IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Castle Hills Drive, BIRMINGHAM, B36 9BP

Essentially now a cycleway and footpath, with some limited vehicular access to the hotel facilities of Castle Bromwich Hall at the northeast end.

There are sphinxes at the bottom of the garden. One can be seen here reposing on a pillar at a corner of the garden wall at Castle Bromwich Hall, in the suburbs of Birmingham & Solihull. The photo was taken from the wooded area outside the walled garden. The sphinx has a double facing her from the opposite corner, some distance away. The formal gardens to the west of Castle Bromwich Hall were laid out by the Bridgeman family in stages, starting in 1701. Sir John Bridgeman II bought two limestone sphinx statues in 1745 for £30 and installed them with inscriptions. During the 20th century the Bridgeman family ceased living in the Hall; the gardens became overgrown and the walls and buildings decayed. They have been restored since 1985 by the Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens Trust. The Hall itself is now a hotel and, unlike the gardens, is not open to the public. The garden walls were listed by Historic England in 2020; see their description of the site here https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1472046 .

This handsome bench looks across a lawn to the west front of Castle Bromwich Hall, a 16th century mansion enlarged and altered in the 17th and early 18th centuries (see its listing on the Historic England site here https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1366587?section=official-list-entry ). The hall is now a luxury hotel. The photographer is standing in the walled gardens of the hall, which are maintained by a charitable trust and are open to the public, while the hall is not.

A magnificent 16th century building, now Grade 1 listed, which has been relatively little changed over the years British Listed Buildings description is at http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-218145-castle-bromwich-hall-castle-bromwich- A large part of the place is now operated as an hotel and wedding venue.

This is the Stable Block part of the larger estate of the adjacent Castle Bromwich Hall, and carries its own grade II* listed status. http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-218147-stable-block-at-castle-bromwich-hall-cas

Heathland Avenue leaves the B4114 Bradford Road.

The west wall was built around 1732. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1472046

Looking towards the "Greenhouse".

This tree has been trained as a horizontal espalier, flat against the east-facing 18th century wall, which provides shelter from the wind and acts as a kind of storage heater, absorbing heat from the sun and releasing it at night. It is a Worcester Black Pear, one of many heritage fruit trees grown at Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens. According to Worcestershire Orchards, the Worcester Black is a pear of the 'warden' type, first recorded at Warden Abbey in Bedfordshire in the 13th century. The pear has been used as a heraldic symbol of Worcester and Worcestershire, a county of orchards, since at least the 15th century. The dark-coloured fruit of the Worcestershire Black has good keeping qualities, which made it valuable in an age before refrigeration, but it is not grown commercially today. The tree is, however, easy to grow, disease-resistant and crops prolifically, and its preservation at sites such as Castle Bromwich is important in ensuring genetic diversity. The fruit is better baked than eaten raw and in medieval times was used in savoury dishes, served with meat http://www.worcestershireorchards.co.uk/black-pear/ .

This church is on the Chester Road behind Castle Bromwich Hall.