194-464: 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
388-510: A Eurostat measure of the functional city-region approximated to local government districts, had a population of 2,357,100 in 2004. In addition to Birmingham itself, the LUZ ( West Midlands conurbation ) includes the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley , Sandwell , Solihull and Walsall , along with the districts of Lichfield , Tamworth , North Warwickshire and Bromsgrove . Beyond this is
582-472: A Lord Mayoralty was conferred on Birmingham by Letters Patent on 3 June 1896. Birmingham's ten parliamentary constituencies are represented in the House of Commons as of 2024 by one Conservative , one independent and eight Labour MPs . Originally part of Warwickshire , Birmingham expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, absorbing parts of Worcestershire to the south and Staffordshire to
776-542: A conurbation with the borough of Solihull to the south east, and with the city of Wolverhampton and the industrial towns of the Black Country to the north west, which form the West Midlands Built-up Area covering 59,972 ha (600 km ; 232 sq mi). Surrounding this is Birmingham's metropolitan area – the area to which it is closely economically tied through commuting – which includes
970-512: A Gothic style associated with Chamberlain. It appears as a tall version of a French Gothic Chapel. The former Bristol Road trams were replaced with buses in 1952. The original tram sheds were demolished around 2005 to make way for flats, and Selly Oak bus garage closed as an operational garage in 1986 but continued as a vehicle store for West Midlands Travel . It was converted into a self-storage depot around 1990. The majority of bus services are operated by National Express West Midlands including
1164-629: A Rural District Council which quickly changed to King’s Norton and Northfield Urban District Council in 1898. The opportunity to form an independent Borough was resisted in favour of unity with Birmingham City Council. In 1911 the area administered by Birmingham was almost trebled by a further extension of its boundaries under the Greater Birmingham Act. Previous extensions in 1889, 1891, and 1911 had seen Birmingham grow from 2,996 acres to 13,478 acres. Balsall Heath (1891) and Quinton (1909) were both transferred from Worcestershire, while Harborne
1358-410: A Section 114 notice to say that it could not meet its financial commitments. Effectively this meant the council was bankrupt. A major contributing factor is a £1.1b sum that has been paid out since 2010, for equal pay claims. There is still a bill for £760m, increasing by £14m a month. There are also problems with a new IT system that was projected to cost £19m but is now closer to £100m. In addition there
1552-481: A baron's possessions; and it also showed to what extent he had under-tenants and the identities of the under-tenants. This was of great importance to William, not only for military reasons but also because of his resolve to command the personal loyalty of the under-tenants (though the "men" of their lords) by making them swear allegiance to him. As Domesday Book normally records only the Christian name of an under-tenant, it
1746-692: A branch called the Hadyn Way that passed through Stirchley and Lifford to Alcester. The road kept to the west of Birmingham to avoid the swamps and marshes along the course of the River Rea. The second road is generally called the Upper Saltway running north from Droitwich Spa to the Lincolnshire coast. Its route is uncertain but is generally believed to follow the line of the A38. Droitwich and Alcester were connected by
1940-491: A broader range of specialist, higher-skilled and more lucrative activities. By the time of the English Civil War Birmingham's booming economy, its expanding population, and its resulting high levels of social mobility and cultural pluralism , had seen it develop new social structures very different from those of more established areas. Relationships were built around pragmatic commercial linkages rather than
2134-562: A century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years. The principal governing institutions of medieval Birmingham – including the Guild of the Holy Cross and the lordship of the de Birmingham family – collapsed between 1536 and 1547, leaving
SECTION 10
#17328446589752328-534: A considerable urban heat island effect. During the coldest night recorded, 14 January 1982, the temperature fell to −20.8 °C (−5.4 °F) at Birmingham Airport, but just −14.3 °C (6.3 °F) at Edgbaston, near the city centre. Birmingham is a snowy city relative to other large UK conurbations, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation. Between 1961 and 1990 Birmingham Airport averaged 13.0 days of snow lying annually, compared to 5.33 at London Heathrow . Snow showers often pass through
2522-506: A constantly diversifying range of products, in a highly entrepreneurial economy of small, often self-owned workshops. This led to exceptional levels of inventiveness: between 1760 and 1850 – the core years of the Industrial Revolution – Birmingham residents registered over three times as many patents as those of any other British town or city. The demand for capital to feed rapid economic expansion also saw Birmingham grow into
2716-415: A definitive reference point as to property holdings across the nation, in case such evidence was needed in disputes over Crown ownership. The Domesday survey, therefore, recorded the names of the new holders of lands and the assessments on which their tax was to be paid. But it did more than this; by the king's instructions, it endeavoured to make a national valuation list, estimating the annual value of all
2910-685: A direct route to Birmingham’s first gasworks opened in 1818 at the terminus of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal . They represent one of the earliest industries established in Selly Oak area which are associated with the Industrial Revolution . This is early evidence of a large scale industrial process taking place in Selly Oak and of great significance for Birmingham. They are the only ones of their type excavated in Birmingham. Other items found during
3104-525: A fee in Northfield which was held by John de Middleton. At the time of the Domesday survey in 1086 Birmingham was a manor in Warwickshire with less than 3,000 acres. The current Birmingham Historic Landscape Characterisation project covers a total area of 26,798 ha (66,219 acres). Birmingham developed in the hinterland of three counties – Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire. Nearly 50% of this territory
3298-472: A gold aureus of Vespasian minted at Tarraco in the last quarter of the year 70AD (MBM983); Stocks Wood irregular Earthwork (MBM1944); Tiverton Road Roman Coins – denarii (MBM2067); Weoley Castle Roman Coin of Antoninianus (MBM1016); Woodgate Valley Roman coin of Trajan (MBM1013). There are two entries in Domesday Book for Selly Oak (Escelie). The first entry for Selly Oak records a nuncupative (oral) will and
3492-512: A great political convulsion such as the Norman Conquest, and the following wholesale confiscation of landed estates, William needed to reassert that the rights of the Crown, which he claimed to have inherited, had not suffered in the process. His Norman followers tended to evade the liabilities of their English predecessors. Historians believe the survey was to aid William in establishing certainty and
3686-577: A great thegn, the son of Wigod, and the grandson of Woolgeat, the Danish Earl of Warwick. His mother was the sister of Leofric III, Earl of Mercia. The possessions that came to him by the Dano-Saxon marriage of his parents seem to have been rather extensive. In King Edward the Confessor’s time Wulfwin (also referred to as Alwyne and Ulwin) was sheriff and through his son Turchill, who came to be Earl of Warwick,
3880-576: A haven for Nonconformists from the 1660s. By 1700 Birmingham's population had increased fifteen-fold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the cultural phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment . The town developed into a notable centre of literary , musical , artistic and theatrical activity; and its leading citizens – particularly
4074-612: A major financial centre with extensive international connections. Lloyds Bank was founded in the town in 1765, and Ketley's Building Society , the world's first building society , in 1775. By 1800 the West Midlands had more banking offices per head than any other region in Britain, including London. Innovation in 18th-century Birmingham often took the form of incremental series of small-scale improvements to existing products or processes, but also included major developments that lay at
SECTION 20
#17328446589754268-565: A mill for every forty-six peasant households and implies a great increase in the consumption of baked bread in place of boiled and unground porridge . The book also lists 28,000 slaves , a smaller number than had been enumerated in 1066. In the Domesday Book, scribes' orthography was heavily geared towards French, most lacking k and w, regulated forms for sounds / ð / and / θ / and ending many hard consonant words with e as they were accustomed to do with most dialects of French at
4462-519: A moderate expense, might be rendered a desirable residence, being within a convenient distance from the Birmingham and Worcester Turnpike Road, and not, intersected by any public carriage road, and affording every facility for the preservation of game. Many of the other Lots adjoin the Turnpike Road, and are very eligible as building ground, and the whole Estate is well circumstanced with regard to roads and navigable canals. The whole of this property, with
4656-493: A population density of 4,236 people per km compared with 3,649 people per km for Birmingham. It had 15.9% of the population consisting of ethnic minorities compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general. As the University of Birmingham is nearby, there are many students in the area. Selly Oak is recorded in the Domesday Book as Escelie. The name Selly is derived from variants of "scelf-lei" or shelf-meadow, that is, pasture land on
4850-521: A record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak , two tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in Erdington and Selly Oak – with six tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider West Midlands county. More recently, a destructive T6/F3 tornado occurred in July 2005 in the south of the city, damaging homes and businesses in the area. The tornado took an almost parallel path to that of
