Revo boss and his grand old residence
THE unusually named Bearnett House, in Penn,
Wolverhampton, was by all accounts a fine old residence.
Tipton’s Revo Electrical is never far from the Bugle’s pages, and the owner of that once-great firm, F.H. Reeves made his home at Bearnett House in the twentieth century. Reader Malcolm Davies was more than familiar with the house and its gardens in his youth, as he explains below:
Owner
“In the Bugle late last year I was interested to read the letters on Revo Electrics.
“I thought it may be nice for Bugle readers to see a picture of the firm’s owner Mr Reeves, and some accompanying information.
“My grandfather Edward Henry Davies worked for George Ward, who had Bearnett House in Penn, where Mr Reeves lived, built.
“After Mr Ward, his nephew Colonel Henry
Herbert Ward lived there, and finally Mr Reeves. My grandfather’s working life there spanned from the 1880s until his death in 1947.
“My family still lived in the Lodge on the Stourbridge Road until 1951, just prior to the death of Mr Reeves in 1953. My parents always spoke well of Mr Reeves and his family.”
Malcolm has also supplied us with a copy of a letter written by Horace Parker, a one-time work colleague of his grandfather. Mr Parker wrote:
“I consider it was my good fortune to have spent approximately fifty years of my life as a gardener at Bearnett House.
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Gardener
“At the age of twenty I was engaged by Mr F.H. Reeves as one of four gardeners. The others were head gardener Mr Mackay, Mr H Thomas and Mr E Blything.
“Also on the outside staff were Mr F Davies, the chauffeur, and his father Harry Davies [Malcolm’s grandfather], the groom. The latter, had he been alive today, could well have furnished us with some of the real old history of Bearnett House at the time of George Ward, who built it, and Col. Ward, to whom Harry was groom.
“He was legend himself in the area, very well known for his immaculate turnout, as he drove around with his master Colonel Ward, in a grand coach with four horses.
“In those days there was a large stable yard surrounded by two large coach houses, a large stable, a saddle room, a three-roomed bothy and a gardener’s potting shed. At the rear of the stables was a cow shed and a pig sty.
“When I started workthere the coachhouses were used as garages to house Mr Reeves’ two Rolls-royces and two other cars. He was very proud of the one Rolls, which I understand was powered by an engine which had once belonged to
“Mr Reeves, who was managing director of Revo Electric, Tipton, was himself a very keen gardener. He had a vinery housing some fine Muscat of Alexander grapes, eight peach and nectarine trees in the peach house, a beautifully stocked conservatory, a large greenhouse for such plants as carnations, begonias and calcealarias, and a fine stock of asparagus and maidenhair ferns.
Sir Henry Segrave. Exotic
“Best of all, but before my time, was a very well built stone greenhouse containing many exotic plants, including some fine Strelzias, a banana palm and an excellent collection
of orchids.
“Outside on the pleasure ground was a beautiful rose garden in the centre of which was a pool with lovely water lilies and an ornamental fountain. Along the terrace wall were pillars on which stood huge heavy vases, some stone, other lead. Beautifully designed and each contained yucca plants. There were also huge lead vases around the gravel circle by the main entrance to the house, which were so heavy it took at least two men to handle them even empty.
Pools
“Beyond the terrace wall, down stone steps, were a series of water lily pools, in the centre again, a circular pool and fountain. Beside these pools were small roundbeds full of bog plants. The whole lot were set in well-laid lawns and flanked by dry stone walls and colourful herbaceous borders.
“Down another flight of stone steps we had the tennis court surrounded by ramble roses, and below that was an orchard, then a small spinney by the roadside on Lloyd
Hill. The lily pools were well stocked with goldfish, golden orfe and other specimens, regularly fed by Mr Reeves. The kitchen garden, all in pots surrounded by low box hedges, was flanked by a tall brick wall behind which was Lewis’s farm. At the bottom of the garden was a small shrubbery containing some fine maple trees.” ■ Do you have memories of Bearnett House that you’d like to share with Bugle readers? Email gjones@blackcountrybu gle.co.uk, give us a call on 01384 880531, or write to us at Black Country Bugle, Dudley Archives, Tipton Road, Dudley, DY1 4SQ.