Langley Hall, West Midlands
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Langley Hall was a
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
just off Fox Hollies Road, one mile from the centre of
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 ...
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 ...
in the historic county of
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) 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 an ...
. The date of construction is unknown; however, by the 13th century, it was the seat of de Beresfords of
Wishaw Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it formed ...
. One member of the family was the
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other ...
in 1289, and another was a confidential retainer to the
Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...
. Langley Hall was a large house, with a
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
surrounding it and a pond and fishery within its grounds. It was held by the
Earl of Warwick Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation c ...
. In 1327, Edmund de Beresford had
licence to crenellate In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within the ...
the house, making it into a fortified building. The hall passed into the ownership of the Hores before being owned by the Pudseys, strong supporters of the Parliamentarians during the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
. In the reign of Henry VII, Edith Hore formed a relationship with Rowland Pudsey, and they soon married resulting in Rowland acquiring the hall and estate. One of his descendants, Henry Pudsey, died in 1677, leaving two daughters, Elizabeth and Anne, plus a
widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...
, Jane Pudsey. She later married William Wilson who was a local
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, builder and
sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
. Her daughters disapproved of the marriage and Jane was forced to leave the house. Anne, the younger of the two daughters, inherited the hall following her father's death. Elizabeth Pudsey went on to marry
William Jesson William Jesson (1580 – 1651) was an English dyer and politician who was active in local government in Coventry and sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1648. Jesson was the son of Richard Jesson of Coventry and his wife Elizabeth Hill. ...
, who built Four Oaks Hall with the help of William Wilson. The history of the hall is unknown during the 18th century; however, it is known that it was rebuilt in brick.''British History Online: A History of the County of Warwick'': Volume 4: Hemlingford Hundred (1947)
- The Borough of Sutton Coldfield The hall was then sold by the grandson of Jenson to Andrew Hackett and in 1815, it was bequeathed to George Bowyer Adderley. In 1817, George Bowyer Adderley sold the hall to
Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
who immediately demolished the hall for no indicated reason. The moat remained; however, it did sustain some damage from the demolition of the hall. During the history of the hall, a farm served the owners. As part of this farm was a windmill, one of only two in the area, the other being located in
Maney Maney is an area of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. It is situated close to the town centre of Sutton Coldfield and is also near Wylde Green and Walmley. The main thoroughfare is Birmingham Road, which runs through Maney. Facilities Sut ...
. A watermill was also operating in the estate for a short time. Both mills were used in the process of
corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
milling. The site, now in
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 ...
in the
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 ...
, is currently occupied by a private residence named Langley House. The moat remains, however, has been drained and is overgrown with plants. Nearby is Langley Hall Farm, which used to serve the hall. Built in the Queen Anne style, it was refurbished in the 1990s into private residences with a landscaped courtyard.


References

*''Walmley and its surroundings'' (Chapter III: Langley, Wishaw and Moxhull), Douglas V. Jones, 1990, Westwood Press () *''The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield - A Commemorative History'', Douglas V. Jones, 1994, Westwood Press () *''Langley windmill, Sutton Coldfield'', K.J. Williams, 1982 *''Langley corn mill, Sutton Coldfield'', K.J. Williams, 1982 {{Birmingham Buildings Houses in Birmingham, West Midlands Country houses in the West Midlands (county) History of Warwickshire History of Birmingham, West Midlands Sutton Coldfield Demolished buildings and structures in the West Midlands (county) Buildings and structures demolished in 1817