Sutton Park, West Midlands
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Sutton Park NNR is a large urban park located in
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 ...
,
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 ...
, West Midlands,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The park is a National Nature Reserve; large parts are also a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Sutton Park is one of the largest urban parks in the United Kingdom. The park covers more than according to one source. It consists of a mix of heathland,
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
s and
marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
es, seven
lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
s, extensive ancient woodlands (covering approximately a quarter of the park), several restaurants, a private 18-hole
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
course on its western edge and a municipal golf course to the south, a
donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...
sanctuary (permanently closed), children's playgrounds and a Visitor Centre. There is no entrance charge to the Park (parking charges are under discussion). A wide range of leisure activities are undertaken in the park including dog walking, pony trekking, bike riding and kite flying and there are areas to fly model aeroplanes and helicopters. Additionally, a railway line runs through the park.


History

Peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
-cutting, near Rowton's Well during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, recovered
flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling. ...
s at the base of the peat. There are some unassuming
prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins  million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
burnt mounds, and an ancient well. The park contains a preserved section of the Icknield Street, a
Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
; the noticeably cambered road enters the Park near the Royal Oak Gate and exits towards the aptly named Streetly, the "meadow by the paved street"; it is still possible to walk the road. In 1909, two Roman
coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...
s were discovered in the park. The Queen's
Coppice Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...
, planted in 1953, now covers the site of an ancient
tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...
, from which a stone 'coffin' was dug out by
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
s in 1808. Near Blackroot Pool are the earthworks of an ancient encampment, the origin of this is not known – possibly it was a hunting lodge and it may have been Roman,
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
n or Norman (or even all three, over time).


Royal Forest

The park was established as a Royal Forest by the Anglo Saxon kings of
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
, from their seat at Tamworth at around the 9th century. By the early 12th century, it was in use as a Norman medieval deer park. The land was given to the people of Sutton Coldfield by
King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...
in 1528 after Bishop John Vesey, a friend of the King, asked for it as a present to the people of
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 ...
. The charcoal burning that took place in the Park is thought to have given Sutton Coldfield the second part of its name.


Wyndley Pool

Wyndley Pool is the oldest in the Park, perhaps dating from the 12th century or even earlier. The house of the Royal Steward sat on the bluff overlooking Wyndley Pool. Keeper's Pool and Bracebridge Pool date from the 15th century. Powell's Pool, Longmoor Pool, and Blackroot date from the 18th century, and were created to run watermills. There was another pool at Boldmere, now outside the park, but this has since vanished. Most of the Park has been undisturbed since then. The area of Ladywood, at Four Oaks, was taken for housing, but in exchange the Meadow Platt area near the town was added to the Park, thus allowing the construction of a new Park Road access from the town.


Railway station

A railway line, the Sutton Park Line, was built through the Park in 1879 and the Park had its own station. The advent of the railway, and the new town entrance, greatly increased the number of visitors to the Park. The Park's own dedicated station was closed in 1964, and the line now only serves goods trains, steam specials and diverted passenger workings. Construction of the line resulted in the filling in of an area of wetland known as "Webb's Stows", causing the loss of several species of rare plants from the park.


Sutton Miniature Railway

The Sutton Miniature Railway ran near to the present-day Wyndley Leisure Centre, from circa 1905 until the 1960s, when it was dismantled and the equipment put into store. The stock and engine shed are now at the Vintage Trains Depot at Tyseley, Birmingham.


Wartime camps

During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, convalescent camps were built in the Park. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
further camps were built; these were first used for enemy aliens, then for U.S. forces prior to D-Day, and finally for
Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
and Italian prisoners of war.


Scouting

In 1957, the 50th anniversary of
Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...
was celebrated when the 9th World Scout Jamboree, held concurrently with the 6th World Rover Moot and the 2nd World Scout Indaba, was held in the park, with participants from all over the world. The event is commemorated by a short stone pillar in the centre of the park.


Radio 1 Roadshow

On Sunday 30 August 1992, 100,000 fans attended the
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
biggest ever Roadshow to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Radio 1 with live performances from bands including Del Amitri, Aswad, The Farm and
Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...
. Free buses were provided by Travel West Midlands and a large Radio 1 Air ship floated above the park.


Lido

There was a rare 1887
lido Lido may refer to: Geography * Lido (Belgrade), a river beach on the Danube in Belgrade, Serbia * Venice Lido, an 11-kilometre-long barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, Venice, Italy * Ruislip Lido, a reservoir and artificial beach in Ruisl ...
, for open-air all-weather swimming, at Keepers Pool but the lido closed in 2003 after arson, and was burned down entirely in 2004. The Lido area has now been purposely reverted to woodland and
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
.


