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Windermere Rd Park/ground Saved

Morturn

Morturn

Super Moderator
Staff member
It appears that Birmingham Council in their infinite wisdom are attempting to privatise, through the back door, some of their parkland. So much for them telling the world that they are a “Green and Safe City”.


It appears that they are wanting to give away a large section of Windermere Road Recreation Ground/Park to a private cricket club. No one knew about this until work started on 5 April. I had to step in and stop the work on site. A significant section of the wildlife area had been destroyed before I managed to get the RSPCA out.


So how can the forum members help?


Apparently, the land was bequeathed to the Council by the sisters who lives in the big house called the Leasowes on Wake Green Road. They said that the land must be used for the benefit of the public. The Leasowes was where the school is now, marked in a red circle.


Does anyone know the name of these two sister’s, so we can get a copy of their will? I understand that this may have been in the late 40s early 50s.
Moseley Bog.JPG
 
IMG_1749.jpg

Not much help, but may provide the number of the house and the time was around 17 March 1942.

Morturn said:
It appears that Birmingham Council in their infinite wisdom are attempting to privatise, through the back door, some of their parkland. So much for them telling the world that they are a “Green and Safe City”.


It appears that they are wanting to give away a large section of Windermere Road Recreation Ground/Park to a private cricket club. No one knew about this until work started on 5 April. I had to step in and stop the work on site. A significant section of the wildlife area had been destroyed before I managed to get the RSPCA out.

So how can the forum members help?

Apparently, the land was bequeathed to the Council by the sisters who lives in the big house called the Leasowes on Wake Green Road. They said that the land must be used for the benefit of the public. The Leasowes was where the school is now, marked in a red circle.

Does anyone know the name of these two sister’s, so we can get a copy of their will? I understand that this may have been in the late 40s early 50s.
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Sadly the Council will say that the monies raised by the sale will be "for the benefit of the public".
Fingers crossed - but do not hold your breath!
 
Morning Morturn, the only thing I can suggest is that Central Library holds Post Office directories as you don't have a name you can search by road and it's probably the family home so earlier directories may help.
Other than that I seem to remember that you can search by address on Find My Past which is free until tomorrow. Perhaps somebody has access to this too.
I wish you lots of luck with this. I get so fed up with the Council doing exactly as they want rather than what the people want, need or deserve.
Up the Revolution I say!
Keep us posted on your campaign.
 
Key Hill Brian said:
Sadly the Council will say that the monies raised by the sale will be "for the benefit of the public".
Fingers crossed - but do not hold your breath!
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yes brian that is just what i was going to say...no doubt the council will have already covered their backs...

lyn
 
In 1939 the house was occupied by Percy and Arloe LEA who were born in 1896 and 1905. Maybe the sisters were their daughters?
 
IMG_1753.jpg

This map from around 1903 shows Leasowes and fields around it. The 1937 shows sports grounds.

Just may suggest that the land was given sometime between the dates?
 
I fail to see how a private cricket club benefits the public, and any weasel-words about the money being used for that purpose are very dubious. In the 1911 census, the occupant is widower Alfred Heath, 69, brassfounder, living just (other than servants) with his granddaughters Alfreda Heath (14) & Dorothy Sutton (17). would say they are likely to be the sisters concerned.
 
If the house was 170 (as in #3) then in 1945 3 ladies are listed on the electoral roll. Eva Worrall, Norah Nightingale and Ellen Foylan.

I live opposite these fields and have to say that as residents no one has consulted us. At the moment they provide a public amenity and need to remain such. Schools use the playing field at present and I wonder if they know they might lose this facility.
 
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How did Alfred Heath make his money? Yes he was a brass founder, but it looks like he had other interests including the Central Restaurant in Corporation Street in 1895.

Was he a philanthropist? The company mentioned in the clip shows that his residence is the Leasowes in 1895, but in 1886 it is the residence of a W Sabin. So did Alfred buy the house or rent it, and did the outlying land come with it?
 
Just wondering if the land was left to the council before the sports fields shown on the 1937 map. The 1904 map shows the land and just the Leasowes. Did they sell off land for the houses and give the rest to the council? I have a 1916 map which shows a house next to the Leasowes but still no sports ground.
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In 1912 Alfred Heath is listed in the rates books as owning The Leasowes and also some "land" . I have copied the page - his name is almost at the bottom. Unfortunately the books finish online at 1913 so I can't track the property. In 1920 he is listed as the only voter at The Leasowes with Aaron and Maud Strickland in the Leasowes Lodge.
 

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Just a thought - maps seem to show that the "Pickwick" ground and the sports field in question appeared at about the same time. I believe the Pickwick ground is owned by the Birmingham Mail - perhaps they might know more about when they acquired the land and who from?
 
By the way The Leasowes was opposite Moseley School playing field not where St Bernard's School is. Berkeley Croft is on the site - so the house was still there in the 1950s and early 60s which doesn't help us know when the land was handed over to the council.
 
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I think we have to back to Morturn and ask how the story of the two sisters from the big house (Leasowes) originated.

The building on the land around the Leasowes, along the perimeter bounded by roads, seems to have stated in earnest before the 1937. So land was being sold off, but did it belong to the Leasowes?

Going to the 1883 map there are quite a few field boundaries in the area, and they may have been bought by different people at the time of the Inclosure. There are mentions of the sales of lots of Inclosure, but we really need a tythe map.

Taking the two large fields above the big house on the 1937 map, and comparing to the map of 1883, the right hand one has been reduced by the erection of four dwellings, and the fields have been marked as sports grounds. If the land belonged to the Leasowes then it may give an idea of time of sale.

But is the link to the "sisters" a bit of oral history? Maybe it nowt to do with the Heath family? Janice discovered the death of an Alfred Heath living at the Leasowes in 1929. If this was AWH Snr then he would be 87, there is a chance that it could be his son AWH Jnr?

In 1911 AWH Snr, as shown above in the posts, was a widower at the Leasowes and had two grand daughters staying with him. I believe that one was the daughter of his son AWH Jnr, and the other of his daughter Frances Sutton. Both parents were alive at the time and they would not be sisters.
 
Pedrocut said:
....I think we have to back to Morturn and ask how the story of the two sisters from the big house (Leasowes) originated.....



....But is the link to the "sisters" a bit of oral history? Maybe it nowt to do with the Heath family?....
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I am quoting from some oral history from someone who thinks that they can remember the transaction.


Of course, as we well know, people do modify their memories to make sense of the past.


One of things I have just noticed is the person who told me about the sisters said that the Leasowes was where the school is now. However, transposing the old and new maps shows the school is built on the land of a house called Mel Valley, that is to the south of the Leaseowes.


So, they could have got the name of the house wrong.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Mel Valley has connections with the Foster Bros business. See quote from our Foster Bros thread below. Looks like the family had some sort of stud farm at Mel Valley. Wonder if this member can be of help Mort. Viv.

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https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...ster-brothers-clothing-company-limited.30555/
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In 1895 and 1898 Alfred Heath was also advertising the sale of what appears to be thoroughbred horses. For example a bay colt by Beau Brummel and Kate Glover.
 
Interesting that one. The description of the garden sounds like the Mel-Valley house, as this was known to have ornamental gardens, the remnants of are still there today.
 
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