Gilbertstone
Gilbertstone is a residential suburban area straddling the border of Yardley and South Yardley in Birmingham, West Midlands.
It is unknown where the name actually came from but a local legend states that a man named Gilbert lifted an enormous stone to move the boundaries between his and another person's land so that he could gain more land. The supposed stone, which is an erratic from the Ice Age, is now kept at Blakesley Hall in Yardley.
Gilbertstone was shown as a separate entity to Yardley in John Ogilby's strip map of Coventry Road. Gilbertstone developed as a result of the construction of the now-demolished Gilbertstone House, which was built between 1866 and 1867 for Samuel Thornley, on the site of a small farmhouse. It was bought by Richard Tangye in 1883, a major benefactor to the Birmingham Art Gallery. The house had extensive grounds which crossed into the area of Lyndon End and Bickenhill. It had a pool with a boathouse. On the side of the house was a 65-foot (20 m) tall tower.
It was recorded in 1905 that the mansion and grounds straddled the boundaries of the counties of Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
Thomas Rowbotham lived in the house whilst developing the nearby roads. He gave land for the construction of St. Michael and All Angels Church, although that piece was exchanged for the site the church was actually built on. He also sold various pieces of land for development. Sir Hanson Rowbotham sold the estate for £250,000 and the house was demolished in 1937. The 300-acre (1.2 km2) estate was to be used for the construction of 3,000 houses, however, World War II suspended the construction of the properties on site.
Visitors to the farmhouse and the manor on its site included John Bright,Catherine Hutton, William Hutton's daughter, and members of the Royal Colonial Institute.
...
Wikipedia