducks at the far end by the bandstand getting their feet frozen! My friends and I used to take stale bread to feed them in the winter.

I started working at R.M. Douglas (Civil Engineers) Ltd. in George Road in 1960 for two years. I was Junior Secretary to Mr. Robert Douglas, a true Scottish gentleman. I dealt mainly with the affairs of his estate and farms at Dunstall Hall near Burton on Trent where he lived. When he hired an Estate Manager I became a "floating secretary" to several of the Departments at George Road. It was great training for me and I liked working there very much. My Mother worked for the Company Secretary, Samuel Pedlar around that time and then transferred to R.M. Douglas Asphalt & Paving whose offices were on the site also. I agree that the typing pool would have been a formidable place to enter for a young man. I left in 1962 to work at G.E.C. in Lloyd House.

The company these days is owned by Interserve, who have donated a lot of time and effort to the renovation of Brookvale Park recently. There are teams of volunteers doing great work at the park and you can read about it in Simon Hensley's blog at https://simonhensley.com/. Simon is a police officer who has a great community interest in the Erdington and Sutton area. His blog is fascinating with photos of historical finds at Brookvale Park and in Sutton Coldfield also photos of the restoration work undertaken at Brookvale Park.
 
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Hi Stacey
I lived in the cottage in Witton lakes for 28 years. We went there in 1944, my father was a gravedigger at Witton Cemetery.
We use to keep pigs and chickens.
The house had three bedrooms, but you had to go through the room to get to the small one. Now they have made an entrance on a small landing.
My mother use to serve in the cafe over the boathouse.
I remember the yachts that they sales on the small pool, they had a hanger time shed to keep them in, but later on they were kept in the cafe.
There use to be a motorboat on the large pool and they took the children around the lake.

Barbara
 
Me and my broth were on a bike ride back in 1996 on our way home going up gypsy lane towards the wyrley birch estate as we went past the entrance next to the power generator I looked to my right and saw a girl in her uniform sitting on a concrete bollard starring strait head she was as white and looked like stonemy brother came behind me as u turned we looked at each other and said she wasn't real the hairs on the back if our necks went up and we fled and at the time of this sighting it was in the last week if the Sumner holidays years later ive seen a few threads on this u never new this local tale never forget the girl and the look on her face sounds mad I no but u went past on my own the next day with my dig and the gap were she was sitting was much wider and the concrete bollards wernt there and there was short wooden stumps there un there place I went ti Perry common comp in the 80s thus girl had the Perry common Tue on even though she looked in black and grey shades I recognized the tie
 
Water skied on that lake (WITTON LAKES) one very cold Boxing day, changed in the boat house with no heating ;o(( Brrrrr
 
In the 50`s, growing up as a child in Brum ( Erdington ) was magical for me. I lived about 200 yards from Brookvale park, with fishing, putting green, boating, & the occasional snog or two when i discovered girls :-} I was daft enough to walk across the lake for a dare when it was frozen, i got half way when a freezing fog came down & i couldn`t see the bank from whence i came, or where i was heading for. Makes me shudder to think about it now. If our Mothers knew what we got up to as kids they`d have a seizure!! I`ve only been back to visit Brookvale park once since i left in 1960 & for me they`ve spoiled the place, but that`s just my opinion. I dare say that a lot of folk still think it`s a magical place.
 
A magical place indeed Smudger, me and my mate used to get there by coming over the bonk from Electric Avenue, (we were a right pair of scallys) Brookvale and Witton lakes were our adventure playgrounds in the early 50s, I still have the scar on my big toe where I cut it badly on a broken bottle whilst paddling across the stream at the end. A couple of slices of bread and marge and a bottle of water and we stayed out for most of the day.
 
Hi Astonite. I also have a nice scar (on my ankle) thanks to a broken bottle while walking thru the tunnel that ran from Brookvale park to Witton lakes. That area must have been the in place for chucking bottles!! Like you say, it was a great park for all sorts of things, & who knows, maybe our paths crossed at some stage :-} (Did you ever snog a skinny kid with dark curly hair? )
 
Well how interesting, Brookvale Park and Witton Lakes were also my magical places too.

As a young boy, I would just walk out of infants schools and go over the ‘lakes’ and spend houses there. I also cut my foot in the stream at the top end of Brookvale paddling.

I would spend a whole day fishing, think it used to cost 3d for a day ticket off the park keeper.
 
Hi Astonite: I don't recall a tunnel running from Brookvale Park to Witton Lakes. Where about was it? I remember there is a stream running between the two
parks and it used to run alongside Boulton Walk which is just off George Road. It is now underground in that section. I imagine there were tunnels under Marsh Hill and George Road for the stream to follow into either Gypsy Lane and Brookvale Park.

I too was fortunate enough to grow up very close to both Brookvale Park and Witton Lakes Park. There is already a thread for these parks and perhaps
this thread should be merged with the original thread where there is lots of interesting stories about both Parks.
 
There was quite a large tunnel at the far end of Brookvale park & it was said to take the overflow from Witton Lakes. Wether that`s true or not i don`t know. I`ve walked into the tunnel for maybe 30 yards but no further than that ( too spooky ). There was also a drinking fountain with a brass cup at that end, though i don`t suppose that has survived.
 
Re: Brookvale Park - Replacing a few Pictures

#1 Brookvale Park - George Road - 1910
#1 Brookvale Park - George Road - 1910.jpg

#2 Brookvale Park Gates - Bandstand End
#2 Brookvale Park Gates - Bandstand End.JPG

#3 Brookvale Park from Bandstand End
#3 Brookvale Park - From Bandstand End.JPG

#4 Brookvale Park - Looking Towards Baths - 1911
#4 Brookvale Park - 1911 -Looking Towards Baths.JPG

#5 Brookvale Park - Children by the Lake - 1910
#5 Brookvale Park - Children By the Lake - 1910.JPG
 
What lovely memories and photo's all of you. Welcome to the forum two and keep them photo's coming please. I used to love a trip to the park with mom and fish the stream by the tunnel. Happy days.
 
Welcome to the forum two. What lovely photo's thank you so much for posting them we lost several from this thread. It's lovely to have a new memeber helping out..
 
Re: Brookvale Park - Replacing a few Pictures (2)

#6 - Brookvale Park and Lake
#6 Brookvale Park and Lake.jpg

#7 - Brookvale Park Gates - Marsh Hill End
#7 Brookvale Park Gates - Marsh Hill End.JPG

#8 - Brookvale Park - Rustic Bridge
#8 Brookvale Park - Rustic Bridge.jpg

#9 - Brookvale Park - Children's Corner
#9 Brookvale Park - Childrens Corner.JPG

#10 - Brookvale Park - Children's Corner - Rustic Bridge
#10 Brookvale Park - Childrens Corner - Rustic Bridge.JPG
 
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