58-595: The West Warwickshire Open was a tennis tournament also known as the Hill Samuel Life Assurance West Warwickshire Open for sponsorship reasons. It began in 1970 and was staged at the West Warwickshire Sports Club (f.c1888), Solihull , Midlands , England . The tournament ran until 1981 when it was discontinued. The West Warwickshire Open was established in 1970 under the sponsorship name of
116-437: A grand Tudor hall with battlements and a long gallery. The hall oversaw five farms, including Hillfields and Shelly farm. William Hawes lived there until his death in 1611. Shelly had been a thriving hamlet during the 13th and 14th centuries, and included Monkspath , but there was little mention of the area by the 17th century. Hillfield Hall remains residential to this day, while the 16th-century Grade II listed Shelly farmhouse
174-567: A high number of woodland trees such as small leafed lime or wild service and contains trees that rarely colonise planted hedges, such as hazel . Examples are in Dorset , where there is a difference in the hedges in the west and the east of the county, at Hatfield Broad Oak in Essex where the modern hedges still follow the boundaries of an ancient forest, and at Shelley in Suffolk where there
232-636: A house in London from Henry Ferrers of Baddesley Clinton (then in the borough of Solihull) to store the gunpowder. Sir Richard Walsh , owner of Walsh Hall in Meriden (part of the modern borough of Solihull) was the Sheriff of Worcestershire who eventually cornered and killed the gunpowder plotters. John Greswolde, brother of Robert Greswolde , of the wider Greswolde family of Solihull, was an attendant of Henry Garnet (a priest executed for his complicity in
290-678: A large farm called Malvern Farm, in the Malvern part of Longdon Manor, to establish a new family seat, which would be called Malvern Hall. In 1604 the Throckmorton family sold the Manor of Solihull to Edmund Hawes. The Hawes family were already prominent local landowners, having owned the Hillfields area of Solihull since 1311, when Thomas Hawes, a lawyer, purchased the land. William & Ursula Hawes had constructed Hillfield Hall in 1576,
348-414: A similar period to Hobs Moat and is a large and handsome example of English Gothic church architecture , with a traditional spire 168 feet (51 metres) high, making it visible from a great distance. It is located at the head of High Street and is a Grade I listed building . It was founded in about 1220 by Hugh de Oddingsell. A chantry chapel was also founded there by Sir William de Oddingsell in 1277 and
406-481: Is an unusually long hedge made up of coppiced lime trees that is the remnant of a nineteenth-century woodland clearance. Assarting has existed since Mesolithic times and often it relieved population pressures. During the 13th century, assarting was very active, but decreased with environmental and economic challenges in the 14th century. The Black Death in the late 1340s depopulated the countryside and many formerly assarted areas returned to woodland. Assarting
464-586: Is an upmarket bar and restaurant. The historic Solihull School was also founded in 1560 (although not on its present site). On the right along High Street from St Alphege Church porch is one of the town's oldest landmarks, the George, a hotel which dates from the 16th century. Solihull appears to have survived the English Civil War of 1642–1651 relatively unscathed, even though many important close engagements and battles were fought nearby including
522-464: Is considered to be one of the most prosperous areas in the UK. Solihull's name is commonly thought to have derived from the position of its arden stone parish church, St Alphege, on a 'soily' hill. The church was built on a hill of stiff red marl , which turned to sticky mud in wet weather. The land now forming Solihull was once covered in the ancient Forest of Arden . The earliest known settlement in
580-683: Is recorded in the Register of Solihull. In 1400, Thomas Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester died a traitor for his part in the Epiphany Rising , and so the Crown took custody of the manor because the heir, Richard le Despenser, was a minor. The manor of Solihull remained property of the king for many years, and was passed through a number of custodians or lessees. In 1495 the Greswolde family of Solihull and nearby Kenilworth, while serving as
638-441: Is the act of clearing forested lands for use in agriculture or other purposes. In English land law , it was illegal to assart any part of a royal forest without permission. This was the greatest trespass that could be committed in a forest, being more than a waste : while waste of the forest involves felling trees and shrubs, which can regrow, assarting involves completely uprooting all trees—the total extirpation of
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#1732798396987696-636: The Battle of Edgehill to the south and the Battle of Camp Hill to the north. The very first skirmish between the Roundheads and Cavaliers took place just north of Solihull in the fields to the south of the nearby settlement of Curdworth in Warwickshire, called the Battle of Curdworth Bridge. Recent archaeological excavations unearthed evidence that a battle may have been fought at Coleshill Manor near
