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Local & Community History Month: The Dog Kennel Cottages, Middleton Park
- Debbie Jordan
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
When the Middleton Estate was sold at auction in 1924, two cottages, known as the Dog Kennel Cottages, were within the boundaries of Lot 1 that included Middleton Hall. These Cottages were located in a single piece of land that covered an area about 1 rood and 6 perches (0.12 hectares). They were located to the south of Middleton Hall and just to the north of Coneybury Farm, on the southernmost edge of the Lot and the southernmost edge of Middleton Park. In 1924, Lord Middleton paid the local taxes for this land and the Cottages were within the lease of Egbert de Hamel, who sub-let them.
There were structures on the site of the Dog Kennel Cottages before 1762. However, it is uncertain whether at that time they were cottages or actually kennels as they are only identified as “Dog Kennel” on early maps. The Dog Kennel structure was not located within its own piece of land on the 1762 map of the Middleton Estate, but it was on the 1834 OS map. On the 1865 map, they were first specifically identified on a map as cottages, at which time another dog kennel structure first appeared to the north of Middleton Hall on the southern edge of Kennel Wood.
The Dog Kennel Cottages were commonly referred to as the Gardener’s Cottage and the Chauffeur’s Cottage. They shared gardens and obtained drinking water from a pump located at the rear of the Cottages.
The Gardener’s Cottage was constructed in brick and had a tiled roof. It contained a parlour, kitchen, pantry, back kitchen and two bedrooms. Outside there was a coal house, water closet and pigsty. Mrs Ernestine Isabel March, who was born at Middleton Hall in 1909 and was the granddaughter of Egbert de Hamel, commented that the head gardener living in this Cottage during her time was Mr Wilkinson, until he retired, and then it was Mr Tetstall.
Census identify the residents of the Gardener’s Cottage as:
1921 and 1911: Frederick Wilkinson, a 60/49 year old gardener from Croxton Kerrial in Leicestershire and his wife Mary Jane.
1901: Thomas Bridgewater, a 41 year old gardener from Morville in Shropshire and his wife Jane.
1891: Edward Solman, a 46 year old gardener from Sidbury in Devon, his wife Elizabeth and their children James Richard and Edith Marion. James was also a gardener on the Middleton Estate.
1871: Owen Murray and John McGrath, agricultural labourers from Ireland.
1861: John Lowndes, a 33 year old gardener from Salt in Staffordshire, his wife Mary and their four children: Amelia; Martha; John; and Charles.
The Chauffeur’s Cottage was also constructed in brick and had a tiled roof. It contained a parlour, kitchen, pantry and two bedrooms. Outside there was a wash house, water closet and pigsty. Mrs March noted that the coachman living in this Cottage during her time at Middleton Hall was called Mr Welland.
Census identify the residents of the Chauffeur’s Cottage as:
1921: William Greenway, a 32 year old coachman from London, with his wife Minnie, who was a laundress at Middleton Hall, and their daughters Doris and Jessie.
1911: William Alphonsus Welland, a 43 year old coachman from Stanford Place in Berkshire, with his wife Annie and their three surviving children: William Joseph, a grocer’s assistant; John Richard, who was a farm lad; and Kathleen Mary.
1901: William Jones, a 43 year old coachman from Shropshire, his wife Mary and their daughter Mabel Evelyn.
1891: Walter Benson, a 28 year old coachman from Derby, his wife Emily and children Edith Mary and Walter Edward.
1871 and 1861: John Clarke, a coachman from Thrumpton in Nottinghamshire who was born about 1809. In 1861, he was a widower and was living with his son James, a garden labourer, and his daughter Sarah Ann, who was a housekeeper. In 1871, John was with his new wife Hannah, who was from Malton in Yorkshire, and Sarah Ann.
The census of 1881 and 1939 do not provide enough information to determine which family was living in which one of the Dog Kennel Cottages. In 1881, Edwin John King, a 30 year old farm labourer from Sutton Coldfield, his wife Jane and their children Ada Mary and John Edwin were living in one Cottage. Francis Cheney, a 30 year old gamekeeper on the Middleton Estate from Puncknowle in Dorset, his wife Ellen and their son John were living in the other. In 1939, William Maurice Vickery, who had been born in 1918 and worked for the Air Ministry, his wife Florence Catherine and their son Anthony Maurice were living in one Cottage. John Thomas Dixon, who worked on the roads for Warwickshire County Council, and his wife Evelyn, who is known to have worked as a cook at Middleton Hall, were living in the other.
Today, neither of the Dog Kennel Cottages remain. It is uncertain when they were demolished but the area that they were built on was mined extensively by Amey Roadstone for sand and gravel. Recently, the area was acquired by Aston Villa Football Club and converted into their new training ground. One of their car parks and one of their buildings, which were officially opened by Prince William on 4th May 2021, have been built directly on top of where the Dog Kennel Cottages once were.
Further Reading:
1861 England Census, RG09 1971 59 19 101
1861 England Census, RG09 1971 59 19 102
1871 England Census, RG10 2912 23 8 39
1871 England Census, RG10 2912 23 8 40
1881 England Census, RG11 2771 68 7 351
1881 England Census, RG11 2771 68 7 352
1891 England Census, RG12 2211 99 1 2
1891 England Census, RG12 2211 99 1 3
1901 England Census, RG13 2653 108 1 5
1901 England Census, RG13 2653 108 1 6
1911 England Census, RG14 16855 1043 366 1 29 5
1911 England Census, RG14 16855 1043 366 1 29 6
1921 England Census, RG15 12915 366 1 28 4
1921 England Census, RG15 12915 366 1 28 5
1939 Register, RG101 5742A 012 16
1939 Register, RG101 5742A 012 19
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
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