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Shard End | |
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![]() The Mother of God and Guardian Angels Catholic Church on Freasley Road | |
Location within the West Midlands | |
Population | 26,794 (2011.Ward) [1] |
• Density | 41.1 per ha |
OS grid reference | SP157889 |
Metropolitan borough | |
Shire county | |
Metropolitan county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BIRMINGHAM |
Postcode district | B34 |
Dialling code | 0121 |
Police | West Midlands |
Fire | West Midlands |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Shard End is an area of Birmingham, England. It is also a ward within the formal district of Hodge Hill. Shard End borders Castle Bromwich to the north and Kingshurst to the east which are situated in the northern part of the neighbouring Metropolitan Borough of Solihull.
Before the end of World War II, Shard End was completely rural with the only buildings being farmhouses, farm outbuildings and tithe cottages.
Shard End's most infamous resident was Abraham Thornton, son of the owner of Shard End Farm (then part of the Coleshill estate). He was charged with the murder of a local girl, Mary Ashford, in 1817. The events of the trial led to the abolition of two ancient legal rights – the right of a close relative to demand another trial although the defendant had been acquitted, and the right of a defendant to defend himself by challenging the relative to a duel. The duel did not take place and Thornton left the area soon after his second trial to travel to the US.
During World War I, much of the woodland between Shard End and Kingshurst had been cut down to help with the war effort. The Birmingham and District Association of Boy Scouts were able to buy a patch of land at a bargain price and set up a permanent camp there. This land was halfway between Kingshurst and Shard End. It was called Yorkswood and opened in 1923. There were five camp fields, covering an area of 25 acres (10 ha). The total site was over 200 acres (81 ha). The site benefited from permanent washhouses and latrines, a swimming pool, a training centre and headquarters, guesthouse, warden's hut and other huts. A small brook from a fresh water spring ran past the camp and Cock Sparrow Farm was about 100 yards (91 m) away to provide fresh milk. The entrance to the camp was flanked by a series of griffin statues. These had come from the roof of Lewis's Department Store in Birmingham when it was being renovated. After the camp closed in 1972 they were placed upon the Yorkswood housing estate (Kendrick Avenue and nearby roads) in Shard End, built upon the site of the camp. Yorkswood takes its name from the nearby Yorks Wood, an eleven hectare forest dating back hundreds of years.
In the inter war years the Midland Sand and Gravel Company operated a mine on what is now the Norman Chamberlain Playing Fields, off Packington Avenue. During World War II, this gravel pit was used to store and repair third-line tanks. After the war the area was landscaped to become the playing fields. The old gravel pit was allowed to fill with water from a natural spring to form Shard End Lake and has become a leisure facility.
A plan of the new housing estate was produced at the end of 1945 and compulsory purchase orders were issued in 1946. Building of the estate started in the late 1940s and was added to in stages producing some variety in the housing. As usual, communal facilities lagged behind the building of the housing. Nine tower blocks were constructed in the ward.
As a result of the construction of the estate, plans for a new church were drawn up. In 1954, construction of All Saints Church, [2] a traditional Church of England church, began and construction was completed in 1955. Designed by F J Osbourne, it was the first new church to be built in Birmingham after World War II. On 1 November 1955, the Lord Bishop of Birmingham, Leonard Wilson, consecrated the church. This was followed by a visit by Queen Elizabeth II two days later. Nikolaus Pevsner, an architect and writer, disapproved of the building calling it "a very ugly church". [3]
Shard End Library opened in 1967 and was the first in Birmingham to use plastic membership cards instead of the traditional cardboard tickets. Some of the housing deteriorated in later years, but has improved as tenants have bought their homes.
After the estate of the 1940s had been constructed, a large swathe of green land remained along the River Cole valley, this was called 'The cow fields' and in the early 1950s local people - particularly at the 'Bailey bridge' end of Shard End Crescent - would have cows grazing on the fields there. This rare open space in a city provided valuable recreation space for the new and young population of Shard End.
During the late 1970s, however, this tract of land was almost completely built upon and the area lost much of its charm. Since the building of this development, and a sharp decline in employment levels during the 1980s, Shard End has seen a marked increase in the problems typical of urban areas in large cities.
