Pype Hayes is a modern housing estate area in the east of the

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

district of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. It is within the Tyburn ward. Covering the postcodes of B24 and B76.

Etymology

The name of the area derives from a major landowner in Erdington called Henry de Pipe. On this land he built a house which later developed into

Pype Hayes Hall Pype Hayes Hall is a former mansion house in the Pype Hayes area of Erdington, Birmingham, England. The hall's grounds now form Pype Hayes Park. It was formerly in the historic county of Warwickshire before being transferred into the new county ...

History

Pype Hayes developed mainly during the 20th century as a result of the expansion of Erdington northwards towards the Chester Road. The Chester Road follows the line of the ancient drover's road called the Welsh Road. It developed during the 17th century as a major thoroughfare through Birmingham. Stage coaches used the road and it developed a reputation as a haven for

highwaymen A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to fo ...

. All the land in Pype Hayes was owned as part of an estate with

at its centre. This was a prominent hall in the area and the nearest settlement was Holifast Grange to the north-west. The construction of the

Birmingham and Fazeley Canal The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford ...

in the south of Erdington prompted the establishment of industries near

Tyburn Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern Ox ...

, which is close to Pype Hayes. However, Pype Hayes remained unaffected by the industry. In the 20th century, Pype Hayes became the focus of residential developments for the expanding Erdington area. Also, the public wanted houses so that they could live near their workplaces at Tyburn. Eachelhurst Road was selected as a main housing development location. As Eachelhurst Road was on the boundary of Pype Hayes, the area remained relatively untouched. The houses were constructed between

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and were of a

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...

style. They were constructed of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

and

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

. The areas surrounding Pype Hayes developed quickly.

Walmley Walmley is a suburban village situated in the civil parish of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. It lies within the City of Birmingham on its northeastern outer fringe, where it forms part of the Sutton Walmley and Minworth electoral ward. It is i ...

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 ...

expanded massively and

Castle Vale Castle Vale is a housing estate located between Erdington, Minworth and Castle Bromwich. Currently Castle Vale makes up the Castle Vale Ward of Birmingham City Council which is part of Erdington constituency (having previously been part of Birmin ...

to the south-east became a major industrial area with the construction of a large aerodrome. The landowners lost power within the area and so the Chester Road became developed. During the war, Pype Hayes was bombed, however, this was mainly haphazard bombing aimed at Erdington. Walmley Ash, nearby to Pype Hayes, witnessed 70-80 bombs being dropped on the area in just one night. Pype Hayes was extensively developed for council housing in the 1920s, as Birmingham City Council had recently started a huge process of rehousing people from inner city slums. More than 1,300 homes were built at Pype Hayes on land between Chester Road and Tyburn Road, with concrete walls and steel subframes - typical Dunlop Boswell style. The first school opened on the estate in 1928 - Paget Council School, which had capacity for 824 pupils aged 5–15 years. Gunter Road Council School was added in 1930 for 432 children aged 5–11 years, with wooden huts being added in 1930 and even the hall of St Mary's Church being used as an annex from 1952 to 1954 to cope with increased pupil numbers. By the 1980s, most of the houses at Pype Hayes were plagued with "concrete cancer" - a structural defect which renders buildings beyond repair. As with many large council housing estates, car crime, drugs, burglaries and "hooligan" behaviour were becoming a widespread problem. Also demolished as the Norton public house, which was replaced by a supermarket. It was soon decided that the defective homes all had to be demolished, and in 1992 the Pype Hayes Regeneration Programme began. Several tower blocks were built on Pype Hayes during the 1960s, as part of further rehousing from inner city slums, but these homes were no better than the older ones in the area, despite being some 40 years newer. They too would have to be demolished. On 7 July 2005 the council approved the demolition of properties 189-235 Pype Hayes Road, which were built by Dunlop Boswell. Demolition cost an estimated £60,000. The last houses to be were demolished were around 2010-2011. The twelfth and final phase of the regeneration was approved by the Cabinet on 27 October 2003. The successful tender submission by Barratt Homes and Prime Focus was then approved in 2002.Birmingham City Council: Demolition of Dunlop Boswell Properties
/ref> Most of the properties in Pype Hayes were demolished, with the exception of Sorrel House which was retained and refurbished, and were replaced with a modern housing development. The regeneration of Pype Hayes continues with Persimmon Homes completing the final phase in 2009, ending the estate's regeneration process which had lasted 17 years.

Features and facilities

remains today and was auctioned by Birmingham City Council in February 2012. It is now in private hands. The hall was sold in November 2013 for £25,000 to private investors with plans to create a hotel and leisure complex. As of November 2019 the hall still lies derelict with no development. Surrounding the hall is a park called Pype Hayes Park which hosts a

funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

and used to be the site for a large City Council funded

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...

and

firework display Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...

to celebrate

Guy Fawkes Night Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and fireworks displays. Its history begins with the ev ...

. This has not been held for a number of years due to cuts in City resources. Adjacent to the park is Pype Hayes Golf Course, which was opened in 1933. The two are separated by

Plants Brook Plants Brook (originally Ebrook, Ebrooke''The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield - A Commemorative History'', Douglas V. Jones, 1994, Westwood Press () or East Brook

which flows beneath the Eachelhurst Road. At the Eachelhurst Road - Chester Road junction was a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

called ''The Bagot Arms''. This closed in 2019. An arson attack on the pub during on 5th August 2021 resulted in devastation of the pub building and the likelihood of the building now being demolished and the site cleared for apartments. The parish church for Pype Hayes is St Mary's Church, which opened in 1929.

Transport

The A38 passes through the area. The road is used by several

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 ...

services which travel through Stockland Green to the

Aston Expressway The A38(M), commonly known as the Aston Expressway, is a motorway in Birmingham, England. It is long and was opened on 24 May 1972.Castle Bromwich Castle Bromwich () is a large suburban 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; also Sutton Coldfield to the east and ...

. There are no rail facilities in the area, however, further up the Chester Road is Chester Road railway station 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 ...

. Also in close proximity are

and

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 ...

railway stations.

References

External links

Birmingham.gov.uk: Pype Hayes ParkBirmingham.gov.uk: Pype Hayes Golf CoursePype Hayes Golf ClubKier: Pype Hayes EstateThe Church of England: St Mary's ChurchBirminghamnet.co.uk: Pype Hayes photograph gallery
{{coord, 52.5274, -1.8109, region:GB-BIR, display=title Areas of Birmingham, West Midlands