• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Oscott Colleges (old Oscott And New Oscott)

Lovely photo's and information Brian you are a wealth of knowledge. It was lovely to see you today as well.
 
HI Lynne,

Took leaf out of your book - just walked up and knocked on the Door!
Great to see Wendy in KH earlier - she's just itching to shift some leaves again!

Brian
 
bri i always think that you lose nowt by asking...so long as we are polite and i always say i am a member of this forum and so far i have always had good results..nice to see wend down at KH again...

lyn
 
morning tospy...well im not really expecting to find much but you never know...its always worth trying...got me sat nav ready lol..

lyn
 
There used to be an old peoples home up there somewhere, went with mom some years ago to visit a friend. Don,t know if it still there.It would be nice to talk to some of the folk now about their memories.
 
well done viv..your powers of deduction were spot on..i stopped an eldery couple walking nearby and asked them if they knew the history of the area and luckily they did...church goers themselves they were able to confirm that the fenced off ground that i saw was indeed the burial ground of the nuns from the convent or as they said anyone who had anything to do with the convent..its just to the right of maryvale house/institute and up until as late as the early 80s it was taking in orphan children...the lady i was talking to advised me to go round to the little sisters of assumption convent and they will be only to happy to let me have more info and she gave me the names of two of the nuns who i should ask for..i will do this another time as they may also have some old pics in their archives... i am just sorting out some pics to post...
 
maryvale house..
image.jpeg


you can see the bell on the wall..

image.jpeg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
maryvale house on the left..the burial ground on the right behind the fence..

image.jpeg

camera through the fence to take pics of the overgrown burial ground

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow lyn ,you did well. It looks a bit lonely there. You managed to sort the puzzle out though. How lucky to bump into that nice couple.
 
popped round to the back of maryvale and asked if i could take some pics and i was given a copy of this years maryvale institute prospectus which i will have a look at when i can as it may have some more info in it..here are a few piccies of the back of the building...all in all a profitable outing today...image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg


there is the bell again on the wall on the right..

image.jpeg

image.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    191.7 KB · Views: 4
Last edited by a moderator:
TOPSYTURVEY said:
Wow lyn ,you did well. It looks a bit lonely there. You managed to sort the puzzle out though. How lucky to bump into that nice couple.
Click to expand...

hi topsy i only went where viv sent me lol....but yes the burial ground looks very lonely indeed...not a headstone in sight...
 
Last edited:
i forgot to say topsy that the couple were only to happy to talk to me and i had to laff when the lady said when you go to visit the nuns at the covent just them i sent you and she gave me her name lol..she said most of them are into their 90s but have very good memories..
 
You're a treasure Lyn! This is a great result and your photos are great. Well done. The house looks in excellent condition, pity the burial ground is so overgrown. But what a great achievement to be able to locate it. Brilliant! Viv.
 
hi viv..i am so pleased that we sorted this one out...and yes the building is in excellent condition..i went inside just to have a quick word and i was given that book and from what i could see the inside is also in good condition..i didnt stay long but i did notice how tiny the doors inside were..when time permits i still want to pay a visit to the convent...


.i wonder if key hill brian is up for tidying the burial ground....only joking bri lol
lyn
 
Hi Lyn. I'd think that would be a great project. It's interesting that there're no headstones - well who knows what's under all the brambles etc.? Bet you could do with a rest now. Now tomorrow do you think you could pop along to ............. lol. Oh and I must say it's good that you and Brian have managed to make contact with the convent which has so much history. Viv.
 
well all i can say is viv that its a good job you live in kent now cos if you were still round here me and you would cause chaos in brum lol

ps i still think brian should get his barrow and spade over there...
 
True Lyn, I'm a bit of a dog with a bone - tend not to give up 'til I find answers! Pity I'm not up there though, as a I'd love to get in there and do a bit of clearing. Oh well ...... Viv.
 
just to sum up the history of maryvale...

image.jpeg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Looking at the map that was posted on another thread here I noticed that Oscott College wasn't where I thought it would be.

