“Woodland was a valuable economic resource in the Middle Ages. Woods provided timber for building, and pollarded or coppiced trees gave an endless supply of wood for laths, fences and, crucially, firewood. Well-managed woods could generate a substantial income for the tenant and the owner. This district is named after the Lady Wood which lay between Monument Lane and Ladywood Brook and stretched from Portland Road to Spring Hill.” – William Dargue, a History of Birmingham
In the 1960s, Birmingham City council demolished Ladywood. Canon Norman Power wrote a book about the demolition called ‘The Forgotten People’. His family provided permission to share part of his book here. He was interviewed about this book in the below historical video, which shows how Birmingham City Council is about to repeat the mistakes of the past unless there is a change in course:
From 4:57: https://vimeo.com/212585293
Reporter: “Where did it go wrong? What was wrong with the methods they [Birmingham City Council] used of clearance of slums?”
Canon Norman Power: “Very briefly I think it was a mistake to pull down the best property first in the middle of the district and take the social heart out of the district and to leave the worst property on the perimeter until last. Most of it, as you know is still there – you’ve seen it. And the second mistake was to leave so much mess for so long – what I call the wasteland… You can see around you now half demolished houses – some have been here for six, seven years ,and they have a disastrous effect on the district on the morale. On young people. You can’t take pride in the district that’s being knocked about like that. And the other mistake I think was the plan for future district which will be completely one class without any doctors teachers nurses and so on living in the district.”
Ladywood Unite 