All Saints Church (Anglican) is situated in Coneyford Road. It was opened by the Queen in 1955. It has the distinction of being the first Church of England church to be built and consecrated after the war, anywhere in the country. There is also a Methodist and a Baptist church.
Shard End has its own community Centre on Packington Avenue, on the opposite side of the road to the Police Station. At one time, this station had the largest meeting room in the police sub division. There is a shopping area, crown post office and surgery on Shard End Crescent. Cole Hall Farm was derelict for a number of years but has now been converted into a pub. There are four primary and two secondary schools.
The River Cole, a tributary of the River Tame, runs through Shard End, into Kingshurst. It forms the heart of the Kingfisher Country Park.
The local library hosts the Shard End Local History Group once every month.
In January 2005, work on replacing a derelict petrol station with a community centre began. The building is a result of a partnership between Birmingham City Council and GOWM. Thomas Vale Construction are building the community centre. [4]
In January 2013, work was completed on All Saints Square aiming to improve a deprived area of the city, housing a new Library, Birmingham City Council office and Shard End Post Office, alongside a number of other businesses. The development includes a large onsite car park with local bus services running through the area.
The project included the construction of a number of new homes and apartments undertaken in partnership with Barratt Developments and Greswoulde construction.
75.6% of Shard End voters chose to Leave during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. This was the highest of any ward in Birmingham.
According to the 2001 Population Census there were 23,154 people living in Shard End with a population density of 3,817 people per km2 compared with 3,649 people per km2 for Birmingham. The area is not an ethnically diverse community with ethnic minorities representing 7.9% (1,820) of the ward's population compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general.
The area is served by Lea Hall railway station on the Coventry to Birmingham New Street line with occasional services to Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley. It is served by the number 95 bus route.
Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra grew up in a council house at 368 Shard End Crescent in Shard End. [5] The lyrics to the ELO song "All Over the World" mention Shard End along with cities like London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. Roger Taylor (drummer of Duran Duran) also lived at 350 Shard End Crescent until the age of 11 and attended Timberley Lane School. The author and artist Geoff Bunn also grew up in the area.
Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located 15.2 miles (24.5 km) east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient parish in the county of Essex that became the manor and liberty of Havering. The economic history of Hornchurch is underpinned by a shift away from agriculture to other industries with the growing significance of nearby Romford as a market town and centre of administration. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century, Hornchurch significantly expanded and increased in population, becoming an urban district in 1926 and has formed part of Greater London since 1965. It is the location of Queen's Theatre, Havering Sixth Form College and Havering College of Further and Higher Education.
Hall Green is an area in southeast Birmingham, England, synonymous with the B28 postcode. It is also a council constituency of Birmingham City Council, managed by its own district committee. Historically it lay within the county of Worcestershire. The 2001 Population Census found that there were 25,921 people living in Hall Green with a population density of 4,867 people per km2, this compares with 3,649 people per km2 for Birmingham.
Northfield is a residential area in outer south Birmingham, England, near the boundary with Worcestershire, which it was historically within. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the wards of Kings Norton, Longbridge, Weoley Castle and the smaller ward of Northfield that includes West Heath and Turves Green.
Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward within the Government of Birmingham, England. The district lies 6.5 miles south-southwest of Birmingham city centre and is within 1.5 miles of the north Worcestershire border. Kings Norton has been split into two wards, Kings Norton North and Kings Norton South.
Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire, it is located 5 miles (8 km) northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The former council district consisted of the ward of Erdington as well as Tyburn, Stockland Green and Kingstanding, although all of Kingstanding and most of both Tyburn and Stockland Green wards lie outside the historical boundaries of Erdington. Stockland Green was formerly part of Aston, Kingstanding part of Perry Barr, and Tyburn partially split between Aston and Hodge Hill. Erdington (ward) was part of the Sutton Coldfield constituency before 1974.
Acocks Green is a suburban area and ward of southeast Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family, who built a large house there in 1370. It is occasionally spelled "Acock's Green". It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.
Quinton is a suburb and ward of Birmingham, 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.
