Whitacre Heath is a small village in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. It is one of 'The Whitacres' - Whitacre Heath, Nether Whitacre and Over Whitacre. Whitacre Heath is actually the heath of Nether Whitacre and not a separate parish. Whitacre Heath is newer and of 19th-century origin. It stems from the early days of railways in the 1830s, and from later developments by Joseph Chamberlain and the Water Department of the City of Birmingham. The Stonebridge Railway was opened on 12 August 1839 to provide a link between the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway (later the Midland Railway) and the London and Birmingham Railway at Hampton in Arden, via Stonebridge. The line became redundant in the 1930s and the track bed is now a footpath for walkers. There are Victorian brick buildings for the management of drinking water, at Whitacre water works, which were originally associated with public works by the City of Birmingham. The village is now largely residential and agricultural.
West of the village, land alongside the River Tame is a local nature reserve owned and managed by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. [1] The site lies on the river's flood plain and includes disused gravel workings. It is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its wetland breeding birds. [2]
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principle navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Its main line starts in London and ends in Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks. The main line has a number of short arms (branches) to places including Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover, and Northampton. A lengthy branch of the canal diverges to Leicester; the Leicester Line has two short arms of its own, to Market Harborough and Welford.
Tyseley is a district in the southern half of the city of Birmingham, England, near the Coventry Road and the districts of Acocks Green, Small Heath and Yardley. It is located near the Grand Union Canal.
The River Tame is a river in the West Midlands of England, and one of the principal tributaries of the River Trent. The Tame is about 95 km (59 mi) long from the source at Oldbury to its confluence with the Trent near Alrewas, but the main river length of the entire catchment, i.e. the Tame and its main tributaries, is about 285 km (177 mi).
North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Warwickshire, West Midlands, England. Outlying settlements in the borough include the two towns of Atherstone and Coleshill. Notable villages in the borough include Dordon, Polesworth, Kingsbury, Water Orton and Shustoke.
Hampton in Arden is a village and civil parish located in the Forest of Arden in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands of England. Hampton in Arden was part of Warwickshire until the 1974 boundary changes. It lies within the Meriden Gap area of countryside between Solihull and Coventry. Hampton in Arden is a typical Arden village, but is now very much an affluent commuter settlement for nearby Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry. In 1968 the central part of the village was designated a Conservation Area, which is an "area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance". Its population in the 2001 census was 1,787, increasing to 1,834 at the 2011 Census.
Coleshill is a market town in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England, taking its name from the River Cole, on which it stands. It had a population of 6,481 in the 2011 census and is situated 10 miles (16 km) east-northeast of Birmingham, 8.5 miles (13.7 km) southeast of Sutton Coldfield, 11 miles (18 km) south of Tamworth and 12.5 miles (20.1 km) northwest of Coventry by road.
Tyseley Locomotive Works, formerly the Birmingham Railway Museum, is the engineering arm of steam railtour promoter Vintage Trains based in Birmingham, England. It occupies part of the former Great Western Railway's Tyseley depot, built in 1908 to accommodate expanding operations in the West Midlands, particularly the opening of the North Warwickshire Line as a new main line from Birmingham to Bristol.
Kingsbury is a large village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 7,652.
Water Orton is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire borough of Warwickshire in the West Midlands, England near the River Tame. It is located between Castle Bromwich and Coleshill, and borders the West Midlands metropolitan county boundary to the north, west and south. At the census in 2001, the population was 3,573, falling to 3,444 at the 2011 Census.
The Stonebridge Railway was a railway line between Whitacre Junction and Hampton-in-Arden in Warwickshire, England, passing through Stonebridge. It had an intermediate station at Coleshill, which was renamed Maxstoke in 1923.
Maxstoke is a hamlet in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire, England.
Shustoke is a village in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 549. It is situated 2.5 miles northeast of Coleshill, 7.5 miles southwest of Atherstone, 9.5 miles east of Nuneaton and 12.5 miles east-northeast of Birmingham. It includes the sub-village of Church End half-a-mile to the east, where the parish church of Saint Cuthbert's is situated.
Nether Whitacre is a small village and larger rural civil parish in North Warwickshire, Warwickshire, England.
Hampton-in-Arden railway station serves the village of Hampton-in-Arden in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the West Coast Main Line between Coventry and Birmingham. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Trains.
Coleshill Parkway is a railway station at Hams Hall on the Birmingham to Peterborough railway line, serving Coleshill in Warwickshire, England. Sitting on the site of the former Coleshill station which closed in 1968, the current station was opened in 2007, it is owned by Network Rail and managed by West Midlands Trains train operating company (TOC); all rail services are operated by CrossCountry.
The Warwickshire Cricket League is the biggest cricket league for clubs in Warwickshire. Its origins go back to 1989, and since 1998 it has acted as a feeder league to the Birmingham and District Premier League Aston Manor in 2005, Berkswell in 2006, & Sutton Coldfield 2014 gained successive promotions from Birmingham League Division Three the following season. Stratford CC are the current champions.
Furnace End is a large hamlet in the civil parish of Over Whitacre, and in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. It is on the B4114 where the road intersects with the B4098 approximately midway between the market towns of Coleshill and Atherstone. The hamlet is believed to have acquired its name because of the iron smelting furnaces located there, which were owned by the Jennens family of nearby Nether Whitacre. Population statistics are part of Over Whitacre parish. Nearby settlements include Whitacre Heath, Shustoke, Kingsbury and Fillongley.
Botts Green is a hamlet and green in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. It is located close to Whitacre Heath, Coleshill and Kingsbury. Population details can be found under Nether Whitacre. Botts Green Hall is a Grade II* listed jettied half-timbered building dating from 1593.
Earlswood Lakes is the modern name for three man-made reservoirs which were built in the 1820s at Earlswood in Warwickshire, England, to supply water to the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. They still supply the canal, and also provide leisure facilities, including sailing, fishing and walking. The northern banks of the lakes form the borough and county boundary with the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull and the West Midlands.
Stonebridge is a flyover–and–roundabout junction of the A45 and A452 roads in West Midlands, England. The A45 crosses the River Blythe at this point. Stonebridge lies on the former Welsh Road, a drover's road connecting North Wales to South East England; parts of the A452 roughly follow the Welsh Road. The A45 is the primary east–west connecting road between Coventry and Birmingham. It seems possible that Stonebridge, as the crossing-point of two historic major roads, was formerly an inhabited place, of which little or no trace now remains. The former Stonebridge Railway ran via Stonebridge, though there was apparently no station there. Stonebridge road junction was planned to be modernised in the first half of 2016, at a cost of £500,000. Stonebridge Highway is the official name for a section of the A45 where it nowadays bypasses Coventry to the south.