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Stratford House Camp Hill

S

sparky

proper brummie kid
When I was a lad back in the mid 1950's on my way to school, I used to walk past the Ship Hotel on Camp Hill, along Stratford Place and cross the Moseley Road to Chandos Road.
I remember a story about a tunnel that was discovered below Stratford Place that linked the Ship Hotel to Stratford House. I was told that it was thought to be an escape route for Prince Rupert in the Civil War.

Does anyone else recall this story?
 
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Was pleasantly surprised to learn that this large yeoman's farmhouse, Stratford House, Camp Hill, is still standing and looks in good condition too. Built in 1601 by Ambrose and Bridget Rotton, it echoes the same style as Blakesley Hall (where, in fact, Bridget was born). Another jewel in the Birmingham crown. I've attached an extract from Bill Dargue's History of Birmingham place names ..... Viv.
 

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Thanks Janice. Like similar buildings, it seems it has had a precarious past and gone forward with a shaky future. Glad LMS decided in the end to keep it standing - but I note this was only after a lot of pressure. An unexpected positive outcome in that nearby road changes resulted in less traffic passing it's front door! Viv.
 
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Indeed, a lovely building which has survived much of what man has tried to throw at it over the centuries. The miracle is that it survived the 20th. century. A building to enhance the City.
 
It's not looking quite as bad as I imagined it might. Hope it's repaired quickly. Viv.
 
great to see it being restored but i wonder what it will be used for after the work is completed

lyn
 
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Don’t know best thread to put this clip concerning Stratford House, Camp Hill. Please move if there is one.

One that was saved? The clip is one of the sketches in the 1950 Birmingham Gazette by John L Baker, and the future of the building was of concern. It survived, but at present seemed to be fenced.

Bill Dargue gives a description of the house, and a present picture, under Camp Hill...

https://billdargue.jimdo.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-c/camp-hill

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This was it in the 1900s. Today it stands alone, nothing to the left or right of the building, or even in front of it as the edge of a wall in the postcard suggests. Viv.image.jpeg
 
It narrowly escaped the bulldozers in 1952. It was scheduled as an ancient monument. Viv.

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It was also nearly demolished in 1926 when LMS bought it with a view to demolishing it. According to Bill Dargue's site it was saved by 1930. This clipping is from Birmingham Gazette May 6th 1929.
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A drawing from 1854 (Library of Birmingham image) when the building was being used as a school. Viv.

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Some more snippets of history about the house. Today it feels like an underrated building, yet it has significance in Birmingham's history. It's been to the brink of demolition more than once, but thankfully still survives.
Screenshot_20250707_061455_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20250707_061508_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20250707_061730_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20250707_062631_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20250707_061243_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20250707_060659_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20250707_061039_Chrome.jpg
Source: British Newspaper Archive
 
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The application included moving a road
Listed Building Consent for the removal of trees, formation of car park and formation of knot garden in front of building requiring the stopping-up of Stratford Place and the reconfiguration of adjacent roads and land

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I hope that the building is still there! It was a major part of my younger life. From 1955 to 1965, when we lived in a back house in Auckland Road I passed the house on the way to the Alhambra picture house on Saturday mornings on Moseley Road, to play in Highgate Park or just rode our bikes around the block. I would often stop outside that house and wonder of all the sights that it had seen. It seemed a magical dream amongst the industrial squalor of the 1950,s. It must be preserved and enjoyed at all costs!
 
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