754-785: The Bio-Strath West Warwickshire Open or simply the Bio-Strath West Warwickshire. The tournament was part of the Bio-Strath Circuit until 1971. In 1980 the life insurance company Hill Samuel Life Assurance, a division of Hill Samuel started sponsorship of the event, and it was rebranded as the Hill Samuel Life Assurance West Warwickshire Open. In 1981 when they withdrew sponsorship, and the tournament ended. The tournament
812-637: The West Midlands , England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Forest of Arden area. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census, and its wider borough had a population of 216,240. The town is located 8 miles (12 km) southeast of Birmingham and 14 miles (21 km) west of Coventry . Solihull itself is mostly urban; however, the larger borough is rural in character, with many outlying villages, and three quarters of
870-471: The 12th century Hampton in Arden was owned by the de Arden family, and also included the then hamlet of Knowle . Knowle would become a royal manor in 1285 when the de Arden family sold it to King Edward I and Queen Eleanor. In 1396, Walter Cook applied for a faculty to build a church in 'Knoll', so the villagers would no longer have to cross the treacherous waters of the river Blythe to get to church, and this
928-557: The 1870s, the Hobday family would construct Monkspath Priory. The property would later serve Solihull as the Regency Club, a gentlemen's club and banqueting complex, before becoming a hotel in the late 20th century. In 1870, metallurgist and inventor James Fern Webster moved to Whitlocks End on the outskirts of Solihull. While here, he discovered the process for making the extraction of aluminium sufficiently cost effective for
986-515: The 1890s, famed pen manufacturer Joseph Gillott constructed New Berry Hall outside Catherine de Barnes. The architect of the hall was J. A. Chatwin who designed the Victoria Tower in the Houses of Parliament. Around this time Chatwin also designed School House at Solihull School. Towards the end of this era telephone and postal services came to the town. Assarting Assarting
1044-599: The Anglo Saxon era, the forest of Arden was part of the Kingdom of Mercia . An assart settlement known as the manor of Ulverlei, meaning 'Wulfhere's clearing' was established, with its centre north east of the hillfort at Shirely. Wulfhere was the first Christian King of all Mercia . The settlement was a clearing in the dense woodland of the Forest of Arden, with the land farmed in common. The older settlement at Shirely
1102-627: The Archer family of Umberslade Hall in Nuthurst . Eventually in 1850 it passed to Robert Short an officer in the East India Company , who left it to his son in law, Rev. John Couchman. The Couchman's remain the Lords of the Manor of Solihull to the present day. By the 1700s, work was underway on Malvern Hall, with Humphrey Greswolde overseeing, it would be completed in the first half of
1160-473: The Forest of Arden, and the abundance of trees required to provide fuel for the fires. The town was also known for textiles. The end of Drury Lane was known as Teinters Green, believed to be an area where cloth was stretched on tenter hooks. In the grounds of St Alphege church is a now Grade II listed ruin dating from the 14th century. It is believed to have been a well house for a holy spring , and later possibly an Oratory . Historians have suggested that
1218-722: The Gunpowder Plot of 1605). It was said that when John was arrested and interrogated after the Gunpowder plot he was racked so badly at the Tower of London that it was rumoured he was dead. The sub-manor of Longdon in Solihull meanwhile had passed to the Greswolde family, in the era of Elizabeth I , however it soon passed through a daughter to Thomas Dabridgecourt . In 1680 the Rev. Henry Greswolde, then rector of Solihull, bought
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#17327983969871276-595: The Kings custodians of the manor of Solihull, built the house on the Solihull High Street called Lime Tree House now erroneously known as the 'Manor House' (as no lord of the manor ever lived there - Silhill Hall was the manor house for Solihull). The manor of Solihull was eventually granted to the Duke of Norfolk , who in turn passed it on in 1530 to the local Throckmorton family of Coughton Court . Solihull
1334-532: The Longdon area of Solihull, is an area known as Malvern, named for Simon de Malverne, believed to be of Malvern in Worcestershire , assassinated in 1317. A moated site opposite the end of Marsh Lane is believed to be the de Malvern former home. By the 14th century, the town had become famed for its blacksmiths, and the Solihull High Street was known as le Smythestret. This was because of its location in