5044-522: A rocky outcrop between Jervoise Road and Alwold Road from which the stone was cut. a further point for consideration is that Great Ley Hill was included among the lots for sale. Five of the fields were called: 370 Round Wheely, 371 Round Wheeley, 372 Long Wheeley, 1114 Middle Wheely, and 1115 Long Wheely. Fernando Smith, who owned 123 acres, was an heir of the Barony of Dudley had it not gone into abeyance. The parishes of Northfield and King’s Norton joined to form
5238-495: A seventh circuit for the Little Domesday shires). Three sources discuss the goal of the survey : After this had the king a large meeting, and very deep consultation with his council, about this land; how it was occupied, and by what sort of men. Then sent he his men over all England into each shire; commissioning them to find out 'How many hundreds of hides were in the shire, what land the king himself had, and what stock upon
5432-505: A shared ancestor, or a mythical tribal figurehead. Place names ending in -ingahām are characteristic of primary settlements established during the early phases of Anglo-Saxon colonisation of an area, suggesting that Birmingham was probably in existence by the early 7th century at the latest. Surrounding settlements with names ending in -tūn ('farm'), -lēah ('woodland clearing'), -worð ('enclosure') and -field ('open ground') are likely to be secondary settlements created by
5626-675: A shelf or terrace of land, probably the glacial deposits formed after the creation and later dispersal of Lake Harrison during the Quaternary period. Another source for the name comes from the Old English 'sele' meaning a building, or a hall. A small pit recorded in a service trench near Bournville Lane, Selly Oak produced the oldest pottery found in Birmingham so far. Twenty eight sherds, representing about five different vessels, in decorated Grooved Ware pottery of Late Neolithic date, were recovered. The Bronze Age pit found immediately adjacent to
5820-492: A single black box later described by an official American historian as "the most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores". The city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s. This included the construction of large tower block estates, such as Castle Vale . The Bull Ring was reconstructed and New Street station was redeveloped. In the decades following World War II, the ethnic makeup of Birmingham changed significantly, as it received waves of immigration from
6014-463: A single block on James Whitehouse’s Wharfs on the Worcester to Birmingham canal. There was some rebuilding during the 1850s and they were redundant by the 1870s. The two eastern kilns were truncated by the railway. Older kilns may be buried beneath those that were excavated. The block of kilns would have dominated the landscape at the time and were designed to satisfy an obviously large demand. They were on
Selly Oak - Misplaced Pages Continue
6208-562: A stone, and William of Picardy, and many others." Successors to the Barony included the Paganel and Somery families. In 1322 when John de Somery died the barony was divided between his two sisters Margaret de Sutton and Joan de Botetourt. Joan Botetourt was awarded a twenty-third of a knights fee in Selley which was held by Geoffrey de Selley who also held Bernak in Northamptonshire, and a quarter of
6402-402: A subject of historical debate. Sir Michael Postan , for instance, contends that these may not represent all rural households, but only full peasant tenancies, thus excluding landless men and some subtenants (potentially a third of the country's population). H. C. Darby , when factoring in the excluded households and using various different criteria for those excluded (as well as varying sizes for
6596-534: A time after the Great Fire of London . From the 1740s onwards, they were held, with other Exchequer records, in the chapter house of Westminster Abbey . In 1859, they were transferred to the new Public Record Office , London. They are now held at the National Archives at Kew. The chest in which they were stowed in the 17th and 18th centuries is also at Kew. In modern times, the books have been removed from
6790-520: A time-frame for the establishment of the Parish of Northfield. Two tornadoes touched down in Birmingham on 23 November 1981 as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day. The second tornado, rated as an F1/T2 tornado, touched down in Selly Oak at about 14:00 local time, causing some damage across the southern suburbs of Birmingham. In the late 20th century a road-widening scheme for
6984-538: A tourist attraction in the early 1900s. Birmingham has a temperate maritime climate ( Cfb according to the Köppen climate classification ), like much of the British Isles, with average maximum temperatures in summer (July) being around 21.3 °C (70.3 °F); and in winter (January) around 6.7 °C (44.1 °F). Between 1971 and 2000 the warmest day of the year on average was 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) and
7178-536: A town, where separately-recorded properties had been demolished to make way for a castle. Early British authors thought that the motivation behind the Survey was to put into William's power the lands, so that all private property in land came only from the grant of King William, by lawful forfeiture. The use of the word antecessor in the Domesday Book is used for the former holders of the lands under Edward , and who had been dispossessed by their new owners. Domesday Book
7372-529: Is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England . It is the second-largest city in Britain – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom – with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper . Birmingham borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Dudley and Solihull , forms
7566-403: Is a major international commercial centre and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub. Its metropolitan economy is the second-largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $ 121.1bn (2014 ). Its five universities, including the University of Birmingham , make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham's major cultural institutions –
7760-564: Is a projected £87m deficit for the financial year 23/24. Birmingham City Council has 101 councillors representing 77 wards as of 2018. Its headquarters are at the Council House in Victoria Square . As of 2023 , the council has a Labour Party majority and is led by John Cotton. Labour replaced the previous no overall control status at the May 2012 elections. The honour and dignity of
7954-478: Is complicated by the fact that separate figures were not given for Harborne , Yardley , and King’s Norton which were all attached to manors outside the area. The Birmingham Plateau had about 26 Domesday Book manors, a population of close to 2,000, with seven mills, and three priests. The earliest Tax Roll for Selly Oak was the Lechmere Roll of 1276–1282. Selleye (Selly Oak) and Weleye (Weoley) were separate from
Selly Oak - Misplaced Pages Continue
8148-401: Is devoted to the somewhat arid details of the assessment and valuation of rural estates, which were as yet the only important source of national wealth. After stating the assessment of the manor , the record sets forth the amount of arable land , and the number of plough teams (each reckoned at eight oxen) available for working it, with the additional number (if any) that might be employed; then
8342-458: Is examined more closely, perplexities and difficulties arise." One problem is that the clerks who compiled this document "were but human; they were frequently forgetful or confused." The use of Roman numerals also led to countless mistakes. Darby states, "Anyone who attempts an arithmetical exercise in Roman numerals soon sees something of the difficulties that faced the clerks." But more important are
8536-489: Is held as two manors. The second entry also shows that Wibert had been replaced as sub-tenant by Robert suggesting the challenge may have been partially successful. The Bishop of Chester owned Lichfield and its members. These include Harborne, in Staffordshire until 1891, which was held by Robert. Wulfwin owned several manors which indicates he was wealthy and important, possibly an aristocrat. Indeed, he has been described as
8730-702: Is located in the centre of the West Midlands region of England on the Birmingham Plateau – an area of relatively high ground, ranging between 500 and 1,000 feet (150 and 300 metres) above sea level and crossed by Britain's main north–south watershed between the basins of the Rivers Severn and Trent . To the immediate south west of the city lie the Lickey Hills , Clent Hills and Walton Hill , which reach 1,033 feet (315 m) and have extensive views over
8924-548: Is not possible to search for the surnames of families claiming a Norman origin. Scholars, however, have worked to identify the under-tenants, most of whom have foreign Christian names. The survey provided the King with information on potential sources of funds when he needed to raise money. It includes sources of income but not expenses, such as castles, unless they needed to be included to explain discrepancies between pre-and post-Conquest holdings of individuals. Typically, this happened in
9118-522: Is now the Bristol Road (A38) and the Northfield to Wootton Wawen turnpike road which runs southwards down Church Hill, past Turves Green and West Heath until it joins the Alvechurch Road (A441). As this was also a direct route to Evesham it may have been a medieval, if not older, route. The map shows two mills, Northfield (Digbeth) and Wychall which would fit with the description of Weley Manor on
9312-506: Is of great illustrative importance. The Inquisitio Eliensis is a record of the lands of Ely Abbey . The Exon Domesday (named because the volume was held at Exeter ) covers Cornwall , Devon, Dorset , Somerset, and one manor of Wiltshire . Parts of Devon, Dorset, and Somerset are also missing. Otherwise, this contains the full details supplied by the original returns. Through comparison of what details are recorded in which counties, six Great Domesday "circuits" can be determined (plus
9506-623: Is out of conventional order. Wulfwin had leased the manor for the term of three lives and the newly appointed Bishop of Lichfield , Robert de Limesey, used the will to challenge the loss of his land. "Wulfwin bought this manor before 1066 from the Bishop of Chester , for the lives of three men. When he was ailing and had come to the end of his life, he summoned his son, the Bishop of Li (chfield?), his wife and many of his friends and said: 'Hear me, my friends, I desire that my wife hold this land which I bought from
