More information : The opening of the Birmingham-Oxford Railway in 1852 caused the initial expansion of Solihull's urban area and throughout the later 19th century and much of the 20th century, the borough has grown to become an affluent commuter suburb of Birmingham. Tudor Grange was built for Alfred Lovekin of Adie & Lovekin, jewellers and silversmiths in 1887. His architect was Thomas Henry Mansell of Newhall Street, Birmingham and the interior had panelling by Plunketts of Smith Street, Warwick. The company of Adie and Lovekin manufactured a wide range of silver fancy goods at the end of the 19th century. They had a factory in Regent Street, Hockley, and in 1894 they commissioned Mansell & Mansell to design a new factory for them at 23, Frederick Street, Birmingham which became known as `Trafalgar Works¿ (Grade II).
Lovekin's wife died in 1900 and in 1901 the house was sold to Alfred Bird, son of the founder of Bird's Custard Company. He enlarged the house, adding a library or study and a sizeable conservatory to the east, and had Blossomfield Road moved northwards, away from the entrance front of the house, and built a new entrance lodge at the end of the re-configured drive. He also employed Robert Bridgeman to ornament the house with statuary and furnished it with an extensive art collection which included paintings and panels of 16th century and 17th century Flemish stained glass, which survive in situ. Alfred Bird became M.P. for Wolverhampton West in 1910. In 1920 he was knighted and in 1922, the year of his death, he was made a baronet. His widow lived on at Tudor Grange until her death in 1943 and the house is believed to have been used as a Red Cross auxiliary hospital during and after the Second World War. In 1946 the house was bought by Warwickshire County Council and became a school for children with special needs until 1976 when it became part of Solihull Technical College.
HOUSE
Tudor Grange is a large suburban house, built in a combination of the Elizabethan and Jacobean styles (sometimes referred to as Jacobethan) of red bricks, laid in stretcher bond, with ashlar dressings and a plain tiled roof. It has two floors with attics and basements and attached to its west flank is a stable and garage block.
EXTERIOR: The entrance front is oriented to the north and has a near-symmetrical centrepiece which is recessed at first floor level and has a projecting three-bay porch to the ground floor. The windows to the ground and first floors are mullioned and transomed, and there are projecting bay windows to the ground floor at either side. There are panels of carved stonework, particularly around the porch, featuring strapwork and grotesque masks. Extending to the west is a single storey range of two bays added by Sir Alfred Bird with a square bay window and small, elaborately-carved oriel capped by a battlemented parapet. The garden front is composed with deliberate asymmetry, having five bays with shaped gables to the left of centre and far right and a canted and square bay, each of two storeys, as well as a single-storey bay to the far right. To the far east end of the front is a wall, formerly inside the conservatory, which has a series of concrete plant holders which are modelled to appear like a rock formation with an alcove to the north-east corner. Also integral to the design of the south front is a terrace bounded by a low stone balustrade which has panels carved with diamonds and ovals topped by a moulded handrail. On the terrace is a stone bench with moulded supports, bearing lion's masks and scrolls with acanthus leaves to the bench back.
The skyline on both principal fronts has a very full array of clustered octagonal chimneys with moulded caps and there are shaped gables. The balustrade at the top of the wall has moulded balusters and the balustrade piers are surmounted by statues personifying a variety of figures including Hercules, Brutus and William the Conqueror some of which were carved by White's, according to George Noszlopy (George T. Noszlopy, Sculpture of Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull, Liverpool University Press, 2003, 301.), and others of which were added by Sir Alfred Bird who employed Robert Bridgeman who had worked at Lichfield Cathedral. Although the scheme of carvings appears somewhat arbitrary at first glance, Noszlopy has identified the overall scheme as based on late 16th century and early-17th century English engravings of heroes from Greek mythology, Roman Emperors and characters from English legend.
INTERIOR: The ground floor plan approximates to a double-pile plan with a large central staircase and entrance hall at either side of which are corridors leading to the former conservatory and a service court. The ground floor has a series of lavishly decorated rooms, including the Dining Room, Morning Room, Drawing Room and Music Room. The Jacobean and Elizabethan styles are freely mixed and there are also elements of Georgian joinery, particularly in the Music Room. Each room has an elaborate fireplace with a carved oak surround and overmantel and panelling to dado height. Many of the fireplaces have tiling by the De Morgan or Ruskin potteries. The plaster ceilings are decorated with strapwork, fruit and flowers in high relief. Many of the windows contain panels of stained glass of good quality showing coats of arms or mottoes. Several also have panels of Flemish or German 16th century or 17th century glass. The Study and Music Room are particularly sumptuous, with richly carved woodwork. Sir Alfred Bird was a collector of Old Master paintings and several of the panels in the Music Room and Hallway have buttons to their lower rims which allow the panels to be removed and it is possible that pictures were incorporated into the panelling with a mechanism to release them in the event of a fire, as is the case with the heavy frames at the Wallace Collection and other 19th century collections.
