Family's generous gift leaves lasting legacy at Kinver Edge

Without the the generosity of siblings Oliver, Clara, Rosalind and Stephen Lee it is believed that Kinver Edge would have been lost to developers.

In 1917, they secured its future by purchasing and donating 156 acres of land to the National Trust in memory of their late parents and their love of the area.

The family went on to donate a further gift of 57 acres in 1942 with the National Trust continuing to acquire more land and later all of the Rock Houses carved out of the sandstone Holy Austin Rock.

And now, to mark 100 years since the original gift was bestowed, an appeal has been launched to raise £175,000 for a new pathway made up of three and a half miles of accessible footpaths and will link up the rock houses.

All of the siblings continued to be supportive of Kinver but it was Oliver, a solicitor, that played the biggest role, paying for a ranger on Kinver Edge and a lodge to be built on Comber Road.

Sue Wright is Oliver’s granddaughter and has been chairman of the Kinver Edge Committee, which he was also instrumental in setting up in 1921, for 10 years.

She grew up visiting Kinver Edge having spent part of her childhood in the village and says it still holds ‘an incredibly special’ place in her heart.

“We used to come for picnics and because it was really sandy we would bring buckets and spades, it was almost like going to the seaside,” said the 71-year-old, who now lives in Harborne.

“It’s such a beautiful, peaceful and interesting place. You’ve got Kinver Edge where if you stand at the top you have 360 degree views and then the rock houses which are fascinating,” she added.

Speaking of the first donation of land by her ancestors, Mrs Wright said: “It was an extraordinary thing to do with the First World War still going on.

“They purchased the land from the Webb family, who were only too happy to sell it because they supported the family’s plans for it and immediately, within a week or two, had handed it over to the National Trust.

“It was handed over as a green lung for the toiling masses of the Black Country and Birmingham.

“Although the toiling masses is no longer relevant, it’s still that green lung where people can come to escape their busy lives and enjoy the peaceful setting.”

The site is now run by the National Trust with the help of a small army of around 100 volunteers and the Kinver Edge Committee.

As well as the Edge, they also look after the rock houses. There are three levels of houses and in their heyday, between 1840s and 1870s, there would have been occupied by up to 11 families – a total of 40 people.

Mrs Wright, says it is the community within Kinver, the volunteers and the National Trust that have helped to ensure there is a lasting legacy.

“My family may have donated the first land but it’s the community together with the volunteers and the National Trust, who have kept it going and it turned into the place we can enjoy today,” she added.

The committee has organised a series of events to celebrate the 100th anniversary and a commemorative book has also been produced.

Fundraising events throughout the year include outdoor performances of a play entitled Spirits of Holy Austin Rock by the New Kinver Players.

Written especially for the centenary, it will be staged at the Rock Houses on August 19 and 20. There is also a Party on the Edge planned for September.

For more information email kinveredge@nationaltrust.org.uk or call 01562 712822.

To donate to the Centenary Appeal see www.justgiving.com/kinveredge