9700-501: Is particularly a large community of Asian descent, especially from Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi backgrounds, as well as Afro-Caribbeans from the Commonwealth , and a solid Chinese presence through migrants from the former colony of Hong Kong . Birmingham also has an older Irish connection, with the city having the largest population of Irish in mainland Britain and home to its only Irish quarter, Digbeth . In Birmingham, 65.9% of
9894-536: Is the history of the schools in Selly Oak Ward taken from the Victoria County History that was published in 1964 and accordingly the information requires updating. St Edwards RC Primary School , Elmdon Road: The school opened 1874 as St Paul’s RC School, in new buildings with one schoolroom and one classroom. It moved into new buildings in 1895 and the name changed to St Edwards RC School. A new schoolroom
SECTION 50
#173284465897510088-470: Is the oldest 'public record' in England and probably the most remarkable statistical document in the history of Europe. The continent has no document to compare with this detailed description covering so great a stretch of territory. And the geographer, as he turns over the folios, with their details of population and of arable, woodland, meadow and other resources, cannot but be excited at the vast amount of information that passes before his eyes. The author of
10282-415: Is without foundation, and is likely to have arisen as a means of explaining what may have been a variant and local pronunciation of the name as 'Sally' Oak. Indeed, the name is actually recorded as Sally Oak on a canal map produced by John Snape in 1789. In March 1985, a 'new' Selly Oak was planted by local Councillors on the north side of Bristol Road on the small triangle of land between Harborne Lane and
10476-757: The Anglican Diocese of Birmingham was created in 1905. There are two other cathedrals: St Chad's , seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew . The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands is also based at Birmingham, with a cathedral under construction. The original parish church of Birmingham, St Martin in
10670-500: The Birmingham New Street , Lichfield Trent Valley , Redditch and Bromsgrove stations. The Oak element of the name Selly Oak comes from a prominent oak tree that formerly stood at the crossroads of the Bristol Road and Oak Tree Lane/Harborne Lane. The original spot is still commemorated by an old Victorian street sign above one of the shops on the north-side of Oak Tree Lane, which declares it to be "Oak Tree Place" and has
10864-661: The Birmingham Political Union bringing the country to the brink of civil war during the Days of May that preceded the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832. The Union's meetings on Newhall Hill in 1831 and 1832 were the largest political assemblies Britain had ever seen. Lord Durham , who drafted the Act, wrote that "the country owed Reform to Birmingham, and its salvation from revolution". This reputation for having "shaken
11058-469: The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra , Birmingham Royal Ballet , Birmingham Repertory Theatre , Library of Birmingham and Barber Institute of Fine Arts – enjoy international reputations, and the city has vibrant and influential grassroots art , music , literary and culinary scenes. Birmingham was the host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games . In 2021, Birmingham was the third most visited city in
11252-514: The Commonwealth of Nations and beyond. The city's population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents. 21 people were killed and 182 were injured in a series of bomb attacks in 1974, thought to be carried out by the Provisional IRA . The bombings were the worst terror attacks in England up until the 2005 London bombings and consisted of bombs being planted in two pubs in central Birmingham. Six men were convicted , who became known later as
11446-511: The Dudley No. 2 Canal through the former Birmingham Battery and Metal Company site, as part of a long-term plan to re-establish the canal route to Halesowen and the Black Country . The Birmingham West Suburban Railway agreed a land rental deal with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal to allow construction which was authorised in 1871, and opened as a single line track in 1876 from Granville Street to Lifford. The Birmingham West Suburban Railway
11640-625: The Frisch–Peierls memorandum of 1940, the same year that the cavity magnetron , the key component of radar and later of microwave ovens , was invented by John Randall and Henry Boot . Details of these two discoveries, together with an outline of the first jet engine invented by Frank Whittle in nearby Rugby , were taken to the United States by the Tizard Mission in September 1940, in
11834-622: The Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of King William the Conqueror . The manuscript was originally known by the Latin name Liber de Wintonia , meaning "Book of Winchester ", where it was originally kept in the royal treasury. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that in 1085
SECTION 60
#173284465897512028-750: The Sainsbury's site, following road improvements to the junction. A second 'new' Selly Oak was planted in October 2000 at Bentella's Corner on the south side of Bristol Road, on the opposite side of Oak Tree Lane to the original site. In addition, there may also have been a third planting of yet another 'new' Selly Oak, next to the extension to Sainsbury's car park, after the demolition of The Great Oak pub in 1993. All of these Oaks are still growing. Schools include Selly Oak School, Selly Park Girls Technology College, St Edwards RC, Raddlebarn Primary & Nursery, Tiverton Road, and St Mary's C of E Primary School. The following
12222-537: The Soho Manufactory , pioneering the combination and mechanisation under one roof of previously separate manufacturing activities through a system known as "rational manufacture". As the largest manufacturing unit in Europe, this came to symbolise the emergence of the factory system . Most significant, however, was the development in 1776 of the industrial steam engine by James Watt and Matthew Boulton. Freeing for
12416-458: The United Kingdom . Domesday Book encompasses two independent works (originally in two physical volumes): "Little Domesday" (covering Norfolk , Suffolk , and Essex ), and "Great Domesday" (covering much of the remainder of England – except for lands in the north that later became Westmorland , Cumberland , Northumberland , and the County Palatine of Durham – and parts of Wales bordering and included within English counties). Space
12610-405: The Victorian era , the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was granted city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria . Joseph Chamberlain , mayor of Birmingham and later an MP, and his son Neville Chamberlain , who was Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later the British Prime Minister, are two of
12804-405: The West Midlands conurbation . The royal town of Sutton Coldfield is incorporated within the city limits to the northeast. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million, making it the largest outside London. Located in the West Midlands region of England, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands . It is just west of
12998-414: The geld , and the framework for Domesday Book was geld assessment lists. "Little Domesday", so named because its format is physically smaller than its companion's, is more detailed than Great Domesday. In particular, it includes the numbers of livestock on the home farms ( demesnes ) of lords, but not peasant livestock. It represents an earlier stage in processing the results of the Domesday Survey before
13192-420: The hundred or wapentake in which they lay, hundreds (wapentakes in eastern England) being the second tier of local government within the counties. Each county's list opened with the king's demesne, which had possibly been the subject of separate inquiry. Under the feudal system, the king was the only true "owner" of land in England by virtue of his allodial title . He was thus the ultimate overlord, and even
13386-450: The military service due, markets, mints , and so forth. From the towns, from the counties as wholes, and from many of its ancient lordships, the crown was entitled to archaic dues in kind, such as honey . The Domesday Book lists 5,624 mills in the country, which is considered a low estimate since the book is incomplete. For comparison, fewer than 100 mills were recorded in the country a century earlier. Georges Duby indicates this means
13580-450: The 112-mile (180 km) London and Birmingham Railway of 1838. Birmingham schoolteacher Rowland Hill invented the postage stamp and created the first modern universal postal system in 1839. Alexander Parkes invented the first human-made plastic in the Jewellery Quarter in 1855. By the 1820s, the country's extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources and fuel for industries. During
13774-445: The 11A/11C Outer Circle. First Midland Red operated service 144 between Birmingham and Worcester via Bromsgrove . First curtailed service 144 at Catshill from 1 May 2022 due to low passenger numbers. 2015 was the bi-centenary of the opening of the Worcester and Birmingham canal (1815–2015). This connected Birmingham to Worcester and the River Severn, and then to Gloucester with its International trade routes. The speed with which
13968-454: The 1931 tornado. Notable tornadoes have also struck the city in 1923, 1946, 1951, 1998 and 1999, most of which being of T2-T4/F1-F2 intensity. There are 571 parks within Birmingham – more than any other European city – totalling over 3,500 hectares (14 sq mi) of public open space. The city has over six million trees, and 250 miles (400 kilometres) of urban brooks and streams. Sutton Park , which covers 2,400 acres (971 ha) in
14162-776: The 19th century. They were held originally in various offices of the Exchequer : the Chapel of the Pyx of Westminster Abbey ; the Treasury of Receipts; and the Tally Court. However, on several occasions they were taken around the country with the Chancellor of the Exchequer: to York and Lincoln in 1300, to York in 1303 and 1319, to Hertford in the 1580s or 1590s, and to Nonsuch Palace , Surrey, in 1666 for
