Broomfield House Wellhead Lane

[Vivienne14]

It's taken some searching, but I might finally have a lead on Bromfield House. This snippet puts it in Birchfield, the home of a Mr Kynoch, perhaps the Kynoch's who owned the local Kynoch's works in Witton ? May be just enough info to follow up ?


Source: British Newspaper Archive

 

[mikejee]

George Kynoch is listed in directories as at Bromfield house from the 1867 Birmin gham directory . He might have been there earlier also, but do not think earlier ones included, or were patchy with inclusion, of the area outside Birmingham itself. Till 1882 it is described only as in Perry Barr. In 1883 the name seems to change to Broomfield house, and it is described as being in Wellhead Lane , Perry Barr. Between 1884 and 1888 he has moved to Hamstead Hall, and has added MP to his name. Not clear if the Bomfield and Broomfield houses are the same

 

[Vivienne14]

Thanks Mike. Broomfield was by Franchise Street,


Source: British Newspaper Archive

 

[Vivienne14]

Broomfield was at the junction of Wellhead Lane and Franchise Street, opposite the brewery. Map is 1902. It was demolished in 1915.

It would have been on the site by the Kynochs gate, now Eden Boy's School on Streetview.

 

[Vivienne14]

I shall move Broomfield House information to a separate thread.

Edit- posts now moved to this thread.

 

[Vivienne14]

And possibly sometimes referred to as "Bloomfield House".

Source: British Newspaper Archive

 

[A Sparks]

Broomfield was at the junction of Wellhead Lane and Franchise Street, opposite the brewery. Map is 1902. It was demolished in 1915.

It would have been on the site by the Kynochs gate, now Eden Boy's School on Streetview.
View attachment 198318
View attachment 198319

I love the old map!
My junior school, Birchfield Road shown towards the left near the junction of the Birchfield and Aldridge Roads.
On occasion we would use a sports ground nearby which I think would have been what is marked as 'cricket ground' on the map - interesting to find out that would have been where Broomfield House was next to!

 

[pjmburns]

1908 Kelly's direcxtory

 

[Vivienne14]

Yes Anne, it's surprising how much green space there was even up to the early 1900s.

Thanks Janice, we now have a number for Broomfield. I'm trying to work out when the house was built, if only a rough guide. It's showing on the 1895 map. Convenient for Mr Kynoch's Lion Works.

Can't really make anything out on the 1834 map. If the house was there by this time, would it have been around Lower Witton ? Maybe next to the 'L' in Lower ? Not too sure.

And the Kynoch operation in Witton seems to have only really got going around the 1860s, so maybe Kynoch built the house sometime around that time.


1895





1834

 

[Vivienne14]

I think this 1860s anonymous watercolour of the Lion/Kynoch Works at Witton is looking away from Perry Barr and south towards the railway. Maybe the house would have been to the right, but out of view, or perhaps it was still to be built. On the 1902 map Broomfield looks like a substantial building.

 

[pjmburns]

I checked 1899 Kelly's and it just said 44 Jones Edward without the Broomfield.

 

[mikejee]

Small scale, but no sign of the house in 1862

 

[Vivienne14]

There was an Athletics Club in the grounds of Broomfield in 1886. I think the pavilion for the ground shows on the 1902 and 1895 maps. The 1902 map marks the ground as a cricket ground.


Source: British Newspaper Archive

 

[mikejee]

The revised 1938 6 inch map shows Bloomfield