Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield
Four Oaks is an affluent residential area in
electoral ward
.
Four Oaks Estate
In 1677,
Sir Edmund Cradock-Hartopp, 1st Baronet in 1792. In 1827, Hartopp bought 35 acres (14 ha) of woodland to further increase the size of the deer park. The estate was sold to Hubert de Burgh-Canning, 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde
for residential development in 1868. Roads were named to commemorate the history of the estate, and between 1895 and 1915 approximately 200 houses were built on the estate, forming Four Oaks Estate. The neglected and dilapidated Four Oaks Hall was demolished in 1898, and the site is now occupied by Carhampton House.
Four Oaks Estate is a mainly residential area with the Four Oaks Tennis Club at its heart, approximately enclosed by Lichfield Road, Four Oaks Road, Sutton Park and
Sutton Park Line railway line.[3] One of the most expensive residential areas in the West Midlands, the Park's roads are home to some of the region's wealthiest residents.[4] Four Oaks Park is characterised by its large houses and tree-lined, speed-humped roads. The houses on the Estate are individually designed by prominent architects such as Charles Bateman, and most sell for at least £2 million. Many of the houses have received listed building status. Four Oaks Estate is also home to Four Oaks Tennis Club, which was founded in 1906.[5]
The roads on Four Oaks Estate are managed by Four Oaks Estate Ltd and run by a formally constituted Board of Directors, who are all Estate residents, supported by an appointed Secretary & Treasurer.
Four Oaks Estate Ltd submitted in 2019 a Lawful Development Certificate application 2019/03339/PA to Birmingham Council, that was Refused on the grounds that the Estate roads were Highways maintained at private expense, meaning the public enjoy the benefit of a public right of way over the Estate roads for any and all purposes and at all times, the same as any other publicly maintained highway. The plan was to create a large exclusive gated community consisting of 340 houses, by installing 8 sets of perimeter gates on the 8 entrance points into the private residential estate. However it is unlawful to obstruct a highway and also unlawful to obstruct a public right of way, which gates would do.
A similar planning application at the neighbouring
Little Aston Park
Estate having a public church, golf club, public post box within its grounds, and their Estate roads having an unknown legal owner, meaning the legal owner could not have installed legal signs to prevent dedication of the roads as highways. This raises the question of the legal validity of Little Aston Park's signs installed by residents, and therefore raises the possibility their roads are also highways maintained at private expense and also a public right of way.
Notable houses
Barker Road
- No 17, Withens by William Bidlake 1898[6]
- No 26, Beaconsfield by Thomas Walter Francis Newton and Alfred Edward Cheatle 1900
Bracebridge Road
- No 2, The Dene by William Bidlake 1895-96[7]
- No 8, Red Mullion by Owen Parsons 1929
- No 12, by Edward Haywood-Farmer 1902[8]
- No 14, Maes Y Lledr (originally Hawkesford) by Charles Bateman 1901-02[9]
- No 16, The Lawns, by Owen Parsons 1899
- No 23, Hindecliffe by Owen Parsons 1905
- No 35, Bryn Teg by Charles Bateman 1904[10]
- No 51, Woodside by William Bidlake 1897
- No 57, Kenwood by Harry Weedon 1927[11]
Four Oaks Road
- No 19, Dunster by William de Lacy Aherne 1901
- No 21, Avon Croft by Crouch and Butler 1900[12]
- No 23, Cressington by Crouch and Butler 1900
- No 43, by Crouch and Butler 1908
- No 45, by Crouch and Butler 1908
Hartopp Road
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- Red House, by William de Lacy Aherne 1900
- No 1, Redlands by Charles Bateman 1903[13]
- No. 9, by Edwin Francis Reynolds 1920[14]
- No 16, Conyar by Crouch and Butler 1908
- No 18, Luttrell House by Crouch and Butler 1901
- No 34, Oakwood, formerly stables to The Hurst, by William Lethaby[15]
- No 37, Woodgate by William Bidlake 1896[16]
Ladywood Road
- No 19, late 19th century[17]
- No 21, by Crouch and Butler 1906
- No 22, Redcroft by William Bidlake 1901-02[18]
Lichfield Road
- No 147, Former South Lodge of Four Oaks Hall, 16th or 17th century[19]
Luttrell Road
- No 5, Culross House by Owen Parsons 1928
- No 11, Carhampton House by Charles Bateman 1901-02[20]
- No 16, by Crouch and Butler 1907[21]
- No 18, by Crouch and Butler 1906[22]
Wentworth Road
- No 6, Heathercourt by Crouch and Butler 1907
- No 10, by Crouch and Butler 1907
- No 15, by Cossins, Peacock and Bewlay 1908[23]
Transport
Sutton Park Line is a freight-only railway line that runs through Four Oaks from Walsall to Water Orton via Sutton Park.[25]
There are also four bus services through Four Oaks operated by National Express West Midlands.[26]
Churches
All Saints' Church is the Church of England parish church in Four Oaks. It is situated at the junction of Walsall Road and Belwell Lane and is a Grade II* listed building.
Four Oaks Methodist Church is a
Grade II listed in 1976.[27]
Noted Person
Sir
Thomas Acquin Martin
(1850-1906) - Industrialist. Born in Four Oaks.
References
- ^ Google. "Four Oaks" (Map). Google Maps. Google.
- ^ "Sutton Four Oaks Ward". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Four Oaks Park". A History Of Birmingham. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ Adams, Lucia; Moran, Michael (30 March 2007). "Ten Most Expensive Places To Live In Britain". London: Times Online. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Four Oaks Tennis Club". Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Wedgwood, Alexandra (1966). Warwickshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 429.
- ^ Historic England, "The Dene (1067109)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Number 12 and Attached Wallls (1067110)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Maes Y Lledr (1116476)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Bryn Teg (1075820)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Kenwood (1067126)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Avon Croft (1277005)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Redlands (1075829)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "9, Hartopp Road (1067113)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Oakwood (1116421)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Woodgate (1075828)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Bracebridge (1343332)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "22, Ladywood Road, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B74 2QN (1075796)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "147, Lichfield Road (1067117)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Carhampton House (1067118)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Number 16 (1067121)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "Number 18 (1067122)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ Historic England, "15, Wentworth Road (1075813)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 13 April 2024
- ^ "Four Oaks train services". West Midlands Rail. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- ^ "Sutton Park Line information". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Four Oaks bus services". National Express West Midlands. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Four Oaks Methodist Church". Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield - A Commemorative History, Jones, D. V., 1994, Westwood Press (ISBN 0-9502636-7-2)
- The Story of Sutton Coldfield, Lea, R., 2003, The History Press Ltd (ISBN 0-7509284-3-3)