The panelling is recorded as being fitted by Plunkett's of Warwick, and it seems likely that they were responsible for fitting out the rooms in their entirety. The staircase hall contains further panelling and the window has nine panels of Flemish or German glass. To the first floor one bedroom has a fireplace with richly figured wood and ivory inlay. There is a first floor corridor with housekeeper's panelled cupboards to either side and Lyncrusta wallpaper and the former bedrooms contain a series of fireplaces with wood or cast metal surrounds.
STABLE BLOCK
Attached to the west side is the stable and garage block which has a T-shaped plan. The crossstroke is oriented north-south and has a partially-glazed roof. It appears that garages or carriage houses led off at either side of this part of the block (and Sir Alfred Bird is known to have been an early user of motor cars). The stables were arranged at either side of the central passageway of the downstroke, which runs east-west, but these have now been re-arranged to form teaching rooms. This part of the building is also richly decorated, with statuary and a louvered octagonal bellcote to the skyline and ball and sceptre finials. Several of the original windows have been replaced with uPVC windows and the openings appear to have been enlarged.
WALLED GARDEN
To the south west of the house, below the terrace, is an enclosed rectangular garden with walling to the north, south and west sides. It is of English bond brick with moulded brick and ashlar dressings. To the north and south sides are pairs of stone gate piers with panelled sides and vase finials supporting wrought iron gates, each with an overthrow.
FORMER LODGE
at the end of the shorter drive was later adapted to form servants' housing.
EXTERIOR: The original gate lodge of 1877 by Mansell lies at the end of the former shorter drive to the north-east of the house. It was later adapted to form servants' housing. It has two shaped gables to the north face, that at left having a canted bay with ogee lead roof. At right of this is a porch supported on moulded wooden posts with hipped roof and to the gable above is a square stone with cartouche bearing the cypher AL for Alfred Lovekin. To left of this and recessed is an extensive late-19th or early-20th century extension which has a truncated chimney stack. The west flank has three bays with cross windows and the south gable end has a further truncated stack. The east front has a gable at right with a further porch in the re-entrant angle.
INTERIOR: The relatively plain interior has been altered to accommodate office use. Several panelled doors survive, but no fireplaces.
GATE LODGE
The gate lodge was added in the late-19th century or early-20th century following the moving of Blossomfield Road. It is of red brick with ashlar dressings and has a tiled roof and two storeys. The drive front has a canted bay to left with mullioned window with octagonal roof. To right of this is a recessed porch with segmental arch. The west gable end has a chimney stack at right and a first floor window of three mullioned lights. Immediately to right of the stack is an inserted 20th century ground floor window and there is a large similar window to the flank wall of the rear wing.
HOUSE
Tudor Grange is a large house with stable block, set in a suburb of Birmingham and designed for Alfred Lovekin, the owner of one of the larger silversmithing companies. It was built `from the designs and under the superintendence of Mr. T H Mansell without regard to expense¿ according to the house sale catalogue of 1900. Additions were made by Sir Alfred Frederick Bird (son of the inventor of custard powder) after he bought the house in 1900. Tudor Grange is unashamedly the house of two newly-enriched tycoons and it goes beyond the norm of a suburban villa in both size and pretention. A Jacobean mansion set in a landscape of pleasure gardens might appear to ape the conventions of the upper class and their country houses but Tudor Grange differs from them in several crucial ways, not the least of which is its name. It seems never to have sat at the centre of a landed estate of any size. Instead it took those parts of country house life which appealed to the families which lived there and placed them close to the city and the business which paid for it all. Jacobean was amongst the most popular styles in the later 19th century for country house of the middling to larger size. It was generally used by owners who did not wish to advertise their Christian faith too forcefully by building in Gothic, and was felt to express English domestic values. The style would have had a local resonance and borrowed kudos from the 17th century Aston Hall to the west of Birmingham, and it was given further prestige when used by the Prince of Wales for his house at Sandringham, finished in 1870. Tudor Grange is unusual in having so much carved decoration both to the exterior and interior. Elaborate carving, even amongst the houses of the very rich, was considered an overt and conspicuous extravagance and was comparatively rare. The inclusion of a narrative scheme of figurative sculptures above the balustrade and their survival in comparatively good condition is also a rarity. Moreover, the sculptures have definite quality; Robert Bridgeman is known to have worked at Lichfield Cathedral and his figures at Tudor Grange are well-suited to the scale and the dramatic possibilities of their position. Further examples of craftsmanship of good quality can be seen in the rich panelling and moulded ceilings and fireplaces of the ground floor rooms fitted by Plunkett's of Warwick which show inspired design combined with skilful execution. The mixture of Jacobean, Tudor and Georgian elements may sound peculiar, but the design is carefully modulated so that one room has a noteworthy ceiling and another good panelling and the skilful execution creates a result which is inspired and atmospheric. The overall massing of the design is well managed and the house has an effective plan which clusters a series of reception rooms around the staircase hall and allows intercommunication between the different parts