14356-403: The 2001, 2011, and 2021 censuses, the proportion of Christians in Birmingham decreased from 59.1% to 46.1% to 34%, while the proportion of Muslims increased from 14.3% to 21.8% to 29.9% and the proportion of people with no religious affiliation increased from 12.4% to 19.3% to 24.1%. All other religions remained proportionately similar. St Philip's Cathedral was upgraded from church status when
14550-502: The 900th anniversary of the original Domesday Book. In August 2006, the contents of Domesday went online, with an English translation of the book's Latin. Visitors to the website are able to look up a place name and see the index entry made for the manor, town, city or village. They can also, for a fee, download the relevant page. In the Middle Ages, the Book's evidence was frequently invoked in
14744-712: The Ardens and the Bracebridges trace their descent from the Old Saxon kings. One of the purposes of Domesday Book was to provide a written statement of the legal owners (Sub-tenants) and overlords (Barons) of the land in the reallocation of territories after the conquest. William Fitz-Ansculf , from Picquigny, Picardy in France, was assigned a Barony. He made his base at the Saxon, Earl Edwin’s, Dudley Castle . He and his successors were overlords of
14938-678: The Birmingham Extension Act, 1911". This has repeatedly been misread to exclude the whole of Bartley Green from incorporation into Birmingham. The three Domesday Book manors of Northfield, Selly Oak and its outlier Bartley Green formed the Parish of Northfield in Worcestershire. The Domesday Book manor of Northfield was not coterminous with the later parish of Northfield. Unfortunately there has been some confusion between manor and parish . As this has had an adverse impact on Selly Oak, and also Bartley Green, it seems advisable to identify
15132-536: The Birmingham Six and sentenced to life imprisonment, who were acquitted after 16 years by the Court of Appeal . The convictions are now considered one of the worst British miscarriages of justice in recent times. The true perpetrators of the attacks are yet to be arrested. Birmingham remained by far Britain's most prosperous provincial city as late as the 1970s, with household incomes exceeding even those of London and
15326-471: The Borough was divided into 13 wards. William Scholefield became the first Mayor and William Redfern was appointed as Town Clerk. Birmingham Town Police were established the following year. Birmingham's tradition of innovation continued into the 19th century. Birmingham was the terminus for both of the world's first two long-distance railway lines: the 82-mile (132 km) Grand Junction Railway of 1837 and
15520-521: The Bristol Road (A38) was carried out. Many historic buildings, including the offices of Birmingham Battery and Metal Company and the Westley Richards Gun Factory, were demolished. However, plans for a major regeneration of the area were confirmed in 2005 and a new 1.5 km stretch of road was opened in August 2011 to access the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham . The work has involved
15714-481: The Bristol Road is a tall, enigmatic listed building. Selly Oak Well and pumping Station was built by the Birmingham Corporation Water Department in the 1870s but was not formally opened until July 1879 by Joseph Chamberlain . The well was 12 feet in diameter and with a total depth of 300 feet. It has a solid casing of masonry 14 inches thick extending 80 feet from the surface. The engine beam
15908-652: The Bull Ring , is Grade II* listed . A short distance from Five Ways the Birmingham Oratory was completed in 1910 on the site of Cardinal Newman 's original foundation. There are several Christadelphian meeting halls in the city and the Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Group has its headquarters in Hall Green . Domesday Book Domesday Book ( / ˈ d uː m z d eɪ / DOOMZ -day ;
16102-513: The Court at Windsor held on 7 June 1862 set the boundary as follows: "All that part of the parish of Northfield, in the County of Worcester, wherein the present incumbent of such parish now possesses the exclusive cure of souls, which is situate to the north-east of an imaginary line commencing upon the boundary dividing the said parish of Northfield from the parish of Harborne, in the county of Stafford, and in
16296-628: The Infants department. Selly Oak School was used for junior girls and Infants. Bournbrook School was used for boys with accommodation for 200 boys provided at the Bournbrook Technical Institute from 1901 to 1903. The original school was on the Bristol Road between Frederick Road and Harborne Lane. It was rebuilt on Lodge Hill Road and the old building was demolished in order to widen the road. Birmingham Birmingham ( / ˈ b ɜːr m ɪ ŋ ə m / BUR -ming-əm )
16490-690: The London area only rarely. In 1861–1863, they were sent to Southampton for photozincographic reproduction . In 1918–19, prompted by the threat of German bombing during the First World War , they were evacuated (with other Public Record Office documents) to Bodmin Prison , Cornwall. Likewise, in 1939–1945, during the Second World War , they were evacuated to Shepton Mallet Prison , Somerset. The volumes have been rebound on several occasions. Little Domesday
16684-552: The Lots will comprise the extensive Manor of Northfield and Weoley, with several eligible Farms, containing together about 1200 acres, principally tithe free, lying within a ring fence, and let to respectable tenants, at moderate rents. This Lot is very eligible for the investment of capital, or might suit any Gentleman desirous of residing on his own estate, there being on one of the Farms a very commodious House, with suitable outbuildings, which, at
16878-769: The Lower Saltway. Wall was previously a Roman centre named Letocetum and it was near here that Ryknield (Icknield) Street crossed Watling Street, now the A5, which ran north-west from London to Wroxeter. The Staffordshire Hoard was found near here within a triangle of roads from the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods that cannot all be dated. Possible evidence of Roman remains exist in the place names of Stirchley (formerly Stretley and Strutley) Street; Moor Street, near Woodgate Valley in Bartley Green; and Street Farm in Northfield where two Turnpike Roads met. Evidence of Roman activity through finds in
17072-486: The Open Domesday site made the manuscript available online. The book is an invaluable primary source for modern historians and historical economists . No survey approaching the scope and extent of Domesday Book was attempted again in Britain until the 1873 Return of Owners of Land (sometimes termed the "Modern Domesday") which presented the first complete, post-Domesday picture of the distribution of landed property in
17266-553: The Rivers Tame, Rea and Cole and their tributaries. To the north and west of the fault, between 150 and 600 feet (46 and 183 metres) higher than the surrounding area and underlying much of the city centre, lies a long ridge of harder Keuper Sandstone . The bedrock underlying Birmingham was mostly laid down during the Permian and Triassic periods. The area has evidence of glacial deposits , with prominent erratic boulders becoming
17460-550: The Sheriff had one hundred and seventy-six manors in Devon and four nearby in Somerset and Dorset . Tenants-in-chief held variable proportions of their manors in demesne , and had subinfeudated to others, whether their own knights (often tenants from Normandy), other tenants-in-chief of their own rank, or members of local English families. Manors were generally listed within each chapter by
17654-469: The South East, but its economic diversity and capacity for regeneration declined in the decades that followed World War II as Central Government sought to restrict the city's growth and disperse industry and population to the stagnating areas of Wales and Northern England . These measures hindered "the natural self-regeneration of businesses in Birmingham, leaving it top-heavy with the old and infirm", and
17848-621: The UK by people from foreign nations. The name Birmingham comes from the Old English Beormingahām , meaning the home or settlement of the Beormingas – a tribe or clan whose name means 'Beorma's people' and which may have formed an early unit of Anglo-Saxon administration. Beorma , after whom the tribe was named, could have been its leader at the time of the Anglo-Saxon settlement,
18042-456: The Urban District of King’s Norton and Northfield". The portion not included in the transfer to Birmingham was transferred to Illey not Lapal. The online version of the transfer states: "The parish of Northfield is situated on the northern border of the county, but with the exception of the Bartley Green area, which was annexed to Lapal, Northfield was incorporated in the city of Birmingham by
18236-542: The Wake Green football club; Bartley and Frankley reservoirs; and Handsworth cemetery with surrounding golf courses. Birmingham has many areas of wildlife that lie in both informal settings such as the Project Kingfisher and Woodgate Valley Country Park and in a selection of parks such as Lickey Hills Country Park , Pype Hayes Park & Newhall Valley, Handsworth Park , Kings Heath Park , and Cannon Hill Park ,
18430-624: The Welsh capital Cardiff , 45 miles (72 km) south-west of Nottingham , 70 miles (110 km) south of Manchester , and 75 miles (121 km) north-north-east of Bristol . Much of the area now occupied by the city was originally a northern reach of the ancient Forest of Arden and the city remains relatively densely covered by oak in a large number of districts such as Moseley , Saltley , Yardley , Stirchley and Hockley . These places, with names ending in "-ley", deriving from Old English - lēah meaning "woodland clearing", are named after
18624-499: The age of 25 and the median age being 34 years of age, below the national average of 40. Religion in Birmingham (2021) Christianity is the largest religion within Birmingham, with 34% of residents identifying as Christians in the 2021 Census . The city's religious profile is highly diverse: outside London, Birmingham has the United Kingdom's largest Muslim , Sikh and Buddhist communities; its second largest Hindu community; and its seventh largest Jewish community. Between
18818-421: The alternative spelling "Domesdei" became popular for a while. The usual modern scholarly convention is to refer to the work as "Domesday Book" (or simply as "Domesday"), without a definite article. However, the form "the Domesday Book" is also found in both academic and non-academic contexts. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that planning for the survey was conducted in 1085, and the book's colophon states
