Haden Hill House

Haden Hall

The original family home was Haden Hall, now under restoration, but in 1877 when George Alfred Haden Haden-Best inherited the estate from his uncle, Frederic W. G. Barrs, known as the Squire. His great nephew John Haden Badley has this to say of his funeral:

My most vivid memory is of his funeral -- one of the last, I imagine, in the old style, the horses caparisoned in black with black plumes nodding on their heads, and mutes walking on either side of the hearse wearing , as did all the mourners, flowing crepe scarves that reached from their hats down to their heels. After the long drive to the church and back came a sumptuous funeral feast, which all regarded as the central feature of the day. In the afternoon two of my cousins (the elder two sons of Emiline (Best) and Walter Bassano, of whom he has much more to say) and myself stole away into the shrubberies where we could play our games (thought rather shame-facedly on such a day); there at least we could escape from the booming voice of the Rector and the sound evangelical doctrines that he seemed to think this the appropriate occasion for instilling into us

Haden-Best originally intended to demolish Haden Hall and extend his own house, but his elderly Aunt, widow of the Squire, lived in the hall, and by the time she died in 1903 he had lost the will to enlarge Haden Hill House, so the two buildings remained side by side.

Haden Hill House

Haden Hill House was built in 1878 by George Alfred Haden Haden-Best. It was a modern residence worthy of his status. He was given permission to build a dwelling on a hill in Rowley, which later became known as Haden Hill.

George Alfred lived in Haden Hill House with two local girls, Emily Bryant and Alice Cockin, who became his adopted daughters. They were the children of local families, and he took them into his home and bought them up as his own. They were given an upper class lifestyle, and Emily remained with Mr Best until his death in 1921. Alice married John Shaw, a local doctor, and they lived in Haden Hall for a while.

When Mr Best died, the house and grounds were put up for auction. A three-day sale was held and Money raised from this sale was then divided between Mr Best's nephews, the Bassano brothers.

Following the death of GAHHB in 1921 the Victorian building and estate, including 55 acres (220,000 m²) of land, Haden Hill house and Haden Hall, was bought for £8,500 by public subscription for use as a park for the local community. The title deeds were handed to Rowley Regis Urban District Council on 14 October 1922, and the park was then open for public use.

Family pets

Near to Haden Hill House lies, a grave. A pets grave which belonged to the Haden family many years ago, it reads.... Tip - 1877 Floss - 1898 Fluff - 1899

Recent history

In the last hundred years, Haden Hall And House have both been used as a refuge for evacuees in World War II and a shelter during bombing raids. Most recently -By the 1970s the houses were derelict and in danger of demolition. The Old Hall (as it is also known) was in ruins due to the effects of a fire which in turn had caused serious damage to the house. Extensive restoration to Haden Hill House was carried out in the 1980s and as well as Haden Hall the following decadethe park and its grounds has undergone a major facelift, to restore it to its former glory. Thanks to a £2 million lottery grant.

The Heritage Lottery Fund's urban parks programme awarded £2,151,000 to the park which will help restore the Victorian listed buildings and protect the park’s long-term future. The cash will also go to repairing footpaths, water features and working on the woodland.

Ghost conspiracies

Haden Hill Hall, House and Park are all reputed to contain ghosts with several sightings and "experiences" reported.

The wooded area towards the lower of the park is sometimes referred to as Nursery Wood, this is associated with the sightings of the ghost of Eleanor, a beautiful young woman in her mid ages lived at Hayseech Mill. The tragic story of Eleanor's love for a monk from Halesowen is reputedly based on fact.

The parents of Eleanor and the Abbot of the abbey tried to prevent the lovers from being together but they both escaped, using a secret passage. However, they were later caught, and following his capture the Monk was walled up alive in the passage.

Down the centuries the ghost of Eleanor has supposedly been seen gliding through the wood searching for her lost love.

Also believe to haunted at Haden Hill House is the ghost of Annie Eliza (1790-1876) who lived alone. Reports say she never married or had children. She turned out to be the last of the Hadens in the direct family line. There have been many Evps (Electronic Voice Phenomena) of a female spirit captured in the Tudor part of the house. Questions are asked if this is the ghost of Annie Eliza trying to communicate.