Thanks for posting the link Janice. Below I’ve summarised some history using those documents about Heaton House residents, it’s industrial occupancy and features of the House for ease of reference, as the documentation is quite unwieldy. It’s interesting that the larger site (House and surrounding buildings) became known as Heaton House, so not just the House itself.
I am also pulling out photos from the various planning documents as it shows some old features. I shall post these later. Surprisingly some have survived. But don’t know if they’ll survive the current reincarnation. Viv.
Residents of Heaton House
William Cottrell (Cotterill), a bachelor, was a leading Birmingham merchant. Very little is known about him, but he was paying rates/levy on a property in Camden Street from 1823. He died intestate on 28 June 1828 at the age of 54. A settlement on the House was made in August 1828.
His younger brother Thomas, a wealthy bachelor, subsequently took up residence at Heaton House. He continued to live at the House until 1860. He died aged 81 in August 1860 in London, also a bachelor.
The House was bought by Joseph Wedgwood who rented it out to Richard Corbett Brinton in the late 1860s, the last private resident.
Industrial occupancy of Heaton House
1870 Heaton House was rented by Harris and Lazarus, general factors. Rates records still list it as “House, Stables, Lofts and Premises”
1871 occupied by Lazarus, Burnett & Co. At this time the premises were rated as “House, Warehouse, Stable, Lofts and Premises”
1876 the property was sub-divided; one portion was being leased by Archibald Nicholson, travelling draper, the rest briefly used by the London, Birmingham and Havana Cigar Co.
1879 the House was being used by Davies and Peak, paper merchants.
c1880s Richard Cruikshank acquired the House and it was soon absorbed into the chemical works next door. Cruikshank ceased trading in Camden Street in 1964.
c1880s the site was bought from Wedgwood by Henry Phillips
1886, part of the House was empty and the rest (House, Stables and Coach house) was occupied by Samual Jessop and Joseph Ellis.
Heaton House and grounds features
Shown on the John Piggot Smith map of 1828 (surveyed 1824), the House is in a high status area of large houses and gardens. Heaton House was set in spacious grounds.
The House was almost a square structure with a narrow wing on the south-eastern corner leading to Camden Street. A carriageway from a gated entrance on the street gave access to the north entrance to the House with a large forecourt area in front. Paths from this area gave access to the shrubbery and informal gardens to the north and west. It may have had a formal kitchen garden to the south, as well as a coach house and stables. In the late 1860s some of this area was sold off and Camden Villa was built.
By 1904 the area around Heaton House had been completely built upon.
By 1967-1976 the whole block was collectively known as Heaton House. Sometime during this period, Camden Villa was demolished. Heaton House continued to exist embedded in the later surrounding sheds and workshops.
Heaton House retained its residential internal plan until the 1940s and was used as offices and welfare accommodation.
After 1964 when Cruikshank ceased trading, the property was subdivided into commercial and industrial units.
c2005 the property has since been vacant.