Four Oaks is an affluent residential area in
Sutton Coldfield
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 ...
,
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
, lying along the north and east borders of
Sutton Park. Four Oaks is situated approximately north of
Birmingham City Centre
Birmingham City Centre, also known as Central Birmingham and often known locally as town, is the central business district of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is now defined as being the area wi ...
, and is bordered by Sutton Park,
Streetly
Streetly is an area in the county of West Midlands, England which lies around 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 M ...
,
Mere Green,
Little Aston
Little Aston is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is located within the Lichfield District and is approximately south of the city of Lichfield. Formerly a separate settlement, it is in modern times contiguous with the built-up area of th ...
,
Roughley
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 at ...
and
Aldridge
Aldridge is an industrial town in the Walsall borough, West Midlands, England. It is historically a village that was part of Staffordshire until 1974. The town is from Brownhills, from Walsall, from Sutton Coldfield and from Lichfield. ...
. Four Oaks has a population of 21,690 as of 2004, and is part of the
Sutton Four Oaks
Sutton Four Oaks is one of the 40 electoral wards in Birmingham, England.
Sutton Four Oaks is one of the four wards that make up the Parliamentary Constituency and council constituency of Sutton Coldfield. The ward lies to the north of Sutton C ...
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
.
Four Oaks Estate
In 1677,
Henry Folliott, 1st Baron Folliott of Ballyshannon bought 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
Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton (1713 – 14 January 1787), was an Anglo-Irish politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1780.
Biography
He was the second son of Henry Luttrell, of Luttrellstown (whose family had held Luttr ...
, who remodelled and modernised the house. In 1757, he bought a further 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
Sir Edmund Cradock-Hartopp, 1st Baronet (21 April 1749 – 10 June 1833) was a British baronet and politician.
Life
Born Edmund Bunney, he was the son of Joseph Bunney and Mary Cradock in Freathby, Leicestershire.
He married in 1777, Anne, th ...
in 1792. In 1827, Hartopp bought of woodland to further increase the size of the deer park. The estate was sold to
Hubert de Burgh-Canning, 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde
Hubert George de Burgh-Canning, 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde (; ; ; ; 30 November 1832 – 12 April 1916), styled Lord Hubert de Burgh until 1862, Lord Hubert de Burgh-Canning until 1867, and Viscount Bourke until 1874, was an Anglo-Iris ...
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. 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. 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
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
status. Four Oaks Estate is also home to Four Oaks Tennis Club, which was founded in 1906.
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 wa
Refusedon 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 recentl
Refusedat a Lichfield Council Planning Committee meeting, and subsequent Planning Inspectorate Appea
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.
Transport
West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...
operate a frequent train service from
Four Oaks railway station
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.
History
The station opened ...
to
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
and
Redditch
Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...
on the
Cross-City Line
The Cross-City Line is a commuter rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New ...
via
Birmingham New Street
Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...
and the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
. There are also four bus services through Four Oaks operated by
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, as well as limited routes outside of the general area of Birmingham, su ...
. The
Sutton Park Line is a freight-only railway line that runs from
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
to
Water Orton
Water Orton is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire borough of Warwickshire in the West Midlands, England near the River Tame. It is located between Castle Bromwich and Coleshill, and borders the West Midlands metropolitan coun ...
via Sutton Park.
Four Oaks Methodist Church
Four Oaks Methodist Church is a
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
church located next to Four Oaks railway station. Constructed between 1907 and 1908, the church was
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in 1976.
Noted Person
Sir
Thomas Acquin Martin (1850-1904) - Industrialist.
References
*''The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield - A Commemorative History'', Jones, D. V., 1994, Westwood Press ()
*''The Story of Sutton Coldfield'', Lea, R., 2003, The History Press Ltd ()
{{Coord, 52, 35, N, 1, 50, W, region:GB_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title
Areas of Birmingham, West Midlands
Conservation areas in England
Sutton Coldfield