Many visitors to Warley Woods, and others who see historical posts on Facebook, ask why the Abbey was demolished rather than repaired.   I thought that the best way to understand the reasons for this was to look at the minutes of the Parks Department in Birmingham (the local authority which was managing the site at the time) to try and understand the process and reasons behind this.

After the War

It all starts in 1948 when Birmingham councillors from the Site and Buildings sub committee of the Parks Committee visited the Abbey due to its poor state of repair.  They thought that a detailed survey of the building was needed to decide what to do next.

Just for some context, at that time both the Park Superintendent and the Golf Professional lived in the Abbey and the golfers started their rounds from there and the Abbey provided facilities for players.  It was an important and necessary building, even though parts of it were empty and becoming in a poor state of repair. (For example, in March 1949 it was reported that repairs had been carried out on the chimneys, stonework and slates of the building to try and keep it watertight.)  

Further, under Town and Country Planning Act 1947 the Ministry of Town and Country planning has designated Warley Abbey on the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The list was compiled on 21st March 1949 and as a result there was an obligation to give 2 months’ notice to the relevant authority of any intended work, including demolition. (The relevant authority was the one in which the building was situated.)

Architect appointed

Mr S T Walker, an architect, was commissioned by Birmingham City Council to prepare a report on the state of the Abbey and what was best for the future.  This he did, and his report, here produced in full, was discussed at the Parks Committee meeting in February 1950. 
State of Warley Abbey January/February 1950

ST Walker
Chartered Architects
83 Suffolk Street, Birmingham 1
16th January 1950

Warley Abbey Smethwick
Architect’s report to the Chairman and members of the Birmingham Parks and Cemetries Committee in connection with the future of Warley Abbey.

History
From enquiries made at the Smethwick Library it would appear that Warley Abbey was originally a grange of Halesowen worked as a farm by the monks.  The Barons of Dudley were Lords of the Manor in the 13th century and there are records of the holders of Knights fees up to 1538 when Halesowen Abbey was dissolved.

There is however no apparent record of the demolition of the original grange and its rebuilding on a different site as we now know it.
The purpose of these investigations was to ascertain whether the existing buildings can be said to have any historical associations and it would appear that the pseudo Tudor structure with its even later red brick additional wing to the west were not even built on the original site of the ancient grange.

The existing buildings consist of a stucoed house built during the 19th century in the gothic style with a wing to the west in red brick.  This latter part has been converted into a self contained house lately occupied by the Head Park Keeper.  The Golf Professional occupies a flat on the First Floor of the house proper and part of the Ground Floor is used as Club House in connection with the 9 hole golf course.

Structural condition
The premises have fallen into very bad repair.  Inattention to the roofs and rainwater spouting etc. have allowed the weather to penetrate the building.  In some cases roofs have collapsed and the resultant dampness has started outbreaks of dry rot which, if not checked immediately will spread further into the building, and in any case will continue to be an unpredictable source of danger by infecting the whole structure.

Accommodation
The existing accommodation would seem to be in excess of that which is required to house the Head Park Keeper, the Golf Professional and ordinary golf club facilities.

Although the Head Park Keeper’s house is a suitable size, it is not ideally planned, at any rate on the Ground Floor and would appear to enjoy practically no sunshine during any part of the day.

The Golf Professional’s flat suffers from being unnecessarily large but is otherwise well appointed. The old kitchens and the rooms over have fallen into disrepair and with the rooms now used for storage by the WVS are redundant as far as the presented requirements are concerned.  

From a planning point of view it would be possible to pull down about a fifth of the building and still leave sufficient accommodation for present needs with something to spare.

Recommendations
In view of the very bad state of the structure the repairs and renovations necessary would be an expensive operation and in normal circumstances not worthwhile.  The money involved would very likely be more than that required for building de novo two cottages for the Park Keeper and Golf Professional and Club premises on the scale it is presumed would be called for.

If it were possible to do this the opportunity could be taken of siting the club premises and Golf Professional’s House in proper relation to the golf course, for instance opposite Beechwood Road which would afford excellent supervision of the course.

In the event of it not being possible to adopt this course, consideration could be given to remodeling the existing premises.  There are a number of ways in which this can be done and by way of illustration of one possible scheme a sketch plan is attached.  From this it will be seen that the following points are incorporated: (No sketch plan available)

1) Cloakroom and lavatory is provided for the Ladies whose clubroom is far removed from the Lavatories.  This as planned would be at the expense of the existing Entrance by access would be given through a new door on the East side directly into the Ladies Clubroom.  The men would continue to pass through their locker room.  Alternatively a common entrance is provided from the west, the conservatory being pulled down.
2) a self contained two storey flat is provided in the old Billiards Room (now WVS store) on the ground floor and bedrooms above with an entrance from the rear of the premises.
3) The Old Dining Room (now Golf practice nets) would become available for the service of meals which might be provided by the Golf Professional’s wife.  About 40 meals could be served at a sitting.  It is thought that this might be an attractive asset to users of the Park, especially for teas, a provision which could be extended in the summer in a paved area as shewn.
4) The existing Professional’s flat would then become available for the Head Park Keeper.  Access to this flat would also be from the rear of the premises, the staircases being cut off from the club premises.
5 Owing to the unsatisfactory aspect of the existing Head Keeper’s flat this could be demolished if no longer required for any other purpose.

