Fairyfield House Great Barr

[Vivienne14]

This gem is a Grade II listed house, now converted into apartments. It's off Newton Road near High Beeches.

There are several aspects of it that echo Great Barr Hall. I wondered who built/owned it and who originally lived there. Anyone know who the family is featured in the B&W photo ? Would the building have had any connection with the Scott family ?

Here are the Historic England listing details:

SANDWELL MB NEWTON ROAD (off) SP 09 SW Great Barr 5/113 Fairyfield House, Fairyfield Court 25.2.49 II

House, now flats. Late C18. Stuccoed brick with hipped tile roof covered by felt. Gothick style. A symmetrical composition of two storeys and five bays. Windows sashed with Gothick glazing in architraves with pointed heads. First floor sill band. Central first floor window has architrave with pilasters and with an ogee head. The doorway has a pointed head under a porch which uses a Gothick order, with clustered columns, and a frieze with both triglyphs and quatrefoils. Chimneys set back to each side of ridge. The right-hand return wall is of four bays, the left-hand one blind and the second one blind on the ground floor. In the third bay is a Gothick doorcase, with a stair window above.

 

[A Sparks]

Some comments on a FB page, Great Barr Past and Present...

According to the 1851 Census a John Stubbs (born 1800) lived there with his wife Amelia F Stubbs (born 1789) together with three servants. John's occupation is down as a surgeon, own general practice, whether the practice was at the house it doesn't say. By 1861 they don't live there, and by 1871 a Stephen Stokes and his family and servants are there. No occupation given for Stephen, just at the time of the Census he was travelling in Spain.
....
To continue my earlier comments regarding Fairyfield House: I cannot find the house mentioned on the very first detailed census in 1841, so may be it hadn’t been build then. The 1881 Census still shows Stephen Stokes and family at the house with three servants and a cook, and has his profession as a J. P. County Stafford, Tanner - as Walsall was a main centre for leather production this would make sense. By 1891 the house was occupied by George R Jebb and his family + three servants, his profession Civil Engineer born in Shropshire. The 1901 Census has George away from home at the time but lists his family and servants. 1911 still doesn’t show George around but gives the names of his wife and four of his daughters, all daughters are single and in their 30’s (dear me, was Great Barr lacking in eligable young men!) + servants and stating that George’s wife Marrianne Jebb had Private Means. I suppose George being a Civil Engineer would probably travel a lot on his projects, may be to other parts of the world. No more Census records available after 1911 due the the 100 year ruling.
....
I heard it used to accommodate staff from the redhouse and great Barr hall. Its in the same style as the lodges around great Barr park like the bungalow near whitecrest. Not sure how true but from a person in the know.

 

[Vivienne14]

Very helpful, thank you !

 

[Pedrocut]

John Stubbs was a member of the Royal College of surgeons in 1823 with an address of Newhall Street. He died in his 60th year in 1859 at Faryfield House. There was a furniture sale in 1860.

 

[Vivienne14]

George Robert Jebb extracted from Wiki.
b1838, d16 February 1927. A civil engineer on railway and canal engineering, and became Vice-President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Born in 1838 in Baschurch, Shropshire, where his father John was stationmaster of Baschurch railway station, Jebb completed his engineering training as a student of Alexander Mackintosh

Jebb was later appointed as the Chief Engineer of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company (for which he designed many of the docks and warehouses of Ellesmere Port) and of the Birmingham Canal Navigations and was a director of the Glyn Valley Tramway. He was involved with many other engineering projects around the world.

He was a keen amateur botanist and corresponded with several journals of the period on British flora.

George Jebb died after a brief illness on 16 February 1927.

 

[Vivienne14]

I think the B&W photo in post #1 might be of the Stokes family (unless of course another family occupied the house between the Stokes and the Jebbs). The dress looks too early for it to be the Jebbs.

A bit of info about Stephen Stokes' business interests . He and John Negus, had a Walsall tannery business founded in 1851. Stokes acquired John Cox’s tannery in Rugeley in 1865.

 

[pjmburns]

1851 census entry for John Stubbs

 

[pjmburns]

1885 map

 

[pjmburns]

1861 it seems to beaccomaodation for servants