West Bromwich Manor House

Image: © David Stowell Taken: 20 Jan 2007

Seen late on a January afternoon this timber framed building was erected by the de Marnham family in the late 13th century. At that time this was their agricultural estate in what is today West Bromwich. Of the original complex only the Great Hall survives. It was heavily extended and modernised over the years to the extent that in 1790 it was described as “a large pile of irregular half-timbered buildings, black and white, and surrounded with numerous out-houses and lofty walls.” By the 1950s it was hidden behind cladding and plastering and narrowly escaped demolition in the 1950s. Fortunately however West Bromwich Corporation carried out an extensive and sympathetic restoration and the Manor House is now a bar and restaurant.

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