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Berry Mound house in Swanshurst Lane

S

Sue Fell

Brummie babby
My grandparents were the first family to live at Berry Mound when first built in the 1920s. Please get in touch if you want some more information.
 
Depending on the address your grandparents lived the current address might be Wythall or Hollywood, both have had lots of housing developments, but the hill fort is still green fields as @pjmburns says.
 
pjmburns said:
If it is either of those then there are even less records online. :(
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Yes, this is because many of the roads on the extensive Hollywood housing estate developments have been created since the 1950s and indeed are still being built. But if Sue is able to share a name or a more exact address then we might be able to see if her grandparents' house / road still exists. The closer it was to Berry Mound the greater the chance of this.
 
Stokkie said:
Yes, this is because many of the roads on the extensive Hollywood housing estate developments have been created since the 1950s and indeed are still being built. But if Sue is able to share a name or a more exact address then we might be able to see if her grandparents' house / road still exists. The closer it was to Berry Mound the greater the chance of this.
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There are currently houses for sale in Berrymound View for example, but I don't know when this road was constructed.
 
Thank you for responding. The Berry Mound I was referring to was the name of my grandfather's house in Swanshurst Lane. <Moseley.. It was named after a battle at Berry Mound which I believe is near Wythall, Solihull Lodge. Whether true or not it was said that King Alfred stayed in the old farmhouse prior to this battle against the Danes. This old farmhouse was demolished to make way for the houses that are now in Swanshurst Lane. I was responding to an earlier post to someone who was trying to find "Berry Mound" in Swanshurst Lane.
 
Sue Fell said:
Thank you for responding. The Berry Mound I was referring to was the name of my grandfather's house in Swanshurst Lane. <Moseley.. It was named after a battle at Berry Mound which I believe is near Wythall, Solihull Lodge. Whether true or not it was said that King Alfred stayed in the old farmhouse prior to this battle against the Danes. This old farmhouse was demolished to make way for the houses that are now in Swanshurst Lane. I was responding to an earlier post to someone who was trying to find "Berry Mound" in Swanshurst Lane.
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Well, Sue, that was a merry dance and all the above relates to the Berry Mound at Wythall.:):)
 
Do you mean this thread?

Swanshurst Farm

When Swanshurst Farm was demolished one of the new houses built in Swanshurst Lane was called "Berry Mound" built on the site of the old farm. I took a look today but can't find it, anyone know where it is or what No the house is? Photos replaced
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
Sorry about the confusion. I was hoping the person who asked the question about "Berry Mound" in Swanshurst Lane would respond but it was posted about 10 years ago so maybe not surprising! I just want to know if there is any more information about the site where the houses now stand next to Swanshurst Park. I know Carl Chinn was interested and visited the house and was hoping he might respond!!
 
It might have been better had you clicked on "reply" under that post then your response and the original would have appeared together.
However, as a new member, you probably didn't realise that. The poster hasn't been on since 2019.
 
pjmburns said:
Do you mean this thread?

Swanshurst Farm

When Swanshurst Farm was demolished one of the new houses built in Swanshurst Lane was called "Berry Mound" built on the site of the old farm. I took a look today but can't find it, anyone know where it is or what No the house is? Photos replaced
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
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Thanks for replying to my query, much appreciated. Yes it was the thread about Swanshurst Farm. The first post was from bilsat on November 20, 2010. saying he was trying to find Berry Mound in Swanshurst Lane as he was writing a book. IAS he hasn't been on since 2019 then probably too late. I am a bit new to all this and am amazed at all the interest, so grateful. I visited the house yesterday and the current owner was quite interested in the history and said that Carl Chinn had visited a while back and was interested in the old farm that had been demolished. I was hoping he might have some more information about the old building etc. I have some old stories about when my mother lived there in the 1920s which might have been of interest to the original query.
 
Thanks Sue, I think we would be interested in your mother's life there in the 1920s if you would care to share them.
 
Sue, do you know the Acocks Green History Society? https://aghs.jimdofree.com/swanshurst-quarter-1/swanshurst-quarter-2/
This says: '...in 1906 an eccentric solicitor (Stanbury Eardley) went to live in the ruin. He believed that it stood on the site of a Saxon chapel, claiming to have found the roof and fluted wooden pillars of its chancel. It was Eardley who revived or invented he story of King Alfred's association with Swanshurst. He was said to have made the house that then occupied the site his headquarters while his army camped in the earthwork nearby, prior to a battle against the Danish host on Berry Mound. The only documentary support for the story, and that no more than recorded hearsay, is the claim by the aggrieved peasants in 1221 that Swanshurst waste was theirs by original grant of King Alfred. After Eardley's death the house was bought as scrap by William A. Clarke of Moseley and demolished in 1917. Some of the timbers were used as decorative features in a new house called Swanshurst in Russell Road, Moseley. The barns were pulled down three years later, when Swanshurst Lane was about to be built up. The actual site of the old farm was behind the house called, in pursuance of the legend, Berry Mount.'

