Owens Farm Sparkbrook

[beamish]

Farm Park as it is now. The Blue Plaque reads: Sampson Lloyd 1699 - 1779 Founder of Lloyds Bank Lived Here.

 

[wombat]

Hello alanr,

Thank you for your detail regarding Farm Park. I was bough up in Sparkbrook and remember the house in post 20, very well indeed. It was still standing in the late 70's just about! And I remember the stable building too. It had a drinking fountain on the side of it. I loved the old park. It had lots of trees., walls and hiding places for us kids. We especially liked hiding in the bushes at the side of the cottage in the picture above.

Happy memories.

The park is still there, but all the interesting parts have gone. Its a wide open space now

Wombat

 

[Ray T]

I think I have cracked this, Whilst going through my photo collection today I came across this photo taken in Farm park in 1932.

Now that I have seen this, I seem to remember it and I think it was still standing in the 50's and I think the water fountain was somewhere nearby.

Phil

Hi, Phil. I played in Farm Park as a lad in the late 1950s, but don't remember the buildings all that well. I do remember the water dispenser/fountain there near the see-saw and against a brick wall. I also remember it had a heavy metal (brass?) cup hanging on it by an iron chain and every child who wanted a drink used it. I drank from it without a second thought. I guess if there was a chickenpox outbreak in that area, it must have spread pretty quickly!

Ray T.

 

[Frothblower]

This debate regarding the "Oldest House in Brum" has always confused me and I guess it always will. The claim that the oldest house is the Lad in the Lane, which was a house originally has been well supported but was it in Brum when it was built or was it in the parish of Aston which from my understanding was not Birmingham at the time?
If the criteria of what was in brum when it was built is used, then the "Lad" can not lay claim to the oldest but if the criteria of what's in brum now is used, a new ball game is started.
I live in Coleshill and I will always state that Coleshill is not in Birmingham, it's North Warwickshire! However, try telling the post office or insurance companies that it's not Birmingham and you will get one hell of an argument. Therefore, perhaps we should lay claim to the oldest house. There is a house near the bottom of Lower High Street dated 1302 which i guess would win hands down.
Now I don't for a minute think anyone would agree but it proves a point, doesn't it? Let's stick to "What was in Brum when it was built" ...... So what is the oldest house in Birmingham?

I never did read this post of yours chocks, interesting, but the Lad In The Lane is in Birmingham so that should make it one of the oldest if not the oldest in Brum now?
https://ourbirmingham.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/city-history-the-lad-in-the-lane/

 

[Vivienne14]

The following 6 posts have been moved to this thread as they concern the same building.

This 1911 postcard claims to show the oldest house in Birmingham.


Maybe it was somewhere near Farm Road, Sparkbrook ?

 

[Morturn]

I am wondering if it was the rectory on the corner of Farm Road and Samson Road?

 

[A Sparks]

Rather grand for a farmhouse!

 

[Phil]

The farmhouse was actually in Farm park it was the original farmhouse before Sampson Lloyd the second of the banking family purchased the farm and built his new house in 1742. I think before it was Farm Park the name was Owens Farm and the old farmhouse I'm pretty sure existed until the 1950's because I'm sure I have a memory of it where I'm pretty certain that there was a drinking fountain attached to the wall of the old farmhouse. Apparently the lloyd family lived in the new house until 1912.

I'm posting a photo of the farmhouse in 1932 and also one of the house built by Sampson Lloyd in 1750.

 

[Phil]

When I was posting the previous post, I was pretty sure that I had already posted something similar before. but as it was 11 years ago I wasn't sure if it I had posted here or elsewhere.