The Ellowes was used by the Home Guard during the Second World War.

Sedgley Council considered purchasing the Ellowes Estate as early as 1919.

The wooded area south of Ellowes was known locally as 'The Rookery', although there are no Rooks there now, it's possible that there was at some time past.

Ellowes takes its name from 'Ellen Valle' (Valley), this is marked on a 18th century map of 'Gwarnell' as running along the low lying area of the Cotwall End valley or 'dingle' which the Hall overlooked.

Some scenes of the silent film short 'Romance and Reality' (1921) starring Cora Goffin and Isabel Jeans was filmed at the Hall.

Charles Mitchell was the owner at that time, a fete in the grounds was used for one of the crowd scenes.

The film, directed by Harry Lambart was based on the novel 'The Cradle of the Washingtons' by Arthur Branscombe.

The film made use of many locations, including Althrop and Sulgrave Manor, in a production write-up in 1922, it mentions "At such old world places at Penn, Sedgley and Albrighton, the company has captured the most scenic backgrounds for the screen." .

The film was sold off to America in 1922, and appears to have long since disappeared?

Local legend has it that the 'Grey Lady' haunts the Ellowes grounds and School,

See more about the Gray Lady here.

"The Farringdons", a romantic novel published in 1900, focused on the lives of an ironmaster's family set in the Black Country.
The Farringdon family lived at an imaginary place 'The Willows', which was apparently loosely based on The Ellowes.

The book was written by Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler, born in Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton in 1860. John Lloyd Gibbons the owner of Ellowes from 1890 had connections with Chapel Ash and it is very likely the author had stayed there at some point.
Many local towns are lightly disguised, such as Sedghill as Sedgley, Studley, Slipton and Silverhampton.

One of the authors opening paragraphs describes "The Willows" with striking similarities to The Ellowes:-

"The home of the Farringdons was called the Willows, and was separated by a carriage-drive of half a mile from the town. Its lodge stood in the High Street, on the western side; and the drive wandered through a fine old wood, and across an undulating park, till it stopped in front of a large square house built of gray stone. It was a handsome house inside, with wonderful oak staircases and Adams chimneypieces; and there was an air of great stateliness about it, and of very little luxury."

In the Birmingham Post newspaper of 1865, there is a note to the editor regarding the history of Sedgley from an anonomous source that states:

"OLD ABBEY - On the estate of 'The Ellowes' or 'Eblavales'[sic], the property of Major Barrows, are the ruins of a very ancient chapel, which probably was formerly constituted a cell to Dudley Priory, but I have been unable to meet with any record of it; however, there is reason to believe that some MSS. in the library of Oscott College would throw light on it".

A small farm called 'Abbey Farm', in the grounds near the gully from the ornamental ponds was partly destroyed by fire in 1919.
This could well be connected with the previous statement.

The Farm was little used after this time, before the ruins were demolished to make way for the new school playing fields in 1966, local children made good use of it, the ruins being nicknamed 'The Alamo'.