Monkspath Hall

Last updated
Monkspath Hall
Monkspath Hall
General information
Type Country house
Location Monkspath
Country England
Coordinates 52°23′25″N1°48′07″W / 52.390408°N 1.801941°W / 52.390408; -1.801941 Coordinates: 52°23′25″N1°48′07″W / 52.390408°N 1.801941°W / 52.390408; -1.801941
CompletedCirca 1775
Demolished1 December 1980 (1980-12-01)
Technical details
Floor count2
Designations Grade II listed

Monkspath Hall was a two-storey Georgian country house in Monkspath, [1] historically in Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire (since 1974 part of Solihull, in the West Midlands), England. It was built circa 1775, in red brick, [2] and demolished illegally in 1980.

Contents

History

In the 1870s, the house was home to W. S. Colmore, Esq. [3] During World War II, the house was occupied, and the estate farmed, by Jack Bickford, who was injured when he picked up an incendiary bomb nearby, which went off in his hands. [4]

Demolition

Although the house was Grade II listed, [1] in theory protecting it from unauthorised alteration, it was demolished on the afternoon of 1 December 1980 – a Sunday – by a bulldozer driver, who was supposed to be demolishing outbuildings on the opposite side of the road. [1] [5] [6]

The then leader of the local council described the act as "sheer, stupid negligence". [6]

Court cases

Following a 1981 Crown Court trial, the demolition company responsible, D. Doyle Contractors, [7] was fined £2,000. [5] The driver, who was a director of the firm and who had been warned beforehand by a local resident that the building was listed, was fined £1,500. [5] [7]

In a separate, civil case brought by Solihull Borough Council in 1985, a Birmingham High Court judge, Mr. Justice McNeill, ordered that the cost of rebuilding the hall - estimated then to be in the order of £200,000 - using as much material from the demolition as possible, be borne by the contractor. [7] [8] He also awarded costs against the defendants, who had admitted their negligence. [7]

Legacy

The demolition was referenced in the House of Commons by John Heddle, MP for Lichfield and Tamworth, during a July 1981 debate on the Local Government and Planning (Amendment) Bill, as an "act of wilful vandalism" for which he said "imprisonment and punitive fines are the only reasonable remedy." [1] Heddle described the actual fines issued in relation to the case as "derisory". [9]

The rebuilt hall was delisted in 1990, [2] and has been divided into apartments. [10]

Related Research Articles

West Midlands (county) County of England

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in west-central England with a 2019 estimated population of 2,928,592. This makes it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 to cover parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county is a NUTS 2 region within a wider NUTS 1 region of the same name. It covers seven metropolitan boroughs: Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall.

Rugby, Warwickshire Human settlement in England

Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. The town has a population of 70,628 (2011 census), making it the second-largest town in the county. The town is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby which has a population of 100,500.

Warwickshire County of England

Warwickshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon. Other significant towns in the county include Rugby, Leamington Spa, Bedworth and Kenilworth.

Knowle, West Midlands Human settlement in England

Knowle is a large village situated 3 miles (5 km) east-southeast of the town of Solihull, West Midlands, England. Knowle lies within the historic county boundaries of Warwickshire, and since 1974 it has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull within the West Midlands. It lies 2.5 miles from the Warwickshire border and has a population of around 11,000 residents.

Hampton in Arden Human settlement in England

Hampton in Arden is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands of England. Hampton in Arden was part of Warwickshire until the 1974 boundary changes. It lies within the Meriden Gap area of countryside between Solihull and Coventry. Hampton in Arden is a typical Arden village, but is now very much a commuter settlement for nearby Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry. In 1968 the central part of the village was designated a Conservation Area, which is an "area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance". Its population in the 2001 census was 1,787, increasing to 1,834 at the 2011 Census.

Metropolitan Borough of Solihull Metropolitan Borough in England

The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands, in west-central England. It is named after its largest town, Solihull, from which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is based. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of seven boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region. Much of the large residential population in the north of the borough centres on the communities of Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Fordbridge, Kingshurst, Marston Green and Smith's Wood. In the south are the town of Solihull, its sub-town of Shirley and the large villages of Knowle, Dorridge, Meriden and Balsall Common.

Shirley, West Midlands Human settlement in England

Shirley is a town and district of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically part of Warwickshire, it is a residential and shopping neighbourhood, and a suburb/sub-town of Solihull. Neighbouring districts include Shirley Heath, Sharmans Cross, Solihull Lodge, Monkspath, Cranmore and the Hall Green district of Birmingham.

