About Bartley Green ...
 Hover over the 1937 Jiggins Lane Photo to see how its changed! |
With a village based on the junction of Jiggin’s Lane, Adam’s Hill, Field Lane and Genner’s Lane, Bartley Green was noted in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Berchelai. This means either the birch tree wood or the clearing in the birch trees (from the Old English “beorc leah”). Sited on a ridge of boulder clay between Kitwell and Stonehouse Brooks, Bartley Green belonged to the manor of Weoley. There are a number of intriguing names locally, amongst them Genner’s Lane. In his history of King’s Norton and Northfield, Arthur B Lock explained that the Middle English word “engynour” meant someone who managed engines of war and he mentions a John de Jenners living locally in 1603. Investigations have suggested a possible ancestor of de Jenners. He was Adam le Gynur, and engineer and possibly a retired soldier. Interestingly the lane was also spelt as Gynor’s. Jiggin’s Lane has a more prosaic explanation arising from a field called Gyggan’s Medewe.
 Old Nailmakers Cottages |
In 1878 a piece in the Harborne Herald and Smethwick News stated that the small population of Bartley Green was mainly nailers and labourers. One Bartley Green resident who gained unfortunate fame was Jane Bumford. At 7 feet 7 inches she was the tallest woman in the world. Indeed she would have stood higher but for a spinal abnormality. Her abnormal height was caused by damage to her pituitary gland when she received a head injury at age eleven. Jane’s family lived in a nailer’s cottage at the top of Adam’s Hill and then in Jiggin’s Hill. Nearby was the home of a friend, a small woman called Little Emma Kinver.
 Genners Lane |
At that time Bartley Green was still a remote rural locality within Birmingham, having become part of the city with the rest of King’s Norton and Northfield in 1911. Bartley Farm was on Scotland Lane and Genner’s Farm was close to the junction of Genner’s Lane and Woodcock Lane. South of them lay Bromwich Wood and to the west was Kitwell Farm. Developed slowly from the 1920s onwards both with private and council housing, Bartley Green was finally transformed in the 1970s when the corporation laid out a large estate at Kitwell. Yet with the great Bartley Reservoir and its green surrounds, Bartley Green retains a powerful feel of the countryside.
The Early Days
The first reference to Bartley Green appears in 1086. The Domesday Book refers to a place called, ‘Berchelai’ which means a clearing in the Birch trees. The date 1657 saw the first change to the place name Bartley Green.
The King and I
The monarch King Edward VII spectacularly launched the Elan Valley reservoir in 1904. This provided the source for Bartley Green’s main reservoir opened in 1930. Lord Mayor, Alderman, opened this reservoir.
Streets Ahead
The year 1996 saw the launching of the project ‘Street in a Week’. The aim was to construct eight out of thirty seven houses on the Athol estate in Bartley Green in one week. This challenge included houses with two to four bedrooms and provisions for two properties for disabled people. Midland Area Housing Association, Bucknail Oregon and Birmingham City Council Housing Department all collaborated in this exciting community initiative.
On Monday 10th June 1996 during a heatwave the speed of this project was confirmed when eight local families could all enter their new homes. Local schoolboy Richard Watson had the honour of naming their new street Fastlea Road.
Feeding of the One Hundred and Twenty
All one hundred and twenty builders involved in ‘Street in a Week’ were to be fed by French Mustard, Fletchers Walk. Chef Gabriel was contracted to feed the hungry builders for a staggering one week on a twenty-four hour basis. Breakfast for the week consisted of 140 pounds of bacon, 700 sausages and 350 eggs, all served from a field kitchen set up by Chef Gabriel in a small marquee which contained preparation tables, fridges, a freezer and a six burner cooking range, deep fat fryer and griddle. Lunch consisted of basics such as fish and chips, cottage pie and bangers and mash, however, Chef Gabriel included Chicken Chow Mein and Chicken Chasseur on the menu!
War Stories
Prisoners of War were at one time sent to Jiggin’s Lane under guard to drain the water logged land where Athol Estate can be found. What was to become the area ‘Street in the Week’ was at one point just a big pond. Local children used to stay away from here because they believed there was no bottom to the pond.
 1960's Bartley Green |
The Hills Are Alive
Fifty years ago Bartley Green was not the bustling community it is today. It was dominated by open spaces and one could make out the glorious Clent Hills in the distance. On the field where Pinewood is the locals in the 1950’s and 1960’s came together to enjoy a fair twice a year. However, this landscape was altered with the arrival of Woolworths the first large shop and other retail amenities.
Housing in Bartley Green
Rents were cheap in the 1950’s and 1960’s. In 1953 a three bed roomed non parlour house would cost from 29s 4d to 38s. At this time Barley Green was little more than a country lane. Scotland Lane was just a dirt track layered in mud. The buses did not come further than Genner’s Lane. This required locals to walk greater distances for public transport.
Heavy Metal hits Brum
The year 1980 saw what was known as the Birmetals dispute, named after the Birmetal’s factory where workers demanded a pay rise while inflation rose at 20%. Dispatch workers refused to load lorries and work the cranes. Rumours were abound that the factory was to close down and a few days later workers involved in the dispute were sacked. The workers picketed the factory and were allowed to take over a cottage at the end of the drive as a base by the council. The dispute went on for several months. It was believed that the company set up the whole thing so that they would not have to make redundancy payments. This turned out not to be just a local issue where by the rest of the country sent donations of clothes, food, and money to help the 750 people on strike. During the Christmas period a party was organized for the children of the workers’ where each child was given a present because the families could not afford such luxuries. Eventually Birmetal’s company closed and the site was sold off for housing and an industrial park. An appeal was made to the industrial tribunal however no worker received any compensation.
A Real Tall Story
Jane Bunford began her steady rise, quite literally, to local fame by reaching the height of six foot six inches by her thirteenth birthday. Jane was born on the 26th July 1895. Her abnormal growth began at the age of two following a head injury. By the time of her death on the 1st April 1922 she reached the height of seven foot and seven inches. Jane Bunford is still with us today, preserved in the anatomical museum in the Medical School at Birmingham University where she has a mounted height of seven foot and four inches.
And then there was light!
When Mrs. Bolt moved in to Lapworth House the views from her Kitchen window were of rural idyll. She was able to see Nonesuch Farm, which in those days was still a working farm. However, within a few years the farm had been demolished and the Woodgate Valley Country Park began to take shape.
She also has very strong memories of the arrival of the motorway. One night the darkness was rent by a blinding light as they tested the motorway lights for the very first time. Mrs. Bolt described it as like being in fairyland.
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An Eggziting Story
For the people of inner city Birmingham in the aftermath of the Second World War, Batley Green was an exciting day out. A tram journey to the reservoir was an opportunity for fresh air and space. There were still sheep and cows to be seen and Geoff Staley from Ladywood recalls the excitement of finding some wild duck eggs. These were such a luxury at the time that it made their day out in Bartley Green doubly EGGZITING!
The blind leading the blind
For those of us who have spent long hours trying to get home after harsh weather conditions, it is good to know some things never change. A Bartley Green resident of the fifties recalls a tortuous homeward journey taking more than two hours crawling along the middle of the roads, not realising he was leading a long line of traffic. The cause of this comical escapade? Something that no longer plagues our city… SMOG!
The Winning Ticket
As Bartley Green expanded it was always welcoming new residents from the tougher areas of the city. For many of these residents the green spaces of Bartley Green were like paradise. Leaving crime and deprivation behind one couple described it as a ‘different way of life here’. It is like winning the lottery.
Click on the links below to learn more about Bartley Green