1884 to 1973
The house appears to have been bought by Mrs Swinburn, who
was listed there in 1886 and 1892. The Swinburn family were well
known in Yardley as teachers, and Mrs Swinburn laid the foundation
stone for St Mary's church. John Field Swinburn was Vicar there
from 1867 to 1890. Stone Hall is not listed as such in the 1894
and 1895 directories. By 1896 Stone Hall was occupied by Solly
Hirsch or Hirsh. He had moved there from Augustus Road, Edgbaston.
This name remained in the directories, from around 1920 as Mrs
Hirsch. In 1923 the name Edwin Shipway appears. Mr Shipway sold
Stone Hall to Birmingham Corporation on 6th September 1930 for
£1750. By then the estate was 1 acre, 0 roods and 18 perches.
The rest of the estate had been sold by 1916, as the extract from
the 25 inch Ordnance Survey shows. Land along Westley Road had
indeed been sold for Villa Residences, but a large area had been
bought by Yardley for Council Schools opened in 1908.
The City allocated Stone Hall to the Education Department,
as it was needed for school premises, particularly as the Warwick
Road was due for widening (Council Minutes, 1930).
Extract from 25 inch Ordnance Survey map, 1916
During the war, underground air raid shelters were built behind
the house, and they are still there, in the garden next to the
huts. They are hidden by undergrowth now, as the picture shows!
Stone Hall remained in school hands until 1973, when it reopened
as an adult education centre.
|