19012-620: The area during the Bronze Age , when a substantial but short-lived influx of population occurred between 1700 BC and 1000 BC, possibly caused by conflict or immigration in the surrounding area. During the 1st-century Roman conquest of Britain , the forested country of the Birmingham Plateau formed a barrier to the advancing Roman legions, who built the large Metchley Fort in the area of modern-day Edgbaston in AD ;48, and made it
19206-588: The area include: Allens Croft Road/Brandwood Park Road Roman Coin (MBM981); Harborne Bridge, Roman Road (MBM1639); Hazelwell Street Roman Road (MBM1902); Icknield Street, Walkers Heath, Roman Road (B12227); Lodge Hill, coin of Gordian III: Roman (MBM1020); Longdales Road Roman Farmstead (B12342); Metchley Roman Forts (MBM370); Northfield Relief Road pottery (MBM2421); Parsons Hill Roman occupation 0AD to 299AD (B1824); Raddlebarn Road Roman Coin (MBM988); Selly Oak Roman Coin – commemorative coin of Constantine 1 (MBM872); Selly Park Spindle Whorl (MBM982); Stirchley Roman Coin,
19400-466: The article on the book in the eleventh edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica noted, "To the topographer, as to the genealogist, its evidence is of primary importance, as it not only contains the earliest survey of each township or manor, but affords, in the majority of cases, a clue to its subsequent descent." Darby also notes the inconsistencies, saying that "when this great wealth of data
19594-489: The average household), concludes that the 268,984 households listed most likely indicate a total English population between 1.2 and 1.6 million. Domesday names a total of 13,418 places. Apart from the wholly rural portions, which constitute its bulk, Domesday contains entries of interest concerning most towns, which were probably made because of their bearing on the fiscal rights of the crown therein. These include fragments of custumals (older customary agreements), records of
19788-462: The borough are designated as green belt , as a portion of the wider West Midlands Green Belt. This is a strategic local government policy used to prevent urban sprawl and preserve greenfield land . Areas included are the aforementioned Sutton Park; land along the borough boundary by the Sutton Coldfield, Walmley and Minworth suburbs; Kingfisher, Sheldon, Woodgate Valley country parks; grounds by
19982-409: The boundaries of Northfield. In Domesday Book Northfield had a priest and was valued at £8 before 1066. This suggests it was an ecclesiastical centre at the time of the Norman Conquest. As no sub-tenant was appointed was Northfield, which shares a boundary with King’s Norton (Nortune), a royal manor? The 1820 sale of the manor of Northfield and Weoley defines the boundary of the ancient manor. "One of
20176-477: The bridges were initially constructed from wood with accommodation drawbridges, or roving bridges, inserted where the canal cut across farms or estates. Initially few locks were needed other than stop-locks or the guillotine Lock at King’s Norton . There were three tunnels: Lapal (3,795 yds), Brandwood (352 yds), and Wast Hills Tunnel (2,726 yds). The section of the Worcester-Birmingham canal to Selly Oak
20370-437: The canal system was constructed is phenomenal, perhaps due to the war with France that began in 1793, and the need to transport the heavy minerals – coal, iron-ore, and limestone from the Black Country . Selly Port was the centre of activity. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal Act 1791 ( 31 Geo. 3 . c. 59) approved the construction and with two further acts authorised the raising of £379,609 to pay for it. Barracks to accommodate
20564-403: The church so long as she lives, and that after her death the church from which I received it should accept it back. Let whoever shall take it away from it be excommunicated'. The more important men of the whole County testify that this was so." The first entry records Bartley Green as an outlier, or dependency of Selly Oak, while the second entry doesn't include Bartley Green but records Selly Oak
20758-465: The city became increasingly dependent on the motor industry . The recession of the early 1980s saw Birmingham's economy collapse, with unprecedented levels of unemployment and outbreaks of social unrest in inner-city districts. Since the turn of the 21st century, many parts of Birmingham have been transformed, with the redevelopment of the Bullring Shopping Centre , the construction of
20952-552: The city centre . The city does however have numerous canals , collectively named the Birmingham Canal Navigations . Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the Midlands Enlightenment and during the Industrial Revolution , which saw advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of
21146-565: The city via the Cheshire gap on north westerly airstreams, but can also come off the North Sea from north easterly airstreams. Extreme weather is rare, but the city has been known to experience tornadoes . On 14 June 1931, an extremely damaging T6/F3 tornado struck the city, carving an 11-mile damage path through Hollywood, Hall Green, Sparkbrook, Tyseley, Greet and Small Heath, causing extensive damage and killing 1 woman. On 23 November 1981, during
21340-564: The city were made in 1928 and 1931, and after the VCH Warwickshire Volume V11 – The City of Birmingham was first published in 1964 making an updated study desirable, particularly regarding the transfer of areas from the neighbouring counties of Worcestershire and Staffordshire. An editorial note states that "Accounts of the Worcestershire Parishes, that ceased to exist when the administrative authority of Greater Birmingham
21534-573: The city. Birmingham is drained only by minor rivers and brooks, primarily the River Tame and its tributaries the Cole and the Rea . Birmingham is located significantly inland, and its nearest body of sea is at Liverpool Bay . It lies at the same latitude as Lowestoft , Britain's easternmost settlement; it is therefore much more proximate to the western coast of Wales, at Cardigan Bay . The City of Birmingham forms
21728-549: The coldest night typically fell to −9.0 °C (15.8 °F). Some 11.2 days each year rose to a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above and 51.6 nights reported an air frost. The highest recorded temperature recorded at the Edgbaston Campus was 37.4 °C (99.3 °F), whilst a temperature of 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) was recorded at Birmingham Airport on the city's eastern edge, both recorded on 19 July 2022 . Like most other large cities, Birmingham has
21922-654: The construction of the Aerial aqueduct to carry the Worcester and Birmingham Canal , and a railway viaduct for the Cross-City Line. This scheme has paved the way for the enhancement of the Battery Retail Park shopping complex and a number of familiar High Street shops have opened stores. The ecclesiastical parish of Selly Oak (1861)[8] appears to identify the original boundary of the ancient manor . The Order in Council at
22116-474: The creation of a planned market town and seigneurial borough within his demesne or manorial estate, around the site that became the Bull Ring . This established Birmingham as the primary commercial centre for the Birmingham Plateau at a time when the area's economy was expanding rapidly, with population growth nationally leading to the clearance, cultivation and settlement of previously marginal land. Within
22310-465: The damage caused by a hurricane reported that 20 yards of a substantially built wall was demolished at Sturges Works and at the Sal-ammonite works of Mr Bradley at the same place, 30 feet of the large stack was hurled to the ground with such tremendous force as to destroy a stable and dash in a portion of the roof of the evaporating house connected with the building. Near to the library and set back from
22504-424: The date of 1880. The oak that stood there was finally felled in May 1909 amid fears about its safety, due to damage to its roots caused by the building of the nearby houses. The tree was cut-up and the stump removed to Selly Oak Park , where it remains to this day, bearing a brass plaque that reads "Butt of Old Oak Tree from which the name of Selly Oak was derived. Removed from Oak Tree Lane, Selly Oak 1909". By 2011
22698-589: The death of Roger de Someri in 1272. Two manor house sites were shown amongst the lots. Middleton Hall was presumably the location of the residence of the Middleton family. The larger moated site, adjacent to the Church, is suggested to have been the original manor house of Northfield. The claim that stone from the Quarry Lane site was used to build Weoley Castle is interesting and questionable. Weoley Castle lies just north of
22892-469: The demoralising sight of the considerable number of people wounded during the conflict. In the 1920s the central part of the viaduct over the Bristol Road was replaced with the current steel bridge to enable higher trams to pass beneath it. The station complex was rebuilt in 1978 and again in 2003. Selly Oak is currently served by Selly Oak railway station on the Cross-City Line , providing services to
23086-405: The diocese of Lichfield, at a point in the middle of the road leading from Hart’s Green, past Shenley Field Farm, to the Birmingham and Bromsgrove Turnpike road; and extending thence, in a direction generally south-ward, along the middle of the said road leading from Hart’s Green aforesaid to a point in the middle of the said Turnpike road near to White-hill; and extending thence north-eastward, along
23280-516: The district of Selly was a part. The stump of the old oak in Selly Oak Park was examined using dendrochronology , and the results gave a date of 1710–1720 for when the tree began growing. It is therefore thought that the tree became a landmark following the turnpiking of the road from Bromsgrove to Birmingham (now the Bristol Road), which began in 1727. An older name for the same crossroads, where
23474-600: The drastic abbreviation and rearrangement undertaken by the scribe of Great Domesday Book. Both volumes are organised into a series of chapters (literally "headings", from Latin caput , "a head") listing the manors held by each named tenant-in-chief directly from the king. Tenants-in-chief included bishops, abbots and abbesses , barons from Normandy , Brittany , and Flanders , minor French serjeants , and English thegns . The richest magnates held several hundred manors typically spread across England, though some large estates were highly concentrated. For example, Baldwin
