Haden Hill Park

Before 1877: early history The Haden family had occupied the site of the present park possibly as far back as the thirteenth century. The family had been farmers and had prospered in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by stint of advantageous marriage and investment in adjacent land. The main family house was the building now known as Haden Hall, essentially a large farmhouse that had been extended and rebuilt over time but mostly is believed to date from the seventeenth century. In July 1884, there is a notice in a local newspaper for an annual floral and horticultural exhibition complete with musical entertainment and refreshments. Haden-Best was a prominent figure in the local community, funding education and teaching in the local Sunday School. He never married but did adopt two local girls, Emily Bryant and Alice Cockin. They were the children of local families, and he took them into his home and bought them up as his own. They were given an upper class lifestyle, and Emily remained with Mr Best until his death in 1921. Alice married John Shaw, a local doctor, and they lived in Haden Hall for a while after the death of Mary Barrs. The Hall was used as a tea room and also hosted wedding receptions. During World War II, part of the Hall was used as a refuge for evacuees. In the years following World War II, maintenance of the Park ceased to be a civic priority and, in 1971, Haden Hill House was in a poor state of repair and Haden Hall had returned to a state of dereliction and was again threatened with demolition. The Haden Hill Preservation Society was launched to focus opposition to the threat. In September 1977 a major fire left the Hall on the verge of collapse. Sandwell Council were unable to finance repairs, but were also reluctant to demolish the Hall owing to its historic significance. Extensive restoration to the Victorian house was carried out over a number of years and the building was opened to the public in April 1990. Eventually, a renovation and rebuilding programme for the Hall was begun in 1990; progress though was slow, again due to a lack of funds. The project involved bringing the Hall back into use and improving the gardens, mostly by restoring lost features of Haden-Best's designs. It was completed in 2007 to much acclaim. Haden Hill was the first park in the Borough of Sandwell to be awarded Green Flag status. == Existing Park features ==

General Layout The park is approximately crescent shaped, the core parkland running from the north, the site of the two houses, to the south where the boating lake is situated. The Corngreaves Nature Reserve extends from the south of the parkland in a westerly direction towards Corngreaves Hall. The River Stour forms much of the southern border of the reserve, with a broad footpath running alongside. Haden Hall Haden Hall is almost semi-detached to the Victorian house. It is sometimes called the 'Tudor Hall' but it is neither Tudor nor actually a Hall as the name Hall would suggest a medieval manor house. However, Haden Hall (or any earlier building on the site) was not a manor house or home of a Lord of the Manor. It was probably built around the late 1600s as the home of the moderately wealthy Haden family who, around that time, had begun to call themselves gentlemen as their wealth and status grew. Architectural evidence suggests that the Hall was later split into two dwellings. By the time Haden-Best inherited in the 1870s he wished to build a new house to live in, and the Hall was then occupied by his ageing aunt and later by his adopted daughter and her family. A brick dovecote possibly originating from the seventeenth century is linked by a wall to the east side of the Hall. Haden Hill House George Alfred Haden Haden-Best inherited the estate in 1877 and work began on his new house soon after, although it was probably 1879 by the time he moved in. There would have been at least five bedrooms in the house as well as extensive servants' quarters. It is thought that Haden-Best's intention, on the death of his aunt, was to demolish Haden Hall and extend his house, so that the front door would occupy an imposing central position. Architectural evidence for this is the absence of quoins on the corner of the House to the right hand side of the front door. Grounds In front of the east facade of Haden Hall is the remnant of a sandstone cross, likely medieval in origin. It once stood at the top of what now is Station Road, Old Hill and was moved to the Park in 1937. At the centre of the park is a natural 'bowl' of open grassland. In the days of Haden-Best, this was used for haymaking. It formerly accommodated a bandstand and a football field. By the side of a pathway below Haden Hill House there are two monuments where family pets are buried. One grave is for three cats, the other for a dog. A Ha ha was built before the estate came into the ownership of Haden-Best, separating the gardens and terrace of Haden Hall from the farmland beyond. This was removed during the 1960s to facilitate park maintenance but restored as part of the National Lottery Project. The boat house and one of the bridges are no longer there, but the other bridge was recreated in 2002. Near the Boating Lake is the last remnant of a hermitage built by Haden-Best. Corngreaves nature reserve Following the closure of the Corngreaves Golf Course in 1999, a programme of tree-planting was undertaken to create a nature reserve which has been incorporated into the park. Gallery Image:Front_of_Haden_Hill_House_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1537852.jpg| Haden Hill House. Image:Haden Hill Entrance (geograph 4544239).jpg| The entrance to the park. Image:Haden Hill Park - geograph.org.uk - 1537742.jpg|Woods in the park. Image:Autumnal_Tree_at_Haden_Hill_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1078415.jpg|Autumnal Tree in the park. Image:pets,grave.JPG|Cats Grave == Former features ==

