The Involvement of Old Fallings Hall
During the early 20th century, Fallings Park (in Wolverhampton) was a large agricultural area, owned by Sir Richard Horner Paget whom also owned Old Fallings Hall and many other estates. He decided to begin his project on the 400 acres of land both sides of the Cannock Road, as he had much admired Bournville, Port Sunlight and Lethworth's garden suburbs. His wife was Caroline Isabel Surtees, with whom he had a daughter called Dorothy and a son called Sir Richard Arthur Surtees Paget.
On the 3rd July, 1907, 7 acres of land where bought from Sir Richard Horner Paget. The land formed a triangle between Victoria Road, Bushbury Road and Cannock Road (as is shown in the image above). The project officially began on 13th July 1907, when the first sod was turned by Lady Muriel Paget (wife to Sir Richard Arthur Surtees Paget). The ceremony is shown above, as Lady Muriel can be seen holding a spade with her husband standing behind her, accompanied by Alderman Berrington, the chairman of the Fallings Park Garden Suburb Tenants Society, the Mayor of Dudley, and other many important characters involved in the ceremony. It began with children Morris dancing from the Paget estate in Somerset, then the sod turning, toasts and speeches, dances from 2 girls from schools in Heath Town and then to Old Fallings Hall for tea and games (where the image of the ceremony was taken).