I came across this on eBay. What a great item, except it looks a bit new to me. It claims to be original. So I looked up some history.
"Before the Park and Pool lands were transferred into a charitable trust it was held by a private company. Those early founders of the company lived in Moseley and each held shares, usually ten or twenty only, which by tradition were transferred at their face value of £1 per share when a shareholder sold their Moseley property.
In those early days subscribers to the Park and Pool were issued with a big old key like the one illustrated here which operated the three entrance gates.
That key was not changed for many, many years. Perhaps a century. Subscribers were on trust to pay their annual dues or return their key. Most did, some did not. Like the shares these keys often passed with a neighbouring property.
This key was left in a house in Chantry Road backing on to the Park and Pool when the property passed into its current ownership some twenty years ago."
"Before the Park and Pool lands were transferred into a charitable trust it was held by a private company. Those early founders of the company lived in Moseley and each held shares, usually ten or twenty only, which by tradition were transferred at their face value of £1 per share when a shareholder sold their Moseley property.
In those early days subscribers to the Park and Pool were issued with a big old key like the one illustrated here which operated the three entrance gates.
That key was not changed for many, many years. Perhaps a century. Subscribers were on trust to pay their annual dues or return their key. Most did, some did not. Like the shares these keys often passed with a neighbouring property.
This key was left in a house in Chantry Road backing on to the Park and Pool when the property passed into its current ownership some twenty years ago."
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