and views across the terrace and gardens. The plan has been little altered and is largely intact, and the great majority of the original fittings remain in situ, including Lyncrusta wallpaper, door furniture, tiled fire surrounds of quality and stained glass panels in the windows. This latter includes an interesting collection of German and Flemish stained glass of the 16th and 17th century in the staircase hall window and to several of the reception rooms. The loss of the large conservatory added by Bird might be regarded as unfortunate, but it was a later addition to the original fabric. Similarly, the addition of fire escapes mars the appearance on the flanks of the building, but these form parts of its present life as an educational building and could be removed with relative ease. The setting of the house within its immediate landscape, includes a terrace before the south front with a stone balustrade, the north wall of the conservatory, which has a series of cement plant holders, and a walled garden to the south of the house. The majority of the points raised by the owner's agents are addressed elsewhere in this assessment. However, two require further clarification. Firstly, the fact that the building does not appear on the local list of buildings of note: Solihull MBC were asked about this apparent anomaly and their response was that it has been their intention to add the building for almost seven years, but as any new addition to the list requires the submission of a report for the consideration by the full planning committee and as the building has been in safe hands and was well maintained they had not applied for its addition, although this remained their firm intention throughout. Secondly, the contention that Sir Alfred Bird and his connection with the house were too widely separated from the invention of custard powder by his father is accurate and there seem to be limited grounds for saying that the house was the location of any historic activity. However, it should be noted that Sir Alfred Bird was the MP for a Wolverhampton constituency and a generous benefactor to local institutions and was made a Baronet for his services.
The contention in the report prepared by Savile's Commercial that the upper floors of the building are in poor order does not seem to be the case. Although regular maintenance will continue to be a requirement in a building of this type and age a thorough internal inspection revealed no areas where water penetration had caused serious damage and the building appears to be in reasonably good condition.
The recent case of Sunnycroft, Near Wellington, Shropshire (Grade II) has some similarities to Tudor Grange. There too a sizeable suburban house with lodge and former stable block was considered for designation. The exterior of the house was relatively complete but architecturally unremarkable. The decision to designate depended in large measure upon the completeness of the internal fittings and their quality and the skill with which the overall internal scheme of decoration had been executed. Many of the same qualities of a skilfully executed and intact interior can be seen at Tudor Grange, but here the majority of the fittings were specifically commissioned for the house. Another, comparable example is Wightwick Manor, near Wolverhampton by Edward Ould, built in 1887 (Grade I). It is also a large suburban house set in a relatively small plot of land, for a paint manufacturer Theodore Mander and built in the Tudor style with brick and timber-framed walling. Its high grade is a reflection of the stylistically advanced nature of the design and the many fittings of considerable artistic quality. The qualities shown by Tudor Grange might reasonably be felt to fall between these two examples. All three houses share the virtue of very complete internal decorative schemes in which the original pattern of everyday life can be seen. At Sunnycroft many of the decorative and functional interior fittings were mass produced and selected from manufacturers' catalogues and the skill with which they were combined is one of the principal reasons for designation. At Wightwick the quality of the fittings, including glass by Kempe, tiles by De Morgan and Morris wallpapers and hangings were all considerations when deciding on the designation at Grade I.
Tudor Grange has a picturesque exterior, enlivened by stone carvings of definite quality and a series of skilfully designed interior spaces which build carefully towards the crescendo of the Music Room. It incorporates joinery, plasterwork, tiles and stained glass of considerable quality and has a plan which has been little altered and still reflects its former use as the house of a prosperous businessman and manufacturer in late-19th century Birmingham. This combination of qualities gives it more than special interest and it should be designated at Grade II*.
STABLE BLOCK
The stable block has suffered some alteration, most notably in the adaptation of the stables and loose boxes to make teaching rooms and the alteration of a carriage house and grooms' accommodation to form a flower shop and office space. Nonetheless the outlines of the building are apparent. It is attached to the house and forms a picturesque adjunct, especially on the garden side. The elaborate front, with carved stonework, dial and weather vane are all very effective and the interior with its glazed throughway and suspended clock also has considerable special quality. It is clearly suitable for listing and is included with the designation entry for Tudor Grange.
A late-19th century suburban mansion, built for Alfred Lovekin to the designs of Thomas Henry Mansell and subsequently bought and altered by Sir Alfred Bird. The house retains its original plan and contains a series of reception rooms with lavishly designed interiors including panelling, plasterwork, antique glass panels and tile work which combine to give it more than special quality. It is recommended for designation at Grade II*. (1)
Listed. For the designation record of this site please see The National Heritage List for England. (2-3)
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