Pedrocut
Master Barmmie
A Biringham Libraries image of a lane near Wyndley Pool, Sutton in 1892. Assume this lane ran alongside the park. Viv.
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1887 OS Map, well it could possibly be at the top rhs of Windley Pool?
A Biringham Libraries image of a lane near Wyndley Pool, Sutton in 1892. Assume this lane ran alongside the park. Viv.
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Was not that the barracks for the POWs , near the end of the war I remember seeing all these people I later learnt to be Germans, brown uniforms with big light blue circles on the back of the jacket/coat/top half of the boiler suit they wore?Regarding the military connections with the park, 'britainfromabove' took a photo of the Powells Pool area dated 1946. Two pics below. (click them to make larger)
The full view shows a military camp top right and other interesting things are a fire engine with pipes going into the pool, a large herd of cows, and people. I can remember seeing the camp but cannot remember whether it was for the Army or for POWs. I certainly saw POWs in the park nearer the Streetly side but they were in tents.
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An enlarged view below of the camp showing personnel standing in line near the water tower. A fence along the road with a gateway top left.
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It seems that the water level of Bracebridge Pool has become lowered; the result of low rainfall maybe? It also looks like a good deal of erosion of the banks and beaches has taken place, I wonder if this is a result of boating as there is a boat house on the dammed part of the pool.
Most of the pools in Sutton Deer Park were man made by damming the streams to form fishponds. Some very small ponds were usually formed as a result of excavations for aggregates for road building (Roman), the dams and other uses.
I suppose it does look like a beach but not sunny on the day I took this pic ....I was told by someone who has known the area well for many years that the 'beach' at one side of Bracebridge Pool was deliberately constructed during the war so that people could imagine themselves to be at the seaside on holiday!