1392-511: The New Town of Solihull. The de Limsey family held the Manor of Solihull, until Ralph's great-granddaughter married Hugh de Odingsells, whose family were thought to be of Flemish origin. The Odingsells were the Lords of the Manor of Ulverley, and later after its subinfeudation, Solihull, from the 12th century and are believed to have constructed a castle on the site now known as Hobs Moat (a possible corruption of Odingsells' Moat). The castle
1450-555: The Shakespeare family, ancestors of William Shakespeare (born a few miles south in Stratford-upon-Avon ), were originally from Solihull's Balsall , with their names appearing in local registers between 1385 and 1457. Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden , was from a cadet branch of the de Arden family of Castle Bromwich in the borough of Solihull. Shakespeare's son Hamnet Shakespeare 's baptism on 23 March 1560
1508-558: The Solihull border. It is reported that Prince Rupert , commander of the Royalist forces, was on his way to meet King Charles in Solihull when he was skirmished by Parliamentary forces in the Battle of Kings Norton . Before its eventual sale to the Greswoldes as part of the Manor of Longdon, the Malvern area of Solihull had been the property of Parliamentarian commander Robert Greville . The Greville family remained important to
1566-583: The Spooner banking family who were the owners of Elmdon hall. A road - Wilberforce Way - is named for him north of Solihull town centre. The manor of Longdon came to famous poet Lord Byron in 1815 by his marriage with Anne, daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke Noel, and on her death in 1860 passed to her grandson the Earl of Lovelace . Two roads in Solihull are named after the family, Lady Byron Lane and Lovelace Avenue. Longdon Hall, with its remaining manorial rights,
1624-538: The area was at Berry Mound , Shirley , which was the site of an Iron Age Hill Fort, a fortified village protected by earth banks, dating back to the 1st century BC and which covered approximately 11 acres (4.5 ha). The name Shirley means either 'a bright clearing' or 'a border clearing' in the Forest of Arden. During the later Iron Age the River Cole , which feeds the River Blythe, is believed to have been
1682-576: The area, with Fulke Greville, 5th Baron Brooke being erroneously recorded as the Lord of the Manor of Longdon in 1682. A branch of the Greville family would make donations for schools in Knowle in the early 1700s. In the modern era, Solihull became quieter, with textile working and iron working still prominent in the town. The Manor of Solihull continued to pass through a number of other holders including
1740-616: The border between the Corieltauvi and the Cornovii , with Solihull forming the junction of the two powerful Celtic Tribes. Throughout the Roman occupation of Britain it was held that no Roman roads made it through the Forest of Arden because it was so dense. The nearest known major Roman settlements being at Grimstock Hill on the Solihull border, Metchley Fort (around 8.5 miles north west), and Alcester (around 15 miles south). By
1798-531: The borough designated as green belt . The town and its borough, which has been part of Warwickshire for most of its history, has roots dating back to the 1st century BC, and was further formally established during the medieval era. Today the town is famed as, amongst other things, the birthplace of the Land Rover car marque, home of the training facilities for the British Equestrian teams, and
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1856-472: The borough of Solihull. The Woodmen target shoot at only one distance, 100 yards, and score in the Archers disfavour. Archery had always been an important sport in Solihull. On the doorway of the church of St Alphage are incisions which are arrow sharpening marks from the 1360s when men were required to practice archery on a Sunday to ensure a ready supply of archers. The long marks have been made by Broadheads,
1914-515: The century. The hall featured a gatehouse onto the Warwick Road designed by Sir John Soane , architect of the Bank of England. In 1809 the hall would be painted by John Constable , for his patron, Henry Greswolde Lewis. The Greswoldes would later sell the house to Solihull council who converted the estate into Malvern Park . The hall is today part of Solihull School. Also constructed in 1712,
1972-647: The church and the Balsall Preceptory. By 1295, the Manor of Solihull had passed from the Odingsells via heiress to the de Birmingham family , however they in turn quickly passed it into the Le Despencer family. The Despencers found themselves at odds with the Trussell family of nearby Nuthurst (now in the borough of Solihull) during the baronial revolt under Edward II . The warring between
2030-740: The few Anglo Saxon families to retain their land holdings after the Norman Conquest , and eventually settling in their primary estate in Castle Bromwich , today in the Borough of Solihull. In 1086, it was recorded that the Manor of Ulverlei was now held by Cristina , great-granddaughter of Ethelred the Unready , daughter of Edward the Exile , and sister of the last Anglo Saxon King Edgar Aetheling . Shortly after 1086, Christina entered
