As part of our 10th anniversary celebrations, we’ve been featuring ten ‘People of Moor Pool’ throughout 2025. We have now arrived at our tenth and final feature in this series and we hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know some of the people who make Moor Pool the special place it is!
It’s not just Moor Pool Heritage Trust celebrating an anniversary this year – our Hall Manager, Barbara Nomikos, has been with us for a decade this month. Barbara has done so much for the Trust over the last decade, from managing the Halls and other MPHT assets, to organising the Moor Pool Heritage Festival each year and preserving important artifacts and objects from Moor Pool’s past. We caught up with her to celebrate this milestone and ask her a few questions:
I have worked for MPHT for 10 years this month! Rachel West and I started together back in December 2015, although we already knew each other from working in museums.
What do you think makes Moor Pool such a special place?
The ethos behind it – creating not just houses, but building a community with clubs and activities that has continued in its own way as living history ever since John Sutton Nettlefold first conceived it – is what makes it so special. It is so rare to have somewhere this close to the city that still feels like a village. People here genuinely care about preserving that feeling. It’s also quite unique to have such a hands-on Board of Trustees and volunteers in all aspects — everyone is so invested and gives so much of their time. Even Moor Pool Hall has that lovely village hall feel that captures what it is all about.
I love the atmosphere at the Moor Pool Heritage Festival, it’s the one day when everything that goes on here comes together: the clubs, the activities, the heritage and the people. It really sums up the spirit of the Estate. And in the last few years bringing my young daughter to be part of events (such as the Festival, the Platinum Jubilee, Santa’s sleigh tour of the Estate) has created some fond memories – even though we don’t live in Moor Pool.
I also really enjoy leading the tours and sharing Moor Pool’s history with people who are visiting for the first time and their reaction always reminds me how unique it is.
What is your favourite place/spot on the Estate?
I really like the area behind the Hall overlooking the tennis courts. The heart of the Estate , you can see the Hall among the houses, blending in and not quite standing out as it was meant to be, and appreciate the architecture, and imagine what it must have been like when dances were held there.
Why do you think it’s important that MPHT saved the community spaces from redevelopment in 2014?
Without it an important piece of Birmingham’s heritage and the opportunity to engage people in its history would have been lost, everything that has been built on over the last 10 years would not have been possible. Saving these buildings and spaces allowed us to preserve not just the architectural heritage and outdoor spaces but the community that goes with this and gave us the opportunity to share this history more widely.
Is there anything you’d like to see happen on the Estate over the next 10 years?
I’d really love to see the improvement and development of the collection and the Archive Room (the old office where I first started 10 years ago!) to better house and display the important artifacts and objects that tell Moor Pool’s untold stories. We have just received funding from the Pilgrim Trust for a Collection Audit so that’s the first step! There are so many objects and stories connected to Moor Pool that deserve to be better shared.
Moor Pool Hall
37 The Circle, Harborne,
Birmingham, B17 9DY
Registered Charity Number: 1148252
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