23668-463: The excavation revealed post-medieval pottery: Cream-wares dateable to 1760-1780 predate the lime kilns although it wasn't always possible to excavate below the existing structures. Red sandy-ware also suggests a late 18th-century date. In 1822 the canal company approved the takeover by William Povey of the coal and lime business already established on the wharf by a Mr. James. The tenancy was transferred to James Whitehouse of Frankley in 1836. He lived on
23862-526: The exception of the Glebe in Cofton Hackett, is situate in the parish of Northfield, in the County of Worcestershire, on the high turnpike road from Birmingham to Worcester, and is distant five miles from the former place". A map of the estate was drawn up by J & F Surveyors in 1817 and this provides more useful information. Two turnpike roads met at Northfield. The Birmingham and Worcester turnpike road which
24056-459: The exchange of knowledge between pure science and the practical world of manufacturing and technology. This created a "chain reaction of innovation", forming a pivotal link between the earlier Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution that would follow. Birmingham's explosive industrial expansion started earlier than that of the textile-manufacturing towns of the North of England , and
24250-613: The fabric of privilege to its base" in 1832 led John Bright to make Birmingham the platform for his successful campaign for the Second Reform Act of 1867, which extended voting rights to the urban working class. The original Charter of Incorporation , dated 31 October 1838, was received in Birmingham on 1 November, then read in the Town Hall on 5 November with elections for the first Birmingham Town Council being held on 26 December. Sixteen Aldermen and 48 Councillors were elected and
24444-399: The final quarter of the 20th century. The Watt steam engine was invented in Birmingham. The resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of political radicalism which, under leaders from Thomas Attwood to Joseph Chamberlain , was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy. From
24638-458: The first importance" in the development of the mechanised cotton industry . In 1741 they opened the world's first cotton mill in Birmingham's Upper Priory. In 1746 John Roebuck invented the lead chamber process , enabling the large-scale manufacture of sulphuric acid , and in 1780 James Keir developed a process for the bulk manufacture of alkali , together marking the birth of the modern chemical industry . In 1765 Matthew Boulton opened
24832-426: The first time the manufacturing capacity of human society from the limited availability of hand, water and animal power, this was arguably the pivotal moment of the entire Industrial Revolution and a key factor in the worldwide increases in productivity over the following century. Birmingham rose to national political prominence in the campaign for political reform in the early 19th century, with Thomas Attwood and
25026-627: The focus of a network of Roman roads . Birmingham was then later established by the Beormingas around the 6th or 7th century as a small settlement in the then heavily forested Arden region in Mercia . The development of Birmingham into a significant urban and commercial centre began in 1166, when the Lord of the Manor Peter de Bermingham obtained a charter to hold a market at his castle , and followed this with
25220-521: The former forest. Birmingham is dominated by the Birmingham Fault, which runs diagonally through the city from the Lickey Hills in the south west, passing through Edgbaston and the Bull Ring, to Erdington and Sutton Coldfield in the north east. To the south and east of the fault the ground is largely softer Mercia Mudstone , interspersed with beds of Bunter pebbles and crossed by the valleys of
25414-399: The foundations of modern industrial society . By 1791, it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation; this provided an economic base for prosperity that was to last into
25608-728: 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. The 2001 population census recorded 25,792 people living in Selly Oak, with
25802-449: The greatest magnate could do no more than "hold" land from him as a tenant (from the Latin verb tenere , "to hold") under one of the various contracts of feudal land tenure . Holdings of bishops followed, then of abbeys and religious houses , then of lay tenants-in-chief , and lastly the king's serjeants ( servientes ) and thegns. In some counties, one or more principal boroughs formed
25996-531: The heart of the emergence of industrial society . In 1709 the Birmingham-trained Abraham Darby I moved to Coalbrookdale in Shropshire and built the first blast furnace to successfully smelt iron ore with coke , transforming the quality, volume and scale on which it was possible to produce cast iron . In 1732 Lewis Paul and John Wyatt invented roller spinning , the "one novel idea of
26190-441: The industry's products. By the 1600s Birmingham formed the commercial hub of a network of forges and furnaces stretching from South Wales to Cheshire and its merchants were selling finished manufactured goods as far afield as the West Indies . These trading links gave Birmingham's metalworkers access to much wider markets, allowing them to diversify away from lower-skilled trades producing basic goods for local sale, towards
26384-403: The king sent his agents to survey every shire in England, to list his holdings and dues owed to him. Written in Medieval Latin , it was highly abbreviated and included some vernacular native terms without Latin equivalents. The survey's main purpose was to record the annual value of every piece of landed property to its lord, and the resources in land, labour force, and livestock from which
26578-426: The king's brevia ((short) writings). From about 1100, references appear to the liber (book) or carta (charter) of Winchester, its usual place of custody; and from the mid-12th to early 13th centuries to the Winchester or king's rotulus ( roll ). To the English, who held the book in awe, it became known as "Domesday Book", in allusion to the Last Judgment and in specific reference to the definitive character of
26772-533: The kingdom concerning the matters contained in the book, and recourse is made to the book, its word cannot be denied or set aside without penalty. For this reason we call this book the "book of judgements", not because it contains decisions made in controversial cases, but because from it, as from the Last Judgement, there is no further appeal. The name "Domesday" was subsequently adopted by the book's custodians, being first found in an official document in 1221. Either through false etymology or deliberate word play ,
26966-510: The land in the country, (1) at the time of Edward the Confessor 's death, (2) when the new owners received it, (3) at the time of the survey, and further, it reckoned, by command, the potential value as well. It is evident that William desired to know the financial resources of his kingdom, and it is probable that he wished to compare them with the existing assessment, which was one of considerable antiquity, though there are traces that it had been occasionally modified. The great bulk of Domesday Book
27160-464: The land; or, what dues he ought to have by the year from the shire.' Also he commissioned them to record in writing, 'How much land his archbishops had, and his diocesan bishops, and his abbots, and his earls;' and though I may be prolix and tedious, 'What, or how much, each man had, who was an occupier of land in England, either in land or in stock, and how much money it was worth.' So very narrowly, indeed, did he commission them to trace it out, that there
27354-476: The later expansion of the Anglo-Saxon population, in some cases possibly on earlier British sites. There is evidence of early human activity in the Birmingham area dating back to around 8000 BC, with Stone Age artefacts suggesting seasonal settlements, overnight hunting parties and woodland activities such as tree felling. The many burnt mounds that can still be seen around the city indicate that modern humans first intensively settled and cultivated
27548-403: The latter also housing the mini zoo, Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park . The 2021 census recorded 1,144,900 people living in Birmingham, an increase of around 6.7% from 2011 when 1,073,045 were recorded. It is the 27th largest city in Europe by population within its city boundary. Birmingham's continuous urban area extends beyond the city's boundaries: the Birmingham Larger Urban Zone ,
27742-448: The latter was completed, if not started, by William II following his accession to the English throne; William II quashed a rebellion that followed and was based on, though not consequence of, the findings of the inquest. Most shires were visited by a group of royal officers ( legati ) who held a public inquiry, probably in the great assembly known as the shire court. These were attended by representatives of every township as well as of
27936-439: The law courts. In 1960, it was among citations for a real manor which helps to evidence legal use rights on and anchorage into the Crown's foreshore; in 2010, as to proving a manor, adding weight of years to sporting rights (deer and foxhunting); and a market in 2019. Domesday Book is critical to understanding the period in which it was written. As H. C. Darby noted, anyone who uses it can have nothing but admiration for what
28130-404: The local lords. The unit of inquiry was the Hundred (a subdivision of the county, which then was an administrative entity). The return for each Hundred was sworn to by 12 local jurors, half of them English and half of them Norman. What is believed to be a full transcript of these original returns is preserved for several of the Cambridgeshire Hundreds – the Cambridge Inquisition – and
28324-458: The manor of Northfield. Of the twenty households listed the person who paid the most tax was William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke , who was the half-brother of Henry III and one of the wealthiest men in the kingdom. The Papal Register 1291 shows that Northfield was an Ecclesiastic Parish which was connected with Dudley Priory . In the next Tax Roll in 1327 the entries for Selly Oak and Weoley were combined with those of Northfield. This suggests
