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Medieval Market Town 2 George Hotel The Growing Town Much of the evidence from this period in Solihull’s By the 17th century both industrial technology and history has now been replaced by later developments changing building costs began to favour brick struc- but fortunately there are some striking examples of tures rather than timber frames for domestic buildings. both timber-framed and stone buildings to see. The effect of the arrival of railway transport in the 19th century enabled building materials to be sourced 1 St. Alphege Church from much further afield. The nave, chancel, transepts and lower tower of the church (photo on front cover) are built from 300 million 4 The Old Council House year old red Carboniferous sandstone. Sandstones are Though much of Solihull’s history in brick has sedimentary rocks laid down over a long period by an disappeared a good example of Victorian civic accumulation of sand grains carried by wind or water brickwork can be seen and cemented together under the pressure of the in the old Council House accumulating mass. Oxides of iron in the naturally Opposite the church is the (now a wine bar) in occurring cement impart colour to the stone. In 16th century, half-timbered Poplar Road. Compare contrast to the red sandstones of the nave, the 15th George Hotel. It is built on the more uniform factory century upper tower was built from buff coloured a foundation of sandstone , that exhibits the layering of produced bricks of the Warwick Sandstone – rock from the deserts of the sediments showing they were laid down in rivers Council House with the Triassic Period. The steeple was re-built in the 18th irregularity and inclusions century using pale Arden sandstone, a Triassic rock 3 Manor House of the Manor House found in parts of the Arden landscape. Inside the bricks. church notice how the south-side row of nave pillars leans outwards, the result of pressure from a heavy 5 The War Memorial roof upon inadequate Mudstone foundations. Iron tie Bringing stone from further afield is evident at The bars and external buttressing on the south wall saved Square, where The War Memorial is Jurassic Portland the day. The grey sandstone of the 1940s external Limestone from Dorset. buttresses is probably from Grinshill in Shropshire. This is a durable and A row of timber framed 15th and 16th century buildings readily carved stone The rubble stone walls of that lines the south side of the High Street is all that formed between 150 and the early chancel contrast remains of Solihull’s domestic Medieval buildings. 200 million years ago in with the dressed stonework The Manor House shows two interesting features – warm shallow seas, where of the later nave. Rubble an upper story jettied out from the lower wall to calcite, precipitated from stone is easily obtained counteract sagging of the upper level floor joists; and the seawater, built up from the top metre or so close studding of the vertical timbers as a decorative around sand particles of a quarry whereas and expensive status symbol. and fragments of shell. deeper levels provide The paving is York stone, better quality ‘freestone’, The original infill between the timbers was probably a hard-wearing suitable for squaring and thin wattle sticks with mud and straw daub, replaced Carboniferous sandstone dressing, and called ashlar. later by locally produced bricks, hand-made from the from the Pennines that Mercia Mudstone and containing debris from can be split along its Inside the church, above glacial deposits dug bedding planes as flags. the rubble stone tower from Solihull’s fields. The kerbstones are hard arches, we can see the The variable colour is crystalline Markfieldite, quarried from the remains of outline of an former due to primitive control ancient volcanic activity in the Charnwood Forest area lower nave roof. of temperature in the of Leicestershire. brick kilns. Design from The Drawing Room, www.drawingroom.uk.com Room, The Design from Drawing geology. local cladding and paving, hardly any of which reflects the reflects which of any hardly paving, and cladding and decoration is added by the use of natural stone for stone natural of use the by added is decoration and retail buildings, infilled with brick and concrete. Variety concrete. and brick with infilled buildings, retail of Warwickshire of 1960s and Touchwood in 2001 introduced steel-framed introduced 2001 in Touchwood and 1960s in the landscape landscape the in Hidden wonders Hidden WGCG of the town centre. The developments at Mell Square in Square Mell at developments The centre. town the of The latest phases of change occurred in the redevelopment the in occurred change of phases latest The A version of the trail is available on the WGCG website WGCG the on available is trail the of version A Architects, and Andrew Cole, General Manager, Touchwood. Manager, General Cole, Andrew and Architects, uniform, high quality bricks. quality high uniform, Conservation Group (WGCG), Eric R. Kuhne Associates, Touchwood Touchwood