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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

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 ...

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

in the historic county of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. The date of construction is unknown; however, by the 13th century, it was the seat of de Beresfords of

Wishaw Wishaw (; ; ) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the River Clyde, Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The town is part of the Motherwell and Wishaw (UK Parliament constituency), Motherwell and Wishaw c ...

. 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, which was the second-highest common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body ...

in 1289, and another was a confidential retainer to the

Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, succeeded to the throne instead. Edward n ...

. Langley Hall was a large house, with a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

surrounding it and a pond and fishery within its grounds. It was held by the

Earl of Warwick Earl of Warwick is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which has been created four times in English history. The name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation came in 1088, and the title was held b ...

. 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 or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. 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 and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

, 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 Builder may refer to: Construction * Construction worker, who specializes in building work * Carpenter, a skilled craftsman who works with wood * General contractor, that specializes in building work ** Subcontractor * Real estate developer, who ...

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. H ...

, 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 twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

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. A watermill was also operating in the estate for a short time. Both mills were used in the process of

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

milling. The site, now in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

in the West Midlands, 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