28518-441: The manors of Selly Oak and Birmingham both of which had previously been owned by Wulfwin. It would appear that William Fitz Ansculf died during the First Crusade . Henry of Huntingdon in his 'History of the English People' writes that: "Then from the middle of February they besieged the castle of 'Arqah, for almost three months. Easter was celebrated there (10 April). But Anselm of Ribemont , a very brave knight, died there, struck by
28712-410: The members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham – became influential participants in the circulation of philosophical and scientific ideas among Europe's intellectual elite. The close relationship between Enlightenment Birmingham's leading thinkers and its major manufacturers – in men like Matthew Boulton and James Keir they were often in fact the same people – made it particularly important for
28906-410: The middle of the same Turnpike road for a distance of five hundred and twenty-eight yards, or thereabouts, to a point opposite to the middle of the northern end of Hole Lane; and extending thence, south-eastward, to and along the middle of such lane as far as a point opposite to the middle of the last named lane; and then generally north-eastward, along the middle of the same lane, to the boundary dividing
29100-425: The most well-known political figures who have lived in Birmingham. The city established its own university in 1900. The city suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II 's " Birmingham Blitz ". The city was also the scene of two scientific discoveries that were to prove critical to the outcome of the war. Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls first described how a practical nuclear weapon could be constructed in
29294-403: The name also came to be associated with the Latin phrase Domus Dei ("House of God"). Such a reference is found as early as the late 13th century, in the writings of Adam of Damerham ; and in the 16th and 17th centuries, antiquaries such as John Stow and Sir Richard Baker believed this was the name's origin, alluding to the church in Winchester in which the book had been kept. As a result,
29488-499: The navvies at were established Bournbrook for 120 men, and Gallows Brook, Stirchley for 100 men. Between Selly Oak and Ley End to the south of the Wast Hill Tunnel six brick kilns were in operation. The network included three canals: the Worcester-Birmingham, the Netherton, or Dudley Canal line No. 2, and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal . The construction work involved: cuttings, bridges, tunnels, aqueducts, and embankments that were all built using manual labour from 'navvies'. Some of
29682-415: The new Library of Birmingham (the largest public library in Europe) and the regeneration of old industrial areas such as Brindleyplace , The Mailbox and the International Convention Centre , as well as the rationalisation of the Inner Ring Road . In 1998 Birmingham hosted the 24th G8 summit . The city successfully hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games . On 5 September 2023 Birmingham city council issued
29876-422: The north and west. The city absorbed Sutton Coldfield in 1974 and became a metropolitan borough in the new West Midlands county . A top-level government body, the West Midlands Combined Authority , was formed in April 2016. The WMCA holds devolved powers in transport, development planning, and economic growth. The authority is governed by a directly elected mayor , similar to the Mayor of London . Birmingham
30070-408: The north of the city, is the largest urban park in Europe and a national nature reserve . Birmingham Botanical Gardens , located close to the city centre, retains the regency landscape of its original design by J. C. Loudon in 1829, while the Winterbourne Botanic Garden in Edgbaston reflects the more informal Arts and Crafts tastes of its Edwardian origins. Several green spaces within
30264-427: The numerous obvious omissions, and ambiguities in presentation. Darby first cites F. W. Maitland 's comment following his compilation of a table of statistics from material taken from the Domesday Book survey, "it will be remembered that, as matters now stand, two men not unskilled in Domesday might add up the number of hides in a county and arrive at very different results because they would hold different opinions as to
30458-420: The population were aged between 15 and 64, higher than when compared to the national average of 64.1% in England and Wales. Furthermore, 20.9% of the population were aged under 15, higher than the national average of 17.4% while the population aged over 65 was 13.1%, which was lower than the national average of 18.6% respectively. Birmingham is one of the youngest cities in Europe with 40% of its population below
30652-481: The population were born outside the UK, an increase of 4.5% percentage points from 2011. Figures showed that the five largest foreign-born groups living in Birmingham were born in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Romania and Jamaica. In 2011, 57% of primary and 52% of secondary pupils were from non-White British families. As of 2021, 31.6% of school pupils in Birmingham were White , 37.7% were Asian , 12.6% were Black , 9.7% were Mixed race and 8.4% were Other. There
30846-530: The record. The word "doom" was the usual Old English term for a law or judgment; it did not carry the modern overtones of fatality or disaster . Richard FitzNeal , treasurer of England under Henry II , explained the name's connotations in detail in the Dialogus de Scaccario ( c. 1179): The natives call this book "Domesday", that is, the day of judgement. This is a metaphor: for just as no judgement of that final severe and terrible trial can be evaded by any subterfuge, so when any controversy arises in
31040-399: The rigid paternalism and deference of feudal society , and loyalties to the traditional hierarchies of the established church and aristocracy were weak. The town's reputation for political radicalism and its strongly Parliamentarian sympathies saw it attacked by Royalist forces in the Battle of Birmingham in 1643, and it developed into a centre of Puritanism in the 1630s and as
31234-406: The river-meadows, woodland, pasture, fisheries (i.e. fishing weirs ), water-mills , salt-pans (if by the sea), and other subsidiary sources of revenue; the peasants are enumerated in their several classes; and finally the annual value of the whole, past and present, is roughly estimated. The organisation of the returns on a feudal basis, enabled the Conqueror and his officers to see the extent of
31428-412: The road from King's Norton to Harborne (now represented by Oak Tree/Harborne Lanes) met the Bromsgrove to Birmingham road (now the Bristol Road), appears to have been Selly Cross; at least this is what it was called during the 16th century when it was recorded as Selley Crosse in 1549 and Selley Cross in 1506. The supposed tradition that the original oak was associated with a witch named Sarah or Sally
31622-508: The said parish of Northfield, from the parish of King’s Norton, in the county and diocese of Worcester aforesaid at a point in the middle of Gallows Brook". In Domesday Book Berchelai now Bartley Green was identified as an Outlier of Selly Oak. The boundaries of the daughter parish of Bartley Green were established in 1838. There are errors concerning Bartley Green that need to be corrected. The VCH Warwickshire – City of Birmingham states: "The ancient parish of Northfield, covering 6,011 acres,
31816-853: The site was also a highly important archaeological discovery, since prehistoric structures other than burnt mounds are extremely rare in Birmingham. Examples of finds in this area include: Bond Street Stone Axe (MBM859); Bourn Brook Burnt Mound (MBM2484); Bourn Brook Burnt Mounds (MBM359); California, Burnt Mound (MBM777); Falconhurst Road Barbed and Tanged Arrowhead (MBM1776); King’s Heath/Stirchley Brook Perforated Implement, axe hammer (MBM1793); Moor End Farm Burnt Mound (MBM778). Northfield Relief Road pit (MBM2455). Ridgacre Burnt Mound, near Moor Farm (MBM779); Selly Oak Flint Flake (MBM2219); Selly Park Recreation Ground Prehistoric Finds (MBM2002); Shenley Lane, Northfield flint scraper (MBM1801); Ten Acres Burnt Mound (MBM1584); Vicarage Farm Axe Hammer (MBM860). Weoley Park Road Neolithic Flint Scraper (MBM869). Metchley Fort
32010-424: The stump had become quite rotten and the brass plaque was no longer secure. It was removed by the Friends of Selly Oak Park and replaced with a replica plaque. The original was retained by the Friends for conservation. The remains of the stump were left in the park. The earliest attestations for the name 'Selly Oak' date from 1746, and come from the manorial court rolls for the Manor of Northfield and Weoley, of which
32204-403: The subject of a separate section. A few have separate lists of disputed titles to land called clamores (claims). The equivalent sections in Little Domesday are called Inuasiones (annexations). In total, 268,984 people are tallied in the Domesday Book, each of whom was the head of a household. Some households, such as urban dwellers, were excluded from the count, but the exact parameters remain
32398-402: The summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz . The damage done to the city's infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive urban regeneration in subsequent decades. Birmingham's economy is now dominated by the service sector . The city
32592-412: The survey was completed in 1086. It is not known when exactly Domesday Book was compiled, but the entire copy of Great Domesday appears to have been copied out by one person on parchment (prepared sheepskin), although six scribes seem to have been used for Little Domesday. Writing in 2000, David Roffe argued that the inquest (survey) and the construction of the book were two distinct exercises. He believes
32786-432: The survey's ninth centenary. On this last occasion Great Domesday was divided into two physical volumes, and Little Domesday into three volumes. The project to publish Domesday was begun by the government in 1773, and the book appeared in two volumes in 1783, set in " record type " to produce a partial- facsimile of the manuscript. In 1811, a volume of indexes was added. In 1816, a supplementary volume, separately indexed,
32980-413: The time. In a parallel development, around 1100, the Normans in southern Italy completed their Catalogus Baronum based on Domesday Book. The original manuscript was destroyed in the Second World War , but the text survives in printed editions. The manuscripts do not carry a formal title. The work is referred to internally as a descriptio (enrolling), and in other early administrative contexts as
