Lightwoods Park 4.35

Lightwoods Park is a public park in Bearwood in the West Midlands, England. It lies on the north-west side of Hagley Road, which here forms the boundary between Birmingham and the borough of Sandwell.History of Lightwoods HouseThe park was historically the grounds of Lightwoods House, an 18th-century house, much altered in the 19th century. The house is a Grade II listed building.The house was built by Jonathan Grundy in June 1780 and he was its first occupant, living there until his death in 1803. The house was later bought by local soap manufacturer George Adkins in 1865 who passed it down to his son, Caleb. In 1902, following the death of Caleb Adkins, the house and grounds were put up for sale, with the risk that it would be demolished for building houses on the estate. A. M. Chance led a committee which by public subscription purchased the estate and handed it over to Birmingham Corporation as a public park. By 1905, further public subscriptions enabled more land to be bought and added to the parkThe bandstand and other features have the Birmingham City crest with the motto, "Birmingham Forward" in recognition of the ownership of the park by Birmingham City Corporation.in 1971, Lightwoods House was converted into studios and offices for Hardman company, which made stained glass windows, they vacated in 2008. In 2010, by agreement between the two Councils, Lightwoods Park was handed over to Sandwell MBC.