Moor Pool Heritage Trust

 

Moor Pool Garden Suburb has been described as “Possibly the most charming enclave of 20th Century social housing in Birmingham and, arguably, one of the city’s best kept architectural secrets” (Steve Beauchamp & Simon Inglis, Played in Birmingham, May 2006.) Today it remains a virtually intact example of a garden suburb since its creation, which was the vision of John Sutton Nettlefold.

Moor Pool Estate is a meticulously designed Garden suburb consisting of around 500 houses designed in the Arts and Crafts style between 1907 and 1912 in response to overcrowded urban dwellings, and to provide residents with extensive green space, fresh air as well as community and sporting facilities. The estate boasts two community halls (Grade II listed) with a ‘hidden’ Edwardian Skittle Alley, a snooker and billiards hall, two tennis clubs, a bowling green, fishing pond and allotments all designed to improve the physical and social wellbeing of the residents and encourage a sense of community.

 

Moor Pool Heritage Trust is a charity set up to conserve, advance and protect these assets for the benefit of the community, and to promote the history of this historic garden suburb. Today a visit to the enchanting Moor Pool Garden Suburb is like stepping back in time with the scenic Moor Pool itself, the Orchard, intriguing hidden pathways, the bowling green, and outstanding examples of Arts and Crafts architecture as well as the historic hidden gems such as the skittle alley hidden below the Main Hall.

 

Pictured: Moor Pool collage