I live on the Chester Road close to where Gibbets Hill is marked on the map and all other landmarks seem to relate (Beggars Bush, railway line etc) but Oscott College looks to be marked (at a guess) somewhere between modern day Banners Gate and Kingstanding Circle. I would assume it was opposite Gibbets Hill on the other side of the Chester Road.

What am I missing? Was there two Oscott Colleges? the one opposite Gibbets Hill (St Mary's) isn't marked and I believe it opened in 1838 (before this map was published)
 
Dashers

I think the problem is that the person who originally did that map thought he was was Rip Van Winkle. The map actually seems to be virtiually a copy of the c1834 OS map , which can be seen below. The date c1880 is wrong
Mike

OS_map_c_1834_Oscott_areaA.jpg
 
I see, in which case St Mary's had yet to be built in 1834.

So any idea what the Oscott College marked on the map is?
 
A little digging on google tells me it is now the Maryvale Institute on Old Oscott Hill, near to Cardinal Wiseman's school / Church

Thanks for the info Mike, never realised the history behind that place
 
Hi Dashers. I've pulled together a summary of the history about the two colleges. It is confusing, but hopefully this explains. Viv.

OLD OSCOTT/ St Mary's Institute/Maryvale Institute located down Old Oscott Hill:
- the Old Oscott site has been in Catholic occupation since the Middle Ages.
- originally it was 'Oscott House'
- it came to the Church in 1702 at the bequest of Father Andrew Bromwich who had inherited this property from his family. The house was bequeathed to pay for a priest in the area. It became the first seminary to open in England after the Reformation
- the house was re-built in 1752 as St Mary's Institute
- in 1794 it became a college for boys and ecclesiastics
- by 1837 the college and school had outgrown the Old Oscott site
- Old Oscott College at this point became a prep school, retaining its close links with the new college
- it has the historic Chapel of the Sacred Heart
- it was the home of John Henry Newman (later Cardinal) for a few years after becoming a Cathiolic in 1845, who named it 'Maryvale'. His rooms were next to the Chapel
- it's now home to an Order of Nuns originating in Sweden

NEW OSCOTT/ once also known as St Mary's College - located near Chester Road:
- built 1838
- this new college was built at New Oscott (so named to distinguish it from Old Oscott. The Old Oscott College having become too small)
- it was near to the Chester Rd/College junction, built on the site of Holdford Farm
- the new college was built on top of a hill, surrounded by trees and on open heathland
- the members, on removal from their old home at Old Oscott, settled into the new college with a 7 hour ceremony of consecration
- despite having outgrown Old Oscott, not too long after the transfer to this new college, it received a lot of donated artifacts, which quickly filled the space
- today they train members of the laity for their mission in the church, and hold seminars and lectures, etc. They also do a lot of educational work with teachers and advisers for R.C. Schools
 
I have spoken to my daughter who attended Cardinal Wiseman and she tells me there is a memorial garden to the side of the school where a bench was placed for a pupil that died. She also said that talk at the school (and some of it was from history lessons) was that it was a buriel ground and the school was built on some of that ground. I have circled where she says the memorial garden is and she also tell me you have to enter the school main gates then go through a side gate to get there.

cardinal wiseman memorial bench2.jpg
 
Does anyone know how far New Oscott College land extended please? I've noticed on several old maps that there is a swimming pool (near Turfpits Lane) and a cricket ground and pavilion. It always seemed a strange place to have these but if they were connected to the college it would make sense. There was also a large farm on the College Road side of the land.
 
A few years ago I read a biography of one of the priests/teachers of Old Oscott. It was primarily about Augustus Pugin who studied there. It went way back in history but in the early 1800s the College owned an awful lot of land, had a farm, pond etc and reached all over the area, including Perry Barr. The children who attended/boarded at the Old College used to swim in the pond. So wouldn't be at all surprised. I expect the land at Old Oscott still belongs to the new College too, including the school and St Mary's/Maryvale on Old Oscott hill. Viv.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top