Following on from my previous aborted attempt at locating Great Barr Hall – a decent view to photograph, anyway – I decided to take another look. This time I was prepared, having consulted both Google Maps and a mate of mine who’s known to walk his Staffie around there.
So off I ventured onto the half-built estate that’s sprung up on the grounds of the old St. Margaret’s Mental Hospital and, more importantly, into the woods that surround it.
The research I undertook (all 30 seconds of it) prior to my expedition paid dividends, as instead of the tangled jungle of undergrowth I encountered last time, the woods quickly opened onto a steep, makeshift drive, lined by trees and the ruins of outbuildings, which inclined down to Great Barr Hall… or what remained of it
Those of you aware of my Head Full of Snow site, will already know it’s my haven for reviewing psychedelic rock, prog rock, acid-folk and many other magical variations thereon. If you don’t, get yourselves over there immediately after you’ve read this, not a second before, mind.
The thing is, I mostly pay for the stuff I review myself, therefore giving a completely unbiased view from the perspective of a man who, like the punter who’s reading it, has weighed in with the appropriate sum and lightened the load on his pocket.
However, nowadays I’m getting sent more and more stuff from artists, record labels and PRs for review, which, as long as it fits in with my own remit for Head Full of Snow, I’m more than happy to do. But it beggars the question, now that I’ve thumbed a ride upon the corporate gravy train, so to speak, can my words still be trusted?
So I’ve recently written this article for a music magazine chronicling the musical career of Roy Wood. Trouble is, it’s lacking a touch of colour that can only be injected by a spot of input from the bearded Brummie himself.
Funny how something completely innocuous can spark seemingly the most insignificant of memories. For instance, this week over at LateMag.com, there was a plug for the forthcoming release of Enzo G. Castellari’s 1980′s schlock-fest, The Bronx Warriors trilogy.
Now, Castellari isn’t a name that’ll be familiar to everyone, but for fans of the Spaghetti Western or cult Italian exploitation cinema, his is a name mentioned with a certain amount of reverence, usually in suitably hushed tones… Probably.
Okay, he made a few decent Spaghetti Westerns, including the revisionist Keoma – I’m not one to let an awful soundtrack ruin my enjoyment – but let’s not get dragged away from the original point. Today is not, after all, Enzo G. Castellari day.
It’s more these Bronx Warriors films – The Bronx Warriors, Escape From the Bronx, and The New Barbarians, in turn low-rent rip-offs of Walter Hill’s The Warriors, John Carpenter’s Escape From New York and George Miller’s Mad Max 2 – and more importantly what they signify. Well, what they signify to me.
So, with it being such a lovely day(!) and the shouty daughter otherwise engaged at mother and baby club, I decided to go for a stroll around the new estate by us. I took my camera, as I had a plan.
The estate is built on the grounds of the old St. Margaret’s mental hospital in Great Barr – or the “Great Barr Idiot Colony” as it was originally called in the less enlightened early 1900s. The buildings that made up the hospital stood alongside Great Barr Hall, a Gothic mansion that has stood in some form or other since the late 1700s. The Hall was used as part of the hospital between 1918 and 1978.
The main buildings of St. Maggies, as we’ve always known it, are completely gone, but as far as I’m aware Great Barr Hall still stands, albeit in a state of disrepair, having been partially burnt to the ground just prior to the new houses being built. Here’s an aerial map of the old hospital grounds.
My aforementioned plan was to get some snaps of the Hall.
Whilst searching for a suitable Conquest of the Planet of the Apes image to illustrate Saturday’s post regarding cult cinema, I came across this beauty. Possibly the coolest movie poster I’ve never seen.
Nick James is a freelance copywriter and blogger, providing web and print-based copywriting services to businesses across all industries. He also writes Head Full of Snow. To discuss your needs and receive a FREE, no obligation, estimate, get in touch today.
local, photographs, writing | Jeffman | 
November 17, 2009 6:46 pm | 
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Image ©EMI/Harvest
Nick James is a freelance copywriter and blogger, providing web and print-based copywriting services to businesses across all industries. He also writes 
