The Turton Family

The Turton family were quite prominent in Lancashire in the 13th century. By the 15th century, some members of the family had moved to Dudley, where Nicholas Turton and his family were living in 1470. There was also a William Turton, who was a King’s tenant in Rowley Regis in 1504, where he collected rents. The first member of the family to settle in West Bromwich was Nicholas Turton’s grandson, John Turton. He was a ‘naylor’, trading in nails and married Joan Rogers at Rowley in May 1540.

Oak House. From an old postcard.

It is likely that a building stood on the site of the Oak House as early as 1450, but little is known about it, other than differences in the architectural style of certain parts of the surviving house. The house was possibly named after an old oak tree, that stood in front of the house, but eventually became hollow with age. It was destroyed by fire at the 19th century.

The earliest record of the Oak House dates from 1634, when Thomas Turton sold it to his brother, John, for £330, a large sum of money at the time. Thomas was married to Alice and they had a son William and a daughter-in-law, Judith. William married Judith Perkins on the 24th June, 1628 at St. Mary's Church, Lichfield. She was the daughter of a wealthy tanner from Lichfield. Her dowry included several meadows and fields in Lichfield. The couple lived at Hateley Heath. William refused a Knighthood at the coronation of Charles I in 1626 and so had to pay a fine. William’s son, Sir John Turton, became a Baron of the Exchequer in 1689, and a Justice of King's Bench in 1696. He bought the manor of Alrewas, and was buried there in 1707. Sir John's son was another William Turton, born 1663, who went to Oxford in 1678, and became a Barrister of the Middle Temple in 1685.

The sale of Oak House included several acres of land, some of it described as pasture. There were also outbuildings and barns and the family were described as Yeomen.

Oak House. From an old postcard.

John Turton had extensive repairs and alterations made to the house, although he never lived there. A year after his purchase, he sold the house and estate to his second son, also named John, at what appeared to be an enormous profit, although the improvements and alterations must have been expensive. On the 20th March, 1635, John junior purchased the property, for £620. His wife was Elizabeth Hawe of Caldmore, Walsall, who he married in 1624. They owned land and property in Kings Norton and had a son, William, who died in 1873. William married twice and had three sons. The eldest, born in 1860, was called John, after his grandfather. In the same year the Turtons were granted a coat of arms, which was similar to the one granted to the Turtons of Lancashire.

Some of the oak panelling in the house.

Judith Turton died in 1682 and was buried at Lichfield. John Turton, the last of the Turton line, died on the 6th December, 1705, at the age of 45. The estate was then managed by his mother, Dorothy, until her death in 1726. John never married, but he had a son by Mrs. Anne Whyley, the daughter of Isaac Whyley of Charlemont. The boy was christened William Whyley, on the 20th December, 1735 and he became the owner of the Oak House and estate, when his father John Whyley died in 1768. William married Jane Edwards, the daughter of the Reverend John Edwards, of Leeds. They had a son, William, who died on the 19th April, 1806, at the age of 21. Jane lived until 1837 when she was 82 years old.

Another view of the house. From an old postcard.

The house was then occupied by several families and fell into a bad state of repair. In 1894 it was purchased by Alderman Reuben Farley, the first Mayor of West Bromwich. It was renovated and donated to the town in 1898 and was opened to the public, along with the surrounding land, covering four acres. The house became a museum, displaying coins, stuffed birds, birds' eggs, African spears and many objects from all over the world.

Oak House museum. From an old postcard.

After the Second World War, the house opened as a Tudor residence, rather than a museum. It was officially opened on the 22nd May, 1951 by the Earl of Dartmouth, as a marvellous example of a Tudor yeoman's house. Admission to the house and grounds is free, the entrance being via the Barns Visitor Centre on Oak Road.

A final view of the Oak House. From an old postcard.

Development of the town

The old town centre was in Lyndon (also known as Lyne), which is to the south of All Saints' Church. The town’s market was held there until the early 18th century. In 1804, the area known as The Heath was enclosed and the centre of the town eventually moved to the south west, around what became High Street. By the 1680s there was a settlement at Mayer's Green and within 40 years, numerous cottages had been built on the green. By the 1780s a considerable development had taken place at Overend and by 1816 Lombard Street, New Street, and Bratt Street had appeared.

By the mid 18th century, Hill Top, at the top of Holloway Bank (or Finchpath Hill), was being developed. It was soon full of small houses and a few large gentlemen's residences. The area around Carter’s Green was developed in the early 1800s

Many new houses had appeared alongside High Street by 1818 and by 1834 many shops were added. By this time, Dartmouth Square had appeared and the Bull’s Head Inn, that stood there, was built in the 1750s when it was called the Boot Inn, named after the adjacent Boot Meadow. In 1834 the Dartmouth Arms, which had become the Dartmouth Hotel, by 1835, was one of the main locations for social, business or official meetings. By the late 1860s, High Street had become a busy thoroughfare, which was completed in 1875 with the opening of the Town Hall.

The Bull's Head in Dartmouth Square, in 1902, when the tram track was being laid.

In 1801 the population was 5,687 which rapidly grew to 15,377 in 1831 and by the end of the century had reached nearly 65,000.