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Calthorpe Park

Do any of you remember any stories of a gypsy camp in Court rd (back end of calthorp park)early 1900s
there were around half dozen caravans on site the name of one family was White
 
I wonder if anyone has any information about the two cannon guns at Calthorpe park they were given to the city after the Boar War and later removed from the park. One of the cannons can be seen in Mikes lovely photo.
 
Here you go Wendy. Seems they were from the Crimean War period.

Suzanne
 

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Thank you so much Suzanne a lovely piece of info. That has corrected me as it was the Crimean war! I now wonder what ever happened to them?
 
Hi Wendy: Had a look around for the cannons thanks to Suzanne's great info. It looks as though the cannons were those that were captured from the Russians during the Crimean War. They could have been melted down in WW2. Bit more investigating about that fact and also who captured them and presented them to Queen Victoria. I didn't know that the first Victoria Cross medals were made from bronze used in a captured Chinese made cannon used by the Russian Army at Sebastopal https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/victoria_cross.htm
 
A bit more to add to what is becoming a bit of a mystery. It seems that many cannons were captured in the Battle of Sebastopal and brought
to Britain. One of the accounts of their capture states that two cannons were given to major cities in Britain. This doesn't look to be the case since there are captured Russian cannons in many places in Britain small and large towns. Also, regarding the Victoria Medal site with the information about the metal being used to make the
Victoria Crosses, etc... an author has written a book refuting these facts. The article is here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1506463/Author-explodes-myth-of-the-gunmetal-VC.html
 
Jennyann
Mr Glanfield may have written a book stating these facts, but much of this was already known . He was to publish the book , according to the article, in January 2006. I visited the woolwich site in Sept. 2004 and at that time the label on the guns was as below .

2004_0227woolwichArsenal0022a.jpg
 
mikejee said:
Phil
I think this is what you were looking for, taken about 1920. According to "Edgebaston, a history" by Terry Slater, there was originally an octangonal rereshments pavilion (which is shown in the map about 1913). Lord Calthorpe, full of good works, at first leased the park to the council for £3 /annum, but originally insisted on it not opening on sundays, when those it was mostly aimed at would be able to use it. He also originally insisted on no dogs or smoking in the park. These restrictions were removed and the rent increased to £5/annum. It was opened in 1st June 1857 and in 1871 it was given to the council , apparently after much argument because the council had allowed the crime of bicycling in the park.
Mike

Calthorpe20park20gatehouse20c201920.jpg
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The monkey puzzle tree on the right of this picture is still there, but of course nearly 100 years taller
 
Thank you Jennyann and Mike great info. I have been told the cannons were removed to a memorial garden but which one?
 
I saw a cannon in the Museum Collections Centre on Dollman Street. Not sure if it was the one you are refering to or not (no sign with information)


 
Thanks ellbrown I don't know either but will try and find out thanks.
 
I think there were signs, but I didn't notice them the first time I past them (was concentrating on the bronze busts).
 
The cannons in the picture look older than I would have expected . Below is a picture of the ones at woolwich, the metal from which from which (some of) the VCs were produced. These look much newer.
Apparently ones were also presented to Leeds at the same time , and it looks like these were melted down for scrap in the war ( https://www.secretleeds.com/forum/Messages.aspx?ThreadID=4376 ),


2005_0227woolwichArsenal0021a.jpg
 
The steam train ran on an above ground portable track put up on the black patch next to the river rea. I rode on it when I was a kid in the 1950's. I think it must have belonged to a group or club of some kind, it wasn't there permanently and was put up on summer weekends and such. The black patch as it was referred to was the area bounded by Cheddar Rd Edward rd and the river rea. I remember it was some kind of cinders or clinker, very course material. Sorry no pictures just memories. Where you are in Aboyne close used to be big houses on Pershore rd with back gardens that stretched half way to Bristol rd. Quite a few big houses along the Bristol rd were heavily damaged by the bombing in WW2 and maybe some in Pershore rd too.
 
hi mike- phil ;
have got any of the hot house where the bannas was growing we went there in the mid fiftys
the tree was was matured and had a couple of bannas on thjem ; it was really hot in there [
i seem to have taken a pathe to the right of the park which was close to the centrewould be great if you have ; best wishes astonian;;
 
Here is an article from The Birmingham Mail 6 Feb 1929. This explains what happened to the tank and Crimean guns.


