Rookery House
Municipal building in Erdington, West Midlands, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rookery House, formerly Erdington Town Hall and, before that, Birches Green House, is a former municipal building in Wilberforce Way in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham in England. The house, which started life as a private residence, became the headquarters of Erdington Urban District Council and was then returned to residential use, is a Grade II listed building.[1]
| Rookery House | |
|---|---|
The building in 2011 | |
| Location | Wilberforce Way, Erdington |
| Coordinates | 52.5175°N 1.8348°W |
| Built | 1727 |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | House in Rookery Park, Rookery Park, Handsworth |
| Designated | 7 July 1982 |
| Reference no. | 1076201 |
  Shown in West Midlands | |
History
The building was commissioned by Abraham Spooner, an ironmaster who was the proprietor of Bromford Forge and Aston Furnace.[2] The site he selected in Birches Green was occupied by an earlier timber-framed house.[3] Originally known as Birches Green House, the new building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in brick with a stucco finish and was completed in 1727.[4][5]
Abraham's son, Isaac, who was a banker, inherited the house in 1788, and Isaac's son, Richard, was born there and went on to be a member of parliament.[6] After Abraham's granddaughter, Barbara, married the anti-slavery campaigner, William Wilberforce, in May 1797, the house became their home.[7] The house was remodelled in the early 19th century.[1] The glass manufacturer, Brueton Gibbons, who installed plate glass doors in the house, lived there from 1816 and the pencil-case manufacturer, William Wiley, lived there from 1871.[6]
Following significant population growth, largely associated with residential development, a local board of health was formed in the Aston Parish area in 1869.[8] After the local board of health was succeeded, in that part of the parish, by Erdington Urban District Council in 1894,[9] the new council began using the building as its headquarters.[10] The building remained the local seat of government until the area was annexed by Birmingham City Council in 1911.[11]
The council continued to use the building, latterly as a social services office, until 2008.[7][12] It subsequently fell into poor repair and the council declared it surplus to requirements.[13] It was sold it to a developer, Cameron Homes, in 2017,[14] and construction work, to convert the building into 15 residential apartments, started in 2019.[15][16]
Architecture
The three-storey building is constructed of brick, covered in stucco, with a slate roof. It is seven bays wide, with the central section of three bays slightly recessed. There is an off-centre entrance, in a porch formed by Doric order columns supporting an entablature and a cornice. The building is fenestrated by sash windows. There are various extensions, including a two-bay single storey addition to the right of the original building. It has been grade II listed since 1982.[1][17]