Sports

The park is popular for a number of sports. These include mountain biking, with the "Skeleton Hill" being popular with downhill bikers. Secondly sailing and canoeing, which take place mainly on Powell's Pool and finally kayaking and canoeing club on Blackroot Pool with Royal Sutton Coldfield Canoe Club. Runners and walkers also make the most of the park and its extensive pathways and trails. A number of running events are staged in the park. These include: * Seven Pools Run (March) * Midland Counties men's 12-stage and women's 6-stage relays (March) * ERRA National men's 12-stage and women's 6-stage relays (April) * National Masters (BMAF) Open Road Relays (May) * Royal Mail 5k / 10k Fun Run (May) * Hill West 10k (May) * Great Midlands Fun Run (June) * Race for Life (June) * City of Birmingham 10k / 5k Fun Run (September) * Midland Counties men's 6-stage and women's 4-stage relays (September) * Birmingham Insurance Institute 5k / 10k Fun Run (September) * Teach First's Run 10k + kids' 2k (September) * ERRA National men's 6-stage and women's 4-stage relays (October) There is a free 5 km parkrun event in the park at 9:00am every Saturday, starting at Banners Gate. The City of Birmingham triathlon event in held in July with the open water swim stage taking place in Powell's Pool. The Park hosted the triathlon events for the Birmingham 2022
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
. The swimming occurred in Powell's Pool, while the cycling took to the streets of Boldmere before transitioning to running in the park itself. Be Military Fit hold fitness classes up to six days a week in the park close to the Boldmere Gate. There are countless cycling routes throughout the park for all different capabilities. There is an 18-hole golf course near to the Streetly Gate entrance to the park. There is a section of grass sectioned off for the usage of model aeroplanes and helicopters. This is between Boldmere Gate and the Jamboree Stone and can be accessed at most times by car from Boldmere Gate. Sutton Park has also been used for motor rallying, and was a popular spectator stage on the Lombard RAC Rally in the 1970s and 1980s. Also there are many watersports in the park, including fishing, rowing and sailing on the park's Powell's Pool, where the Sutton Sailing Club(SSC) sails regularly throughout the year. Bishop Vesey Grammar School row on Powell's Pool.


Wildlife

Nightjars formerly bred in the park; the last recorded being in 1957, the year of the Scout Jamboree. Since then, there have only been two sightings, in 1974 and 2005. Both
red grouse The red grouse (''Lagopus scotica'') is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in Calluna, heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan (''Lagopus lagopus'') ...
and black grouse were in the park until 1868 and 1897 respectively.


Hydrology

Two streams rise in the park, Plants Brook (also known as the Ebrook or East Brook) and its tributary Longmoor Brook, as well as several of their smaller tributaries and man-made drainage channels. These feed a number of man-made pools and reservoirs. Their outflow, outside the park is into the River Tame, and ultimately via the
River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...
and the
Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...
, into the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
. Following heavy rainfall, water is fed into the streams from outside the park via storm drains known as "Combined Sewer Overflows".


Current status

In 1997,
English Nature English Nature was the Executive agency, United Kingdom government agency that promoted the Conservation (ethic), conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body ...
designated most of Sutton Park a national nature reserve and it features on
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
's list of recognised historic parks and gardens. In July 2005, a 20-year 'Keepers of Time' scheme was announced, which will eliminate alien species from ancient woodlands and restore native varieties like oak, ash and
beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...
. The park is currently managed by Birmingham City Council; but in July 2004 it was announced that control would be devolved to the local councillors for
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 ...
. The roads have reverted to their previous 'heavily restricted' status. There is still considerable car traffic into and out of the park, mainly of families with children, dog walkers, kite/model aeroplane fliers and other recreational use. However, cross-park 'through traffic' is now completely blocked by sturdy gates across the main link roads, similar to the existing gates at all road entrances and exits, that open and close with dusk and dawn. This measure has significantly reduced the use of the park as a rush-hour short-cut (notably between Boldmere and Streetly), with some noticeable impact on congestion of local routes around the Park. The benefit of traffic restriction is improvement in the enjoyability of the park; with cleaner air, safer roads for walkers and cyclists, and much reduced visual and
noise pollution Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...
, plus reduced wear and tear on the poorly maintained, decaying road surfaces. Road speed limits through the park have been reduced twice, from 30 mph to 20 mph in the 1980s, and to 5 mph in 2004. Also, on the pedestrianised areas (areas that used to be roads for cars, but are now closed to vehicles, except for emergency/ranger traffic), many speed bumps have been removed. The commercial funfair for small children beside Powell's Pool continues to operate, attracting significant business. It offers rides such as a daisy-chained go-kart track ride (with 'spooky' tunnels), and a two-person manually operated bell-rope pirate ship swings. There is a Sea Cadets dry-dock training vessel ("the Concrete Corvette") at Boldmere Gate along with the headquarters of the 1st Sutton Coldfield Sea Scouts, and at the other side of the park the 9th Sutton Coldfield Scouts. There are now a larger number of police officers in the park, especially at the main gate, Town Gate. This has helped to stop vandalism and arson attacks on the park, however, some incidents still happen. In December 2007, the National Cycle Network won £50-million in a public vote. The effect on Sutton Park will be to buil
the Plants Brook route
that will create a free off-road bicycle path from east Erdington to Sutton Park. In February 2008, a City Council
feasibility study A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats pr ...
examined the possibility of once again running passenger trains through the park. In September 2012, an outbreak of ''E. coli'' O157 was confirmed by the Health Protection Agency. Seven people were infected during the months of July and August. The park remained open but Birmingham City Council advised children under 10 to avoid visiting Sutton Park and for visitors to avoid contact with animals and wash hands thoroughly. Due to the outbreak, the autumn Midlands Counties and English National Road Relays running events in 2012 were cancelled. During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, outdoor exercise was encouraged as people struggled with the physical effects of lockdown and restrictions. Sutton Park remained busy even as the Wyndley Leisure Centre facilities were shut.


References


External links


Birmingham City Council pages

Friends of Sutton Park Association

Natural History of Sutton Park

Sutton Sea Scouts

Photos of Sutton Park and surrounding area on geograph

Sutton Coldfield Sailing Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton Park NNR Country parks in Birmingham, West Midlands Sutton Park (Birmingham) Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the West Midlands (county) Sutton Coldfield Nature reserves in Birmingham, West Midlands Parks and open spaces in Birmingham, West Midlands 2022 Commonwealth Games venues Triathlon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games