fascinating programme...looking at the site from above its not a massive site so not a lot of ground lost... maybe we have glimmer of hope to retain it as a tourist attraction..
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Coleshill Manor & Elizabethan gardens
- Thread starter Astoness
- Start date
Stokkie
master brummie
I think that the site was only excavated as part of the enabling work for HS2. I'd expect it to be recorded then backfilled. https://www.hs2.org.uk/building-hs2/archaeology/coleshill/
thanks stokkie sadly these are my thoughtsI think that the site was only excavated as part of the enabling work for HS2. I'd expect it to be recorded then backfilled. https://www.hs2.org.uk/building-hs2/archaeology/coleshill/
lyn
Dave 89 , I live on one side of M6 in Solihull MBC , directly on the other side on the Birmingham Road to Coleshill the cemetery on the left is Birmingham (we had to pay them for as grave there a few years ago), then everything towards Coleshill is North Warwickshire.
The programme was recorded quite a while ago as the derelict building nearby was demolished weeks ago and the large building seen boarded up on the other side of the road is no longer there.
As they are taking such care to uncover the ancient building perhaps it will be of such interest that they will save it, fingers crossed. They are still working very hard there , I saw them on Friday.
As for finding the musket balls , people in Coleshill and surrounds have been finding them for years now , especially by the river and on the way to Maxstoke Castle which is about 3 miles away and came under fire from Oliver Cromwell and whose gatehouse is identical to the one at Coleshill that the historian drew last night.
The programme was recorded quite a while ago as the derelict building nearby was demolished weeks ago and the large building seen boarded up on the other side of the road is no longer there.
As they are taking such care to uncover the ancient building perhaps it will be of such interest that they will save it, fingers crossed. They are still working very hard there , I saw them on Friday.
As for finding the musket balls , people in Coleshill and surrounds have been finding them for years now , especially by the river and on the way to Maxstoke Castle which is about 3 miles away and came under fire from Oliver Cromwell and whose gatehouse is identical to the one at Coleshill that the historian drew last night.
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Fantastic discovery and one with a personal connection I just discovered that my great x 8 aunt, Beatrice (ix) Walcott of Shropshire married a member of the Digby family John Digby Earl of Bristol who resided at the Manor in the early 17th Century. I can't wait to find out more.
Tony B
master brummie
Well...they say you learn something new every day !
I have lived not far away from coleshill and indeed I watched the programme on the Manor , but I hadn't a clue or heard about Maxstoke Castle....
Thinking about it the BBC didn't either , or surely they would of mentioned it in the programme....
We have so much history in and around Birmingham and we must keep it alive for future generations...
Thank you for your interesting and informative comment....
Stokkie
master brummie
The first skirmish in the Civil War was the Battle of Curdworth Bridge. I think this is near, but the bridge then wasn't where the present bridge is. Needless to say I've never heard of Maxstoke Castle. A good deal is made of history in Worcester and Ledbury. People take photos of a single musket ball hole in a pub beam, it is actually a tourist attraction. I hope we can cherish some remains, but it often seems a forlorn hope in and about Birmingham.
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Tonyb
Maxstoke Castle is well worth a visit.
It is only open one day a year and this year it is 11th June.
From the crossroads at the bottom of Coleshill High street, take the Blythe Road which becomes the Coleshill road and then right turn into Castle Lane. about 3 miles from Coleshill.
Maxstoke Castle is well worth a visit.
It is only open one day a year and this year it is 11th June.
From the crossroads at the bottom of Coleshill High street, take the Blythe Road which becomes the Coleshill road and then right turn into Castle Lane. about 3 miles from Coleshill.
Tony B
master brummie
Thanks for the info....
We will definitely be in attendance on the 11th....
I have spoken to around 10 friends and family today and are local to Coleshill and they too hadn't a clue about the Castle....
I am still shaking my head about this one.....
Such a mystery why so many people have not heard of the Castle...
Regards.....
Hi,
I remember just being able to see the castle through the trees while driving down Castle Lane, but
have never been into the grounds.
