“Possibly the most charming enclave of 20th Century social housing in Birmingham &, arguably, one of the city’s best kept architectural secrets”
Heritage is sometimes hard to define. So let me begin with a story….
As a child, spending time at my grandparents’ house on the Moor Pool estate saw me running through the leafy hidden alleys behind the houses, playing hide and seek amongst the trees on the Spinney, picking fruit from the apple and pear trees that every house had in its garden, feeding the ducks on the Moor Pool. This was Birmingham – but perhaps not as many from outside of the city would perceive it!
Often heritage is linked to specific single categories – for example buildings or landscapes. However, looking back now, this was my family heritage and my community’s heritage derived from the experience of growing up around a Garden Village Suburb – the precious memories created by time with family and community.
Moor Pool for me was a special place back then in the 1970’s. My passion for Moor Pool had subconsciously been planted in those happy, carefree days – little did I know that passion would be reignited and that I would become a Trustee of Moor Pool Heritage Trust some 50 years later.
Moving back onto the estate as an adult in 1997, I immediately felt once again that sense of community that defines this special place. However, I’ll admit to taking much of what Moor Pool has to offer for granted in those early years of coming ‘home’ and, being largely ignorant of its unique heritage and story.
It was only when the future of the estate came under threat in 2011 that I realised just how much of a “hidden gem” Moor Pool is.
Moor Pool is a Garden Village Suburb in southwest Birmingham. It was designed and implemented by John Sutton Nettlefold – first Chair of Birmingham’s Housing Committee (1901). Realising that if Birmingham was to become a true industrial powerhouse the city needed fit and healthy workers, Nettlefold was inspired to improve the quality of housing within the city.
In a report to the city council in 1906, Nettlefold proposed town planning and municipal land purchase in the suburbs to prevent the creation of future slums, and the city council approved his motion for a national legislation. It was Nettlefold who popularised the term ‘town planning’ in Britain. He was keen to follow Cadbury’s principles of social housing by building beyond the city’s urban area, and to enable working-class people to live in affordable but spacious homes in a pleasant environment. Using the Garden Suburb model (as championed by Ebenezer Howard), Nettlefold purchased land in Harborne to design and build a healthy living estate, where “town meets country”.
The Moor Pool Estate covers 54-acres in south-west Birmingham and is a small and well-executed example of a garden suburb with a central complex comprising the community halls, green spaces and shops. It was built between 1907-1912 and was a co-partnership housing project. The Moor Pool Estate promoted the inclusion of community facilities at the heart of residential developments. The resulting built heritage, including the Grade II listed Moor Pool Hall, forms the heart of the Moor Pool Estate both physically and socially.
The Moor Pool Conservation Area was designated on the 30th July 1970. Moor Pool has remained virtually intact as an example of a Garden Suburb since its development in the early Twentieth Century. (Described by English Heritage as “an exceptional survival”). It has benefited from an Article 4 (2) Directive for the Conservation Area in 2006 which has led to wider protection and improved conservation of many of its historic features. Dr Mervyn Miller (an acknowledged expert on the Garden City and Suburb movement) considers that “Moor Pool rates highly, both for planning and architectural values and is the finest of its genre in the Midlands” (Miller 2009).
Embracing the Arts and Crafts principles of quality craftsmanship, combined with reduced housing density (only 10 houses per acre vs 40 per acre which was standard) and plentiful green or open spaces, Nettlefold created a residential estate based around a co-operative ownership scheme. He recognised that providing community and recreational activities were key to a thriving healthy community. Therefore, he incorporated 2 village halls, tennis courts, bowling green, park areas and of course, allotments into the design.
“It is fortunately becoming more and more recognised every day that open spaces are as necessary to the health of a town, as streets are to its traffic.”
In 2011, as residents, we became aware that the future of the estate was under threat. From the late 1950’s onwards, co-operative ownership had given way to corporate ownership. The current corporate owners decided to sell off the “community assets” to reduce their liabilities and responsibilities. Such a move was likely to lead to development of these areas and compromise of the integrity of Moor Pool’s heritage – one of the last remaining intact Garden Village Suburb estates.
A group of us felt this had to be prevented. We approached the community to seek a mandate to act on their behalf to save the estate. The response was an overwhelming “yes”! Hence, in 2011 Moor Pool Heritage Trust was formed as a charity, with the objective of conserving the heritage of the Moor Pool Estate.
So we began to define what that “heritage” was …and here the debate began. Some people felt our heritage was the Arts and Crafts architecture – especially the various Grade II Listed buildings. Some felt it was the “Garden Village Suburb” heritage. Some felt it was the social history of the estate – generations of families living here since its construction, the history of clubs and societies run by volunteers such as the Moor Pool Players, Bowls Club, Tennis Clubs etc. Others felt it was the green spaces (ever decreasing in Birmingham in more recent times) and co-operative living principles.
In truth, it was all of these things. For Moor Pool is about the people and the places; the community and the conservation of buildings. It is a special place whose heritage cannot be defined in one single box (which I must admit made things tough for grant applications!).
In 2013, we were given 12 months by the corporate owners to raise £325k in order to save the community assets from open market sale. With huge community support, significant successful grant applications (including National Lottery Heritage Fund) and a major donor contribution, we successfully raised the funds and became owners of the assets in December 2014.
Moor Pool Heritage Trust based its objectives around what we defined as our 4 pillars of heritage: Conservation, Community, Education, Environment.
2024 heralds the 10th anniversary of Moor Pool Heritage Trust taking on the heritage of Moor Pool.
“Moor Pool Heritage Trust is a shining example of what local voluntary action can do to safeguard maintain and enhance historic community facilities”
We have run the Halls and estate successfully since 2014 and remain foremost a community business. We have diversified our offer – to bring in more families, younger people and provide a wider education offer too. We currently welcome over 8,200 visitors and customers per annum. The Moor Pool Halls offer affordable facilities for over 20 community groups which cater for everybody from parents/toddlers to the elderly. We were proud to be awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2019.
We have a team of 8 committed Trustees and 3 fantastic part-time staff, and a phenomenal team of 100+ volunteers. The overwhelming majority of our staff, volunteers and trustees are drawn from Moor Pool and its immediate surroundings. However, the beneficiaries of our services are drawn from both the locality and the wider Birmingham area.
Our mantra has become “expect the unexpected” as we have learnt that maintenance and conservation of such assets is never straightforward!
We are proud of what we have achieved, but are conscious there is so much more we need to do. Our current priority is refurbishment of our toilets and improve access in order to make our facilities accessible to all.
Moor Pool is a beautiful example of Arts and Crafts architecture and a wonderful example of an intact Garden Village Suburb. Yet it is so much more than that – it is the sum of its people, it is the essence of a community, it is the legacy of John Sutton Nettlefold that we are committed to conserving. It is an example of community at its best.
We are excited for Moor Pool’s future. We are about helping people understand it’s history and the part it has played in Birmingham’s architectural, social and political history. We are about conserving Moor Pool’s legacy for the future generations so that they too can enjoy growing up in a healthy, beautiful environment, surrounded by green spaces and supported by a community that cares.
We are about living heritage.
Jules Bellingham, February 2025.
Moor Pool Hall
37 The Circle, Harborne,
Birmingham, B17 9DY
Registered Charity Number: 1148252
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