2088-575: The forested area. The term assart was also used for a parcel of land assarted. Assart rents were those paid to the British Crown for the forest lands assarted. The etymology is from the French word essarter meaning to remove or grub out woodland. In northern England this is referred to as ridding . In the Middle Ages , the land cleared was usually common land but after assarting,
2146-465: The land for creation of a Tudor Grange grammar school and Tudor Grange Park . Longdon hall was eventually sold to a nearby golf course. In 1868, George Muntz of nearby Umberslade , a campaigner for suffrage and friend of Thomas Attwood , would become the owner of the manor of Widney Manor . He would also later buy land in Bentley Heath and develop the Solihull area of Dorridge . In
2204-777: The metal to be used in the manufacture of everyday objects. Before this, aluminium was considered a precious metal, with bars of aluminium exhibited alongside the French Crown Jewels in the Paris Exhibition of 1855. In 1878, Webster was producing 100 pounds of pure Aluminium every week at his Solihull Lodge factory. In 1898, the Fowlers Cheese company - the oldest cheese manufacturer in England, founded 1670 - moved to its current site in Earlswood. In
2262-519: The modern police force , Sir Robert Peel . Peel and his son Sir Frederick Peel modernised and made improvements to Hampton in Arden, including the construction of a new manor house, (which is today the Michelin starred Peel's Restaurant ). It was also during the early 1800s that abolitionist William Wilberforce moved to the Elmdon area of Solihull following his marriage to Barbara Spooner , of
2320-473: The name Ketelberne). The assimilation of Longdon into Solihull was so total that few references exist today indicating it was ever a separate place. The Longdon area bordered onto the settlement of Hampton in Arden , appearing in the Domesday Survey of 1086 as 'Hantone'. Despite bordering Solihull, Hampton in Arden would not be incorporated into the borough of Solihull until later. From the middle of
2378-547: The nunnery of Romsey Abbey in Hampshire. Her lands were granted to the Norman Ralph de Limesy . The extent of the area historically considered the manor of Ulverlei is demarked by an area called 'Worlds End', a historical naming practice indicating that people did not live beyond there. It was between 1170 and 1180 that the de Limsey family founded the settlement of 'Solihull' as a "planted borough" or planned village to
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2436-455: The rest of England, Ulverlei became the property of the Earls of Mercia. The first of these was Leofric , husband of Lady Godiva , heroine of the Warwickshire legend. The manor of Ulverlei later passed to Leofric's grandson, Edwin, Earl of Mercia who held it until his death in 1071. Leofric's great-nephew, Thorkell of Arden, would become progenitor of the locally prominent Arden family , one of
2494-401: The round by Bodkins - types of arrowheads used with the long bows of the time. The society is strictly limited to a membership of 80, with this rule only having been bent once, when in 1835 Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, Lord of the Manor of Hampton in Arden, was added. In the early 1800s, Isaac William Lillingston sold the Manor of Hampton in Arden to former Prime Minister , and founder of
2552-516: The site three centuries later in 1656, finding only "a large Moat" and was informed by the locals that the castle there had long since been removed. The Odingsells had built a new purpose-built manor house closer to the new town centre, called Silhill Hall , at some point in the 13th century. It is believed that through much of their ownership of the manor the Despencers would rent out Silhill Hall, or have their stewards reside there. Within
2610-437: The south of Ulverli. It was called a borough simply because the de Limsey Lord of the Manor offered free burgage tenure where residents were free, rent-paying burgesses, rather than villeins owing service to the Lord of the Manor. By the time of Edward I , Ulverlie was sub-infeudated into the newly created Manor of Solihull, and became known as the 'Old Town', contracted to its present name, Olton to distinguish itself from
2668-556: The space became privately used. The process took several forms. Usually it was done by one farmer who hacked out a clearing from the woodland , leaving a hedged field . However, sometimes groups of individuals or even entire villages did the work and the results were divided into strips and shared among tenant farmers. Monastic communities, particularly the Cistercians , sometimes assarted, as well as local lords. The cleared land often leaves behind an assart hedge, which often contains
