Located around 7 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre is the suburban town of Sutton Coldfield, sometimes referred to as the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield.

It is believed that Sutton Coldfield originated as a hamlet where a hunting lodge was based for leaders of the Kingdom of Mercia in post-Roman Britain. 'Sutton' is allegedly derived from 'Southun' referring to the town stead to the south of Tamworth and/or Lichfield in Staffordshire. 'Coldfield' is presumably a reference to charcoal burners that may have played a role in the area. It appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as the manor of Sutone.

Sutton Coldfield has royal connections stretching back for several centuries. John Vesey, who was born here in the 15th century, became chaplain to King Henry VIII. After coming into wealth he became the town's leading benefactor. The town's emblem is the Tudor Rose, which is said to have originated from when Henry VIII gave a rose as a symbolic gesture to a young woman who had saved him by shooting a wild boar with an arrow. In 1528 Henry granted the town a charter and the right to be called The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, a title which has stuck to this day, albeit in a formal context.

In 1862 Sutton Coldfield railway station opened, following the construction of a line from Birmingham. This transformed it into a commuter town. Some of the more wealthy citizens from Birmingham moved there as a means of escaping the pollution from the various factories in the city.

Historically part of the county of Warwickshire, Sutton Coldfield merged with Birmingham in 1974 when the county of West Midlands was formed. It is seen as an affluent suburb of Birmingham, with a number of properties selling for over a million pounds in the area. Several football players past and present for nearby clubs including Aston Villa, West Brom and Birmingham City have taken residence in Sutton Coldfield. It is also the birthplace of heavy metal legend Rob Halford of Judas Priest fame.

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Filmed: 25th February 2021

Link to the walk on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/xf81QrXZJ3Et9nUR8

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Rode Stereo VideoMic Pro.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Birmingham Road
3:42 The Parade
6:57 Mill Street
9:01 High Street
10:28 King Edward Square