Boldmere

"Boldmere" is a corruption of the word "Baldmoor", coming from the Middle English bald (meaning "a white patch") and the Anglo-Saxon moor (meaning "boggy land"). Therefore, Boldmere literally means a "bald moor"; a treeless patch. Bald (meaning "bold") was also a personal name used by the Anglo-Saxons.[2]

At the time of John Speed's 1610 atlas The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, Boldmere was known as Cofield Wast.[3] The area was described as "an open, wild and windy expanse, covered with gorse".[4]

The United Kingdom Census of 1841 refers to the area as Baldmoor Lake, which was once a body of water south of the Chester Road. The lake has also been known as Bowen Pool, Baldmoor, and Bolemore Lake,[2] though no lake is shown on Speed's map of 1610 (nor on other later maps). The census did, however, list a dwelling on the Chester Road as "Lake House".[3] There is, however, a Lakehouse Road and Baldmoor Lake Road in the area.[5][6]

By 1856, the area had become known as The Coldfield, a name which lasted at least until the introduction of the railway.[7]

On introduction of the 1825 Inclosure Act, the area saw little expansion due to common land becoming privately owned.[3] The 1841 census listed eight families in the area, including agricultural workers, a painter, an Irish carrier, and a wire drawer.[2] It is likely that the latter worked at Penns Mill,[2] a nearby wire mill run by the Webster family (with Baron Dickinson Webster's business involvements including the transatlantic telegraph cable).

Boldmere did expand, however, upon the introduction of the London and North Western Railway. Two stations opened in the region at Wylde Green and Chester Road, in 1862 and 1863 respectively.[8][9]

A second housing boom occurred in the 1930s, with both private and council housing being built.

In 1857, Boldmere was designated as an ecclesiastical parish, formed from the parish of St Michael's in Sutton Coldfield.[10] When Sutton Coldfield was reorganised in 1885 (under the Municipal Corporations Act 1882), Boldmere was created as a ward, before being divided into Boldmere West and Boldmere East in 1935.[10]

Boldmere is now part of the Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council,[11] which was formed following a consultative ballot in 2015. The role of this organisation is the same as a parish council. Boldmere is in the Sutton Vesey electoral ward.[1]

A view of the north-east end of Powells Pool – the slipway is visible in the foreground

In the 18th century, Powell's Pool (then known as New Forge Pool) near Boldmere Gate was the site of the mill used by John Wyatt to experiment with mechanised cotton spinning.[2] Along with Lewis Paul, he developed the roller spinning machine and the flyer-and-bobbin system (Paul patented the former on 24 June 1738). In 1750, the mill was used by William Powell to manufacture spades (using locally-grown ash wood for the handles). It is believed that the first steel garden fork was manufactured at the mill.[2] The building was later used to produce steel for the production of pen nibs.[2] The Ordnance Survey's First Series map (1834) identifies a forge in this area,[15] of which John Willets (a forgeman), John Page (a spade maker), and John Harris (a saw maker) have all been identified as proprietors.[7]

The mill was demolished some time after 1936, after lying unused and dilapidated for a number of years. Although none of the building's structure remains, a waterfall (providing a spillway to Powell's Pool) is now sited where the millrace was located.[2]

Boldmere is home to Highbury Theatre Centre,[26] a community theatre organisation.[27] The theatre has been in its current location since it was built by its original members in 1942.

Boldmere Wanderers FC who were founded in 2018, play their home games at Rectory Park, Sutton Coldfield.

Boldmere Golf Course is located on the northern edge of Boldmere, and hosts Europe's longest-running pro-am golfing competition.[28] The annual Great Midlands Fun Run uses Boldmere Gate as the entrance to Sutton Park.[29]

Boldmere St. Michael's Football Club is a football club based in Boldmere, Sutton Coldfield, England. They are currently members of the Midland League Premier Division and play at the Trevor Brown Memorial Ground.