R
RAILWAY
The arrival of the railway was arguably the most momentous event in the history of Sutton Coldfield,
Early railways in the Birmingham area were the 1837 Grand Junction Railway from Birmingham Vauxhall via Aston and Walsall to Warrington, the 1838 Birmingham Curzon Strret to London line ( both of which became part of the LNWR network) and the 1846 Birmingham to Derby, Tame Valley Line via Water Orton ( later part of the Midland Railway).
In 1846 the Birmingham Lichfield and Manchester Railway Company agreed to provide a line from Birmingham to Sutton under a contract supported by a penalty bond. Protracted arguments and negotiations as to the precise route to be followed caused long delays ( Most of the negotiating parties had vested interests by virtue of their land holdings) and ultimately the project failed in 1853 when Sutton Corporation accepted compensation of £3000 under the penalty bond. (See TOWN HALL.)
In 1857 two new rival companies were formed to promote the Sutton railway link. One led by Baron D Webster of Penns (Warden of the town at that time) and supported by Thomas Chavasse and George Bodington, proposed an 'eastern' route from the Tame Valley line; the other led by the Rector WK Riland Bedford and supported by other local worthies, proposed a 'western' route from Aston. In 1858 the Corporation by a majority of almost two to one agreed the western line which LNWR opened with stations at Chester Road , Wylde Green and a terminus at Sutton Town in June 1862, thereby creating easy access to the fresh air and open spaces of Sutton for the population of the fast growing industrial Birmingham.
For a detailed account of the building of this railway see 'Steaming up to Sutton' by Roger Lea.
The line was extended to Lichfield, involving demolition of the Sutton terminus and the building of a new station there, and the construction of a tunnel under the town and a new station at Four Oaks, and opened in Decenber 1884.
In the meantime the Midland Railway Company having aquired the Tame Valley line were anxious to emulate the success of their great rival LNWR, and great controversy was created when they proposed a new line from Water Orton to Walsall routed through Sutton Park. Amazingly the proposal succeeded and the Midland line opened in 1879. Stations were built at Penns, Sutton (accessed by a new road Midland Drive), Sutton Park (accessed by a new road Midland Road) and at the western edge of Sutton Park at a location to be named Streetly ( roughly translating as ' the field by the roman road')
This rather circuitous route from Birmingham to Sutton was unsurprisingly not as popular as its more direct rival, although in the other direction it did provide easy access to Sutton for thr growing population of industrial Walsall. The line was closed to passenger traffic and its stations were closed in 1965.
In January 1955 an horrific accident occured when a diverted York to Bristol express was derailed at speed emerging out of the tunnel and onto the bend at Sutton Town station. Seventeen people were killed and many injured.
RILAND and RILAND BEDFORD
John Shilton, a puritan, whose family had owned the advowson of Sutton for many generations, appointed his son in law John Riland MA, son of John Riland Rector of Birmingham as Rector of Holy Trinity in 1689. When Shilton found himself in financial difficulties Riland helped his patron and himself by buying the advowson of a parish with a substantial endowment of land and therefore a guaranteed and substantial income for himself and the many members of his family who followed as Rector over the next three hundred years.
In 1701 Riland vacated the old 1528 rectory in Coleshill Street and commissioned William Wilson, a local architect to build a handsome Queen Anne style mansion in several acres of parkland ( later to be known as Rectory Park ).
When he died in 1720 his son Richard Riland MA succeeded as Rector. His letter of proposal of marriage to his future wife Mary Bisse is a masterpiece - see Douglas V Jones page 105.
His son and successor as Rector Richard Bisse Riland MA was Warden of the town in 1771 and in 1778 as a prominent landowner supported the proposal for the enclosure of the common land including the Park, which due to much local opposition did not proceed at that time.
