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North Lodge is our name for the lodge that stood on Abbey Road/Hill.  It was one of three lodges built for Warley Hall/Warley Abbey. Two were probably built around 1820 when the Abbey was constructed as they were designed by the same architect, Robert Lugar.  A design for the lodges was included in one of Lugar’s sample books:  Villa Architecture: a Collection of Views, with Plans, of Buildings Executed in England, Scotland 1828. The third lodge was built later after 1838 when Hubert Galton extended the estate, buying land from Lord Lyttleton of Hagley Hall, to take its boundary south to Hagley Road, then called Beeches Lane.

The lodge buildings had many names over the years and so when you find out information about “a lodge”, it is often hard to tell which one is being referred to unless you have some other reference.  This lodge seems to have been called Warley Hall Lodge, Policeman’s Lodge and Smethwick Lodge.

Compared to South Lodge on Lightwoods Hill, this building seems to have lived on in the memories of people for much longer– perhaps because it was so visible within the main park, or perhaps because it was demolished so much later.  It was located next to the entrance at Abbey Road and was often pictured in  postcards – particularly with the pool in front of it.  When it was built the view out of the parkland would have been across fields to “the Glory Hills”.

Being so close to the stables it is not surprising that this lodge was lived in by coachmen who had family.  In 1881 Warley Hall Lodge was home to Thomas Griffiths, his wife Elizabeth and daughter Annie and in 1891 Thomas and Susan Large and their five children.  In 1901 Joseph and Sarah Bank lived there.  Joseph was coachman to the Tangye family.

Once Warley Park became a public park, the lodge was lived in by staff who worked for Birmingham Parks Department or who had other local authority roles.

By 1907 this lodge was known as “Policeman’s Lodge” and there were constables stationed there,  mostly likely from Worcestershire Constabulary who included the park in their patrols.  This was before the role of specific “parks police”.  It also seems to have been a home for a police officer Lieutenant Farley, as his widow was living at the lodge in 1916.  The Parks Department minutes record problems as she did not pay her rent, and was protesting that she hadn’t been dealt with fairly with allowances, perhaps after the death of her husband?  It was left to the Park Superintendent to deal with her and she left in January 1917 leaving the lodge in such a “filthy” condition that work had to be done to make it habitable again.

In 1924 it was being lived in by EJ Mason who asked for gas to be laid on and this was allowed if Mr Mason paid for the work.  We think that Mr Mason was the father of William Arthur Mason who grew up at the Lodge and later went to work for Brimingham Parks Department, ending up back at Warley Woods as Head Greenkeeper and living at 99 Lightwoods Hill. However Mason is a relatively common name so we can’t be sure of this. 

In 1931 we know a park constable, WH Birch was living there as he gave up the tenancy on the death of his his wife.  The new tenancy was taken on by Mr Rose. Mr and Mrs Rose were still living there in 1962 and they are remembered by many people. Hardly suprising if they had been living there for more than 30 years!  Also no wonder the building became known as Roses Cottage!   Fred is remembered as being a district driver and union representative.  Mrs Rose had worked at the greenhouses and cleaned in the Abbey. 

Mrs Rose also seems to get credit for taking care of animals that were either in the garden of the cottage or at the aviary shown on maps nearby on the driveway.  There are stories of a golden pheasant, peacocks, rabbits and a fox.

They must have left a couple of years later because in July 1964 Birmingham Council’s Parks Department had a survey done and decided it would be too costly to make all the improvements necessary for the building to be relet and recommended demolition.  It only had four rooms, including one bedroom partly in the roof and no bathroom. The Housing Department said it had no use for it and so it, along with the third lodge, then in Lightwoods Park, it was demolished.

Would you like to read about somewhere else on the history trail?  Go back to the main listing page.