This information board can be found on The Vale close to the footbridge at the northern end of the man-made lake and gives the following historical information:
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The Vale Village: A Brief HistoryThe Vale sits in the Chad Brook Valley and a map dating from 1787 shows its use for rural agriculture. Developments in Birmingham during the Victorian era, however, brought great change and a move to market gardening with 'Strawberry Vale' stretching as far as Harborne Road.
Along with the rest of Edgbaston, however, urbanisation was inevitable. The Worcester and Birmingham canal opened in 1815 and, in the 1830's, the Edgbaston Park Road was laid which, along with Church Road, encapsulated the site. At the same time, the first house was built known as 'The Vale' and described as "very large with extensive grounds". This was soon followed by Wyddrington (roughly where Aitken Wing is now) and Maple Bank. It seems these properties maintained kitchen gardens and large glasshouses and may have transported their produce to the Birmingham markets via the canal.
By the mid 1800s the commercial nature of the site seems to have declined, possibly due to the opening of the nearby railway. The Danks family occupied the site, John being a canal carrier and wharfinger and responsible for building, many high quality houses in the area for rent. Despite this, he faced bankruptcy in 1848 but his solicitor son, Samuel, seems to have made his own fortune and was able to buy all the properties back for the family. The Vale then sat as an area of large houses and formal grounds for many years. An Ordnance Survey map from 1887 shows the properties divided by a series of 'rides' or paths and the appearance of a small fish pond.
(An extract from the 1887 Ordnance Survey map is shown alongside this text).In 1878, the Edgbaston Lawn Tennis Club was formed and made its home just across the Edgbaston Park Road. The club grew and, in 1924, built a 'Centre Court' with a 3,000 seat capacity.
The University's first involvement with the site was the purchase of The Vale house shortly after World War II for use as staff accommodation, negotiations then took place with Calthorpe Estate (who by this time owned the site) for the purchase of the whole site with a view to creating a parkland environment in which to site Halls of Residence. In the early 1960s, the site was almost completely remodelled by London-based architects Casson and Condor, with planting advice from the well known landscape architect Mary Mitchell, and turned from the formal Victorian into the 'picturesque' style landscaping. this included expanding the fish pond into the lake that can be seen today.
The first Hall of Residence was opened in 1964, the same year that the Edgbaston Lawn Tennis Club merged with the Priory Club and moved to their site, allowing the University to expand into what is today The Vale Village.
The Village has seen ongoing development and refurbishment since but always with the conservation of the landscape in mind, including the 'trim trail' which uses natural materials to blend with the surroundings. The site sits within the Edgbaston Conservation Area and, in December 2000, The Vale was placed on 'The Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England' as a Grade II site.
The historical information is located at the top of the Board to the right of the colour plan of the Vale Village site and above the information on Ecology and Wildlife.
In the top righthand corner of the board is the crest of the University of Birmingham and some byelaws to help the University maintain the character of the area.
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