Formation | 1927 |
---|---|
Founder | Lister Muff |
Founded at | Handsworth Park, Birmingham, England |
Type | Voluntary organisation |
Services | Leisure facilities for men (and more recently women) of retirement age |
The Sons of Rest is a social organisation that has provided leisure facilities for men of retirement age in and around Birmingham and the Black Country in the English West Midlands since 1927, and more recently for women.
The movement was established when a group of retired working men, veterans of World War I, met in Handsworth Park, Birmingham, in 1927. [1] [2] One of them, Lister Muff (1852 [2] -1938 [3] ) proposed that they form a club. [2] The name was suggested by W. J Ostler recognising that they had been "sons of toil" during their working years. [2]
They originally met in an old cab drivers' shelter in the park in summer and the park's bowling pavilion in winter, but appealed for funding for their own building, where they could meet and play games such as cards, draughts and dominoes. [2] Their appeal succeeded, and the first building was opened in Handsworth Park in 1930. [1] [2]
The appeal was supported by the chairman of Birmingham Corporation Parks Committee, Councillor George F. McDonald, who became the first president of "The City of Birmingham Federation of The Sons of Rest", on its inauguration in August 1932. [2] The organisation's anthem, Sons of Rest, was written by one of the early members, Charles Smith, who was aged 81, and blind: [2]
United in our Brotherhood,
Our aim is for the best
We've passed our many milestones long,
Still happy Sons of Rest.
We sit and talk of days gone by,
And how we stood the test,
Of hopes deferred and joys fulfilled,
The stalwart Sons of Rest.
Then let us all with one accord
Proclaim "how we are blessed,"
And let contentment fill our minds,
God bless the Sons of Rest.
At its peak, the organisation had 3,000 members and 29 buildings, located in parks. [1] [2] A number of the buildings survive and are still in use. [1]
The Handsworth building was replaced in 1937. [2] [3] A public campaign prevented its demolition in the 1990s [2] and it was subsequently refurbished. [4] It is now managed by The Friends of Handsworth Park [2] A 2018 mosaic mural by Claire Cotterill, on an external wall, commemorates the movement. [2] [5]
Some branches such as that at Darlaston, rebranded as Sons & Daughters of Rest, and admit women.
Name | Location | Completed | Date listed | Geo-coordinates | Notes | Designation | Image | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Handsworth Park | Handsworth Park, Birmingham | 1927 | The first site; rebuilt 1937; restored and enlarged 2006 | |||||
Adderley Park | Adderley Park, Birmingham | |||||||
Brookvale Park | Brookvale Park, Birmingham | Destroyed by fire, 2013 [6] | ||||||
Cannon Hill Park | Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham | |||||||
Cotteridge Park | Cotteridge Park, Birmingham | Demolished in the late 1990s [7] | ||||||
Digby Park | Digby Park, Small Heath, Birmingham | Destroyed by arson | ||||||
Kings Heath Park | Kings Heath Park, Birmingham | [8] | ||||||
Selly Park | Selly Park, Birmingham | [9] | ||||||
Small Heath Park | Small Heath Park, Birmingham | [10] | ||||||
Ward End Park | Ward End Park, Birmingham | |||||||
Britannia Park | Britannia Park, Blackheath | |||||||
Darlaston Sons & Daughters of Rest | Darlaston | |||||||
Buffery Park | Buffery Park, Dudley | 1950 | [11] [12] | |||||
Haden Hill Park | Old Hill, West Midlands | Destroyed by fire, 2000 | ||||||
Walsall Arboretum | Walsall Arboretum, Walsall | |||||||
Brunswick Park | Brunswick Park, Wednesbury | [13] | ||||||
Cripplegate Park | Cripplegate Park, Worcester | |||||||
Gheluvelt Park | Gheluvelt Park, Worcester | Replaced by a new building in 2018 [14] | [15] |
and others at:
In addition to the above, other branches meet (or met) in hired premises. These include:
The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists of the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. The largest city in the region is Birmingham.
Willenhall is a market town situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 28,480. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire. It lies upon the River Tame, and is part of the Black Country.
Handsworth is a suburban town and also an inner-city, urban area of northwest Birmingham in the West Midlands. Historically in Staffordshire, Handsworth lies just outside Birmingham City Centre.
Wednesfield is a town and historic village in the City of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, It is 2 miles (3.2 km) east-northeast of Wolverhampton city centre, and is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It was historically within the county of Staffordshire.
