Changing Birmingham ˜ its people and places: PARK LIFE

With this being the Spring edition, it seemed a good opportunity to explore both the history and representation of our public parks in Birmingham Museums Trust’s Digital Asset Resource. Providing the green lungs for our city, the development of Birmingham’s public parks came about as a result of the same social movement that produced Birmingham’s Museum and Art Gallery, which we can look forward to opening again in April.

FAR LEFT: ‘Aston Hall From the Park’ by C. Ashmore, 1891, 1973P4 (detail); Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust, licensed under CC0 TOP LEFT: ‘Birmingham, Cannon Hill Park’, Topographical Views - Kesterton Collection, 1908, 1995V632.1242; Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust, licensed under CC0 TOP RIGHT: ‘Postcard - Birmingham Parks’, Topographical Views - Kesterton Collection, 1913, 1995V632.344; Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust, licensed under CC0

The initial impetus in the development of Birmingham’s public parks came from wealthy individuals with a philanthropic outlook. This produced Adderley Park in Saltley in 1856, the first free park based on land donated by Charles Adderley MP, a local landowner. Meanwhile, a crisis was developing concerning the future of Aston Hall and its Park, which was then outside the Town’s boundaries. Following the death of Aston Hall’s last tenant, James Watt Junior, the owners were selling off the land for development and the Hall was facing demolition. This resulted in a campaign to save the Park led by George Dawson, one of the architects of the ‘civic gospel’. After some false starts, including failed negotiations between the Council and Aston Hall’s owners, it was the formation of a working men’s committee chaired by Dawson, with J.P. Langford as Vice Chair and Daniel O’Neil as Secretary, that provided the vital spark. This committee, combined with a like-minded group of philanthropists, was able to form a company and to secure a deposit to initiate the purchase of part of the Park and Hall, and to facilitate a grand opening by Queen Victoria in 1858.

The opening was a huge success but unfortunately the company which had been set up to run the Park quickly hit financial difficulties. In order to help generate revenue the Park was let out for popular entertainments. During a tightrope act at one of these events ‘The Female Blondin’ was tragically killed when her rope broke. The Queen’s involvement in the opening now became significant as George Surge, the Mayor who was a devout Quaker, received a letter from Osborne House in which one can feel the Queen’s indignation: ‘her personal feelings of horror... a female sacrificed for the gratification of demoralising taste...’

Despite receiving this direct admonishment from the Queen neither Birmingham Corporation nor the local gentry were prepared to raise the necessary funds to buy the Park. This resulted in a second, equally strident letter from Queen Victoria: ‘Her majesty is still unwilling to believe that in a locality in which so much wealth is found... funds can be wanting to secure to the population an enjoyment to value’. This finally produced a reaction and, through a combination of funds, Birmingham Corporation was able to purchase Aston Hall and Park in 1864, which was, at the time, a unique act for a civic authority. It became the first historic country house to pass into municipal ownership.

As the outlook of the Council changed, it gave a much more positive response to the donation of the freehold of 66 acres of land by Louisa Ryland in 1873, along with £5,000 for it to be laid out with ornamental gardens and attractions designed by John Gibson. This created one of the City’s most popular public parks, Cannon Hill. But who was Louisa Ryland and what was her motivation for the gift?

Her story has a personal tragedy at the heart of it which is, perhaps, the answer. Louisa was born into a wealthy Birmingham manufacturing family which had accumulated its wealth through a wire pulling business in the eighteenth century. Like many families of that background they were set on a path of gentrification, with a move into the Warwickshire countryside. Louisa, born in Birmingham, was set on marrying the son of a leading brass founder called Henry Smith. However her father, Samuel Ryland, aspired for an aristocratic link up and stopped the marriage, after which Louisa never married. In 1843, on the death of her father, Louisa inherited all of his considerable estates at the age of 29. Not forgetting her birthplace, Louisa gave away much of the Birmingham estate in trust to Birmingham Corporation for public benefit, notably Cannon Hill Park. Unlike previous philanthropists one of her conditions of donation was that her name should not be attached to the park and she kept a very low profile at the opening events. There is now a blue plaque to Louisa at Cannon Hill Park which is well deserved, but would she have approved?

Whilst visiting our city’s wonderful parks why not take advantage of both Sarehole Mill and Aston Hall’s refreshment facilities, situated within their own parks. n By Jim Wells Friends Trustee