According to this site the house was called 'Berry Mount' as opposed to mound.
 
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Stokkie said:
Sue, do you know the Acocks Green History Society? https://aghs.jimdofree.com/swanshurst-quarter-1/swanshurst-quarter-2/
This says: '...in 1906 an eccentric solicitor (Stanbury Eardley) went to live in the ruin. He believed that it stood on the site of a Saxon chapel, claiming to have found the roof and fluted wooden pillars of its chancel. It was Eardley who revived or invented he story of King Alfred's association with Swanshurst. He was said to have made the house that then occupied the site his headquarters while his army camped in the earthwork nearby, prior to a battle against the Danish host on Berry Mound. The only documentary support for the story, and that no more than recorded hearsay, is the claim by the aggrieved peasants in 1221 that Swanshurst waste was theirs by original grant of King Alfred. After Eardley's death the house was bought as scrap by William A. Clarke of Moseley and demolished in 1917. Some of the timbers were used as decorative features in a new house called Swanshurst in Russell Road, Moseley. The barns were pulled down three years later, when Swanshurst Lane was about to be built up. The actual site of the old farm was behind the house called, in pursuance of the legend, Berry Mount.'

According to this site the house was called 'Berry Mount' as opposed to mound.
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Thanks for that information. It must have been the same story that my Uncle found and decided to call the house Berry Mound(t). This is what I wanted to hear really, any information on the history of the old farmhouse. I know from my mother that the lake in Swanshurst Park was at the back of these houses and one year it flooded and when it subsided it left lots of fishes in their garden. Another year my above mentioned uncle rescued a neighbour's son from the frozen lake! I will have to look at the Acocks Green History Society. Thanks for your help.
 
You are very welcome, Sue. Ernest Justice Stanbury-Eardley who died in 1907 was an extraordinary character. He was a barrister then a solicitor, but also quarrelled violently abused the magistrates and was sent to prison for four months. He also became bankrupt and features in many newspaper articles. It is perfectly possible his claims about King Alfred are fantasy. But Swanshurst Farm was a striking building.
 
There are a number of articles (too many to post here) and it would seem he was a very eccentric person. Choosing to reside in the derelict Swanshurst Farm.
 
Thank you so much both of you, such an interesting story to attach to our family history! I will have to look in the newspapers round about that time to get more. I am glad I found this forum with so many interested people. Will keep on looking in!
 
Unfortunately I don't have any photos of our house in Swanshurst Lane but am enquiring of other members of the family so hope I will find some! Looking back at Ernest Stanbury I found that on 1871 census he was living with his father, was aged 17 and the address was Sare Hole, Yardley, Solihull, Worcestershire. When he married May Welsford in December 1895 he was Ernest Justice Stanbury Eardley aged 41, Counsel in the law and his residence was Berry Mound, Shirley. He gave same address on Electoral rolls 1898, 1903 and 1905. So he obviously had a strong interest in the story of Berry Mound! From the 1903/5 electoral rolls he had an interest in Low Brook farm with 70 acres. On the 1898 Electoral Register he was living at Berry Mound, near Shirley and had an interest in freehold houses and land in Knighton, near Avon Dassett. I don't know where the Eardley came from yet but am enjoying finding out about this rather interesting character. My family name on my father's side was Bloxham and there are a few of these around Burton Dassett villages including three on the same page of the electoral register as Ernest! Small world. So much quicker these days with the Internet, when I started it was a lot of visits to Birmingham library!
 
Good luck, Sue! Ernest Stanbury-Eardley must have had a robust physical constitution to live in the ruined farmhouse. The Evening Dispatch Thursday Feb 1 1907 carries an obituary. The conclusion touches on what must be Swanshurst Farm. Screenshot 2023-06-08 at 20.58.38.jpeg
 
Just to show the two houses - his Father lived at Springfield in Springfield Road. The two roafds are on opposite sides of Wake Green Road.
1686409928450.png
 
Stanbury Eardley lived in Peterbrook Road Solihull Lodge, from his window he would have great view of the Iron Age hill fort Berry/Bury Mound/Mount. I read that he bought Swanshurst Farm with a view to rebuilding it, naming it Berry Mound. I do have a photo of his house in Peterbrook Road that I'll post later when I find it.
 
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