33174-480: The town of Tamworth and the city of Lichfield in Staffordshire to the north; the city of Coventry and the towns of Nuneaton , Bedworth , Whitnash , Kenilworth , Rugby, Atherstone , Coleshill , Warwick and Leamington Spa to the east in Warwickshire and the Worcestershire towns of Redditch and Bromsgrove to the south west. As the crow flies, Birmingham lies approximately 100 miles (160 km) north-west of London , 85 miles (137 km) north-east of
33368-430: The town with an unusually high degree of social and economic freedom and initiating a period of transition and growth. The importance of the manufacture of iron goods to Birmingham's economy was recognised as early as 1538, and grew rapidly as the century progressed. Equally significant was the town's emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials and traded and marketed
33562-411: The traditional centre point of England at Meriden , and is the most inland major city in the country, and lying north of the Cotswolds and east of the Shropshire Hills . Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn , approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of
33756-425: The value derived. The name "Domesday Book" came into use in the 12th century. Richard FitzNeal wrote in the Dialogus de Scaccario ( c. 1179) that the book was so called because its decisions were unalterable, like those of the Last Judgment , and its sentence could not be quashed. The manuscript is held at the National Archives at Kew , London. Domesday was first printed in full in 1783, and in 2011
33950-413: The wharf, carrying on a business in coal and lime and also keeping a shop until the 1870s. On the Dudley Canal side of the Birmingham Battery and Metal Co Ltd there are indications of further lime kilns beside William Summerfield’s wharfs that have not been excavated. When John Sturge died Edward brought his brother-in-law, Arthur Albright, into partnership. They first made white phosphorus in 1844 but this
34144-817: The wider metropolitan area with a population numbering 3,558,916 in 2019 according to Eurostat. Around 305,688 or 26.7% of the population in 2021 were foreign-born , making it a city with one of the largest migrant populations in Europe . According to figures from the 2021 census, 48.7% of the population was White (42.9% White British , 1.5% White Irish , 4.0% Other White , 0.2% Roma , 0.1% Irish Traveller ), 31% were Asian (17.0% Pakistani , 5.8% Indian , 4.2% Bangladeshi , 1.1% Chinese , 2.9% Other Asian ), 10.9% were Black (5.8% African , 3.9% Caribbean , 1.2% Other Black ), 4.8% of Mixed race (2.2% White and Black Caribbean, 0.4% White and Black African, 1.1% White and Asian, 1.1% Other Mixed), 1.7% Arab and 4.6% of Other ethnic heritage. The 2021 census showed 26.7% of
34338-458: Was 31½ feet in length and weighed 20 tons. The cylinder was 60 inches in diameter and had a stroke of 11 feet. It was built by Messrs James Watt and Co. By 1881, after further lateral borings, the output was one and a quarter million gallons each day. The well was capped in 1920 as the Elan Valley supplied all the water that was required. The building is described in its national listing as a tall brick and terracotta building with stone dressings, in
34532-446: Was also originally in Worcestershire, its northern boundary with Harborne (formerly in Staffordshire) and Edgbaston (formerly in Warwickshire) being marked by the Bourn Brook, part of its eastern boundary with King’s Norton by the Rea and Griffins Brook. Except for under 200 acres of the north-west tip of the parish, which was added to Lapal civil parish, Northfield was included in Birmingham in 1911; from 1898 until then it had been part of
34726-468: Was bought out by the Midland Railway to allow their trains to pass through Birmingham without turning having used the Camp Hill line , they extended the tracks south to a junction south with the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway at Kings Norton , and double-tracked the entire line length. The line was slightly realigned in the early 1930s. The stub of the old alignment has recently been demolished. Five stations were opened including Selly Oak. The terminus
34920-400: Was changed to New Street. The line was doubled in 1883, and by 1885, it had become the Midland Railway’s main line to Gloucester. During World War I casualties were transported into Selly Oak and transferred to the First Southern and General Military Hospital which was housed in the new University of Birmingham buildings. The convoys often ran at night to avoid noise and traffic, and to limit
35114-418: Was driven by different factors. Instead of the economies of scale of a low-paid, unskilled workforce producing a single bulk commodity such as cotton or wool in large, mechanised units of production, Birmingham's industrial development was built on the adaptability and creativity of a highly paid workforce with a strong division of labour , practising a broad variety of skilled specialist trades and producing
35308-427: Was enlarged in 1872 and ten years later the boys and girls were separated. When St Mary’s National School was opened in Hubert Road Bournbrook in 1885 the girls were transferred there and the National School was used for boys and infants. In 1898 the schools were united for administration and called Selly Oak and Bournbrook Schools. A third department was opened in 1898, in Dawlish Road, to accommodate 545 senior girls and
35502-446: Was established c. AD 48 and occupied until c. 200 AD. Two Roman Roads appear to have met there. Ryknield or Icknield Street was laid out between Bourton-on-the-Water and Derby in the mid-to-late 1st century to serve the needs of military communication. It passed through Alcester, Selly Oak, Birmingham, and Sutton Coldfield to Wall. A little north of Birmingham it passed through the important military camp of Perry. At Bournbrook it threw off
35696-444: Was established, are contained in Volume III of the VCH History of Worcestershire". The Historic Landscape Characterisation of Birmingham covers a total area of 26,798 ha (66,210 acres) giving an indication of the growth of Birmingham since 1889. The archaeology report following an excavation identifies that the limekilns were built shortly after the Dudley Canal line No. 2 was opened in 1798. A map of 1828 showed five lime kilns within
35890-403: Was formerly in either Staffordshire or Worcestershire but as the city expanded the ancient boundaries were changed in order that the area being administered came under one county authority – Warwickshire. The Saxon presence in the territory of modern Birmingham requires the inclusion of the Manors and Berewicks/Outliers mentioned in Domesday Book that are now part of the Birmingham conurbation. This
36084-427: Was left in Great Domesday for a record of the City of London and Winchester , but they were never written up. Other areas of modern London were then in Middlesex , Surrey , Kent , and Essex and have their place in Domesday Book's treatment of those counties. Most of Cumberland, Westmorland, and the entirety of the County Palatine of Durham and Northumberland were omitted. They did not pay the national land tax called
36278-400: Was not one single hide, nor a yard of land, nay, moreover (it is shameful to tell, though he thought it no shame to do it), not even an ox, nor a cow, nor a swine was there left, that was not set down in his writ. And all the recorded particulars were afterwards brought to him. The primary purpose of the survey was to ascertain and record the fiscal rights of the king. These were mainly: After
36472-469: Was opened in 1795. In May 1798 the Netherton to Selly Oak canal was opened to great festivities. By 1802 a route was opened from Dudley to London. To appease mill owners, reservoirs were constructed at Harborne, Lifford Reservoir and Wychall Reservoir . In 1815 issues regarding the Worcester Bar in Gas Street, Birmingham were resolved and the final section through Tardibigge to Worcester was completed. Arrangements have been negotiated for reinstating part of
36666-425: Was preserved from the late 11th to the beginning of the 13th centuries in the royal Treasury at Winchester (the Norman kings' capital). It was often referred to as the "Book" or "Roll" of Winchester. When the Treasury moved to the Palace of Westminster , probably under King John , the book went with it. The two volumes (Great Domesday and Little Domesday) remained in Westminster, save for temporary releases, until
36860-423: Was provided in 1897 increasing the accommodation for 120 children. It was altered and enlarged in 1909 and further improvements were required in 1912. In 1953 it was reorganised for Junior and Infants. Teaching was conducted by the Sisters of the Charity of St Paul. St Mary’s C of E Primary School , High Street, Selly Oak (Bristol Road): It opened as a National School in 1860 with accommodation for 252 children. It
37054-399: Was published containing Photographic facsimiles of Domesday Book, for each county separately, were published in 1861–1863, also by the government. Today, Domesday Book is available in numerous editions, usually separated by county and available with other local history resources. In 1986, the BBC released the BBC Domesday Project , the results of a project to create a survey to mark
37248-424: Was rebound in 1320, its older oak boards being re-used. At a later date (probably in the Tudor period ) both volumes were given new covers. They were rebound twice in the 19th century, in 1819 and 1869 – on the second occasion, by the binder Robert Riviere and his assistant, James Kew. In the 20th century, they were rebound in 1952, when their physical makeup was examined in greater detail; and yet again in 1986, for
37442-450: Was transferred from Staffordshire. In 1911 the boundaries were extended to include: the borough of Aston Manor (Warwickshire); Erdington Urban District (Warwickshire); Handsworth Urban District (Staffordshire); most of King’s Norton and Northfield Urban District (Worcestershire); and Yardley Rural District (Worcestershire). The area administered by Birmingham was almost trebled from 13,478 acres to 43,601 acres. Further additions to
37636-425: Was volatile. Albright invented a process of manufacturing red, or amorphous, phosphorus for which he obtained a patent in 1851. Their chemical works was reported to have caused several explosions. When an application is made for building work, as part of the regeneration programme for Selly Oak, it will have a condition for an archaeological excavation of the site to be carried out. A newspaper article in 1839 concerning
#974025