Bassetts Pole
Encyclopedia
Bassetts Pole is an area at the Staffordshire
–West Midlands
–Warwickshire Tripoint. There are no residences here, although the settlement of Middleton Heath is located just to the South West. It is sited on the A.446 London Road near to the world-famous golf
centre "The Belfry
".
The site is known for regular gatherings of Motorcyclists of all ages on TUESDAY nights during the Spring and Summer. These take place on unadopted roads outside and adjacent to the McDonalds Restaurant, an Industrial Estate and The Bassetts Pole public house (A Harvester Inn). Whilst the Pub is in Staffordshire, the roads and Restaurant are in Warwickshire. The West Midlands Boundary is to the West of the A.38 Traffic Island.
The name derives from a marker post set up by the Bassett Family - Owners of the DRAYTON Estate, (Hence the nearby Village of Drayton BASSETT). This delineated the boundary with the MIDDLETON Estates of the De FREVILLES/WILLOUGHBYS/GRAZEBROOKS and the SHENSTONE Estates of the GRAZEBROOKS There are recorded episodes of several armed encounters with men from the bordering Estates around this spot.
During WW II a large detachment of Home Guard were stationed at this important road junction and a Tank testing track was built in the nearby Trickley Wood. Since 1987 this area has been the home to National Paintball Fields, (NPF Bassetts Pole) - the largest 250 acre No.1 paintball attraction/venue in the UK. Paintball & lazer games are played in the Bassetts Pole woodland, hosting events for players from 10 years upwards. www.npfbassettspole.com
The BLUE LAGOON night club opened in the 1920s and attracted 'Flappers' from B'ham, who would meet the young men who gathered there on motorcycles. By the 1930s it had become the HAPPY HOUR Transport Cafe. In the early 1990s, it was reopened as the Happy Hour Restaurant. In the mid 1990s it was acquired by a local business man and relaunched as Chicanes Motorsport Bar and Restaurant. The 'BIKE NIGHTS' started then as a small gathering which rapidly grew and spread to the roads outside. In the late 1990s it was taken over by the McDonalds chain, and refurbished to its present 1920s Art Deco style.
, with easy access to the A38
; the Sutton Coldfield
bypass
and Junction T3 of the M6 Toll
motorway.
The nearest railway station is Four Oaks Railway Station
, located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) away.
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
–West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
–Warwickshire Tripoint. There are no residences here, although the settlement of Middleton Heath is located just to the South West. It is sited on the A.446 London Road near to the world-famous golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
centre "The Belfry
The Belfry
The Belfry is a golf resort in Wishaw, Warwickshire, England, very near the Sutton Coldfield district of Birmingham, and owned since 2005 by Irish businessman Sean Quinn....
".
The site is known for regular gatherings of Motorcyclists of all ages on TUESDAY nights during the Spring and Summer. These take place on unadopted roads outside and adjacent to the McDonalds Restaurant, an Industrial Estate and The Bassetts Pole public house (A Harvester Inn). Whilst the Pub is in Staffordshire, the roads and Restaurant are in Warwickshire. The West Midlands Boundary is to the West of the A.38 Traffic Island.
The name derives from a marker post set up by the Bassett Family - Owners of the DRAYTON Estate, (Hence the nearby Village of Drayton BASSETT). This delineated the boundary with the MIDDLETON Estates of the De FREVILLES/WILLOUGHBYS/GRAZEBROOKS and the SHENSTONE Estates of the GRAZEBROOKS There are recorded episodes of several armed encounters with men from the bordering Estates around this spot.
During WW II a large detachment of Home Guard were stationed at this important road junction and a Tank testing track was built in the nearby Trickley Wood. Since 1987 this area has been the home to National Paintball Fields, (NPF Bassetts Pole) - the largest 250 acre No.1 paintball attraction/venue in the UK. Paintball & lazer games are played in the Bassetts Pole woodland, hosting events for players from 10 years upwards. www.npfbassettspole.com
The BLUE LAGOON night club opened in the 1920s and attracted 'Flappers' from B'ham, who would meet the young men who gathered there on motorcycles. By the 1930s it had become the HAPPY HOUR Transport Cafe. In the early 1990s, it was reopened as the Happy Hour Restaurant. In the mid 1990s it was acquired by a local business man and relaunched as Chicanes Motorsport Bar and Restaurant. The 'BIKE NIGHTS' started then as a small gathering which rapidly grew and spread to the roads outside. In the late 1990s it was taken over by the McDonalds chain, and refurbished to its present 1920s Art Deco style.
Transport
The site is located on the A446A446 road
The A446 is an A road in Zone 4 of the Great Britain numbering scheme.-History:The 1922 route of the A446 was Leamington - Kenilworth - Coleshill - Lichfield, which over the years has been curtailed to its current route.-Stonebridge - Bassets Pole:...
, with easy access to the A38
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
; the Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
bypass
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....
and Junction T3 of the M6 Toll
M6 Toll
The M6 Toll , connects M6 Junction 4 at the NEC to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with of six-lane motorway. The weekday cash cost is £5.30 for a car and £10.60 for a HGV...
motorway.
The nearest railway station is Four Oaks Railway Station
Four Oaks railway station
Four Oaks railway station serves the Four Oaks area of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England. It is situated on the Cross-City Line. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by London Midland.-History:...
, located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) away.