Sutton Coldfield is a Royal town that forms an affluent middle class suburb within the city of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. It lies about 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Birmingham City Centre and borders Erdington, Streetly, North Warwickshire, Lichfield, Tamworth, Kingstanding and Castle Vale. In 2001, it had a population of 105,000. Historically in Warwickshire, it became part of Birmingham and the West Midlands in 1974.
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The Etymology of the name Sutton appears to be from South Town. The name “Sutton Coldfield” appears to come from this time, being the “south town” (i.e. south of Tamworth and/ or Lichfield) on the edge of the “col field”. “Col” is usually derived from “charcoal”, charcoal burners presumably being active in the area.
Etymology
Areas of Sutton Coldfield include: Boldmere, Falcon Lodge, Four Oaks, Little Aston, Mere Green, Minworth, Streetly, Walmley, Wylde Green Sutton Coldfield borders Erdington, the district of North Warwickshire and Lichfield and Tamworth in Staffordshire. The area in general is regarded as one of the most prestigious locations in the Birmingham area and even in Central England; a 2007 report placed two Sutton
Coldfield streets amongst the 20 most expensive in the United Kingdom. The northern stretch of the Birmingham city sandstone ridge culminates at Sutton Coldfield. Plants Brook rises in the area of Streetly and flows through Sutton Park and directly beneath the town centre, and then Plants Brook briefly flows through Erdington, notably Pype Hayes Park before returning to Sutton and culminating at Plantsbrook Nature Reserve in Walmley.
Geography
Sutton Coldfield Park
The main shopping centre is the Sutton Coldfield Mall, which was built in 1974 as ‘The Gracechurch Shopping Centre’. It changed its name after being bought by The Mall Company and was, by the end of 2008 rebranded ‘The Mall, Sutton Coldfield’. The Mall complex also includes a multi-storey car park. As a result of investment, the appearance of the shopping centre was improved in 2006 which included the installation of a glass roof above one of the walkways and the removal of a public square to
form a cafe and extra retail units. There are now plans to construct a food court above Bishop’s Court in the shopping centre. The shopping centre was formerly home to three bronze sculptures that depict, respectively, a boy and a girl on rollerskates, a boy with a dog, and a boy and a girl playing leapfrog, which have been moved to Rectory Park. A second shopping centre was named the Sainsbury Centre until Sainsbury’s closed their store; the name was later changed to “The Red Rose
Centre”. The centre has its own multi-storey car park with access from Victoria Road. Sutton Parade is a continuation of Birmingham Road and Lichfield Road (though there is a bypass for traffic). New Hall Walk is a row of shops built behind The Parade in the late 1990s. The company that manages the site also manages several of the shops on the Parade built at the same time. It has its own large outdoor car park. Opposite the Red Rose Centre, behind New Hall Walk, is a single
floor, indoor market facility known as the In Shops. The exterior of the building was improved in 2005. There are several local shopping parades serving the suburbs of Sutton, including “The Lanes” Shopping Centre in Wylde Green, at Walmley, at New Oscott (local shops and a large “out of town” style development similar to New Hall Walk called Princess Park), and at Boldmere Road.
The Mall
Retail
Boldmere, Falcon Lodge, Four Oaks, Little Aston, Mere Green, Minworth, Streetly, Walmley, Wylde Green Sutton Coldfield borders Erdington, the district of North Warwickshire and Lichfield and Tamworth in Staffordshire. The area in general is regarded as one of the most prestigious locations in the Birmingham area and even in Central England; a 2007 report by the website Mouseprice.com placed two Sutton Coldfield streets amongst the 20 most
expensive in the United Kingdom. The northern stretch of the Birmingham city sandstone ridge culminates at Sutton Coldfield. Plants Brook rises in the area of Streetly and flows through Sutton Park and directly beneath the town centre, and then Plants Brook briefly flows through Erdington, notably Pype Hayes Park before returning to Sutton and culminating at Plantsbrook Nature Reserve in Walmley.
Food
Parkland The area is home to Sutton Park, one of the largest urban parks in Europe and the largest outside London. It has an area of 2,224.2 acres (9.001 km2) and is used as part of the course for the Great Midlands Fun Run, sponsored by the Sutton Coldfield Observer. The park is a national nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. New Hall Valley, which separates Walmley and Maney, is the location of New Hall Valley Country Park, which was opened formally on 29 August 2005. It has an area of 160 acres (0.65 km2) and within
it is New Hall Mill, which is one of only two working watermills in the West Midlands. The mill is privately owned but is open to the public several times a year. There are also several nature reserves including Plants Brook Nature Reserve, in Walmley, and Hill Hook Nature Reserve. On the border between Sutton Coldfield and Erdington is the extensive Pype Hayes Park and adjacent golf course, with the park falling within Tyburn ward but the golf course in Sutton New Hall.
Historic houses Sutton Coldfield has been an affluent area in the past leading to the construction of manors and other large houses. Several have been renovated into hotels such as the New Hall Hotel, Moor Hall Hotel, Moxhull Hall Hotel, and Ramada Hotel and Resort Penns Hall. Peddimore Hall, a Scheduled Ancient Monument near Walmley, is a double moated hall used as a private residence. Demolished manor houses include Langley Hall, the former residence of William Wilson and Four Oaks Hall, designed by William Wilson.
William Wilson is also known to have designed Moat House and lived in it with his wife, Jane Pudsey. It is Grade II* listed.
