Richard Dye
master brummie
Truly so disappointing not protecting such a vital piece of the cities heritage! Considering all the apparent waste.
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pjmburns
master brummie
Pity it doesn't go a tiny bit further north and my road would be on it
superdad3
master brummie
What a gem of a map! Wake Green & Sarehole are two of my interests and this is a brilliant addition to my notes - also the oldest detailed map I have seen of the area. Many thanks BrummieGeoff for posting it.
It shows Wake Green Common stretching at that time down to what is now Wake Green Road - very useful info. Confirms my thoughts on early and original boundaries of Wake Green. It also shows the old "reservoir" situated in what is now Moseley Bog and the leat leading from it to Sarehole Mill pond.
It shows Wake Green Common stretching at that time down to what is now Wake Green Road - very useful info. Confirms my thoughts on early and original boundaries of Wake Green. It also shows the old "reservoir" situated in what is now Moseley Bog and the leat leading from it to Sarehole Mill pond.
The Enclosure map below clarifies the boundary of Wake Green, which did not wrap around Old Pool, as might be guessed from the mis-naming of Swanshurst Common as Wake Green Common on the 1807 map. There are clearly two commons here separated by a wide piece of private land. Sarehole Mill goes back to the 16th century, and it was using Coldbath Brook water, and Lady Mill was using part of the brook water too via the golf course pool. Water rights could not be on common land for obvious reasons. The other map defines the boundary of Wake Green on a modern street map.
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superdad3
master brummie
Interesting post. Yes, Sarehole Mill was operating in the 16thC and possibly even earlier. Sarehole and Wake Green were both owned by Maxstoke Priory [nr Coleshill], along with Swanshurst and much more in Yardley in the medieval period. They were later owned by John Taylor, of banking fame. before the "Wake Green Estate" part was purchased by Joseph Dyott [hence Dyott Road].
It is interesting that Moseley Wake Green, as shown on the enclosue map of 1843 is mainly to the south of what is now Yardley Wood Road confirming the use of Moseley Wake Green in what was obviously Yardley at the time. As the map only shows common land not yet enclosed it is probable that Moseley Wake Green was originally larger but that piecemeal enclosure over the years had nibbled away at it. Not too much of a stretch to suggest that the land on which Gracewell Cottages/Tolkien's home was originally part of Wake Green [Common]?
One thing is certain, that what is meant by Wake Green has varied over the last century or so. The area around St Agnes Church was called the Wake Green Estate when owned by Joseph Dyott [as confirmed by my house deeds.] and I have seen other locations for it And then there is Moseley {!] Wake Green Common as shown on the enclosure map of 1847. And now we have a BCC map showing it somewhere completely differently - actually this has no historical relevance - not sure what it was purports to show - perhaps you can clarify?
All very interesting. Keep up the good work.
I am afraid it is too much to say Gracewell Cottages were in Wake Green. They were built in one of the Sarehole Estate fields. I seem to remember mentioning this in another thread, which I have now managed to find:
"On the Tithe Map is a small field number 2138, where Gracewell Cottages were later built. This is entirely surrounded by fields tenanted by the miller at Sarehole. A sliver of Moseley Wake Green, field 164, came down to the junction of Wake Green Road and Gracewell Road, but no further. So it is apparent that the Cottages were not strictly speaking part of Wake Green, in reality being part of Sarehole, whether it was a hamlet or not. The map evidence is clear." August 4th 2025
Comparing the 1916 OS map below with the 1807 Sarehole estate map it is clear that Gracewell Cottages are in Sarehole. There can be no doubt about this.
