Duddeston

Duddeston is an inner-city area of the Nechells ward of central Birmingham, England. It was part of the Birmingham Duddeston constituency until that ceased to exist in 1950.

The name Duddeston comes from Dud's Town, with Dud being the Saxon proprietor, Lord of Dudley who probably had a seat in Duddeston. It was speculated that Duddeston came from Dudda's tun but nothing is known of Dudda.

Duddeston is first mentioned in a charter granted to Wulfget the Thane by Eadgar, King of the Angles in 963. There is no mention of Duddeston for another 200 years until it said that the Holte family were the residents of Duddeston Manor, a large house located next to the River Rea. This had been purchased by the family in 1365 by the family who also owned the manor of Nechells and were related to a prominent family in Erdington. Their wealth of land expanded two years later when the manor of Aston was bestowed upon them.

100 years later, Thomas Holte became the Chief Justice of Wales and a close friend of King Henry VIII. In 1546, Thomas died and Duddeston Hall was a sign of his wealth. His grandson, also called Thomas Holte, supplied a small army in defending Ireland and for this he was knighted. He commissioned the construction of Aston Hall soon after.

During the 18th century, many adverts for cock fighting at the hall appeared and in many, the name Vauxhall appeared. The first use of the name Vauxhall was in 1751 and was spelt Vaux Hall. It was referred to as another name for the hall. It is also known that the building had been refurbished, possibly rebuilt, to accommodate travellers. Large gardens had also been created and it became an attraction for the city. Travelling there was made easier with the opening of Duddeston and Vauxhall railway station. However, the owners of the hall ran into financial difficulty and the last celebrations in the gardens were held in September 1850, before the gardens were removed. Houses were built on site.

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