Coopers Bank Farm History

Click to enlarge Coopers Bank Farm is a grade II listed building. The plot of land on which it is built is a Scheduled Ancient Monument as it bears the remains of a medieval settlement. Evidence suggests that Coopers Bank Farm was first built in the late seventeenth century. This sounds feasible as there was a spate of land enclosure in the mid to late 1680's and this gave the perfect opportunity for the building of large farm holdings. It is not quite clear what the original function of the house was - it has been suggested that it could have been built as a hunting lodge. However, there is no direct evidence for this. It is more likely that the building has always been a farmhouse. The house was built in brick, a material commonly used in the area after c1680. The open-well staircase leading from the first to the second floor is the original staircase from the seventeenth century. The timber framed cross partitions are also original seventeenth century. In the late Georgian period the farmhouse underwent a major remodelling and the west facade became the entrance front. It was rebuilt and extended. The whole west front was then rendered, which covered up all the alterations. At the south-east the present single-storey block was added which may have originally served as a brewhouse. Internal alterations also took place, the most significant being the main staircase from ground level to the first floor, which was removed and another built in a different position. No details of the occupants of the house exist from this time. However, land boundaries were changing, new turnpike roads were being constructed and industry and agriculture were becoming well-established. Therefore, it is likely that Coopers Bank Farm found a new tenant at this time, who spent time and money in bringing the house up-to-date. The name of this tenant could have been Cooper as there was a family of that name based in Brierley Hill at the time. From the nineteenth century onwards, Coopers Bank Farm is quite well documented. In the 1841 census Henry Marsh is listed as farmer in the area of Coopers Bank, and in the Tithe Apportionment of 1845 he is confirmed as the occupier of the house. The neighbouring properties were occupied by John and Dennis Marsh and Jane Marsh. The landowner at the time for most of the area was Right Honourable William Lord Ward (1885). In the census for 1851, Henry Marsh is again listed as occupying Coopers Bank Farm House. It then consisted of 120 acres, an average-sized farm. Between 1851 and 1861 the Marshes moved out and 34 year old Thomas Fellowes, and his wife and daughter moved into the farm. Joseph Fellowes is shown to occupy the neighbouring land in the 1851 census. His son was called John Marsh Fellowes. The names Marsh and Fellowes are very common in the area of the Gornals, and it seems evident that the two families were connected. By 1881, the occupier of Coopers Bank Farm was 55 year old John Marsh Fellowes. It is presumed that this is the son of the neighbour Joseph Fellowes. John is listed as a 'farmer of about 200 acres, employing three men and two boys.' By 1891 he had been superceded by a John B. Fellowes who was thought to be his son. During the 20th century, Coopers Bank Farm was used predominantly as a dairy farm. It was occupied during this time by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Hancox. The earliest mention of the Hancoxes dates from 1931 and the latest from 1961. More recently, the building was the responsibility of Dudley Council, and it fell into neglect until rescued by Linda and Peter Vanes (click here for details). The house, the site and the surrounding area are of considerable historical and archeological interest. The building represents an interesting example of the early use of mixed brick and timber-frame construction in the region. Due to the fact that brick was a new building material for farmhouses, it probably says something about the status and wealth of the owner. Probably the most interesting feature of the house is the fact that it has lived through the enclosing of the hunting parks, the industrial era, the agricultural revolution and on into the twenty-first century.

Would you like to contribute an article about Gornal history and/or traditions? Do you have a comment on this piece? Please email us at admin@yampy.co.uk Thanks to Linda for this article. Information taken from English Heritage Reports and Papers 46 2001 by Richard Bond and Emily Cole, presented to Coopers Bank Farm. Please ask before using it.