Perry Hall Park

Perry Hall Park or Perry Hall Playing Fields is a park in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England, at grid reference SP059918. It was in Staffordshire until 1928.[1]

Not to be confused with Perry Park in Birmingham; Perry Hall in Maryland; or Perry Hall Mansion in Maryland.
Perry Hall Park
LocationBirmingham, England
Coordinates52.52405°N 1.91447°W / 52.52405; -1.91447
Operated byBirmingham City Council
Public transit accessPerry Barr railway station and Hamstead railway station

It was formerly the site of Perry Hall, demolished 1927, home of the Gough family, though only the hall's moat remains after the Birmingham Corporation had to choose between saving Perry Hall and the nearby Aston Hall for financial purposes. When Harry Dorsey Gough set up home in Maryland, United States, in 1774, he named his estate there Perry Hall. The site is protected by Fields in Trust through a legal "Deed of Dedication" safeguarding the future of the space as public recreation land for future generations to enjoy.[2]

The park is bisected by the River Tame, which was remodelled in 2005 to slow the flow, alleviate flooding and create improved habitats for wildlife, as part of the SMURF (Sustainable Management of Urban Rivers and Floodplains) project. The park has a small heronry.

The park is skirted by the Birmingham - Walsall railway line (the "Chase Line"), formerly the Grand Junction Railway and served by nearby Perry Barr railway station and, at the western end, Hamstead railway station.

In July 1913, the first International Scout Rally in Birmingham was held in the park, attended by about 30,000 Scouts.[3]

References
  1. 'The City of Birmingham', in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham, ed. W B Stephens (London, 1964), pp. 1-3. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp1-3 [accessed 3 February 2017].
  2. "Perry Hall Playing Fields, Perry Avenue, Perry Barr, West Midlands, B20 2LD". Fields in Trust. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. "Through the years by 'The Trek-Cart'". the 4th Derby (Derwent) Scout Group. 1949. Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2007-04-05.

Further reading
  • Stunt, Gerald; Allen, Peter (2015). Perry Hall Yesterdays: Characters from a vanished past. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-5196-6878-3.


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