Guns_at_Calthorpe_Park.jpg
 
ellbrown said:
Carl Chinn's article about Calthorpe Park opening in 1857 ...

Carl Chinn: Right royal fanfare for Birmingham park's opening
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Dr Carl tell us...

"As for the tenure of Calthorpe Park, this was unsettled for many years. Then in 1871, Lord Calthorpe and his two brothers generously agreed to a deed of renunciation which ‘enabled his lordship to make a grant of the land to the Corporation for the purpose to which it had been dedicated’."

But earlier in July 1870 Lord Calthorpe annoyed residents and had the Volunteers up in arms!

July 1870...

"Lord Calthorpe intends to resume possession of a potion of Calthorpe Park, which has been open to the public for many years as a place of recreation. The portion which it is understood his worship intends to take possession of is that fronting the Pershore Road, and the buildings will, in all probability, be erected upon it. The owners of the houses on the opposite side, not dreaming that a prospect of bricks and mortar would be substituted for the park, consider they have a grievance; the Volunteers who since the movement was started have been in the habit of parading there, are up in arms against the threatened resumption; and thousands of frequenters of the park are already protesting against it....it must be remembered that Lord Calthorpe proposes to give an equal quantity of land at the other end of the park."

I personally don't agree with that Lord Calthorpe was that "generous," it was just in keeping with what was expected for a Victorian gentleman of his stature. It seems here that he had realised that there was money to be made by erecting "Buildings." Around the same time, on the Perry estate, he had leased some land for the Perryhall Colliery Company, no doubt for the mineral royalties.

Lord Calthorpe was a very rich chap. As well as Perry Hall, he had a pad in Grosvenor Square and in 1870, he had a French Renaissance style house, Woodlands Vale, built near Ryde on the Isle of Wight. And of course there was the family Home at Elvetham Estate in Hampshire.

But perhaps I am wrong the family still have plans to give Edgebaston its heart back!

https://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/commercial-property/rich-list-2015-no21-sir-8481310
 
I played in Calthorpe Park sometimes as a boy in the late 1950s. I don't recall the cannons or the steam train. All I remember is a small play area with the usual swings and a roundabout. I think that particular roundabout was a "witches' hat" type, made of tubular metal that formed a skeletal cone towards the middle. I think that one was at Calthorpe, but I'm not certain. Regards, Ray.
 
Ray

This is how I remember Calthorpe park as a nipper, we are talking 1951 -52 certainly before the Coronation. I remember the prefabs at the Clevedon Road end of Cheddar Rd. The miniature train ran from A marked on to B and the swings etc. were at the point I have marked C as far as I can remember there was a row of about 6 swings a witches hat, A tubular Steel roundabout and a platform type roundabout that was sectioned with handrails. I also have a vague memory of a slide but that seemed to disappear about the same time as the train.
 

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Pedrocut said:
July 1870...
"Lord Calthorpe intends to resume possession of a potion of Calthorpe Park, which has been open to the public for many years as a place of recreation. The portion which it is understood his worship intends to take possession of is that fronting the Pershore Road, and the buildings will, in all probability, be erected upon it. "
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It doesn't look like that ever happened as the Park still goes all the way to the Pershore Road. According to a rough map from 1870 Calthorpe Park ended at the Rea. This was before they moved the river so that would mean the back of the park hasn't really been extended that way either. If anything it looks like houses were built at the back of the park on what might or might not have been park land after the river moved.
 
I have a vivid memory of going to Calthorpe park in the winter of 1951 or 52. The ponds were frozen over and lights had been erected and me and my sister ice skated in the evening. It is difficult to imagine this ever happening now. Even if the weather was cold enough for the ponds to freeze the Health and Safety brigade would soon put a stop to it.

Does anyone else have any recollections of this or any photos?

Regards from Redruth

Arnold
 
When I was a child around 1970 ish I was taken one Sunday afternoon to a park in Birmingham to see the Apollo space capsule, all I can remember was it was a park, it was sunny, it was a Sunday afternoon and the queues were massive - my question where did I go?
I remember seeing this battered tin can but had this understanding it was important

Apologise if this is elsewhere but I could not find a posting. Feel free to relocate if necessary
Thankyou
Steve
 
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