Great Barr in 1868

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer (1868)]

"GREAT BARR, a parish in the hundred of Offlow, in the county of Stafford, 3 miles to the S.E. of Walsall, and 5 N. of Birmingham, its post town. It is situated on the edge of Warwickshire, about 1 mile N.E. from the Newton Road station, on the London and North Western railway. The prospect from Barr Beacon, a hill about 650 feet in height, is remarkably fine. Not far off is Druid Heath, a spot where tradition places the residence of the Arch Druid. It has long been enclosed.

The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Lichfield. The church, dedicated to St. Margaret, is a handsome stone building, erected in 1861. There is a free school, originally founded and endowed by John Addeye in 1722, with an income of £67, it has since been increased by beneficent individuals for 20 boys, who receive a good English education, and are presented with a coat and cap annually. There is also a small endowed school for 30 girls, supported by Sir Francis Scott, Bart., besides National and infant schools, first established in 1858.

Barr Hall, the seat of Sir Francis Scott, Bart., is a spacious and handsome Gothic building, situated in a finely wooded park. The Scott family have had their seat at Barr since the reign of Edward I. Great Barr, until recently a chapelry of Aldridge, now forms a distinct parish, and is in the County Court district of Walsall. The pursuits of the inhabitants are principally agricultural, though so near to the great town of Birmingham.

 

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]