Lower Green

Situated in the north-eastern corner of rural Sutton Coldfield near Wishaw, Lower Green may have been named in relation to Over (Upper) Green a little way to the south. It now lies beneath the M6 Toll Motorway just north of Grove Lane. In the 1841 Census there were just three dwellings recorded here.

Lower Green lay close to Wishaw Hall Farm on Grove Lane. Archaeological digs in advance of the construction of the motorway revealed a multi-period site of some interest with discoveries dating from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages.

Over a thousand pieces of flint were unearthed dating from the Neolithic era. They were the waste from tool making and provide evidence of settled communities here over 5000 years ago. There was evidence of Bronze Age field systems and of an Iron Age settlement. One pit contained a human skull and pottery sherds.

The site was again occupied during the Roman period. A medieval fish pond here supplied a high-status dwelling nearby with freshwater fish such as carp and pike. A small stream here flowing west to east would have provided a constant water supply probably via wooden sluice gates and man-made channels.

Wishaw Hall Farm must have been a sizeable operation. In 1841 it was being run by Jeremiah Walker. In addition to his members of own family, there were six servants living in and more farm workers would no doubt have been employed from the locality.