Associates, Kuhne R. Eric (WGCG), Group Conservation ehooymd osbetems rdcino of production mass the possible made technology Brian Ellis, Colin Frodsham and Hugh Jones all of Warwickshire Geology Warwickshire of all Jones Hugh and Frodsham Colin Ellis, Brian Additional information for this guide was provided by Martyn Bradley, Martyn by provided was guide this for information Additional struction dominated the expansion of Solihull as new as Solihull of expansion the dominated struction Photographs were provided by David Gosling (WGCG) (WGCG) Gosling David by provided were Photographs wearing Midland sandstones. Nonetheless, brick con- brick Nonetheless, sandstones. Midland wearing This guide was written by Peter Band and edited for WGCG by Brian Ellis. Ellis. Brian by WGCG for edited and Band Peter by written was guide This Solihull from the mid-19th century, along with harder with along century, mid-19th the from Solihull Warwick and the use of their work in this new version is acknowledged. is version new this in work their of use the and Warwick cecsCrict ore pnSuisDprmn,Uiest f of University Department, Studies Open course, Certificate Sciences granite and gritstone all made their appearances in in appearances their made all gritstone and granite A previous trail was produced by students as an assignment on the Earth the on assignment an as students by produced was trail previous A afield at acceptable costs. York paving, Portland Stone, Portland paving, York costs. acceptable at afield ISSN 1759 – 085X – 1759 ISSN transport of high quality building materials from further from materials building quality high of transport the town. The rail network allowed for the first time the time first the for allowed network rail The town. the Charity Number 1144717 Number Charity itneo Briga n e oarpdgot f of growth rapid a to led and Birmingham of distance Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group is a Registered a is Group Conservation Geological Warwickshire (c/o Coventry Roofing) Coventry (c/o & Birmingham line, brought Solihull within commuting within Solihull brought line, Birmingham & Group, 74B Warwick Road, Kenilworth. CV8 1HL 1HL CV8 Kenilworth. Road, Warwick 74B Group, The building of the railway station in 1852, on the Oxford the on 1852, in station railway the of building The Published by Warwickshire Geological Conservation Conservation Geological Warwickshire by Published materials Solihull from around the county and beyond. and county the around from Solihull presents an assemblage of sandstones brought to to brought sandstones of assemblage an presents https://twitter.com/wgcg_uk Begun in the 13th century, with later extensions, it it extensions, later with century, 13th the in Begun the rule of brick and timber is the Church of St. Alphege. St. of Church the is timber and brick of rule the WarwickshireGeologicalConservationGroup and building building and for manufacturing bricks and tiles. The fine exception to exception fine The tiles. and bricks manufacturing for www.facebook.com/ a nutrient rich clay soil, ideal for growing great oaks and oaks great growing for ideal soil, clay rich nutrient a weak and unsuitable for building but provides the base for base the provides but building for unsuitable and weak [email protected] E-mail : : Its geology Its period, over 200 million years ago. The Mudstone is Mudstone The ago. years million 200 over period, Warwick CV34 4SA CV34 Warwick rock is Mercia Mudstone, laid down during the Triassic the during down laid Mudstone, Mercia is rock c/o Warwickshire Museum, Market Place, Market Museum, Warwickshire c/o scarcity, locally, of good building stone. The underlying The stone. building good of locally, scarcity, Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group Conservation Geological Warwickshire all but the most prestigious buildings. This arose from the from arose This buildings. prestigious most the but all Solihull Solihull or contact or http://www.wgcg.co.uk http://www.wgcg.co.uk timber, bricks and tiles were the materials of choice for choice of materials the were tiles and bricks timber, programmes and events, visit the WGCG websites WGCG the visit events, and programmes (re-named the Ramada Jarvis Hotel). From early times, early From Hotel). Jarvis Ramada the (re-named o ute nomto,icuiga uln f of outline an including information, further For timber-frame houses and the 16th century George Hotel George century 16th the and houses timber-frame of the oldest surviving buildings – 15th and 16th century 16th and 15th – buildings surviving oldest the of protect geological sites in the Warwickshire area. Warwickshire the in sites geological protect Around The Square and the nearby High Street are some are Street High nearby the and Square The Around landscape through education, and to conserve and conserve to and education, through landscape main aims: to raise awareness of geology and and geology of awareness raise to aims: main as witnessed by the style and materials of its buildings.

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