Metropolitan Borough of Solihull
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| Borough of Solihull | |
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| Geography | |
| Status: | Metropolitan borough |
| Region: | West Midlands |
| Ceremonial County: | West Midlands |
| Traditional County: | Warwickshire |
| Area: - Total |
Ranked 198th 178.29 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Solihull |
| Grid reference: | SP1579 |
| ONS code: | 00CT |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density |
Ranked 66th 200,900 1,127 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 94.6% White 2.5% S.Asian |
| Politics | |
| Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council http://www.solihull.gov.uk/ |
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| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Conservative |
| MPs: | Lorely Burt, Caroline Spelman |
The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. It is named after its main town of Solihull. Much of the large residential population in the north of the borough centres on the communities of Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Fordbridge, Kingshurst, Marston Green and Smith's Wood. To the south lie the towns of Solihull and Shirley.
The borough is bordered by the M6 and the M40 and split by the M42 which divides the urban centre of the borough from the rural south and east. The borough’s transport links have led to a number of established large businesses being based in the borough, such as Land Rover, the National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham International Airport. A short automatic light transport system links the airport to the nearby Birmingham International railway station. Around three quarters of the borough is greenbelt and a large proportion of that is worked farmland. The Borough shares its' boundaries with Birmingham to the west and north, Coventry to the east, Warwickshire to the north and south, and Worcestershire to the south. The borough contains a sizeable rural area known as the Meriden Gap (after the village of Meriden) which serves as a green belt separating the Birmingham conurbation from the City of Coventry.
Solihull probably derived its name from a 'miry or muddy' or soily hill. The parish church was built on a hill of stiff red marl, which turned to sticky mud in wet weather.
The constituent parts of the Borough's Coat of Arms are:
- Battlements, sickles and an oak tree with golden acorns, which represent the rural and agricultural nature of the Forest of Arden.
- The Black Griffin is taken from the arms of the Earls of Aylesford, who are associated with Meriden.
- The Silver Fleur-de-lys comes from the Digby family, who were associated with Fordbridge.
- The Black Greyhound is taken from the arms of the Greswolds, the family who built the 15th century house called the Manor House in the High Street, Solihull.
The Coat of Arms can be seen on the top left of SMBC's website pages - external link below.
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[edit] History
People lived in the area about 10,000 years ago. They lived in temporary camps along the River Blythe and other streams and they left their mark at settlements like Barston, Temple Balsall, Meriden, Berkswell and Knowle. Later, Celtic tribes came to the area and the Romans built three major roads across the Midlands - Watling Street, the Fosse Way and Ryknild Street. The marching camps at Meriden were probably overnight resting places for troops and travellers on their way between Metchley (south of Birmingham) and Baginton at Coventry. There would have been a road, too, at Castle Bromwich overlooking an ancient crossing of the River Tame, where traces of Roman buildings have been found. The area was known as Arden when the Anglo-Saxons came and hunted from hills like Elmdon. Ulverley, now known as Olton, was the settlement from which Solihull was founded. Hugh de Oddingsell was a soldier who held the barony of Ulverley. When he died in 1238 his son William inherited Ulverley. To the south of the manor two very important roads crossed. One linked Birmingham with Warwick (to the south)and the other linked Worcester (then a significant port) with Coventry (the trading centre of the Midlands)via Droitwich. Droitwich had long been a major source of salt and this road was probably one of the ancient saltways of England. These routes were busy with trade and travellers between market towns, which had greater significance than any in the Solihull area. William saw this crossroads as an opportunity to develop new commerce. He laid out plots ready for occupation around the streets which enclose the centre of today's Solihull town centre: High Street, Warwick Road, Poplar Road, Drury Lane and Mill Lane. The plots were laid out in a grid pattern and were taken by freemen who paid rent, and villeins who held the land in return for service given to the landlord. William received the rents and the service and saw his initiative found a thriving new community. Some of the tenants also became craftsmen eg making cloths, leatherware and metal goods. The settlement flourished. In 1242 King Henry III gave William a charter which allowed a weekly market, also an annual three-day fair from April 18 to 20. This coincided with the Feast Day of St Alphege, to whom the Parish Church is dedicated. Later, major coach routes criss-crossed the region. At the height of coach travel in the 1830s ten coaches a day were going daily to London via Shirley and four via Solihull. One of the important coaching inns in the 18th century was The George in High Street. The canals were next to arrive. Two canals were cut through Solihull, one from Birmingham to Warwick and one from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon. The steam giants of the Great Western Railway brought the next change, when the first trains from Birmingham to London passed through Solihull and Hampton in Arden in 1838. However, the real impact came in 1852 when the Great Western Railway line from Birmingham Snow Hill through Solihull and Knowle to Oxford, and onto Paddington in London, was opened. This improved access to Britain's industrial heartland brought a new prosperity and many elegant and spacious homes for industrialists and professional and business people who worked in the city but preferred to live in the country. The lines are still busy and the occasional steam train can be seen. The Birmingham Railway Museum is nearby at Tyseley, one of the old GWR stations between Solihull and Birmingham.
