| Selly Oak Park | |
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 Selly Oak stump | |
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| Location | Selly Oak, Birmingham, England |
| Coordinates | 52°26′34″N1°56′48″W / 52.442829°N 1.946700°W |
| Created | 1899 |
| Operated by | Birmingham City Council |
Selly Oak Park is a public park in Selly Oak, Birmingham, England. It is close to the University of Birmingham. The stump from the "Selly Oak", a large oak tree on Oak Tree Lane was situated in the park after it was felled in 1909. [1] [2] [3]
The park’s history is well documented, in a book, [4] and an associated website. [5] It was the first park developed under the authority of the former Kings Norton and Northfield Urban District Council. In February 1899, Thomas Gibbins and his wife Emma Joel Gibbins (née Cadbury) and her four sons, William, Thomas, John and Benjamin (of the Birmingham Battery and Metal Company, [6] ) donated “11 acres, 2 roods and 5 perches” of land “for ever”, arranging for the Park to be laid out, [7] and a shelter, public conveniences and a park-keeper’s lodge to be built. The park was formally opened by the 88 year old Mrs. Gibbins on Easter Monday, 3 April 1899. The gift was marked by the naming of the adjacent Gibbins Road (formerly Old Lane). In 1911 the district fell within the scope of the Birmingham Extension Order and the park moved into the care of Birmingham City Council.
Following the 1899 gift of land there were four further donations:
In March 1958, 0.271 acres (0.110 hectares) of land at the junction of Gibbins Road and Harborne Lane (previously used by the City Transport Department as a grit and salt store) was transferred from the City’s Public Works Committee.
In more recent years there have been two transfers of land from the park:
The shelter (built in 1899), the bandstand (built in 1908) and the Daughters of Rest Pavilion (built in 1953) have been demolished.
Today, the Park is maintained for Birmingham City Council by Quadron Environmental Services who provide its non-resident park keeper.
In 2011 an active community support group, The Friends of Selly Oak Park, [8] working with the local Council laid out an Art, History and Nature Trail. They also maintain a gallery of park photographs. An annual community event, the Selly Oak Festival, is held in the Park each June.
Smethwick is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands, England. It lies 4 miles (6 km) west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before being placed into West Midlands county.
Edgbaston is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The wards of Edgbaston and North Edgbaston had a combined population of 42,295 at the 2021 census.
Harborne is an affluent area of south-west Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands, England. It is located three miles southwest from Birmingham city centre. It is a Birmingham City Council ward in the formal district and in the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Edgbaston.
Bournville is an affluent model village on the southwest side of Birmingham, England, founded by the Quaker Cadbury family for employees at its Cadbury's factory, and designed to be a "garden" village where the sale of alcohol was forbidden. Cadbury's is well known for chocolate products – including a dark chocolate bar branded Bournville. Historically in northern Worcestershire, it is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts and the Cadbury's chocolate factory. Bournville is known as one of the most desirable areas to live in the United Kingdom; research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2003 found that it was "one of the nicest places to live in Britain".
Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harborne are to the north of the Bourn Brook, which was the former county boundary, and to the south are Weoley, and Bournville. A district committee serves the four wards of Selly Oak, Billesley, Bournville and Brandwood. The same wards form the Birmingham Selly Oak constituency, represented since 2024 by Alistair Carns (Labour). Selly Oak is connected to Birmingham by the Pershore Road (A441) and the Bristol Road (A38). The Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the Birmingham Cross-City Railway Line run across the Local District Centre.
Quinton is a suburb and ward of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands, England, 5 miles (8 km) west of the city centre. Formerly part of Halesowen parish, Quinton became part of Birmingham in 1909. Quinton was a village and the surrounding area was farmland until the 1930s when the first housing estates were developed. Most of the farmland had been built on by 1980 but some countryside remains in the form of Woodgate Valley Country Park. Along with Bartley Green, Harborne and Edgbaston, Quinton is within the Birmingham Edgbaston constituency.
Stirchley is a suburb in south-west Birmingham, England. The name likely refers to a pasture for cattle. The settlement dates back to at least 1658. Prehistoric evidence, Roman roads, and Anglo-Saxon charters contribute to its history. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the railways brought industry to the area. Stirchley's development is also linked to industries like screw-making and rubber manufacturing. Originally part of Worcestershire, Stirchley underwent administrative changes in 1911. Residential developments were established alongside the long-standing Victorian terracing which is associated with the suburb.
Weoley Castle is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The area is part of the Weoley local authority electoral ward, and also comes under the Northfield local council constituency. The suburb of Weoley Castle is bordered by Selly Oak to the east, Harborne to the north, Bartley Green to the west, and Weoley Hill and Shenley Fields to the south.
Bournbrook is an industrial and residential district in southwest Birmingham, England, in the ward of Bournbrook and Selly Park and the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Selly Oak. Before 2018 it was in Selly Oak Council Ward. Prior to what is commonly termed the Greater Birmingham Act, which came into effect on 9 November 1911, the Bourn Brook watercourse was the North Eastern boundary of Worcestershire, and the area was locally governed by the King's Norton and Northfield Urban District Council.
Bearwood is the southern part of Smethwick, in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies north of the A456 Hagley Road. Bearwood Hill was the original name of the High Street from Smethwick Council House to Windmill Lane. The border at the Shireland Brook where Portland Road, Edgbaston becomes Shireland Road, Smethwick is signed "Bearwood" as of February 2014.
The Dudley Canal is a canal passing through Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The canal is part of the English and Welsh network of connected navigable inland waterways and forms part of the popular Stourport Ring narrowboat cruising route.
Birmingham Corporation Tramways operated a network of tramways in Birmingham from 1904 until 1953. It was the largest narrow-gauge tramway network in the UK, and was built to a gauge of 3 ft 6 in. It was the fourth largest tramway network in the UK behind London, Glasgow and Manchester.
King's Norton and Northfield Urban District was a local government administrative district in north Worcestershire, England, from 1898 until 1911. Much of its area was afterwards absorbed into the neighbouring Borough of Birmingham, under the Greater Birmingham Scheme, and now constitutes most of the city's southern and southwestern suburban environs.
Selly Park is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The suburb of Selly Park is located between the Bristol Road (A38) and the Pershore Road (A441).
The Birmingham Battery and Metal Company was founded in 1836 with a factory in Digbeth, Birmingham.
Queens Park was laid out in 1898, after which Turks Lane was renamed Queens Park Road. The 10-acre plot was bought by the Harborne Charity Fete Committee and presented to the city council.
Selly Oak Library is a Carnegie library in Selly Oak, Birmingham, England. It is Grade II listed.
Forster Memorial Park, is a public park in London Borough of Lewisham. It takes up the land between Bellingham Road and Whitefoot Lane, Catford – the park and surrounding roads form Southend or Southend Village. The nearest stations are Bellingham and Beckenham Hill.
Summerfield is an area of Birmingham, England, two miles west of the city centre. It is also the name of an ecclesiastical parish. The area takes its name from Summerfield House, owned by members of the Chance family, local industrialists. Neighbouring areas are Cape Hill, Edgbaston, Ladywood, Rotton Park and Winson Green. Edgbaston Reservoir is immediately to the south.
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