Modern-day Birmingham's cultural diversity is reflected in the wide variety of religious beliefs of its citizens. 74.1% of residents identified themselves as belonging to a particular faith in the 2011 Census, while 19.3% stated they had no religion and a further 6.5% did not answer the question.
St Mary's Church, Handsworth, also known as Handsworth Old Church, is a Grade II* listed Anglican church in Handsworth, Birmingham, England. Its ten-acre (4 hectare) grounds are contiguous with Handsworth Park. It lies just off the Birmingham Outer Circle, and south of a cutting housing the site of the former Handsworth Wood railway station. It is noteworthy as the resting place of famous progenitors of the industrial age, and has been described as "the cathedral of the Industrial Revolution".
The Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster line is a suburban railway line from Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester via Stourbridge and Kidderminster. It is one of the Snow Hill Lines, with trains operated by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways using a variety of rolling stock including Class 172 and Class 168 diesel units. It is a future aspiration of Network Rail to electrify the entire line, as well as the Chiltern Main Line to London Marylebone.
Handsworth Park is a park in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. It lies 15 minutes by bus from the centre of Birmingham and comprises 63 acres of landscaped grass slopes, including a large boating lake and a smaller pond fed by the Farcroft and Grove Brooks, flower beds, mature trees and shrubs with a diversity of wildlife, adjoining St. Mary's Church, Handsworth to the north, containing the graves of the fathers of the Industrial Revolution, James Watt, Matthew Boulton and William Murdoch, and the founders of Aston Villa Football Club and the Victoria Jubilee Allotments site to the south opened on 12 June 2010. The completion of a £9.5 million restoration and rejuvenation of Handsworth Park was celebrated with a Grand Re-Opening Celebration led by Councillor Mike Sharpe, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, speaking from the restored bandstand at 2.00pm on Saturday 8 July 2006, followed by a count down by a large enthusiastic crowd and the release of clouds of confetti; in the words of one observer "Great wedding! Now we must make the marriage a success."
The Walsall–Wolverhampton line is a railway line in the West Midlands, England. It connects the town of Walsall to the city of Wolverhampton. The complete line does not currently have any regular scheduled passenger services: The line's local passenger service was withdrawn in 1965, it was restored in 1998, only to be withdrawn again in 2008. At present, the main use of the line is by freight trains, and it is also used as a diversionary route when engineering works are carried out on the West Coast Main Line.
Cradley Heath railway station serves the town of Cradley Heath in the West Midlands of England. It is located on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line. The station is managed by West Midlands Railway, who provide the majority of train services; there are also occasional services provided by Chiltern Railways.
Handsworth & Smethwick was an intermediate station on the Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead via Birmingham Snow Hill line. It was opened in 1854.
The Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway was incorporated in 1865 in order to connect the city of Wolverhampton, England with nearby towns such as Walsall, Willenhall and Wednesfield.
This article is intended to show a timeline of events in the History of Birmingham, England, with a particular focus on the events, people or places that are covered in Wikipedia articles.
Midlands 4 West (North) is a level 9 English Rugby Union league and level 4 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the northern part of the West Midlands region including Shropshire, Staffordshire, parts of Birmingham and the West Midlands and occasionally Cheshire, with home and away matches played throughout the season. Each year some of the clubs in this division also take part in the RFU Junior Vase - a level 9-12 national competition.
Midlands 3 West (North) is a level 8 English Rugby Union league and level 3 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the northern part of the West Midlands region including Shropshire, Staffordshire, parts of Birmingham and the West Midlands and occasionally Cheshire, with home and away matches played throughout the season. When this division began in 1992 it was known as Midlands West 2, until it was split into two regional divisions called Midlands 4 West (North) and Midlands 4 West (South) ahead of the 2000–01 season. Further restructuring of the Midlands leagues ahead of the 2009–10 season, led to the current name of Midlands 3 West (North).
Scouting in West Midlands provides an overview of Scouting activities in the governmental region of the West Midlands. The largest number of Scouts and volunteer leaders in the region is linked to the Scout Association of the United Kingdom, while there is also a presence of traditional Scouting groups, such as the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association. The Scout Association administers the region through 8 Scout Counties, overseen by a regional commissioner, which follow the boundaries of the ceremonial counties they exist within. There are also a number of Scouting clubs within Universities in the region which are affiliated to the Student Scout and Guide Organisation.
Frederick William Hackwood FRHS was a teacher, antiquarian, journalist, and prolific non-fiction writer who produced more than 30 books. He was born in Wednesbury in the West Midlands of England and served that town as a justice of the peace, historian, and councillor. He wrote for the Wednesbury Herald for twenty years.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Sons of Rest . |