Heathfield Hall
An 1835 painting of the hall, by Allen Edward Everitt
Alternative namesHeathfield House
General information
TypeHouse
Town or cityBirmingham
CountryEngland
Coordinates52°30′21″N 1°54′56″W / 52.5058°N 1.9155°W / 52.5058; -1.9155
Construction started1790 (1790)
Demolished1927 (1927)
ClientJames Watt
Design and construction
Architect(s)Samuel Wyatt

Heathfield Hall (sometimes referred to as Heathfield House) was a house in Handsworth, Staffordshire (the area became part of Birmingham in 1911[1]), England, built for the engineer James Watt.

Watt's workroom at Heathfield, painted in 1889 by Jonathon Pratt

In 1790, Watt's business partner Matthew Boulton recommended to Watt his friend, the architect Samuel Wyatt, who had designed Boulton's home, Soho House, in 1789. Watt commissioned Wyatt to design Heathfield Hall.

Watt died in the house in 1819, and was buried at nearby St Mary's Church. His garret workshop was then sealed, and few people were ever allowed to visit it.[2] The contents - over 8,300 objects, including the furniture, window, door and floorboards - were removed in 1924 and used to recreate the room at the Science Museum in London, where they may still be viewed.[2]

Heathfield Hall, on an Ordnance OS six-inch map of the period 1888-1913

After a series of subsequent owners who had slowly sold off the associated lands for development of semi-detached villas, in the 1880s engineer George Tangye bought Heathfield Hall. He lived in the house until his death in 1920. After his family sold the house, from 1927 the hall was demolished and the lands redeveloped.[3][4]

What was the Heathfield Estate is now the land that comprises West Drive and North Drive in Handsworth, developed in the 1930s with a number of arts and crafts and moderne-style houses.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heathfield Hall.
  1. ↑ "The Parish Boundaries of Handsworth". Handsworth Historical Society. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Watt's workshop". Science Museum, London. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Allen Edward Everitt. "Heathfield Hall, Handsworth". Birmingham Reference Library. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "George Tangye". Retrieved 5 June 2010.
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