West Heath is a residential area of Birmingham, England on the boundary with Worcestershire. Forming the larger part of the ward of Longbridge And West Heath it is situated between Kings Norton, Northfield, Longbridge and Cofton Hackett and lies on traditional heathland formed in the 13th century as part of the Kings Norton manorial lands, and was historically in Worcestershire.
Castle Bromwich is a large suburban village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, England. It borders the rest of the borough to the south east, Sutton Coldfield to the east and north east, Shard End to the south west, Castle Vale, Erdington and Minworth to the north and Hodge Hill to the west.
Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was originally developed by the local council between 1933 and 1937 and included nearly 1,200 residences. Subsequently, the Swanborough flats were built in 1967, and in the 1970s and 1980s much of the estate was rebuilt by altering the road layouts and increasing the number of houses. Whitehawk is part of the East Brighton ward of Brighton and Hove City Council.
Walmley is a suburban village situated in the civil parish of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. It lies within the City of Birmingham on its northeastern outer fringe, where it forms part of the Sutton Walmley and Minworth electoral ward. It is in southern Sutton Coldfield, close to Minworth, Erdington, Wylde Green, Pype Hayes and south of Thimble End. It is approximately 7 miles (11.3 km) northeast of Birmingham City Centre. It is the main focus of the Sutton New Hall Birmingham City Council ward.
Firth Park ward—which includes the districts of Firth Park, Longley, Parson Cross and parts of Wincobank—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England located in the northern part of the city and covering an area of 1.66 square miles (4.3 km2). The population of this ward in 2011 was 21,141 people in 8,602 households.
Sutton New Hall is one of the 40 electoral wards in Birmingham, England and is named after New Hall, a medieval manor house.
Cranhill is an inner city district and housing scheme in the north east of Glasgow, Scotland. Cranhill was developed from public funding in the early 1950s and was originally, chiefly composed of four-storey tenement blocks surrounding a patch of grassland, which became Cranhill Park. Later development saw the building of three tower blocks, surrounded by rows of terraced maisonettes. In more recent years, a number of semi-detached and detached homes have been built. The area also hosts some shops, two primary schools and nurseries, a community centre and the Cranhill water tower.
Brickhill is a civil parish and electoral ward within northern Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.
Kingshurst is a post-war village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands, England. Historically part of the county of Warwickshire in the Meriden Rural District, It lies about 7 miles (11 km) north of Solihull town centre, 10 miles (16 km) east of Birmingham and 10 miles (16km) west of Coventry, it borders North Warwickshire to the east. The village is encompassed within the electoral ward Kingshurst & Fordbridge which had a population of 7,868 in the 2011 census.
Underwood is a settlement in the city of Newport, South East Wales. It is an early 1960s council housing estate that consists of houses, shops, a leisure centre, Baptist church and social club called "Iscoed Tavern" owned by the company red dragon pubs. There is a community centre which has a gym attached to it. The leisure centre is now up for sale.
Bransholme is an area and a housing estate on the north side of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The name Bransholme comes from an old Scandinavian word meaning Brand's water meadow.
Bromford, referred to locally as "the Bromford", is an industrial and residential area of Birmingham, situated between Ward End, Alum Rock, Hodge Hill, Washwood Heath, Shard End, Stechford, Castle Bromwich and Tyburn. The industrial area is predominantly situated on the north side of the M6 motorway, including The Bromford Gate industrial park, Fort Shopping Park, and Fort Dunlop, with one industrial site sitting east of the M6 called Bromford Central. The residential area sits adjacent to the East of the M6 comprising two neighbourhoods, Bromford built along Bromford Drive, and The Firs built along Chipperfield Road. The industrial and residential areas have increasingly become two separate distinguishable places, and not recognised locally as joined or one. This is signified by the M6 & River Tame dividing the two areas, poor public transport links between the two areas, and the areas sitting within three different local authority wards, and two parliamentary constituencies (industrial area situated within Birmingham Erdington and residential area situated within Birmingham Hodge Hill.
Sutton Walmley and Minworth is one of 69 electoral wards in Birmingham, England.