In July 1926, an unheated 75 by 30 feet outdoor swimming bath was opened by Charles Sitch M.P. on the site of demolished farm buildings to the immediate west of the stables block. It closed in 1966 and no trace remains. In contrast, the Orchestral Society of Stewarts & Lloyds steel tube works at Coombs Wood donated the entire net proceeds from its concert to a council fund to provide chairs for the park. The bandstand was rebuilt in 1938 and removed in 1967. In addition to the Boating Lake, Haden-Best constructed three small pools higher up the park which fed the Boating Lake through a series of Waterfalls. These have now been filled in. == Past usage and events ==

The Glasgow Evening News of 19 September, 1891 reported that Joseph Darby had claimed a new record of 12 feet 11 inches for one backward jump at Haden Hill Park Fete. The report appeared to question the feat by adding "this seems somewhat 'steep' considering the previous record was 11 feet 8½ inches". In June 1929, open-air classes for school children were held in the park. Topics covered included "Clothing and the Seasons", "Sunshine and Artificial Light" and "Exercise and Health". There have been two football fields laid out in the grounds. One was in the grassy bowl, made in 1949, the other in the 9-acre field and was opened in 1953. Both had gone by the 1970s. The Club was formed in 1957 in a revival of a traditional Black Country sport popular among the chain-makers of Cradley Heath. Attractions that included a fun fair and Second World War re-enactment display for Cradley Heath's second annual carnival were staged at the park in July 1987. == Corngreaves par 3 golf course ==

In 1977, a Municipal nine-hole Par 3 Golf Course was created on land associated with Corngreaves Hall, to the immediate west of the nine-acre field which had been incorporated into the Park in 1922. In the nineteenth century a mineral railway ran across this land connecting various collieries with the Dudley Canal. A section of the former railway's embankment was used as one of the tee locations; the green being 100 yards away in the valley below. In 1985, the nine acre field itself was incorporated into the golf course, making it an eighteen-hole course, again all holes being par 3. The course was closed in 1999 and planted over with trees, turned into a nature reserve and incorporated back into the park, including the land formerly belonging to Corngreaves Hall. == Related nearby properties ==

Haden Hill Leisure Centre In 1976, a modern leisure centre was built to the north of Haden Hill House, on the piece of land known as Temple Meadow, purchased by the Council in 1922 and partly incorporated into the park. The Leisure Centre hosted the 1981 John Courage English Professional Snooker Championship. Old Hill Cricket Club and Old Hill Tennis Club To the north west of the Park is the ground of Old Hill Cricket Club and the courts of Old Hill Tennis Club. These sites, formerly owned by Haden-Best, were leased out for sporting use in 1884 and were purchased by a charitable trust in 1934 for the benefit of the respective clubs. Old Hill Cricket Club is one of the most successful clubs in England, winning the ECB National Club Cricket Championship at Lord's in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1993, and being runners-up in 1989. Its former players include seven internationals. == References ==