When he died aged 58 in 1758 he was succeeded by his brother Rev John Riland (who been Warden of the town in 1762) who was of a different political persuasion and strongly opposed to Enclosure which did not proceed until after his death in 1822. He was a champion of education for the populace and was heavily involved
in the decision to invest the proceeds of a legal action against the misfeasance of the Warden and Society in the provision of schools. In 1784 Lydia Riland, daughter of Richard Riland, married William Bedford a Birmingham lawyer and hi son,(a grandson of Richard Riland, Rev William Riland Bedford MA ) became Rector in 1822 in which year he was also Warden of Sutton Coldfield. Although he lived in some style,( in 1841 there were six servants living at the Rectory) he died aged only 49 . His eldest son being only seventeen at the time , another grandson of Richard Riland took over at the Rectory. This was Rev William Williamson son of Phoebe Riland another daughter of Richard Riland.
When he died in 1850 the twenty four year old Rev William K Riland Bedford MA was appointed
Throughout their reign The Riland Rectors had been sufficiently wealthy to employ curates and assistant curates to deal with the more humdrum tasks in the parish and several of these clerics even served as Wardens of the town.
William certainly found the time to become a serious historian and antiquarian.
Two of his works, ‘Three Hundred Years of Family Living’ 1889 and ‘ A History of Sutton Coldfield’ 1891 are essential reading for anyone with an interest in the town. He was also a keen sportsman with a particular interest in cricket and archery. He formed two cricket clubs; the Sutton Coldfield Cricket Club which still plays in Rectory Park and a club originally made up from archers, the Free Foresters
But the days of the Riland Bedfords were numbered; the last of the dynasty Rev William C Riland Bedford served from 1892 to 1907.
In 1898 the law was changed and thereafter advowsons reverted to Ecclesiastical Commissioners. In 1907 the Commissioners transferred ownership of the rectory and Rectory Park to the Sutton Coldfield Corporation. The Rectory was demolished in 1936 and a new one was built in Coleshill Street.
ROMANS
Remains of the Roman road, north from Droitwich can still be traced running northwards along the western boundary of Sutton Park. Marching along this road known Ryknild or Icknild Street, the Romans effectively bypassed the remote wilderness area that later became Sutton Coldfield. They may have refreshed themselves at Rowtons Well, which is adjacent to the road, on their way to Letocetum a Roman settlement situated near the junction of Ryknild Street with Watling Street ( now known as Wall).
They remained in Britain until the 6th century and it was not until about 669 AD that Bishop Chad established his base at Licidfelth.
ROYAL HOTEL
The first Royal Hotel in Sutton Coldfield was the building adjacent to the present Town Hall which now houses local authority offices. This was once a rather grand building erected in 1865 as a purpose built hotel to serve the large numbers of visitors expected to be attracted to the town by the new 1862 railway.
It was designed by Edwin Holmes in the Gothic Revival style and built by T Elvins of Birmingham. If the frontage seems very plain it is probably because the present frontage was originally the rear elevation, the original frontage facing down the hill to the railway station.
The hotel was soon in financial difficulties and was closed. Although refinanced and reopened in 1869 it never really achieved the status that its prominent position suggested. On the night of the 1881 census the hotel housed nine guests and twelve staff.
In 1895 Lt Colonel Wilkinson bought the empty hotel building with over five acres of land and presented it to a charitable organisation for use as a sanatorium for white collar workers and teachers. The venture was not succesful and in 1902 the Charities Commission sold the property to the Sutton Corporation for use as a Town Hall and Council offices. ( See TOWN HALL )
The demise of the original Royal Hotel enabled the name to be recycled ; the second Royal Hotel is the building of that name standing at 25/27 High Street. It has been suggested that this site was occupied in the 17th century by the Grosvenor family; in particular by Gawen Grosvenor who married Dorothy Pudsey of Langley in 1589 and later by Leicester Grosvenor in whose hands it was valued at £58 a year in 1671.
If so the property was rebuilt in the Georgian style in the mid 18th century with five bays and a portico.
Occupiers included Homer and Willoughby and from about 1850 William Morris Grundy a currier and tanner who was also a photographic pioneeer. Grundy is referred to in the Holbeche Diary; he died in 1859 leaving an estate worth £25000.
Soon afterwards the house was converted to a hotel. It was probably originally named 'The Bear'. In 1870 it became Giles Hotel, before 1881 it became the 'Swan Hotel' and by 1901 had become the 'Royal Hotel'The nine bay extension to the southside is late 19th century, originally the 'Assembly Rooms'. The whole building is Grade 2 listed.