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Sutton Park History

  • Thread starter Thread starter O.C.
  • Start date Start date
mw0njm. said:
what ever next

he wild man of Sutton park.​



It is difficult to believe that a man could be living wild dressed in tree bark and leaves only 9 miles away from this country’s second largest city, however if the witness testimonies are to be believed this is in fact a reality.
Sutton Park which covers an area of 2,400 acres in the West Midlands is said to be the place where the mystery man has been seen and where over the last few months numerous sightings of him have been made. He has aquired the name Bark Foot as his feet have been seen wrapped in tree bark which have been made into a primitive form of foot wear, his hat also has been formed of what I presume to be made of Birch bark.
Patrick Sheehy told his cousin Oliver how he was jogging through the nature reserve one morning last May when he took a short cut through one of the Holly groves when he collided with a man cooking sausages in a frying pan over an open fire, dressed in his birch bark suit.
A local reporter discovered the remains of a makeshift shelter with a fireplace and frying pan. From April to June this den was covered with blue plastic sheeting, according to John Fowler whose dog took him to the site in November 2003, he went on to say that “It was quite well hidden, about 40yards off a path and covered with holly branches and bushes”, “Quite a few times you could see smoke coming out of the top”. It seems that Bark Foot is actually breaking the law by making the park his home as an old by law forbids anyone from taking up residence in the park.
Mrs L Smith met Bark Foot at about 6.30pm on the 25th of July when he emerged from Queens Coppice, a clump of trees on one of the hills in the park. He was covered with tree bark and leaves and his bark shoes were tied together using thin saplings. He was holding a charred frying pan which had a big hole in its middle. He asked her if she had any sausages, she said she hadn’t but offered him some fudge which he took before he disappeared into the undergrowth.
Peter Molesworth encountered the wild man as he walked his dog Zeberdee at 5.30 one morning in August. He described him as about 5ft 10in in height, 60 years old and very rough looking. He was wearing a cowboy style hat made from tree bark and a long one piece overcoat which looked as though it had been woven from leaves and reeds. He had as usual with him his trusty frying pan and around a dozen sausages and he offered Peters dog one, however Peter told him his dog had already eaten. The wild man went on to identify himself as Larchey, or Larry Larch and said that he had been living in a tree house that he had constructed somewhere in the park, he also went on to say that at some time in the past he had used to be a bottle opener designer from Hemel hempstead, a sort of poor mans suburban Crocodile Dundee!
It is not known whether the wild man is still alive as this item was taken from the Sutton Coldfield Observer which appeared on the 6th of August 2004, however the park is so vast that the possibility remains that he is still alive living on his fried sausages and avoiding the likes of you and me!
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So where did he get his sausages from? If a local butcher you would expect a lot more sightings.
 
Nick Phillips said:
Are people aware that Sutton was once outside Birmingham boundaries.

I cant remember the date but it would have been around 1960 ish, I'm sure some one will remember the date.

If you lived in Sutton you would get a sticker for your car if you lived outside Sutton you had to pay to enter.

Nick Phillips
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i remember the sticker
 
Again this is from Memory, when it became apart of Birmingham ( I also think it was before West Midlands ).

The sign "YOU ARE INTERING ROYAL SUTTON COLDFIELD" were going to be removed. I think it was the residents got together to keep them in place.

Nick Phillips
 
see also

Sutton Coldfield

I am hoping someone may have an old map of Sutton Coldfied. I am looking for Aragon House which was on Tudor Hill, this was just on the edge of Sutton Park by the town Gate. There is an Aragon Close there now. The reason I am looking for any info on this is I have just recieved a letter from a...
birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
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Nick Phillips said:
Lloyd, thanks for that. I'm surprised that it was 1974 I would have thought it would have been much earlier.
I do remember that a lot of Sutton residents were unhappy it becoming apart of B'ham am I correct it was "Royal Sutton Coldfield?"

Nick Phillips
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Lloyd is spot on it was1974 and some residents were miffed . Their local Council vehicles livery was Sky Blue with Suttons Coat of arms on the doors.
 
Nick Phillips said:
Again this is from Memory, when it became apart of Birmingham ( I also think it was before West Midlands ).

The sign "YOU ARE INTERING ROYAL SUTTON COLDFIELD" were going to be removed. I think it was the residents got together to keep them in place.

Nick Phillips
A sign on the Sutton Road in Erdington
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oldMohawk said:
The sign apparently did not welcome us, they just let us know we were crossing the border into their Royal Town ....:D
index.php

shoothill
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I remember when you could drive into the park at Wyndley through the water.
G G Jean said:
I worked at Wyndley Leisure Centre for almost twenty years and on days when it wasn't raining I would go and feed the ducks and walk in the park. Such a lovely place to work too.
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I remember when after a night out in Sutton, I would take a short cut home and walk back towards Streetly, having missed or not tried for my last bus. It was very dark, but it seemed a good idea back then and it cut a fair few minutes off my walk.
 
They are on Wyndley Pool which was the only 'safe' pool to be on with average depth 4ft. Another view of curling on Wyndley Pool below
oldMohawk said:
It's Winter 1895 in Sutton Park and Wyndley Pool has frozen over but it has snowed so not ideal for curling. They stopped to pose - top hats, bowlers, handkerchiefs in top pockets and button style trousers on the right !
wyndley.jpg
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Janet Hunt said:
Found this site quoting poems about Sutton Coldfield park they are rather beautiful..

Sutton Park… In Verse – Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council

suttoncoldfieldtowncouncil.gov.uk suttoncoldfieldtowncouncil.gov.uk
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That's very interesting and has brought back a memory of my Dad telling us that someone from his family, Grandfather or Gt Grandfather I think it was, used to write poetry and one was about Sutton Park.

If I remember rightly it started off...
'The sun sinks low in Sutton Park'

I don't think it made it into print though!
 
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