If you are going there and you are interested in old buildings, Maxstoke Priory is worth a look
while you are in the area, although I don't think you can go into the grounds.
If you carry on down Castle Lane past the Castle you come to a T junction. Turn left, and take
the next turn on the right. Follow this road and you will come to a sharp left hand bend.
The Gatehouse to the Priory is just round the bend on the right hand side. Impressive,
and well worth a look.
Kind regards
Dave
I remember just being able to see the castle through the trees while driving down Castle Lane, but
have never been into the grounds.
If you are going there and you are interested in old buildings, Maxstoke Priory is worth a look
while you are in the area, although I don't think you can go into the grounds.
If you carry on down Castle Lane past the Castle you come to a T junction. Turn left, and take
the next turn on the right. Follow this road and you will come to a sharp left hand bend.
The Gatehouse to the Priory is just round the bend on the right hand side. Impressive,
and well worth a look.
Kind regards
Dave
Pedrocut
Master Barmmie
WARWICKSHIRE FIND COULD REWRITE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WARS.
“The Civil Wars of the 17th century may have started slightly earlier than originally thought, claim experts. Archaeologists digging along the HS2 path east of Birmingham have found a number of musket balls and pockmarks among the remains of a gatehouse at Coleshill Manor, suggesting it was attacked by parliamentarian forces during their march to Curdworth Bridge scene of the wars' first battle in August 1642. Stuart Pierson of Wessex Archaeology has described the find as "nationally significant - and a bit more".”
BBC History Revealed Magazine, March 2023.
“The Civil Wars of the 17th century may have started slightly earlier than originally thought, claim experts. Archaeologists digging along the HS2 path east of Birmingham have found a number of musket balls and pockmarks among the remains of a gatehouse at Coleshill Manor, suggesting it was attacked by parliamentarian forces during their march to Curdworth Bridge scene of the wars' first battle in August 1642. Stuart Pierson of Wessex Archaeology has described the find as "nationally significant - and a bit more".”
BBC History Revealed Magazine, March 2023.
In the lead up to the civil war, which pitched forces loyal to King Charles I against parliamentarian soldiers seeking to topple him, Coleshill Manor was in the hands of a royalist, Simon Digby. The position of his grand home, next to a key strategic crossing of the River Cole, would have put it directly in the path of parliamentarians on the march to Curdworth Bridge. While it is impossible to prove, experts think it is highly likely that it is their musket balls – dozens of which were recovered from the site – which struck the gatehouse on this journey.
This earlier Guardian article claims it's unlikely to be proved. But surely it CAN be proved can't it ?
Viv.
This earlier Guardian article claims it's unlikely to be proved. But surely it CAN be proved can't it ?
Viv.
Attachments
You must be thinking about Coleshill Hall. It was a very substantial house that belonged to the Digby family. I was born in Marston Green in 1945. My family farmed in that area. Digbys were our Landlords. They must have sold the whole lot to Birmingham Corporation some time as by the time I was old enough to take an interest, it was Birmingham who were our landlords.
The Hall became a "hospital" for people with Learning Disabilities They were called "Mental Patients" in those days but they were locked up for various reasons.
It was run in partnership with Marston Green Cottage Homes which was orininally an orphanage but became a home for "Mental Patients" at some time. I didn`t ever visit Coleshill Hall but from it`s function it must have been a substantial place. There will be a lot of records tucked away somewhere for those who are intrested.
Girls who got pregnant were sent to such places to "Protect them from Society". Boys who got them pregnant could be sent there to "Protect Society fron them". I can`t recall when these place were medicalised and the staff were trained as qualified nurses. I knew people who had been sent to the orphanages when their families were not able to keep them for almost any reason. These places were easoably self sufficient. Having their own farms, workshops, launderies etc. These were partly staffed by patients.. whoalso wotked in various situations in Marston Green.
Around 1960 smeone in Westminster decided this was "exploitation" so the farms were let out to local farmers and the Patients (not my term for them" locked in ward.
Looking at some of the posts here. I am thinking I must know as much about the area as anyone alive. Especially marston Green were i was brought up.