The underlying thought behind these suggestions is to open up and make use of the sunny aspects of the premises, the builders of the original house having been to some pains to exclude the sun as can be seen particularly by the lack of windows and screening on the ground floor of the south side of the house proper and the facing of all rooms of which is now the Park keeper’s house to the north.
Without going into these proposals in detail it is not possible to give an indication of the cost, but as mentioned above, owing to the bad state of the existing building the excessive areas to be repaired, heated, redecorated etc., the capital cost is likely to be greater than properly and economically planned accommodation provided de novo.  As there is no architectural merit in the buildings worthy of preservation, there would seem justification in retaining the existing premises only on the score of expediency and this on the assumption that the recommended course of demolition and rebuilding is not permissible by the Licensing Authority.  Furthermore it must be remembered that maintenance cost of the building when altered will always be high, not only on account of the age of the fabric, but unnecessarily extravagant areas to be redecorated and kept in repair.  In this respect it may be noted that the present Professional’s flat has a floor area of more than 2.5 times that of a council house.  This fact suggests a possible modification, namely to demolish the portion taken up by the new Golf Professional’s flat and replan the existing one to provide two smaller ones with a common staircase.  This would, however, mean abandoning the suggestion for providing meals or making separate arrangements for catering.

In conclusion, therefore, the recommendation is that the whole of the existing premises be demolished and new buildings be erected in accordance with a programme to be drawn up comprising cottages for the Golf Professional and Park Keeper and a small Golf Club House suitably sited.  Furthermore if a Restaurant or Tea Room is required for the use of the Public this be treated as a separate concerned place perhaps on the site of the existing Abbey after demolition as being a suitable position in relation to the Park proper.

In the event of it not being possible to demolish and start again, the existing Abbey could be repaired and remodelled on a modified scale but at a cost out of proportion to the convenience and economical maintenance of the accommodation so provided.

If neither of these courses is possible, it would seem that as much of the building as can be spared should be demolished forthwith, if only to arrest the inevitable spread of dry rot which has already broken out in the fabric of the house.

It is understood that Warley Abbey has been scheduled under Section 30 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 as a building of Architectural or Historic Interest.  In the event of it being decided or possible to adopt the recommendations of this report, two months’ notice would have to be given to the Local Planning Authority of the desire to demolish.   

ST Walker.  Chartered Architects.  

Consultation with other bodies

This report was sent to both Smethwick Borough Council and the Ministry of Town and Country Planning for their consideration, along with the view that Birmingham City Council accepted the architect’s recommendation that the best course of action was demolition.  As a result a meeting was held in June 1950 between all three organisations, Birmingham City Council, Smethwick Council and the Ministry, as well as Mr Walker the architect to consider the matter further.

At this meeting the representatives from the Ministry said that more detailed costings were needed and Mr Walker said that he’d need a much more detailed survey including the work of a Quantity Surveyor in order to obtain those costings.  The General Manager of Birmingham Parks sought the advice of the committee about whether to go ahead with this work or simply to reiterate that demolition was the best option.  Smethwick, the local authority in which the building stands, would then to have to show that the building is of such historical or architectural merit that it should be retained.

In July 1950 the Parks Committee recommended that no further costings be done and the building be demolished. Investigations would be made about alternative accommodation for the Golf Professional and the Park Superintendent and the provision of a prefabricated building for the needs of the golf course.  Smethwick and the Ministry to be informed of this decision.

Of course, a further meeting was requested!  Smethwick wanted to see the detailed costings and arrange another visit on site.  Birmingham said it was not worth doing the costings as the situation was so clear but they agreed to a meeting on site.  That meeting took place on October 26th 1950.  Present were His Worship the Mayor of Smethwick, The Deputy Town Clerk, Smethwick, The Borough Engineer and Surveyor, Smethwick, The Chairman, Parks Committee, Birmingham, The Chief Assistant Solicitor Birmingham, The Representative, Ministry of Town and Country Planning, (Regional Office) Birmingham, The Consulting Architect, (Mr. S.T. Walker), The General Manager, Parks Dept, Birmingham, The Senior Architectural and Surveying Assistant, Parks Dept, Birmingham and The Clerk to the Parks Committee, Town Clerk’s Office, Birmingham.  So a lot of people and time given to considering the matter (or they all wanted a day out at Warley Woods!)

The Ministry representatives said it was up to Smethwick Borough Council to decide whether a buildings preservation order be made and it would be unlikely that they would oppose demolition if no order was made.  The Smethwick representatives needed more time and agreed to make a decision within the next two months.  They wanted to know how much had been spent on repairs to the Abbey over the previous two years and some rough costings from Mr Walker of the alternative schemes.  It was agreed to provide this information and that Smethwick would make a decision within the two months.

