In 1913, during the height of the Suffragettes’ militant campaign for women’s suffrage, two women broke into a Birmingham school, armed with a bold plan to set it alight. The 15th century timber-framed ‘Old Grammar School’ in Kings Norton was the target, one of the city’s finest examples of Tudor architecture.
But rather than making their fiery statement, the pair left behind something far more interesting. A note left written on the blackboard, read: “Two Suffragists have entered here, but charmed with this old-world room, have refrained from their design of destruction.”
That building – so nice even the militant wing of the Suffragettes did not wish to destroy it – still stands today, but it’s very easy to miss. Kings Norton might not be the first place you think of when listing Birmingham’s historical landmarks, but the area of St Nicolas Place is a charming area with a fascinating history – home to the city’s largest collection of Tudor buildings which, to this day, maintain many of their original features.
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The Normans first built a small chapel in the heart of Kings Norton village in the early 13th century. The ‘Old Grammar School’ was built nextdoor around the mid-15th centruy, probably as a priest house to St Nicolas Church.
The Old Grammar School viewed from St Nicholas’ churchyard.
The Grade II-listed ‘Old Grammar School’ is among the oldest surviving school buildings in the country. Subtle traces of Tudor carvings can still be spotted on its timber-framed building, believed to have been carved to ward off evil spirits.
The Tudor Merchant’s House (formerly the Saracen’s Head) was constructed around the same time and would become a Georgian and Victorian public house over time. Together, the three buildings form St Nicolas’ Place, the city’s largest collection of Tudor buildings.
The timber framed Tudor Merchant’s house and the nearby Grammar School are among the oldest buildings in Birmingham.
For many years, the buildings were at risk of ruin, but they were saved thanks to a £4.3 million restoration programme led by Griff Rhys Jones and the BBC. The Tudor Merchant’s House – also Grade II-listed – has an fascinating history.
The building – today owned by St Nicolas Church and used as the Parish Office – was originally a wool merchant’s house, but in more recent times has been a public house (The Saracens Head) and a shop. The building still features a ‘Queen’s Room’, were Queen Henrietta Maria is reputed to have spent the night in 1643 on route to York to reunite with her husband King Charles I during the English Civil War.
The Tudor Merchant’s House in Kings Norton.
(Image: Birmingham Mail)
The Queen came to the area – then a Royalist army base – leading a replacement army and slept in the Saracens Head, while her soldiers camped on land behind the Church. A pub named the The Camp Inn sits on the corner of Kings Norton park to this day, near the Camp Hill train line.
Since their restoration in 2004, Merchant’s House and the Old Grammar School have served a diverse range of purposes, including community events, and education programmes, tourism, and commercial weddings, and other functions. St Nicolas Place in Kings Norton is a site that’s easy to overlook, but it’s brimming with historical significance for anyone interested in learning about our area’s rich and varied history.