Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group

In summer 1868 the Royal Promenade Gardens were opened adjacent to the main gate of Sutton Park. Ten uncultivated acres were turned into gardens of great beauty: within a few years 20,000 rose bushes had been planted. There was an admis...

At the beginning of the 20th century there were four girls' elementary schools in Sutton Coldfield. There was, however, no secondary school. Older girls who wished to continue their schooling had to travel to Aston. For the next 30 years the ...

Bishop Vesey (1452-1554) is known as the great benefactor of Sutton Coldfield. He secured a charter which gave the town the powers of self-government, built a grammar school, a town hall and 51 stone cottages, paved the roads and provided inhabi...

In the final decades of the 19th century swimming became a very popular sport. There were two clubs in our town - Sutton Coldfield Swimming Club and Boldmere Swimming Club. Sutton Cold field Swimming Club was founded in 1885 with a membership ...

One summer's day in 1936 there was a huge picnic in Sutton Park. Between them 5,500 children consumed 200 41b loaves, 300 1lb brown loaves, 6,000 rolls, 2,600 sausage rolls, 22,000 cakes and 60 slabs of cake and drank 300 gallons of tea and 1...

Fires in Sutton Park were a perpetual concern for the warden and society and, after 1886, for the town council. Mostly these fires were confined to heather and gorse, but there were occasions when they damaged or destroyed trees. The fire in...

On bank holidays in the early part of the 20th century up to 40,000 non-residents would pay to enter Sutton Park.  The majority of these visitors did not venture into the depths of the park. They reclined on the grass, and, in late afte...

From the mid-1880s Sutton Park became an extremely popular destination for a day out. Huge numbers of people travelled by railway from Birmingham and Walsall, paying an admission charge at the gates. This was set at one penny for an adult and ...

During the winter months a century or so ago hundreds of skaters were attracted to the pools of Sutton Park." One of the best-known of these skaters was Colonel Howard Wilkinson of Four Oaks who, into his early 80s, continued to take to the i...

The buildings you can see in the photograph are no longer standing. The site was cleared in 1937 and is now occupied by Vesey Gardens. Look closely and you will be able to see the Royal Oak Inn. This pub was demolished in 1889 and replaced b...