In February 1951 it was finally reported to the Birmingham Parks Committee that neither Smethwick nor the Ministry intended to make a building preservation order and therefore demolition could go ahead. 

Why did demolition not happen until 1957?

Well, things can grind very slowly in the world of Local Authorities and the Government as well. In November 1951, nine months after the decision to demolish had been made, the Parks General Manager was asked to look at the possibility of accommodation for the staff in Lightwoods House and a new administrative building for the golf activities.  Then nothing more was reported until October 1952 when the idea of two new houses for the Golf Professional and the Park Superintendent to be built on Lightwoods Hill were approved by the Parks Committee.  In addition a temporary building on Abbey Road would be built for the use of the golfers.  These proposals were agreed by the Parks Committee in October and subsequently the City Council in November 1952, and Smethwick Council raised no objections.

1953-1955

However……
This was all happening after the War when there was very little money available for capital building, and what was available needed to be prioritised for housing and schools.  All projects with a capital cost of over £5,000 and requiring a loan had to be approved by the Ministry and Housing and Local Government before they could go ahead, and Birmingham had to submit a list of the schemes that they regarded as priority.  In a letter to Birmingham in February 1953 the Ministry asked Birmingham to rank the schemes in order of priority.

The Parks Committee ranked Warley at the top of their list and asked the City Council to convey this back to the Ministry which they agreed to do.  By November 1953 no decision had been taken and the Parks Department were asked to submit another list of the priority projects. Again Warley was included in this list.  The next mention in the minutes is in July 1954 when there is still disagreement between the Ministry and Birmingham City Council about the priorities!  Birmingham was asked to produce another list and again this included the proposals for Warley at a total cost of £10,350. In November 1954 the list was revised again, and Warley was still included on it.  By March 1955 the estimated expenditure had risen to £12500 and this amount was agreed in principle by Birmingham City Council.  However, still no decision from the Ministry.

FINALLY in December 1955 it was reported that the Minister of Housing and Local Government has approved in principle the demolition of the Abbey and the erection of a pair of semi-detached houses and a golf pavilion.  Further details of the scheme were sent to the Minister in support of the application made for loan sanction for the necessary expenditure.

1956-1957

BUT THEN in March 1956 there was a further circular from the Ministry severely restricting capital building and again reinforcing the priority for housing and schools.  Schemes which had been approved in principle but not received loan sanctions might be delayed again (this included Warley).  In April 1956 the Ministry agreed that it would sanction a loan for the demolition of the Abbey and the construction of the two new houses but not for the provision of the golf building!  This, of course, was not suitable or sensible and the Parks Committee asked the Town Clerk to go back to the Ministry and explain again why the golf building was necessary.

As a way of trying to move things forward the General Manager proposed that if the Minister still refused to budge on the issue a small building consisting of a shop and office be constructed by staff of the Parks Department for the provision of golf tickets etc until a better resolution could be made.  The committee agreed to this idea while continuing to ask for the Minister to make a favourable decision. In October 1956 a further letter was received from the Minister refusing to change his mind saying it could not be justified. The committee didn’t think that retaining any part of the Abbey was practicable and approved the demolition of the Abbey and erection of temporary huts for the golf services.

The same month the Parks General Manager wrote to the Treasurer of the City outlining the impasse and explaining that unless the golf pavilion could be built in some form the course would have to close.  The treasurer put the report/letter to the City Council Finance Committee on 26th October and they agreed a sum of £8520 be made available for the provision of the Pavilion (more than originally agreed by them).  The City Treasurer had also been in touch with the Ministry urging the minister to agree to the loan for the golf pavilion, but to no avail.  Hence, I suspect, his recommendation that the money be lent from the Council budget.

As a result of this, the Parks Committee resolved that the work go ahead and the £8,520 be met out of the Committee’s estimates and charged over three years. Estimates from J Wilson and Sons for £4,850 and from Harrison Smith Buildings Ltd of £2,995 were to be accepted subject to the contractors confirming any revision to the accounts but not exceeding a total of £8,520. In March 1957 it was reported to the Committee that consents for the loans for the demolition of the Abbey and the construction of two houses had now been issued by the Ministry in the sum of £583 for the Abbey and £3,397 for the erection of the houses. This was for the committee to note. 

The houses were completed during the week of 4th February 1957 and 99 Lightwoods Hill was occupied by Bert Fereday from February 11th 1957 at a weekly rent of £2-17-6d inclusive of general and water rates. 97 Lightwoods Hill was occupied by Mr F W Rymer, Parks Superintendent as an emolument with free fuel and light valued at £70 p.a.

Then things moved more quickly and it was reported in May 1957 that the Pavilion should be ready within the next two months and indeed it was, and was officially opened on July 26th 1957 during the Committee’s annual inspection of Parks.  Tea was taken in the new refreshment room and a small commemorative plaque was purchased at a cost of about £15. 7-8 prominent members of the golf club were invited to be present at the ceremony.  The plaque is currently above the entrance to the Padgham Room in the lobby of the Pavilion.

There is no further mention in the minutes of the actual date when the Abbey was demolished but it is assumed that it was done later that year.