Tag: Kings Heath Village Square

JOIN US FOR COFFEE AND CAKE AT OUR AGM

All members are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery which is to be held on Thursday 14th April at 10.30am till 11.30am in the Conference Room at St Dunstans Church, Kingsfield Rd, Birmingham B14 7JN. As you enter from the main gate in Kingsfield Road the Conference Room is on the right. Copies of the Annual Report and the Audited Accounts will be presented and circulated to the members present. Following the meeting these will be posted on our website fbec.org.uk.

Under the rules, existing members of the Executive Committee will be offering themselves for re-election but we welcome enquiries from prospective new members. All nominees must be members of FBEC and nomination forms can be obtained from the Chairman and must be completed and submitted by 31st March 2016.

Any questions to be tabled at the AGM should be submitted in advance to the Chairman by telephone /email by 31st March 2016.-07811 393259 / friendsofbec@gmail.com

The Committee sincerely hopes that you will be able to join us for tea and cake and to learn of our successes to date and plans for the future. We work on your behalf and depend on your support.

Season for Fungi

This is the time of year where the damp weather means its fungi season in the Cemetery. You can always find lots of ground fungi but Carola??????????????????????????????????????, a member of our committee, spotted and photographed this specimen of tree fungi!

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Next time you are in Brandwood End try looking up……you would be amazed what you can find.

 

As well as varied birds sitting quietly in the trees you can also see the remnants of their nests and several squirrel dray’s. Views across the cemetery are very different when the trees are devoid of leaves but our many evergreen trees mean that there is always a splash of colour.

Those of us that are lucky enough to live close to the cemetery can recommend a walk there in any season and any weather as nature always provides something to see.

Last litter pick of 2014!

This will be the last weekend in 2014 that the Friends will be holding a Litter Pick and clean up in the Cemetery. The details are as follows:-

Meet by the Lodge on the main drive. 10am (Usually finished by 11.30am)

Sunday 7th December. Litter pickers and sacks provided but suitable shoes and gloves advisable.

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If Litter Picking is not up your street, we always have plenty of weeding to do under the hedges in the Civilian Garden of Remembrance. You will have to bring your own tools for this task.

 

 

Poppy Cross Cemetery in place.

Every year Barrie Simpson goes beyond the call of duty and as well as organising the placing of a poppy cross on every war grave within Brandwood End  he also creates a ‘poppy cross cemetery’. Every War Grave is represented by a cross in a grid pattern laid out on the grass of the Public Grave area adjacent to the Cross of Sacrifice.

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Every year we encourage pupils from the two schools that lie on either side of the cemetery to come and read the information that is posted nearby and it hopefully becomes a discussion point- especially in this significant year.

Our thanks go to the staff of Wates Construction for helping with the placing of crosses on graves and S. Gascoigne and Sons for their kind donation to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal on our behalf.

 

Edward Davison and his burial in Brandwood End.

Not many people will have heard of Edward Davison, however, he played a large part in King’s Heath life and his obituary was reported in the Birmingham Daily news in July 1908. He had died on 27th June 1908 at his residence Tenbury House at the age of 73. Tenbury House He was a native of Wakefield, Yorkshire where he was born in 1835. Mr. Davison came to Birmingham in 1851 to learn the trade of his uncle, whose business Joseph Nichols and Son, Cheapside became one of the largest wireworks in the kingdom. He was elected President of the Birmingham branch of the Federated Wireworkers and Weavers. In 1883 he became a sleeping partner in the Midland Wire Cordage Company, Vincent Street, Balsall Heath, formerly carried on at Sheffield, and some years later became sole proprietor. His son W H Davison soon took over the running of the business which allowed Edward more time to devote himself to public work. He was a staunch Liberal of the old school, and had not been in the city long before he became a member of the Birmingham Liberal Association. He had the honour of being a seconder of the nomination of the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain at the Town Hall meeting which selected that statesman as one of the Liberal candidates for Birmingham.davison

Edward became early associated with the work of All Saints Church, Kings Heath, in the vicariate of Rev. H J Coachafer, was elected a sidesman, and for some years served as parish warden, with Mr. Tom Pickernell as his co-warden. This post he resigned in 1897. His interest in local affairs led to his being elected a member of Kings Norton Parish Council, on its formation in 1894.

