Lichfield District Council’s current “expert advice” treats the Coulter Lane fields as anonymous arable land. We’ve gone to the archives to prove it’s anything but. This isn’t just about “green space”—it’s about a 700-year-old legacy that belongs to the people of Burntwood.

The Hero: A General in the King’s Inner Circle

Lieutenant-General Thomas Birch Reynardson was a titan of British history. This wasn’t just a local name on a map; this was a man at the heart of the Empire’s defense.

• The Battlefield: A veteran of the Peninsular War, he fought at the legendary battles of Talavera and Salamanca.
• The Medal: He stood on the front lines at Waterloo (1815), helping end Napoleon’s reign over Europe.
• The Royal Connection: His bravery led to his appointment as personal Aide-de-Camp to the King.

When the General retired to Fulfen Farm (House), he didn’t just move into a farmhouse; he took stewardship of a medieval Manorial core. He didn’t just look at these fields—he ensured they served a higher purpose.

The Land: The “Scholarship Soil”

The developer calls it “Site F6.” The archives call it the Scholarship Soil. Our research into the 1844 Tithe Records and the 1765 Deeds proves that these specific fields were the lifeblood of our community.

• The Endowment: This land was legally tied to the Old School House, Coulter Lane.
• The Mission: The crops grown on this soil paid the wages for the teachers of Burntwood’s children for over a century.
• The Global Connection: This is the landscape where Francis Barber—the heir to Dr. Samuel Johnson and a pioneer of Black British history—lived and taught.

To pave over these fields is to pave over the very foundation of how our village learned to read and write.

The Law: Why This Triggers NPPF “Red Lines”

This isn’t just nostalgia; it’s about the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Our discovery of the General’s legacy triggers three massive legal protections:

• Paragraph 203 (National Importance): Because this land is the estate of a Waterloo Hero and the site of Francis Barber’s legacy, it is a Non-Designated Heritage Asset of national interest. The Council has a duty to protect it.
• Paragraph 200 (The “Hamlet” Rule): The law requires the Council to protect the “Setting” of heritage assets. You cannot separate Fulfen Farm (the medieval manor) from the School Field (the estate). They are a unified Hamlet.
• Paragraph 201 (Substantial Harm): If a development causes “Substantial Harm” to a heritage landscape, it should be refused. 250 executive houses do NOT outweigh the destruction of a 700-year-old Manorial history.

🏛️ THE ARCHIVE CORNER

We aren’t asking the Council to take our word for it. We are asking them to look at the Official County Records their own report ignored:

• Ref: D3451/1/16 (Staffordshire Record Office): The original 1765–1881 Title Deeds for the School House and its endowed lands.
• Ref: D7336/1/7a-b: The 1702 Grant proving Fulfen is a “Reputed Manor.”
• Ref: 2-BR (Lincolnshire Archives): The Birch Reynardson Family Papers, detailing the General’s management of his Staffordshire estates.

We’ve sent our Heritage Dossier to the Council Leaders, Doug Pullen and Alex Farrell. We are demanding they stop “defending the team’s judgment” and start defending our history.

#SaveTheFulfen #TheGeneralsLegacy #BurntwoodHeritage #NPPF #LichfieldPlanning