Highbury Park Friends
| Published: 1st November 2007 14:19 |
Highbury Park Friends is a voluntary group dedicated to the preservation, improvement and enjoyment of Highbury Park in the Birmingham ward of Kings Heath. If you are interested in joining the group, please contact us by phone or email, as indicated below and on our contact page.
Highbury Park is a precious resource, as all open spaces are: it is a haven of tranquility, fresh air and green space for all who live around and visit it. The park is home to abundant wildlife and plant species - woodland, aquatic and other birds, pond animals, and the largest variety of trees of any park in Birmingham. Highbury Park has a rich history, containing evidence from the bronze age to the present day. Each of these is worth preserving and in some instances enhancing. The Friends actively seek input about the park from all local people and visitors, and liaise with the city council over maintenance, security and events programmes.
Highbury Park Friends try to support the paid park workers in their efforts. We also try to gain funding for preservation, restoration and regeneration of Highbury's historical and natural resources, so that all may enjoy its beauty.
History of Highbury Park
The Highbury estate was the ‘rus in urbe' estate of the Chamberlains from 1879 to 1914, when the idea of bringing the countryside into the town was popular among wealthy families. It was named after the London suburb where Joseph Chamberlain grew up. The latter came to Birmingham in 1854 to join a family manufacturing business, and this brought him enough wealth to retire and enter politics in 1874.
Highbury Hall was built in the ‘Venetian Gothic' style, and the grounds - 25 acres on a south facing slope - were landscaped by Edward Milner, whom Joseph had employed at his previous Edgbaston home.
At that time the main entrancewas from the western boundary in Shutlock Lane, next tothe lodge cottage, to allow for a carriage drive to the Hall. One side of this was planted with the rhododendrons which are still there, partly to screenYew Tree Road from view.
At the south-facingfront of the Hall was a lawn with clipped holly and box along a semicircular path that also featuredbeds of shrubs and annual plantings.
Further out was a wide gravel path around the estate boundary, including rustic bridges across to the two islands in the lake. Existing field boundaries were removed to create thirteen acres of parkland. Trees were retained, additional stands were planted, including the beech copse north of the lake.
By 1903 the grounds extended to over 100 acres, some leased from Richard Cadbury (who had built Uffculme in 1891 next door to Highbury). In 1903 Charles Curtis describes the features of the estate, including iron railings, borders planted with bulbs, annuals and herbaceous plants on either side of the circuit path. There was extensive tree planting to mask the sight of the growing Kings Heath.
The gardens followed the fashion of the times, thus, in 1890 there was a new rose garden, in the ‘Elizabethan' style, with beds edged with box, and enclosed by yew hedging, at the end of the kitchen garden. In 1901 a ‘Dutch' garden had beds wholly of bulbs, with terracotta tile edging and paths, and surrounded by a holly hedge. Next in 1902 came the ‘Italian' garden- this and the rock garden below it are the only visible sites of Chamberlain's formal gardens. This had a pergola for climbing roses, and an attractive brick balustrade. A photograph taken in 1904 shows the steps between the rock and Italian gardens. The latter had ornate iron gates from Siena, and a fountain and a small pool at its centre, and was enclosed by the beech hedge (which still exists, unlike the pergola). In 1904 a formal tea garden was added to the front of the Hall, while the shrubbery near the lodge had additional plantings, including magnolia and bamboo, newly introduced from the east.
However it was hothouses for which Highbury was best known. There were 25 by 1903, 12 containing orchids. These had a central corridor, with electric lighting installed in 1889.
The idea that food should be fresh meant that estates grew as much of their own produce as possible. This was Austen Chamberlain's interest, and the farm produced fruit, vegetables, with dairy cows, pigs, poultry and sheep. By 1904 a new lodge was needed to house the farm bailiff. Furthermore, Chamberlain's three oldest daughters lived at Highbury and took a lively interest in the farm; if one sister was away, the others took care to report farm events by letter. The ‘farmery' was on the eastern border, where it was judged unsightly so a thatched dairy was built to hide it. The dairy verandah was also used for having tea and coffee with visitors.
