Readers will no doubt recall that one of my earliest obsessions on the blog four years ago was the ‘lost’ isolation hospital, owned by Brownhills Urban District Council, and marked on early maps in Barracks Lane, just atop Springhill, on the Brownhills/Ogley Hay border.

Periodically, we’ve discovered more and more about it, with readers finding some great material on the subject.

1948 sheet SK00 in Google Earth. It records the Barracks Lane Isolation Hospital, and suggests it was actually the house to the rear of the site. By 1951, the record had been removed.

A couple of weeks ago I had this message for Liz Wellington, who grew up in what us kids would have called ‘The White House’, now known as Crestacre, in recent years reclad in modern red brick.

Liz said:

Hi Bob,

I have just read about Crestacre and I wished to fill you in on the history as that is where I grew up. The Bungalow next to what was the ‘The White House’ was the old Isolation hospital with the White House being the nurses home.

The White House however from around 1700 was a Soldiers Barrack, hence Barracks lane. It housed the Soldiers who took the place of the local Police during that time. It has also been an Ice Cream Factory before it became a residential property.

The outbuildings were brought in a Farm Sale to house the Tractors on the farm, although they are from a military site. My Dad has since retired and so the farm was sold.

Prior to the red brick the arches now filled in could be seen from the road. These ran through the kitchen where the old gates were.

For those the who like the paranormal the house boasts an array of bumps in the night and there was always something spooky going on there!

I hope this information is of help to you.

Kind Regards

Liz

Thanks to Liz for that fascinating account.

The question of the naming of Barracks Lane has never been, to my mind, sufficiently nailed. I’ve heard the suggestions that there was a barracks here, but I’ve never seen anything concrete to prove it. We’re clearly getting a bit closer. Has anyone any additional ideas on this?

I bet Kate Cardigan from Lichfield Lore will be interested in the question of the huts.

Ice Cream factory? Linked to Selwyn Smith or the Pelari family, by any chance? We do know that Selwyn Smith’s horse, apparently called ‘Yoyo’ who was killed in the air raid that struck Brownhills, was kept in fields not too far away.

Thanks to Liz for reawakening an old topic that was never resolved, and please, if you have anything to add, BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com, or comment here, please.

Crestacre is a rambling site with many outbuildings. Mapping lines up and appears to suggest the bungalow was indeed the hospital. Image from Bing! Maps.