Castle Bromwich Human settlement in England

Castle Bromwich is a village situated within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of the West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east, Sutton Coldfield to the east and north east; also Shard End to the south west, Castle Vale, Erdington and Minworth to the north and Hodge Hill to the west – all areas of the City of Birmingham. It constitutes a civil parish, which had a population of 11,857 according to the 2001 census, falling to 11,217 at the 2011 census. The population has remained quite stable since then; the 2017 population estimate was 12,309.

Chelmsley Wood Human settlement in England

Chelmsley Wood is a large housing estate and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, England, with a population of 12,453. It is located near Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre. It lies about eight miles east of Birmingham City Centre and 5 miles to the north of Solihull town centre.

Bickenhill Human settlement in England

Bickenhill is a village in the civil parish of Bickenhill and Marston Green, in the Solihull district, in the county of the West Midlands, England, on the eastern fringe of the West Midlands conurbation. Bickenhill is home to Birmingham Airport. Bickenhill is also a ward. It is in the historic county of Warwickshire.

Hockley Heath Human settlement in England

Hockley Heath is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England. The parish is to the south of the West Midlands conurbation, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Birmingham 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from Solihull and 12.5 miles (20.1 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon. The village forms part of the border with Warwickshire to the south. Until recently, as well as Hockley Heath village, it included Cheswick Green, Dickens Heath, Tidbury Green, Salter Street, and Whitlock's End. However following a community governance review, on 31 March 2009 the former Hockley Heath Parish Council was abolished and on 1 April 2009 four new parish councils were created. The new parishes follow the old ward boundaries for the Hockley Heath Parish and each parish now has a parish council. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 6,771, being measured at the 2011 Census as 2,038.

Roundshaw Human settlement in England

Roundshaw is a housing estate and park in south Wallington and Beddington on the eastern edge of the London Borough of Sutton. Grid Ref TQ302633.

Solihull Human settlement in England

Solihull is a large town and administrative centre in England with a population of 123,187 in the 2011 Census. Historically in Warwickshire, it is the largest town in, and administrative centre of, the larger Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, which itself has a population of 214,909. Solihull is situated 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Birmingham, 11 miles (18 km) west of Coventry, 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Warwick and 95 miles (153 km) northwest of London. Solihull is the most affluent town of the West Midlands, and one of the most affluent areas in the UK outside of London. In November 2013, the uSwitch Quality of Life Index named Solihull the "best place to live" in the United Kingdom.

Sutton Coldfield Town Hall

Sutton Coldfield Town Hall is a former hotel and council building in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. The building is Grade A locally listed.

Monkspath

Monkspath is a large residential community and light-industrial area of Solihull, West Midlands, England, southeast of the town's Shirley district. Monkspath is in the Blythe ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull.

Reading Civic Centre

Reading Civic Centre was a civic centre in the town of Reading, itself in the English county of Berkshire. The centre dated from the mid-1970s.

Elmdon Park

Elmdon Park is a park and local nature reserve in Elmdon, Solihull, West Midlands. It was established in 1944 when the house and grounds of the derelict Elmdon Hall were bought up by the then Solihull Urban District Council. The house was used by the Home Guard during the war years, but the building subsequently became derelict, suffering from a rotten staircase and roof, and was demolished in 1956.

Rochdale Town Hall

Rochdale Town Hall is a Victorian-era municipal building in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is "widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country", and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The Town Hall functions as the ceremonial headquarters of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and houses local government departments, including the borough's civil registration office.

Leamington Spa Town Hall

Leamington Spa Town Hall is located in the settlement of the same name, Warwickshire, England. It was Grade II listed on 18 August 1980.

Nuneaton Town Hall

Nuneaton Town Hall is a municipal building on Coton Road in the town of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. The building is the headquarters of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "I stand corrected. Barlaston Hall...: 10 Jul 1981: House of Commons debates". TheyWorkForYou.
  2. 1 2 Archaeological Assessment to Inform the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council Local Plan (PDF). Warwickshire County Council. August 2018. p. 245. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "History of Monkspath, in Solihull and Warwickshire". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  4. ↑ Bates, Sue, ed. (1995). Solihull in Wartime (PDF). Solihull Libraries & Arts.
  5. 1 2 3 Astragal (27 May 1981). "Historic buildings go cheap". The Architects' Journal . 173 (21): 983.
  6. 1 2 @BBCArchive (1 December 2015). "#OnThisDay 1980: Monkspath Hall, a 200 year-old, listed building, is demolished. By mistake. Whoops!" (Tweet) – via Twitter. (includes video clip)
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Demolishers must rebuild listed hall". The Times . 7 November 1985. p. 3.
  8. ↑ "ATV Today: 07.09.1981: Monkspath". MACE Archive. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "Increased protection for listed buildings?". The Architects' Journal . 173 (2): 1044. 3 June 1981.
  10. ↑ "1 bedroom apartment for sale Old Hall Gardens, Monkspath, Solihull". RightMove. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.