In 1894, Solihull (including the parishes of Shirley, Baddesley Clinton, Barston, Lapworth, Balsall, Bushwood, Elmdon, Knowle, Nuthurst, Packwood and Tanworth-in-Arden) was made into the Solihull Rural District in the county of Warwickshire. In 1932 some of its rural areas were taken away when the RDC was succeeded by Solihull Urban District Council. Expansion continued and Queen Elizabeth II granted a charter in 1954 making Solihull into a Municipal Borough; ten years later it was given the status of County Borough. Reorganisation of boundaries and council responsibilities in 1974 created the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull by the merger of the Solihull County Borough and most of the Meriden Rural District, which forms the main rural part of the borough and county. It included Balsall Common, Barston, Berkswell, Bickenhill, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Elmdon, Fordbridge, Hampton in Arden, Hockley Heath, Kingshurst, Knowle, Marston Green, Meriden, Olton, Smiths Wood, Solihull, Shirley and Temple Balsall.
In 1986 the Solihull borough became a unitary authority when the West Midlands County Council was abolished. It remains part of the West Midlands for ceremonial purposes, and for functions such as policing, fire and public transport.
[edit] Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Solihull at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added4 | Agriculture1 | Industry2 | Services3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1,929 | 12 | 496 | 1,421 |
| 2000 | 2,959 | 8 | 870 | 2,082 |
| 2003 | 4,023 | 8 | 1,121 | 2,893 |
Note 1: includes hunting and forestry
Note 2: includes energy and construction
Note 3: includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Note 4: Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
[edit] Settlements in Solihull
Localities in the borough include:
- Balsall, Balsall Common, Barston, Bentley Heath, Berkswell, Bickenhill, Blossomfield
- Castle Bromwich, Catherine-de-Barnes, Chadwick End, Chelmsley Wood, Cheswick Green, Coleshill Heath
- Dickens Heath, Dorridge
- Elmdon, Elmdon Heath
- Fordbridge
- Hampton-in-Arden, Hockley Heath
- Kingshurst, Knowle
- Lyndon
- Marston Green, Meriden, Monkspath Street
- Olton
- Packwood
- Sharmans Cross, Shirley, Silhill, Smith's Wood, Solihull
- Temple Balsall, Tidbury Green
- Whitlock's End
[edit] Nearby Tourist Attractions in Solihull
- Baddesley Clinton. A moated manor house belonging to The National Trust, containing hiding places for priests who continued to minister to Roman Catholic families during the late 16th century.
- Dorridge. For some time Edith Holden, author of "The Diary of an Edwardian Lady", lived nearby.
- Hatton Country World and Shopping Village. A farm park just off the road from Solihull to Warwick with lots of animals, locks on the Grand Union Canal, falconry, adventure play, nature trail, as well as the shopping village with lots of art and crafts.
- Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon. Ex Royal Air Force Station just off the M40 near Warwick. Now has weird, wonderful and world beating vehicles all under one roof, plus the story of the UK motor industry featuring 200 British vehicles.
- Kenilworth Castle. England's finest and most extensive castle ruins, between Coventry and Warwick. Henry V is said to have retired here after his victorious return from Agincourt, and Sir Walter Scott enhanced tales of the fortress in his novel Kenilworth of 1821.
- National Motorcycle Museum, Bickenhill. Display of 600 British machines, spanning the period 1898 to 1980. Now slowly re-opening after a disastrous fire. Also a conference centre.
- Packwood House. This is a stately timber framed Tudor home owned by the National Trust. It has a wealth of tapestries and fine furniture, also it is famous for its' yew garden in which the trees are said to represent the Sermon on the Mount.
- Umberslade Children's Farm. A family run working farm a few miles south of Solihull that has animals, trailer and pony rides, adventure play and farm walks.
[edit] External links
| Districts of the West Midlands |  |
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Birmingham | Bridgnorth | Bromsgrove | Cannock Chase | Coventry | Dudley | East Staffordshire | Herefordshire | Lichfield | Malvern Hills | Newcastle-under-Lyme | North Shropshire | North Warwickshire | Nuneaton and Bedworth | Oswestry | Redditch | Rugby | Sandwell | Shrewsbury and Atcham | Solihull | South Shropshire | South Staffordshire | Stafford | Staffordshire Moorlands | Stoke-on-Trent | Stratford-on-Avon | Tamworth | Telford and Wrekin | Walsall | Warwick | Wolverhampton | Worcester | Wychavon | Wyre Forest |
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Counties with multiple districts: Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire |
