Sutton Park
Sutton Park, in
Sutton Coldfield,
United Kingdom, is reputedly the largest urban
park in
Europe; it is smaller than
Richmond Park in
London[Written answer to the House of Commons from the Head of the Royal Parks Service, 7 Feb 2002] , but larger than the
Phoenix Park in
Dublin which both make similar claims.
The Park covers 900.1
hectares (2224.2
acres / 9.0 km²)
[Sutton Park Management Plan, Birmingham City Council, 2002], with a mix of
heathland,
wetlands and
marshes, seven lakes, extensive ancient woodlands (covering approximately a quarter of the Park), several restaurants, a private 18-hole
golf course on its western edge and a municipal golf course to the south, a
donkey sanctuary, children's playgrounds and a visitors' centre. There is no entrance charge, and a wide range of personal leisure activities are undertaken in the park.
Peat-cutting, near Rowton's Well during
World War II, recovered
flint arrow-heads at the base of the peat. There are some unassuming prehistoric
burnt mounds, and an ancient
well. The park contains a preserved section of the
Icknield Street, a
Roman road; the noticeably cambered road enters the Park near the Royal Oak Gate and exits towards the aptly-named
Streetly; it is still possible to walk the road. The Queen's
Coppice, planted in
1953, now covers the site of an ancient
tumulus, from which a stone 'coffin' was dug out by antiquarians in
1808. Near Blackroot Pool are the earthworks of an ancient encampment, the origin of this is not known - possibly it was a hunting lodge and it may have been Roman, Mercian or
Norman (or even all three, over time).
The park was a Royal Forest of
Mercia at around the
9th Century. By the early
1100s it was in use as an established
Norman deer park. The land was given to the people of Sutton Coldfield by
King Henry VIII in
1528 after
Bishop John Vesey, a friend of the King, asked for it as a present to the people of
Sutton Coldfield. The
charcoal burning that took place in the Park is thought to have given Sutton Coldfield the second part of its name.
Wyndley Pool is the oldest in the Park, perhaps dating from the
12th century or even earlier. The house of the Royal Steward sat on the bluff overlooking Wyndley pool. Keeper's Pool and Bracebridge Pool date from the
15th century. Powell's Pool, Longmoor Pool, and Blackroot date from the
18th century, and were created to run
watermills. There was another pool at
Boldmere, now outside the park, but this has since vanished.
Most of the Park has been undisturbed since then. The area of Ladywood, at Four Oaks, was taken for housing, but in exchange the Meadow Platt area near the town was added to the Park, thus allowing the construction of a new Park Road access from the town. A rail line was built through the Park in
1879, and the Park had its own station. The advent of the railway, and the new town entrance, greatly increased the number of visitors to the Park. The Park's own dedicated station was closed in
1964, and the line now only serves goods trains.
During
World War I, convalescent camps were built in the Park. During
World War II further camps were built; these were first used for enemy aliens, then for
U.S. forces prior to
D-Day, and finally for German and Italian prisoners of war.
In
1957, the
World Scout Jamboree was held in the park, with participants from all over the world. The event is commemorated by a short stone pillar in the centre of the park.
Car traffic through the Park was heavily restricted from the
1950s until its takeover by Birmingham City Council in
1974. Thereafter, the Park's pastoral character was much changed due to the free access of cars. By the late 1970s there were growing problems with litter, erosion, arson, vandalism, motorbikes and road accidents in the Park.
There was a rare
1887 lido, for open-air all-weather swimming, at Keepers Pool. But the lido closed in
2003 after arson, and was burned down entirely in
2004. The Lido area is now being purposely reverted to woodland &
wetland.
In
1997,
English Nature designated most of Sutton Park a
National Nature Reserve and it features on
English Heritage's list of recognised historic parks and gardens. In July 2005 a 20-year 'Keepers of Time' scheme was announced, which will eliminate alien species from ancient woodlands and restore native varieties like
oak,
ash and
beech.
The park is currently managed by
Birmingham City Council; but in July 2004 it was announced that control would be devolved to the local councillors for
Sutton Coldfield.
The roads have reverted to their previous 'heavily restricted' status. There is still considerable car traffic into and out of the park, mainly of families with children, dog walkers, kite/model aeroplane fliers and other recreational use, including some '
cruising' of local youths in modified vehicles. However, cross-park 'through' traffic is now completely blocked by sturdy gates across the main link roads, similar to the existing gates at all road entrances and exits, that open and close with dusk and dawn. This measure has significantly reduced the use of the park as a rush-hour short-cut (notably between
Boldmere and
Streetly), with some noticeable impact on congestion of local routes around the Park. The benefit of traffic restriction is improvement in the enjoyability of the park; with cleaner air, safer roads for walkers and cyclists, and much reduced visual and noise pollution, plus reduced wear and tear on the poorly maintained, decaying road surfaces.
Road speed limits through the park have been reduced twice, from 30
mph to a generally respected 20mph in the
1980s, and recently (
2004) to 5mph, although the practical effects of the 5mph limit remain to be noted.
The commercial funfair for small children beside Powell's Pool continues to operate, attracting significant business. It offers rides such as a daisy-chained
go-kart track ride (with 'spooky' tunnels), and a two-person manually-operated bell-rope
pirate ship swings.
There is a
Sea Cadets dry-dock training vessel ("the Concrete Corvette") at Boldmere Gate along with the HQ of the 1st Sutton Sea Scouts.
*
Friends of Sutton Park Association*
Birmingham City Council: Parks pages