Sutton Coldfield Park
Places of Interest
Conservation areas There are two conservation areas in Sutton Coldfield. The High Street, King Edward’s Square, Upper Clifton Road, Mill Street, and the northern end of Coleshill Street are protected by the High Street conservation area, which is part covered by an Article 4 Direction. At the centre of the conservation area is Holy Trinity Church, which is fronted by the Vesey Memorial Gardens, created in memory of Bishop John Vesey. Beyond the railway bridge, is the Anchorage Road
conservation area, which protects buildings such as Moat House by William Wilson.
Religious buildings Holy Trinity Church is one of the oldest churches in the town, having been established around 1300. The church has been expanded over time, notably by John Vesey, Bishop of Exeter who built two aisles and added an organ. His tomb is located within the church. In Four Oaks is the Church of All Saints which is a Grade B locally listed building. It was built in
1908 and designed by Charles Bateman, whose Arts and Crafts are seen in the building. Another church in Four Oaks which is of a mixed Arts and Crafts-Gothic style is Four Oaks Methodist Church, built between 1907 and 1908 to a design by Crouch and Butler. It is Grade II listed. In Mere Green is the Church of St Peter, also by Charles Bateman, which was built between 1906 and 1908. The building is Grade II listed. Also designed by Charles Bateman is the Church of St Chad near Walmley. This was built between 1925 and 1927. It is Grade II listed. St Johns Church,
built in 1845 to a design by D. R. Hill. In Maney, near Walmley, is St Peter’s Church which began construction in 1905, although the tower, which was designed by Cossins, Peacock and Bewley, was constructed in 1935 and the building is Grade II listed. Located on the border of Sutton town centre is Church Hall, a former Roman Catholic Chapel, built around 1834. The building is now used for offices and is Grade II listed.
The Empire Cinema Places of Interest
The Town Hall, a relic of Sutton Coldfield’s former status as a municipal borough, now serves as a theatre, conference, and function venue. In the town centre is Sutton Parade which is a pedestrianized shopping area. Sutton Coldfield Library, opened in 1974, is located near Sutton Parade above the Red Rose Centre. It also contains the Sutton Coldfield Reference Library, which holds a large collection of newspapers and magazines with all Sutton Coldfield based publications such as Sutton Coldfield News and Sutton Coldfield Observer
being held permanently. There is also a good bus service from Sutton Parade to Birmingham City Centre and Birmingham Central Library, The Central Library and the terminus of busses from Sutton Coldfield are both within the City Centre Core and in walking distance of each other.
Community Centres and a number of smaller Community Halls all offering classes and events in a wide verity of subjects and interests - see Mere Green Community Centre, Falcon Lodge Community Centre, Banners Gate Community Hall and Brampton Hall Community Centre.
Also in the Town centre is Sutton Coldfield railway station, which is part of the Birmingham Cross-City Line, nearby is the Town Gate entrance to Sutton Park fairly close to the Sutton Park Visitor’s Centre.
Good Hope Hospital provides main hospital services to the town, including accident and emergency facilities. Another hospital in Sutton Coldfield is Sutton Cottage Hospital, which is operated by the Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust. It opened in 1908 and the buildings were
Sutton Coldfield has four
designed by Herbert Tudor Buckland and Edward HaywoodFarmer. On Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield is served by a police station, magistrate’s court (both opened in 1960) and fire station (opened 1963). On the opposite side of the road is Sutton Coldfield College, which is the main college of further education for the area. Also located on the northeastern outskirts of the area is Sutton Coldfield transmitting station, the first television transmitter to broadcast outside the London area.
Public Facilities
Linked by regular and fast services from Sutton Coldfield railway station on the CrossCity Line to the centre of Birmingham, Sutton is mostly a commuter dormitory town for people who work in Birmingham. The 1955 Sutton Coldfield rail crash occurred here, when an express train entered the very tight curve through the station. The Sutton Park Line also crosses the town roughly perpendicular to the cross-city line but lost its passenger services and stations in the 1964 “Beeching Axe”. Now remains as a freight only line.
The Roman road Icknield Street cuts through Sutton Park to the west of the town. The town is bypassed to the north by the M6 Toll, accessible from Sutton by junction T2 at Minworth (colocated with the M42 junction), T3 and T4 (interchanging with the A38 at the south and north ends of their 5-mile (8.0 km) parallel run), and T5 at Shenstone. It also has easy access to the M6 to the South, via junctions 5 (Castle Bromwich), J6 (Gravelly Hill, or “Spaghetti Junction”) and J7 at Great Barr; and also the M42 in the east, via junction 9 near Minworth.
The A38 itself used to run through the centre of the town, but now uses the dual carriageway bypass to the east. The former route of the A38 is now the A5127 Lichfield Road, branching from the southern end of the Aston Expressway on the Birmingham Middleway ring road, and continues to provide a major connective route running between and on slightly altered paths through the centres of Erdington, Sutton and Lichfield. The Parade in the town centre is the main destination and terminus for numerous National Express West Midlands bus services in
and through Sutton Coldfield. Such routes as ‘Sutton Lines’ (902, 904, 905, 914, 915) to Birmingham, 77 to Walsall and 5 to West Bromwich; to name just a few arterial routes.
Transport
Doug Ellis Former Aston Villa chairman
Amanda Vlahakis Graphic Designer and Illustrator
John Wyatt Inventor and engineer
James Sutton Hollyoaks actor
Mike Jordan Racing driver
Emma Griffiths MTV presenter, former model
Notable Residents
Dorian Yates Six times Mr Olympia Bodybuilding World Champion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutton_Coldfield