I sincerely hope it's okay for me to have resurrected such an old topic, but I have a few questions, and a few things to add about this! I thought it best to post it here, rather than start a new topic as it is very much a continuation
I've lived in Erdington, and near the area where Salford House/Highfield would've been all my life, (changed even more in my time and unfortunately, it's never for the better..), and I couldn't believe the history to the land! Fascinating to read, or what we know of the place, but I do have a question to put forth to everyone, has a photo of Salford House since popped up? I found reference to one in a topic on here, in a book on Cadbury workers, but it was never posted. I've combed google, facebook, for years, every variation of the name (which I think could be part of the problem, given it had multiple out buildings under multiple names, and every reference I've found is by a variation of Erdington/Slade Lane/Slade Road/Gravelley Hill etc). Just before lockdown, I went through every relevant book I could find in Erdington Library, with no results, and went to the city library too, the only reference they could find was a receipt of sale of the land, but unfortunately, I couldn't view the documents before lockdown commenced.
I did find this on Facebook, from Birmingham Old Prints Photographs and maps, a list of residents circa 1887:
"1887 Map showing Salford House off Slade Road for Maxine Dean
Today the area would be about by Kegworth Road area
Who lived in Salford House …a member of the great gunsmith dynasty Henry Clive
In 1861 at Salford House
Henry Clive 42 Gun Barrel Maker, b Nr Kingsbury
Jemima Susannah Clive 56
Robert HenryClive 20 Gun Barrel Maker, b Aston
Mary Ann Hard 24 Cook-Servant, b Whittacre
Harriet Emma Evans 18 Housekeeper, b Sutton
In 1881 at Salford House, Slade Road
Robert H Clive 40 Hardware Merchant
Mary F Clive 37, b New York USA
Mary R Cocker 67 (Mother in Law) b Boston, Mass. USA
Gertrude Clive 12, Florence 11, Clifford 6, Dorothy 3, -elda 2
Jane Patchwork 34 Governess-Teacher –Private , b Durham
Martha Robinson 41 Nurse, b Staffs
Mary Tibbitts 26 Under Nurse, b B’ham
Ellen Whitworth 28 Cook, b Hockley
Mary Stevens 34 Housekeeper"
A lot we already knew, but still, fascinating to read (including american residents!). It seems so strange that, for a house so big, and so old, nearly nothing remains record wise compared to other similar buildings in Erdington (almost certainly because it's been gone around 85-90 years). Seeing some of the lovely photos of Brookvale Park from the 20's recently posted, I thought I'd try my luck in asking
One other thing I did find, before finishing, was online in the national library of scotland, of all places, in the form of os maps, whereby going back in time you could roughly chart it's development and how long the estate was there (it's there as of the earliest map on the land, unmarked but I believe around 1840, though it's no doubt much older, and disappears sometime before 1938, which fits as the housing estate was build around 1935, but it was present as recent, he says, as 1913). I took screenshots at the time, not entirely sure how legal it is for me to post haha, but it is interesting to note, as well as the previously known Hillside and Highfield, there was a lodge at the bottom, next to what is slade road now (where the road levels out at the bottom of Chartley road now), and next to the path up to those houses which was lined with trees (and remains in the form of the coppice to this day). Also interesting, is the path to Salford House started not where the turn in is now, but at the opposite end, where the power junction box is now next to the railway bridge! (This also explains, for anyone who has lived here, why that and only that particular section of road always floods in heavy rain).
(As an aside, it's interesting to note some photos of some of Thomas Gammon's work exists online, nice to see in many ways)