History
Bought by the Gilbert family in 1601, the estate at Cotton was already home to the manor house of Cotton Hall. The family extended and altered the house before selling the estate to the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1843. it became the home of the Wilfridians, a religious order run by the Rev. Frederick William Faber. Between 1846 and 1848 Lord Shrewsbury added the Church of St Wilfrid and Faber House, both of which were designed by A. W. N. Pugin. After his ordination Faber joined the Oratorians. Realising their vocation lay in the big cities the Oratorian Community left Cotton, and it was occupies by the Passionists, who again moved on from the isolated setting. The estate was subsequently bought by the Birmingham Archdiocese, and in 1873 the New Sedgley Park School, later named Cotton College, was established there as a Catholic boarding school. Within a short time the Rev. Joseph Souter, President, had to refuse 40 applications for lack of space and so began the building of what was to be known as 'the Souter Wing'. Other building work followed. In 1932 St Thomas' Junior School was opened by Cardinal Bourne, providing accommodation for fifty boys, masters' rooms, classrooms, a physics laboratory and a stage and hall. Linked with the opening of St Thomas' was the foundation of the Cottonian Association, a body set up to raise funds to pay off the debts incurred by the new building. In 1942 a small community of the Sisters of La Retraite was established at the College. The Sisters assisted with the boys' food and healthcare. The College closed in 1987 and proposals to convert the Listed buildings into private homes were submitted.
Explore
I previously visited this and got caught fairly quickly by the guy with the dogs. I've wanted to see in here after seeing a few photos online with the natural decay and fantastic colours.
I then went back some months later on solo trip whilst in the area and after a few pointers from Mikeymutt, a successful visit was had. I got around most of it but as always seems the case there was one or two bits I couldn't get to.
On with the photos
The next photos are of the classrooms
What's left of the wash room
An old image of the main stage of what it used to look like
Bought by the Gilbert family in 1601, the estate at Cotton was already home to the manor house of Cotton Hall. The family extended and altered the house before selling the estate to the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1843. it became the home of the Wilfridians, a religious order run by the Rev. Frederick William Faber. Between 1846 and 1848 Lord Shrewsbury added the Church of St Wilfrid and Faber House, both of which were designed by A. W. N. Pugin. After his ordination Faber joined the Oratorians. Realising their vocation lay in the big cities the Oratorian Community left Cotton, and it was occupies by the Passionists, who again moved on from the isolated setting. The estate was subsequently bought by the Birmingham Archdiocese, and in 1873 the New Sedgley Park School, later named Cotton College, was established there as a Catholic boarding school. Within a short time the Rev. Joseph Souter, President, had to refuse 40 applications for lack of space and so began the building of what was to be known as 'the Souter Wing'. Other building work followed. In 1932 St Thomas' Junior School was opened by Cardinal Bourne, providing accommodation for fifty boys, masters' rooms, classrooms, a physics laboratory and a stage and hall. Linked with the opening of St Thomas' was the foundation of the Cottonian Association, a body set up to raise funds to pay off the debts incurred by the new building. In 1942 a small community of the Sisters of La Retraite was established at the College. The Sisters assisted with the boys' food and healthcare. The College closed in 1987 and proposals to convert the Listed buildings into private homes were submitted.
Explore
I previously visited this and got caught fairly quickly by the guy with the dogs. I've wanted to see in here after seeing a few photos online with the natural decay and fantastic colours.
I then went back some months later on solo trip whilst in the area and after a few pointers from Mikeymutt, a successful visit was had. I got around most of it but as always seems the case there was one or two bits I couldn't get to.
On with the photos
The next photos are of the classrooms
What's left of the wash room
An old image of the main stage of what it used to look like
To be continued....
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