During the obituary it mentions that Midland Wire Cordage manufactured lightning conductors. Tenbury House (3 Tenbury Road) has its own lightning conductor. The clips that hold it to the wall have the words “Davison Safety” and the initials “MWCO” stamped onto them. Davison clearly had this lightning conductor installed there. There is another building on the corner of Tenbury Road and Alcester Road South, now a Doctor’s surgery. This too has a lightning conductor made by “MWCO”. Davison was quick to promote his lightning conductors to his neighbours. All Saints Church in Kings Heath also has a lightning conductor made by “MWCO” which is not surprising as Edward was church warden there. So next time you pass by these buildings or see any others with a lightning conductor attached to them. Go and have a look more closely as it may just be a “Davison Safety”. The chapels at Brandwood End also have a lightning conductor, but are inaccessible to the public. It would be interesting to find out if it too was made by the Midland Wire Cordage Company.

Davison GraveEdward was buried at Brandwood End Cemetery. His grave is situated by the large roundabout where the chapels are sited. As you walk from the lodge his is on the right as you go half way round the roundabout. His memorial is photographed above. 

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Information provided by Andy Bishop – Chair of Kings Heath Local History Society.

 

Bat Walk Reminder!

Explore the night with Brum Bats and the Ranger Service on a Bat walk through Jasmin fields Nature Reserve along the canal, through the cemetery to finish at Brandwood Pool.

Thursday 11th September 7.30-9pm meet at the Farm gate on Bayston Rd, facing Kinsey Grove B14 5AR

All ages welcome but under 16’s must be supervised.You will need to bring a Powerful torch and wear outdoor clothing and sturdy footwear.

Please contact the Ranger Service to book 0121 675 0937 – Spaces are limited so you will need to book in advance.

 

Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress visit Jasmin Fields

Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery joined other members of New Vision at an ‘Explore Jasmin Fields’ event last Saturday.  A similar event last summer was completely drowned out so we were dismayed when we started to set up in rain and wind! The wind was so strong that one or our gazebos briefly became a kite……but the wind soon dropped and the rain cleared and by starting time we had very acceptable weather.

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We were very pleased that the Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress came along to open the event and stayed most of the morning. The Ranger Service and the Friends of Jasmin Fields, supported by New Vision, had arranged a circular walk of the nature reserve, pond dipping, cake icing, badge making, bike repairs and advice on security by the Neighbourhood Policing Team. The event gave local groups, including FBEC, the opportunity to make residents more aware of their activities and to enlist members for future events. Everyone agreed to had been a real success and well worth the effort by the volunteers.

If you have an interest in any of the local groups, especially Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery, please contact us via this site and we will add you to our e mail list to be advised of anything happening in our local community group areas. We all need your support at our events and it is so good to see local people interested in any of our sites.

Hedge gets first serious cut!

Those of you that follow this blog will know that just over a year ago pupils from St Albans Catholic Primary School joined Friends and volunteers to replace an ailing hedge around the Civilian Garden of Remembrance with a new hawthorn hedge.This peaceful area had been abandoned for many years until The Friends, with lottery support, restored it to a restful place to sit and enjoy. Initially we had surrounded the area with a beech hedge but the soil, being clay and waterlogged much of the year, did not support this species, so a major plan was put in place to replace it with a more tolerant hawthorn hedge.

20130811_15403020130811_154043This hedge has thrived and grown and had begun to look unruly, despite occasional trimming, so this weekend it had its first serious ‘cut’ and we are pleased to say it looks fantastic. This will only be its second winter coming up and already it is starting to look like a well established hedge.  I think you will agree from the photo’s above that the area looks inviting and is well cared for volunteers from FBEC.

If you feel you could help us at all with this ongoing task of weeding etc please contact us via our web site. Many hands make light work and there is always something to do.

 

Safety measures completed.

Some time ago we reported the concern of members that the exit from the Broad Lane gate of the cemetery was potentially dangerous as there was no pavement and you stepped into fast moving traffic. FBEC  arranged with local Councillors to have the road marked outside both the public and the Jewish gates, to warn vehicles that there were  hidden exits within the hedge line.

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Following our request to the Cemetery Superintendent we are pleased to say that a warning sign has been placed close to the exit so all pedestrians are now aware of the danger. Our thanks go to those who drew this to our attention and also for the assistance of the local Councillor and Bereavements staff for addressing this issue