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Key Hill Cemetery

Brookfields
B18 - Grid reference SP055878
First record c1800


Birmingham Heath was poor agricultural land and considered as undeveloped 'waste' until it was enclosed into separate fields in 1798. Improved agricultural methods enabled a living to be made from land previously thought to be uneconomic.


It was in this rural spot around 1800 that Sir Thomas Gooch had a mansion built for himself within a park which was also conveniently close to the town. He named it Brookfields House after Ladywood Brook which it overlooked. Gooch also had a large part of the heath laid out as his warren.


However, the town rapidly began to encroach on Gooch's rural idyll and within a quarter of century his house and estate were profitably sold off to make way for a housing development also to be known as Brookfields. The line of Pitsford Street is that of the drive up to Gooch's former mansion. The estate was gradually built up from the 1830s to completion in the 1870s.




All Saints' School. The church stood to the left of this building on a site still now largely empty.
As urban development continued, the west end of the district became known as All Saints after the building of that church in 1833. The church stood at the junction of All Saints Street and Lodge Road. It was built on land given by Gooch himself, and was an early example of the Victorian gothic revival and designed by the Birmingham-based gothic pioneer, Thomas Rickman.



As part of the large-scale demolition of the deteriorated inner-city districts, the church was demolished in 1966 at a time of low regard for Victorian architecture. All Saints Sunday School, however, still stands. The school was in existence by 1837 but had no permanent accommodation. It developed into All Saints National School, a day school which opened in 1843 in the new building adjoining the churchyard.


As slum clearance proceeded apace in the late 1960s and the existing population was moved to new houses elsewhere, the names of Brookfields and All Saints fell out of use. However, housing development c2000 west of Icknield Street has since seen a revival by the City Council of the name of Brookfields.
 
Can I suggest that if we are going to quote verbatim the work of someone else, we just do the first sentence/paragraph and then a link with a reference to the original author?
 
Key Hill was indeed called The General Cemetery, when it opened - the first of its kind in Birmingham until Warstone Lane C of E Cemetery opened, than called Key Hill as that was where it was to differentiate. Always in Hockley, though. I was always taught Brookfields was after you had gone under the bridge and it was the area on the right bounded by Dudley Road?
Key Hill Cemetery is actually featured on the cover of the Edition 6 of the Birmingham A-Z (2013) and Brookfields is boldly printed over it, however, the evidence does indicate that Brookfields is south of the railway line and not north of it and, according to Wikipedia, this is borne out by the fact that Warston Lane Cemetery was/is also called Brookfields Cemetery (and The Mint Cemetery).
I must admit having spent the first 10 years of my life in Heaton Street (1949-59) I'm puzzled I don't remember anyone mentioning Brookfields, I only became aware of the name after I recently exchanged posts on the Brookfield Ellen Street School thread: https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...-ellen-street-school.47866/page-2#post-619002.
I wonder if Brookfields does form part of an official postal address ?
Peg.
P.S. I fear I am perilously close to leading us off-thread.
 
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Evening Classes in 1902 - Threaders may be interested to know Brookfields is listed on the attached poster for evening classes of 1902 vintage (I've been told JNO is the abbreviation for a name but I can't remember what it is.).
Peg.
BSB Evening Classes 1902.jpg
 
Jno = John. The 1901 census has a John Arthur Palmer living at Waterloo road, Smethwick, aged 40, a self-employed Accountant. It may be him.
 
Thanks William. Was just after I popped into Warstone Lane Cemetery. Icknield Street has entrance / exit to both! (either side of the railway bridge / tram bridge).
 
Thanks William. Was just after I popped into Warstone Lane Cemetery. Icknield Street has entrance / exit to both! (either side of the railway bridge / tram bridge).

Only ever walked through the cemetery once, I've never had a walk around . Although I've walked past it umpteen times in my youth
 
Thanks for the pictures Ell Brown. Nice memorial pictures too. There are empty grave memorials to some of my family lost and never returned from WWI.
 
Thanks. It was Jack & Harry Burgess, from my Grandmother's family that never came home. They have a 3 tier square stone monument with a stone cross.
 

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Hi ell
Many thanks for giving us these great photograpghs you have take i used to go there many years ago as i only lived up the road from there and its nice to see how people have worked hard the grounds and cleaned it up and thinned some of it out to say but midly if its the right word a pleasure to walk in and visit and attend ones grave way back in the seventy it was all over grown and grve stones laying on the ground through the yobs whom done it and it as to be a big thank you for all the guys whom gave up there time in preparing and cleaning up Alan
 
No problem. Found it was quite close after leaving near a subway! Which is at Hockley Hill near Boulton Middleway, full of graffiti and litter. Wont post those photos in this thread. Was also an alley next to the post office from Key Hill to Hockley Hill.

So many leaves in Key Hill Cemetery, couldn't see where the path was when exiting to the Key Hill exit. Could do with sweeping up!
 
My workshop was at the top of keyhill drive for 10 years and the cemetery was my view out of the window for all those years.
It's a beautiful peaceful place, very quiet and calm in the madness of the city, thanks for the photos it brings back great memories
 
ade my first job after leaving school early 70s was just around the corner from keyhill drive in vyse st...loved working in the area..happy days

lyn
 
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