T
THROCKMORTON
Sir John Throckmorton was the first High Steward of Sutton Coldfield appointed by the Corporation after the 1528 Charter.
Appointed in 1547 he was the seventh son b.1524 of Sir George Throckmorton of Coughton Court, Warks and trained in the law becoming an Inner Temple barrister.
He married Margaret Putterham, who had links with the influential Grey family of Leicestershire. He was MP for Camelford and later Warwick, and with the help of his patron, the Duke of Northumberland, he became attorney to the Council in the Marches of Wales in 1550. He later held various legal positions including Recorder of Coventry, Worcester, Ludlow and Shrewsbury. He was knighted in 1565 but later fell out of favour.
He is remembered more for his connections than his own achievements:
-His brother Sir Nicholas was involved with the Wyatt Rebellion of 1554
-A relative John Throckmorton of Tortworth, Glos. was executed for involvement in the Dudley Conspiracy of 1555
-He was the father of Francis Throckmorton executed for treason for his part in the Gunpowder Plot of 1584 ( his own death in 1580 spared him the disgrace )
SEE HIGH STEWARD
THYNNE
Thomas Thynne, who was High Steward of Sutton Coldfield from 1679 until his death in 1714, was a descendant of Sir John Thynne builder of Longleat House, Wiltshire in the 16th century.. Thomas was born in 1640 and lived at Drayton Manor where he kept a stud of horses. He was High Steward of Tamworth and briefly MP for the town.
In 1673 he married Frances Finch, daughter of Heneage Finch, the 3rd Earl of Aylesford, and was created 1st Viscount Weymouth in 1682.
He was a lawyer and was executor of the estate of Frances Seymour, sister of Robert Devereux ( 3rd Earl of Essex) and widow of the Duke of Somerset, who lived and died at Drayton Basset.
His three sons all predeceased him and his nephew Thomas became 2nd Viscount.
His grandnephew, also Thomas Thynne born 1734, succeeded to the title and also continued a family tradition, being appointed High Steward of Sutton Coldfield in 1781.
Between 1714 and 1781 four succesive Lord Middletons had held the office.
This Sir Thomas became a prominent politician and was created the 1st Marquis of Bath in 1789. He died in 1796 and therafter his Thynne family successors lived at Longleat.
His daughter Louisa Thynne married a distant cousin Heneage Finch 4th Earl of Aylesford in 1781 at Packington ( The marriage of the 2nd Earl to Mary Fisher had brought the Packington estates ) and the family tradition was continued when when he and later his son also served as High Stewards.
SEE FINCH
TOWN HALL
Five buildings served as Sutton’s Town Hall over a period of 450 years.
The first, the Moot Hall built in the Vesey years, was essentially an open market hall with an assembly room above. It was demolished and replaced in 1671 and its replacement was demolished in 1854. ( See MOOT HALL and SEE DAWNAY)
The old workhouse on Mill Street had become redundant in 1834 on the formation of the Aston Union, and that building was from 1854 used as offices for the Corporation.
However an early agreement between the Warden and Society and the Birmingham, Lichfield and Manchester Railway Company to provide the town with a railway link was not honoured and the Corporation was able to collect £3000 on a penalty bond. These proceeds were utilised in the building of a new Town Hall. George Bidlake a local Wolverhampton architect was commissioned and designed the new brick building in an Italian Gothic style incorporating a square tower. The first stone was laid on site in Mill Street by Mrs B D Webster wife of the then Warden and the building opened in 1859. The tower was reduced to a stump in about 1970 .
The new building incorporated assembly rooms, a magistrates court, a library and offices
The town, and the work of the Corporation, grew rapidly in the second half of the 18th century. In about 1900 the Sutton Santitorium which had been housed in the Royal Hotel building from the demise of the hotel, was itself closed down and in December 1901 the Corporation bought the building from the Charity Commissioners for £9000. Further costs of £400 were incurred in converting the building for use as the Town Hall
In February 1903 the old Town Hall and adjoining offices ( formerly the workhouse) were sold by public auction and raised £4150 and the new Town Hall was extended by the addition of assembly rooms and a new Council Chamber. The extension which is now known as the 'Town Hall' was designed by A R Mayston and built by T Elvins of Birmingham, and came into use in December 1905. There was an official opening ceremony in September 1906.
A new entrance to the Town Hall now faced north, and the open space at the front of the building was landscaped and designated ‘ King Edward Square’
Also in 1905 a fire station together with a tower was added to the building; the opening ceremony was held on 1st Decemder 1905. Following the provision of a new fire station on Lichfield Road in 1963, the old building was converted to the present Bedford Suite; the fire tower still stands ; it was renovated in 2005.
The Town Hall remained as the seat of local government until Sutton Coldfield lost its independence in the 1974 boundary changes.