2726-480: The two families ended when Sir William Trussell of Nuthurst led the invasion of England by Queen Isabella against Edward II, which installed Edward III on the throne. Hugh Despenser was executed and Sir William Trussell was made the King's Secretary of State for England under Edward III. The rivalry between the two families was intense, and at one point the grandson of Sir William Trussell, Sir John Trussell, abducted
2784-488: The upper chapel in St Alphege was built for a chantry. By 1242, the Manor of Solihull was granted a Royal charter to hold a weekly market and an annual fair "on the vigil, the feast and the morrow of St Alphege" (18-20 April). It was around this time that Solihull became a hub for its surrounding parishes. The town of Solihull would later absorb the nearby settlement of Longdon . The first recorded reference to Longdon
2842-473: The widow of Hugh Despenser's grandson (also called Hugh Despenser ), after he was killed in battle, and forced her to marry him in an ultimately futile attempt to take the manor of Solihull. The Despencers would briefly fall back into favour some years later when helping with the campaigns of Edward the Black Prince . It is during this time in the 14th century that Hobs Moat Castle is believed to have fallen into ruin. Antiquary Sir William Dugdale would visit
2900-516: Was Touchwood Hall at the end of Drury Lane on Teinters Green. The hall would serve as the home of the Holbeche family , former lords of the manor at Widney Manor and a prominent local family. The hall would later be held by the Madeley and Martineau families. The hall was demolished in 1963 but lends its name to Solihull's famous shopping centre. During this time poets William Shenstone and Richard Jago attended Solihull School, where today, two houses are named after them. In 1775, Monkspath Hall
2958-415: Was considered part of the new Manor of Ulverlei. This status as a clearing in the countryside is still reflected to this day in the town motto, "Urbs in rure" or "town in the country". Local folklore holds that as part of his campaigns against the Viking invasion in the mid 9th century Alfred the Great fought a battle against the Danes at Berry Mound, Shirley. After the absorption of Mercia into
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#17327983969873016-401: Was constructed. It captured the nation's media attention two centuries later when it was illegally demolished, sparking a court case which demanded it be put back exactly as it was. In 1785, the Earl of Aylesford founded, and became patron of, the Woodmen of Arden . This is a prestigious society of Toxophilites who meet to shoot longbows at their ground in the Forest of Arden in Meriden, in
3074-400: Was granted by Pope Boniface IX on 4 May 1396. By 1402 the church was consecrated and Knowle broke away from Hampton in Arden, later becoming part of the borough of Solihull. Near Knowle lies the settlement of Temple Balsall , part of the borough of Solihull, that was founded by the Knights Templar , who farmed about 650 acres (2.6 km ) of the estate in the 12th century, and established
3132-446: Was in 1086 as 'Langedone', meaning the 'long hill'. The 'long hill' in question was the hill on what is now Solihull's Marsh Lane and Yew Tree Lane, leading from the River Blythe up onto Elmdon Heath . The Longdon Manor House was at its edge on Copt Heath. In 1161 the Manor of Longdon had been property of Ketelberne de Langdon , who founded Henwood Priory and gave his name to the settlement of Catherine-de-Barnes (a corruption of
3190-428: Was later bought by a solicitor, Mr. J. B. Clarke of Birmingham in 1899 and soon afterwards sold to Mr. Alfred Lovekin, a silversmith. Mr Lovekin also leased land near Solihull town centre from the Chattock family of Castle Bromwich , on which he built the Jacobean style Tudor Grange Hall. After Mr Lovekin's death, Tudor Grange Hall was sold to Sir Alfred Bird, 1st Baronet , a chemist and politician, who would later leave
3248-474: Was occupied until around the 14th century. The Odingsells were relatives of the powerful Clinton Earls of Huntingdon of Maxstoke Castle (around 8 miles north east of Hobs Moat), whose relatives would also control nearby Coleshill Manor (around 6 miles north east of Hobs Moat), Kenilworth Castle (around 13 miles south east of Hobs Moat) and Baddesley Clinton (around 8 miles south of Hobs Moat). The red sandstone parish church of St. Alphege dates from
3306-431: Was owned by the Throckmortons during the Throckmorton Plot of 1583, and the planning of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament in which the Throckmorton's were heavily involved. Their co-conspirators included the Catesby family of Lapworth (then part of the borough of Solihull), and the Digby family who were Lords of the Manor of Coleshill (much of which is part of the borough of Solihull today). They rented
3364-404: Was staged at the West Warwickshire Sports Club that was founded in 1888. It is located at West Warwickshire Sports Complex Solihull , Midlands , England. Solihull Solihull ( / ˈ s ɒ l i h ʌ l , ˈ s oʊ l -, ˌ s oʊ l i ˈ h ʌ l / SO(H)L -ee-hul, SOH -lee- HUL ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull , in
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