From British History on line
Roebuck Lane in the south-east of the parish running into Smethwick from the Birmingham road existed by the later 18th century (
fn. 24) and probably much earlier. A house called the Roebuck at the north end existed in 1684 and was demolished
c. 1855. (
fn. 25) Also at the top of Roebuck Lane, and on its western side, is the house called Springfields. By 1795 it was the home of Archibald Kenrick. After his death in 1835 his son Archibald lived there; it was rebuilt probably about that time. The younger Archibald was still living there in 1850, but it subsequently became the home of W. Bullock, an iron-founder like the Kenricks. By 1860 it had been bought by Thomas Bache Salter, who moved there from Spon House, and it remained the Salters' home until
c. 1906. (
fn. 26) In 1970 it was the social club of G. Salter & Co. Ltd. By 1836 there was a large house to the south of Springfields called Oakley; it was owned by Timothy Kenrick, son of the elder Archibald Kenrick. (
fn. 27) It was demolished
c. 1960. (
fn. 28) The western side of Roebuck Lane was occupied in 1970 by private housing built mainly in the period between the World Wars. The northern part of Roebuck Lane now ends at the M5 motorway on the borough boundary. Roebuck Street was laid out as Park Village in the 1850s; (
fn. 29) by 1970, however, the street was given over to light industry. The area around Grove Crescent between Roebuck Lane and Roebuck Street was formerly occupied by the Grove and its 4-acre estate; the property was sold in 1892 and built over. (
fn. 30)