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Also the BCC map is very much relevant because it traces the outline of the area of Wake Green that was enclosed as a result of the 1833 Act. The outlines of that and Swanshurst Common show the wedge of private land completely separating them. Another map view has the actual georeferenced Enclosure map, which you can switch on and off to compare with today, but the view I showed is clearer, which is why I posted it. It is all found on the Historic Landscape Characterization map:
ArcGIS Web Application
maps.birmingham.gov.uk
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Where you do see Gracewell Cottages surrounded is by the sandpit and the very long gardens of Victorian houses beyond it. Part of these are on former Sarehole Estate land, which had been sold to increase the length of the plots laid out for big houses by the road. The Taylor Estate had been unable to sell off the Gracewell Cottages site, because it had been bought by A.H. Foster to build homes for his servants/employees. You couldn't make up what happened more recently. The land going up Wake Green Road was gifted to the Catholic church in the landowner's will, and they proposed building on the gardens. The city refused to pass the plans and after a number of years the church agreed to lose part of the long gardens to City open space. So the Sarehole wedge was reinstated, and the Moseley suburb line was pushed back a bit. The most recent irony is the name given to the retirement complex built over the three Victorian houses, 216-220, part of whose gardens were made on former Sarehole Estate land. Number 216 had stood sadly waiting for demolition for years. The name given is The Shires, inspired by Tolkien, a Sarehole name in Wake Green!
As a result of the late Joy Fifer's campaigning, which was actually based on wanting to preserve the abandoned ends of some of the very long gardens, where she had found exotic garden plants now growing 'wild', the open space acquired the name of Moseley Bog, which is now an internationally known name because of its Tolkien associations. Purists might prefer it to be known as Sarehole Swamp, but that is not going to happen.
This is an excellent read:
Moseley Bog: A Journey Through Time
Although we now know the area of woodland, wetland and meadows that lie between Yardley Wood Road, Windermere Road and Swanshurst Lane as Moseley Bog, this is actually a relatively recent name for …
andyunderscore.com
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superdad3
master brummie
On the enclosure map you listed on post 155 above, the old pool [later Moseley Bog] is sandwiched between Swanshurst Common and Moseley Wake Green [Common]. I don't think the 1807 map of Sarehole lists this sliver of land including the pool as part of Sarehole or Sarehole Mill land. Without further evidence, it's a toss up between Moseley Bog or Swanshurst Bog although I rather like Sarehole Swamp! Moseley Bog is now written in tablets of stone I think.
Yes, you are right. Weird if Sarehole Mill does not own its own water supply? The answer is that James Taylor owned Great Pool and adjacent fields and John Taylor owned Sarehole Mill. This is from the Tithe Apportionment. Sarehole Swamp makes a good talking point, though. The Pool was not part of either Common, so why name it after either? It was there solely as part of the Mill's water supply, and the Sarehole Estate started next to the Pool dam....so Sarehole something seems rather appropriate, at least to me. If Tolkien's relationship to the (silted up) pool had become important before Joy started her campaign, maybe we would have had a different name. Tolkien's Wood?
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Is this any help re. water supply ? For those interested, I'm posting the full article on the Mills of Birmingham thread as the article covers mills in general.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/threads/mills-of-birmingham.3444
Source: British Newspaper Archive
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/threads/mills-of-birmingham.3444
Source: British Newspaper Archive
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Thanks for this. After Matthew Boulton left a second water supply was indeed made to supplement the Coldbath Brook, but this was taken off the Cole upstream of Four Arches bridge. The headrace entered the millpond at the junction of Wake Green Road and Cole Bank Road. It used to be easier to see there forty years ago when I started studying the area. When the miller wanted to service the millpond he would close off the headrace and the water would be diverted back to the Cole via a spillway running parallel to the southern side of Cole Bank Road. It can still be seen left and right just as you enter the John Morris Jones Way opposite Sarehole Mill. See pmjburns' 1903 map below. The sluice would prevent too much water entering the millpond when water levels were running high.
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Edit this post copied from the Mills of Birmingham thread.
The Coldbath source seems to have been supplemented by a headrace - possibly c1760s - according to Carl Chinn's comments in the paragraph 'Rebuilt'.
Source: British Newspaper Archive
The Coldbath source seems to have been supplemented by a headrace - possibly c1760s - according to Carl Chinn's comments in the paragraph 'Rebuilt'.
Source: British Newspaper Archive
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Just posted this on the Mills of Birmingham (meant to post it on here !) - Carl Chinn mentions it in his article too.
Richard Dye
master brummie
I think it would be appropriate to keep the Sarehole legacy alive, albeit from a long way a way. When I lived in Birmingham I never knew of Sarehole but through this Forum and members inputs it has become very meaningful to me, the history of it is intriguing. Thank you!