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Harborne: The Grove

What a wonderful room. As a matter of interest John Henry Chamberlain is buried at Key Hill Cemetery his memorial being recently restored.
 
What a legacy the Chamberlains left, Wendy. Will you post a picture of the restored memorial on BHF sometime? Aidan you must have been a babe in arms when the house was demolished. Fortunately Phyllis Nicklin was present to take a picture:
https://epapers.bham.ac.uk/581/
I had not heard of the Grove until today.
 
BordesleyExile said:
What a legacy the Chamberlains left, Wendy. Will you post a picture of the restored memorial on BHF sometime? Aidan you must have been a babe in arms when the house was demolished. Fortunately Phyllis Nicklin was present to take a picture:
https://epapers.bham.ac.uk/581/
I had not heard of the Grove until today.
Click to expand...

:-) I was a mere twinkle :-)

"The Grove was the home of social reformer and Birmingham's first Member of Parliament, Thomas Attwood. The Georgian stucco house was remodelled for William Kenrick in 1877 by Martin & Chamberlain in Arts & Crafts style. Kenrick presented both house and grounds to the City in the 1930s as Grove Park. The house was demolished in 1963 although its Italianate gothic ante-chamber was preserved for re-erection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The lodge still stands at the park entrance." From our Bill D'Argue's great site https://billdargue.jimdo.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-h/harborne/

Here's a watercolour of the building's hall, possibly by Kenrick himself https://www.vandaprints.com/image.php?id=400522
 
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Here's a picture of the Grove, taken in the 1930s. It is taken from "Harborne, the second selection", which gives a short history of the building. The Grove was apparently, left to the City Council.
 
Thank you, Aidan & Leslam. What a beautiful interior the Grove had, judging by the available pictures. Does anyone have a picture of the original Georgian Grove?
 
I'd like to see that too - I used to enjoy tiddling (I mean trying to net tadpoles and the like) in Grove Park pond (which must have been The Grove's water feature)
 
Left to the city Council Les??? That's obviously why it's not there any more! Gothic is not my style at all, but I can appreciate why it was popular. The Council do not seem to care a button about saving anything, it's a case of building shops and putting up concrete and glass. In my view, a mistake, because Birmingham lost its soul when they did all that damage in the 1970's.
 
Yes, I am so glad that room was saved, Lyn. It begs the question though why was the Woodman overlooked? If it had had a Chamberlain connection.....
 
BordesleyExile said:
Yes, I am so glad that room was saved, Lyn. It begs the question though why was the Woodman overlooked? If it had had a Chamberlain connection.....
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thats a very good question shirl....losing the woodman was a very sad loss to the city..i wouldnt mind seeing that saved room though...

lyn
 
Henry_Chamberlain_edit.jpg
Here is the refurbed grave of John Henry Chamberlain. The grave has weathered a little now so doesn't look as bright. As has been metioned he is not related to Joseph Chamberlain but strangly is buried a few feet away from him.
 
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What a fascinating thread! Thanks everyone.

It's an excellent idea to save and display interesting rooms, and I'm pleased to learn that the V and A is doing it. I remember seeing many such rooms in the Zürich Museum some years ago. All ages were represented, and different styles (from all walks of life). There were also shop and workshop interiors. It's an attractive and instructive way to showcase a nation's history.
 
This thread inspired me to go take a look at this lovely room at the V & A yesterday. The room is being well looked after. You can't actually step inside it as it's roped off and it's kept in very low level lighting, so the wood colours are being nicely preserved. The carving and marquetry is superb. Although it was originally designed to have no furnishing, I find it hard to believe that in 1911 it contained 2 settees, 2 armchairs, 3 tables and a stool. It's not that big! Must have looked great when all the shelves and niches contained porcelain and pottery. Would have been a very cosy little room. It was great to see a Brum piece of architecture in all it's glory ( in the 'Aesthetics' section) in such an historic place. Viv.
 
How Lovely Viv I would love to see the room a step back in time. As you said it's so nice to see it preserved in such an important place. I will visit one day.
 
I was going to post these photos I took at the V & A way back in May (post 17) but for some reason it slipped my mind - nothing new there. Well now, here they are, photos of the reconstructed panelled ante-room from The Grove in Harborne. A wonderful and very skillful use of different woods .......... Viv

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...4/The_Grove_Harborne_panelling_at_the_V_A.JPG


https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...rne2C_panelled_room_on_display_at_the_V_A.JPG

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...panelled_anteroom_as_displayed_at_the_V_A.JPG

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...borne_wall_panelling_displayed_at_the_V_A.JPG


https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...ne_anteroom_ceiling_on_display_at_the_V_A.JPG

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...14/The_Grove_Harborne_ceiling__at_the_V_A.JPG
 
I knew The Grove as my grandfather's house. As a child, I practised on my bicycle around the garden, and in a cold winter we could occasionally skate/play on the ice on the pond.
When my grandfather died, the house and the land had been promised to the City many years before. It was stipulated that the house should be put to some kind of community use, but was not considered suitable for anything of the kind - hence it was pulled down and, by agreement with the family, the care home was built on the vegetable garden instead.
That little panelled room was most carefully dismantled, but unfortunately the craftsman who did that died before it could be reassembled at the V & A - for which reason it was a considerable number of years before it made its appearance there!
 
PhilipK said:
I knew The Grove as my grandfather's house. As a child, I practised on my bicycle around the garden, and in a cold winter we could occasionally skate/play on the ice on the pond.
When my grandfather died, the house and the land had been promised to the City many years before. It was stipulated that the house should be put to some kind of community use, but was not considered suitable for anything of the kind - hence it was pulled down and, by agreement with the family, the care home was built on the vegetable garden instead.
That little panelled room was most carefully dismantled, but unfortunately the craftsman who did that died before it could be reassembled at the V & A - for which reason it was a considerable number of years before it made its appearance there!
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Hi Philip, welcome to the forum, what memories you must have of what must have been a remarkable house.
 
Indeed, and in the 1950s that large and rather gloomy house had all the mystique associated with grandparents whom one saw only on formal occasions. Christmas lunch at an enormous table in the dining room, hung around with Pre-Raphaelite paintings (some of them now in the Art Gallery) is an enduring memory!
I say 'gloomy' not because the house was poorly lit, but because the panelling, wallpaper and carpets were generally dark in colour. The painting of the hall by William Kenrick in the V & A is pretty characteristic of how I remember it.
 
In 1881 a relative of mine worked as a cook in Yewdale which was my grove lodge and the Grove. James hicks,Elizabeth and henry aged 3 lived at the grove lodge. William,Mary and Cecily lived at the grove. My relative worked for the Tarbolton family.
 
And pictures of yewdale house which was next to the grove and field house back in 1881. My relative worked at yewdale for the tarbolton family. The husband died aged 32 so his wife moved to 29 Victoria road harbourne.
 
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