Four Oaks is an affluent residential area in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, lying along the north and east borders of Sutton Park. Four Oaks is situated approximately 7+1⁄2 miles (12.1 km) north of Birmingham City Centre, and is bordered by Sutton Park, Streetly, Mere Green, Little Aston, Roughley and Aldridge. [1] Four Oaks has a population of 21,690 as of 2004, [2] and is part of the Sutton Four Oaks electoral ward.
In 1677, Henry Folliott, 3rd Baron Folliott of Ballyshannon bought 60 acres (24 ha) of woodland and built Four Oaks Hall. Folliott died in 1716, but his widow continued to live in Four Oaks Hall until her death in 1751. The estate was sold to Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton, who remodelled and modernised the house. In 1757, he bought a further 50 acres (20 ha) of woodland to annex his estate and form a deer park. He sold the estate to Thomas Gresley in 1778, who sold the estate to Sir Hugh Bateman, 1st Baronet of Hartington Hall in 1785, who in turn sold the estate to 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 similar exclusive private residential estate 1 mile away was recently Refused at a Lichfield Council Planning Committee meeting, and subsequent Planning Inspectorate Appeal Dismissed, as to create a large exclusive gated community would undermine social cohesion by creating social segregation. However a subsequent application for Certificates of Lawfulness were subsequently approved by Lichfield Council for 6 sets of perimeter gates, despite 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.
West Midlands Trains operate a frequent train service from Four Oaks railway station north to Lichfield and south to Redditch and Bromsgrove via Birmingham New Street and University (adjacent to the University of Birmingham and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital) on the Cross-City Line. [24] The 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]
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 Gothic Revival church located next to Four Oaks railway station at the junction of Four Oaks Road and Lichfield Road. Constructed between 1907 and 1908, the church was Grade II listed in 1976. [27]
Sir Thomas Acquin Martin (1850-1906) - Industrialist. Born in Four Oaks.
Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of Lichfield, 7 miles southwest of Tamworth and 7 miles east of Walsall.
Burntwood is a former mining town and civil parish in the Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England, approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of Lichfield and north east of Brownhills. The town had a population of 26,049 and forms part of Lichfield district. The town forms one of the largest urbanised parishes in England. Samuel Johnson opened an academy in nearby Edial in 1736. The town is home to the smallest park in the UK, Prince's Park, which is located next to Christ Church on the junction of Farewell Lane and Church Road. The town expanded in the nineteenth century around the coal mining industry.
Birmingham, a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England, is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom.
Wylde Green is a residential area within the town of Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham, England in the West Midlands. It was in the county of Warwickshire. The area is in the Sutton Vesey ward.
Mere Green is a small commercial centre in Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, England.
Little Aston is a village in the Lichfield District of Staffordshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) south of the city of Lichfield. It is contiguous with Sutton Coldfield and Streetly. At the 2011 United Kingdom census the population of Little Aston ward was 2,920 people living in 1,104 households. Little Aston is also in the parish of Shenstone.
Streetly is an area in the county of West Midlands, England which lies around 7 miles (11 km) to the north of Birmingham City Centre. It is uniquely located within the borders of Birmingham, Lichfield and Walsall district authorities, and is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It is adjacent to, New Oscott, Great Barr, Four Oaks, Little Aston and Aldridge.
The Cross-City Line is a suburban rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for 32 mi (51 km) from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New Street, connecting the suburbs of Birmingham in between. Services are operated by West Midlands Trains.
Sutton Coldfield railway station is the main railway station for the town of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is situated on the Redditch/Bromsgrove-Birmingham New Street-Four Oaks-Lichfield Cross-City Line 7+1⁄2 miles (12.1 km) north east of Birmingham New Street.
Aston railway station serves the districts of Aston and Nechells in Birmingham, England. The passenger entrance is on Lichfield Road. The station is on the Cross-City Line and the Chase Line. It is one of two local stations for Aston Villa Football Club and near to the Aston Expressway and to Gravelly Hill Interchange.
Wylde Green railway station is a railway station serving northern Wylde Green and Boldmere in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is on the Redditch/Bromsgrove-Birmingham New Street-Lichfield Cross-City Line 6+1⁄2 miles (10.5 km) north east of Birmingham New Street, and is in Centro fare zone 4.
Gravelly Hill railway station serves the Gravelly Hill area of Birmingham, England. It is situated on the Redditch/Bromsgrove-Birmingham New Street-Four Oaks-Lichfield Cross-City Line.
Erdington railway station is a railway station serving the Erdington area of Birmingham, England. It is situated on the Redditch/Bromsgrove-Birmingham New Street-Four Oaks-Lichfield Cross-City Line.
Chester Road railway station serves the areas of Pype Hayes, Erdington, Wylde Green and Boldmere in north-east Birmingham, in the West Midlands county of England. It is sited on the Cross-City Line between Bromsgrove/Redditch and Lichfield Trent Valley, via Birmingham New Street. Pedestrian access to the station is via Green Lanes, near to the junction with the Chester Road (A452). It is above road level, as the line here is on an embankment.
Four Oaks railway station serves the Four Oaks area of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England. It is situated on the Cross-City Line. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Railway.
Butlers Lane railway station serves the northern part of the Four Oaks district of Sutton Coldfield, England. It is sited on the Cross-City Line between Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch, via Birmingham New Street. The station, and all trains calling there, are operated by West Midlands Trains.
William Henry Bidlake MA, FRIBA was a British architect, a leading figure of the Arts and Crafts movement in Birmingham and Director of the School of Architecture at Birmingham School of Art from 1919 until 1924.
Charles Edward Bateman FRIBA was an English architect, known for his Arts and Crafts and Queen Anne-style houses and commercial buildings in the Birmingham area and for his sensitive vernacular restoration and extension work in the Cotswolds.
Moat House is a Grade II* listed building situated in Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. It is part of the Anchorage Road conservation area.
Roughley is an electoral ward within the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, and is the most northerly part of the administrative area covered by the Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council and the City of Birmingham. Over half of Roughley Ward is attractive Green Belt countryside, including arable and dairy farms, historic field boundaries survive with mature hedgerows and woodlands. Several public footpaths provide access to the countryside and the one linking Hillwood Road and Dale Farm provides distant views of Lichfield Cathedral and on a clear day the Pennine Hills.