The spectacular gardens were suitable for entertaining the many house parties held during Joseph's political career. But garden parties were also given to Birmingham society, and used for larger events, such as the Moseley Flower Show and the Kings Heath horse show.
There were 20 gardeners, 5 for the hothouses alone, with Edward Cooper, affectionately remembered by the family, as head gardener, until he retired and the Kew-trained John Deacon took over.
Joseph left politics after a stoke in 1906, and died in 1914. His son Neville continued Joseph's passion for orchids at his house Westbourne in Edgbaston.
The family left the house and it became an auxiliary military hospital. Most of the grounds became a public park in 1930.
Highbury Park natural history
Highbury Park is a haven for wildlife as well as for people. Grassland, ancient hedgerows, marshland, scrub, streams, pools and remnants of woodland are all to be found in the park as well as a host of ornamental trees and shrubs. These habitats are home to a wide range of plants and animals
The government body, English Nature, and Birmingham City Council have recognised the wildlife value of Highbury Park by giving a ‘Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation' designation to parts of the park based upon the three pools and a strip of woodland (the latter being in the grounds of Uffculme School).
In 1975, as part of an influential publication, ‘The Endless Village' highlighting the fact that wildlife was to be found in towns as well as the countryside, B. Teagle, the author, surveyed the plants in the park. A more detailed survey was then carried out in 1990 by the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country.
Birds
Highbury Park is rich in birdlife a fact that is appreciated by regular visitors to the park. Kingfisher, tree creeper, jay and nuthatch have been spotted and the ponds support Canada geese, Mallard and Moorhen. Carrion crows are a familiar sight on the open grassland and magpies are numerous.
New scrub areas provide safe nesting sites for songbirds and the walled rose-garden has sheltered nesting blackbirds.
Plants
The park is dominated by grassland. It is at first sight a simple green sward, but on closer inspection, the diversity shown in the different flower and moss species give clues to the underlying geology and soils, the dampness and even the land use history of the area. The old hedgerows with hawthorn and mature oak trees link with the areas of scrub and trees. In the spring, typical woodland plants can be found including Pignut, Bluebell and Dog's mercury, the latter being a particularly special plant as it is an indicator of old woodland.
The pools are all quite different in character the southwestern pond also known as the Lily Pond supported spiked water-milfoil in 1990 but has recently become colonised by New Zealand stone-crop a small plant sold in garden centres for ponds but which has become a menace when released into the wild staying green throughout the winter, it can outcompete other wetland plants.
The central pond is surrounded by ornamental woodland of beech, ash, oak, crack willow, alder, sycamore etc. The damp, rocky inflow area has a lining of mosses and liverworts and Water Starwort can be spotted in the pool. The bank supports Wood Melick an unusual and attractive woodland grass.
The Northwestern pond is all but dried out and shaded with Branched bur-reed, Yellow Flag and variegated canary-grass.
Insects and other minibeasts
At present, little information exists about the insect life of the park, apart from surveys of the ponds and stream. Here, water beetles, pond skaters, many species of pond snail, water boatmen, flatworms and leeches have been found in the Lily Pond. In 2004 pond dipping in the central pond revealed a few pond skaters but very little else. The stream fauna was similarly sparse with a few large leeches. There may be a pollution problem here.
The oaks throughout the Park are, with willows, hawthorn, birch and hazel, the best trees for supporting moth caterpillars and other small insects which in turn provide food for a range of insect-eating birds. The tiny orange ground nesting burrowing bees can be found in the spring in the grassland, especially in south-facing dry banks, so be careful where you put that picnic mat (they don't sting but may want to feed their young!). The areas of long grass are havens for brown butterflies e.g. the Speckled Wood.
Grasshoppers can even be spotted in the drier areas.
Amphibians
The Lily Pond has for many years been a magnet for breeding frogs Check it out from February onwards to spot the jelly like clumps of frogspawn.
Mammals
Foxes frequent the park and may well prey on rats spotted down by the Central Pond.
The park is ideal for bats. They may roost in older trees, especially if there is loose bark or cosy, dry holes. In the evenings they feed on the myriad insect life that is all but invisible to us diurnal bipeds.
For more information visit the Highbury Park Friends website
