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When Warley Park opened to the public in 1906 there was a flurry of activity to turn a private estate landscape into a space to be used by many visitors.  Much of this activity was facilitated by Alexander Chance, who had campaigned to save the estate for public use.  He continued to appeal for funds for facilities and park furniture, as well as additional parcels of land.  After achieving a donation of a bandstand for Lightwoods Park and 200 benches for the two parks, he made a public appeal in the Birmingham Gazette in August 1906 for a bandstand for Warley Park.

“No one can watch the joy and delight which music in the park affords to most of the visitors without realising that the musicians should promptly be provided with adequate shelter for themselves and their instruments.

 “I hope that some of our rich citizens who often drive through the park or, better still, who may be there watching the thousands who will enjoy this lovely spot on Monday next, will hasten to provide this much needed gift after reading this appeal.”

By 1908 he had succeeded in raising funds to erect a 24 foot hexagonal rustic bandstand which was very much in keeping with the style of benches and buildings that had been introduced to the park.  It was made of wood and had a thatched roof.  There are many pictures of it with hanging baskets on each side.  In March 1908 it was reported to a quarterly meeting of Birmingham Council that Mr Charles Beard of Leamington Spa had presented and erected a rustic bandstand in the park. It was insured for £150 with Northern Insurance Company.

The bandstand had its own enclosure and benches and people had to pay to enter the enclosure.  In 1908 there was a letter sent to the Birmingham Mail from a well-wisher with ideas on how to better manage the many hundreds of people who were trying to see performances and buy tea.  “Programmes” were being sold at the park gates, but this did not guarantee people entrance to the bandstand enclosure.  People who had got into the enclosure and left to use the toilets, were not being allowed back in.  It looks like the police (unsure if police or parks police) were struggling to cope.

In 1914 the cost to enter the enclosure was 1d.  It was the same price in all Birmingham Parks.  There was a full programming of bands and other performances on the bandstand and these were announced in the local papers.  With another bandstand nearby in Lightwoods Park in 1910 the Council arranged that Sunday Band concerts would take place at different times in the two parks and in 1913 similar co-ordination was made to include Summerfield Park.

The performances were not just musical, but included plays and religious events and the bandstand could be booked for private events.  Bands who wished to play in Parks had to do test pieces at the Town Hall to see if they were good enough. 

The popularity of bandstands and the appetite or finances for programming them clearly dwindled with fewer references to performances in the local press.  This was not just for Warley but in other parks too, although with the Warley Bandstand made of wood, rather than metalwork, this may have played a factor in its decline.  There seem to be few reports in the 1920s and the last listing we can see was in 1931.  In April 1950 the Birmingham Parks Committee agreed to the disposal of a number of bandstands across the city and this included Warley with the comment “has not been used for entertainments for many years”.

Some of the arranged performers are below.  Each one of these could probably be a historical research project in their own right!

1906 Baskerville Brass Band, Nettlefold Works Band, Wigley’s Pierrots, Toreador Pierrots, Lytton Pierrots

1907   Edgbaston Band, Harborne Industrial School Band, Frank Original Mascots, Kennelly’s Concert Party, Northfield Institute Prize Band, Northfield Prize Band, Birmingham Temperance Philharmonic Choir, Imperial White Coons, Langley Prize Band, The Jesters, Roach and Lang’s Entertainers, W Morris’s Pierrots, The Police Band, Friends Hall Band.

1908   Edgbaston Military Band, Birmingham Central Salvation Army Band, Victoria Variety Vocalists

1909   Handsworth District Council Employee Band

1910 Graham’s Mascots, Ye Aston Olde Silver Band

1911   F Wigley’s Les Mascots

1912   The Lytton Entertainers, Will Morris’s Pierrots, Edgbaston Military Band

1914   Birmingham Victoria Male Choir, Irish Guards

1915 Warley Woods Citizens Committee

1916 HM Coldstream Guards, Shenley Fields Cottage Home Band

1917   Metropolitan Works Band, Shenley Fields Cottage Home Band, The Warley Woods and District Citizens Committee

1919   The Bohemians 

1921 Warley Woods and District Citizens Committee were given permission to use the bandstand and enclosure for 4 open air entertainments during the summer on behalf of their local fund to assist ex-servicemen and other families who are in distress. Warley Woods and District Co-operative Allotment Holders Association were granted use of the cricket pitch and bandstand in Warley on Saturday July 15th for an open air concert and dance in the evening.

1925 Bearwood Baptist Chapel Men’s Association

1926 Warley Welfare Centre given permission to use the bandstand in Warley Park on Thursday July 1^st for mothers’ and children’s party.

1931   The Mandevilles

1937 Each Sunday one of the local churches led a service with St Hilda’s, St Mary’s, Warley Woods Methodist, Sandon Road Methodist and Bearwood Road Baptist all taking a turn.

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