Solihull

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Solihull

Coordinates: 52.412903° N 1.772094° W Solihull shown within the West Midlands
Population	94,753 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SP1579
Metropolitan borough	Solihull
Metropolitan county	West Midlands
Region	West Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SOLIHULL
Postcode district	B90-B95
Dial code	0121
Police	West Midlands
Fire	West Midlands
Ambulance	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Solihull
European Parliament	West Midlands
List of places: UK • England • West Midlands

Solihull (IPA: [ˈsɒlɪˌhʌl], or [ˌsɒliˈʌl], or some combination of the two; occasionally [ˈsəʊlihʌl]) is a large town in the West Midlands in England with a population of 94,753.^[1] It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles (14.5 km) southeast of Birmingham city centre. It is the largest town in, and administrative centre of, the larger Metropolitan Borough of Solihull which itself has a population of 200,400.

Solihull is commonly regarded as one of the most prosperous towns in the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}

Residents of Solihull and those born in the town are referred to as Silhillians. The motto of Solihull is Urbs in Rure (Town in the Country).

1 Geography and administration
- 1.1 Suburbs
2 History
3 Education
4 Transport
5 Housing
6 Industry and commerce
7 Communal facilities
- 7.1 Clubs and pubs
8 Twin towns
9 Notable residents
10 References
11 External links

[edit] Geography and administration

Due to its growth, Solihull was promoted from an Urban District to a municipal borough, the honour being bestowed by Princess Margaret.

In 1964 Solihull became a county borough and on this occasion The Queen bestowed the honour. In 1974 the Solihull county borough was merged with the rural district surrounding Meriden to form the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. This also includes the districts known as Shirley, Knowle, Dorridge, Castle Bromwich and Chelmsley Wood (North Solihull). At this time it also moved from the county of Warwickshire to the West Midlands.

Solihull may be considered to be a dormitory town for Birmingham to which it is joined although many Silhillians now work within the town and many commute daily to towns and cities outside the Birmingham conurbation.

[edit] Suburbs

Suburbs of Solihull include Bickenhill, Blythe, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Dorridge, Elmdon, Fordbridge, Hockley Heath, Kingshurst, Knowle, Lyndon, Meriden, Olton, Shirley, Silhill, Smith's Wood, St. Alphege

[edit] History

[edit] Etymology

Solihull derived its name from a 'dirty 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.

[edit] Early history

The town has existed since medieval times when it was founded as a market centre, and it later became an important coaching stop. Solihull probably came into being about a thousand years ago as a clearing in the forest to which people would come to trade. The town is noted for its historic architecture, which includes examples of timber-framed Tudor style houses and shops. The historic Solihull School dates from 1560. The red sandstone Parish church of St. Alphege dates from a similar period and is a large and handsome example of classical British Church architecture, with a traditional spire making the Church visible from a great distance. It is located at the head of High Street, Solihull. It was founded in about 1220 by Hugh de Oddingsell. A chantry chapel was also founded there by Sir William de Oddingsell in 1277 and the upper chapel in St Alphege was built for a chantry. The priest lived and had his sacristy in a crypt chapel underneath, and the fireplace there can still be seen.

[edit] 20th century

St Alphege church, Solihull

Unlike nearby Birmingham, the industrial revolution largely passed Solihull by, and until the 20th century Solihull remained a small market town. World War II also nearly passed Solihull by. Neighbouring Coventry and Birmingham were severely damaged by repeated German bombing raids but apart from some attacks on what is now the Land Rover plant, the airport and the local rail lines, Solihull escaped largely intact.

In 1901 the population of the town was just 7,500, but by the 1960s the population had grown to over 100,000. This growth was due to a number of factors including a large slum clearance programme in Birmingham, the development of the Land Rover car plant, the expansion of what was then Elmdon Airport into Birmingham International Airport and, perhaps most significantly, the release of large tracts of land for Housing development attracting inward migration of new residents from across the UK.

Until the early 1960s the main high street remained much as it would have been in the late 19th century with several streets of Victorian terrace houses linking High Street with the Warwick Road. The construction of the central shopping area involved the demolition of a number of streets, together with that of the large Victorian Congregational Church that had stood on the corner of Union Street and Warwick Road. On the right along High Street from St Alphege's church porch is one of town's oldest landmarks, The George, which dates from the sixteenth century. It is now called the Jarvis International Hotel. On the opposite side of the High Street is the Manor House which dates from about 1495.

[edit] Education

Solihull School is almost 450 years old and has nearly 1000 pupils. It is an independent school and has recently become co-educational. St Martin's is an independent girls' school nearby which was founded during the world war by Miss Bacon. Other schools in the Solihull area include Tudor Grange Grammar School, Langley School, St Alphege Junior School and Alderbrook School. Catholic schools include: St Augustine's Primary School and St Peter's RC Catholic Secondary school

Although a large town of almost 100,000 inhabitants, Solihull has no university (there are in fact five universities within 25 km of the town in Birmingham and Coventry). However, Solihull College, formerly known as the Solihull College of Technology, offers several foundation degree and full degree courses, particularly in technical subject areas such as computer sciences and engineering.

There is also a sixth form college located on the outskirts of the town centre. This is known as the The Sixth Form College, Solihull and is where students, mainly between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, complete their secondary education.

[edit] Transport

The Manor House, Solihull

A number of main roads pass through Solihull including the A41 Birmingham to Warwick Road and the A34 Birmingham to Stratford Road. The M42 and the M40 both pass through Solihull and provide very rapid links to Oxford and London and to the rest of the motorway network surrounding the West Midlands.

Solihull railway station is on the former Great Western Railway line from Birmingham Snow Hill station to London Marylebone station. In the first half of the 20th century, this railway line carried most of the express trains from the Midlands to the South West and South (Devon and Cornwall) Wales, including the Cambrian Coast Express pulled by the elegant and powerful Great Western Railway King Class and Castle Class locomotives. Other rail links are provided on the West Coast Main Line, as Birmingham International railway station lies within the borough's boundaries and offers frequent express connections to London.

Express train services to Solihull are now run by Chiltern Railways and local services by Central Trains.

The Grand Union Canal passes across Solihull, coming within a mile of the town centre and linking the town to the River Thames in London.

Local bus services are provided largely by Travel West Midlands from their Acocks Green depot in south east Birmingham.

Local people are represented by the Solihull and Leamington Rail Users Association.

[edit] Housing

Residential development in Solihull comprises a variety of housing types, but features a notable preponderance of large detached houses of four or more bedrooms. Many of the larger developments were constructed between 1950 and 1970. One of the earlier large scale developments centred around Beechwood Park Road and Stonor Park Road with new detached houses selling for £4000 in 1952. Chelmsley Wood to the north of Solihull town centre is a large 1960s council estate which is currently marketed under the name of "North Solihull". In the early to mid 1980s, the new Monkspath district constructed east of Shirley (and close to the M42 motorway) was the UK's single largest housing development of that decade.

[edit] Industry and commerce

Solihull High Street

Solihull offers a variety of shopping facilities. It has a largely concrete 1960s-style shopping centre called Mell Square. In recent years, the town has undergone much development. In 2001, a large new shopping centre, Touchwood, was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Solihull is the home of the four wheel drive car manufacturer Land Rover and a range of other major companies.

The National Exhibition Centre, commonly thought to be in Birmingham, is in the borough of Solihull, as is almost all of Birmingham International Airport.

A large and well known producer of Pewter figurines, The Tudor Mint Ltd. has recently located to Solihull but has been based in Birmingham since its founding.

[edit] Communal facilities

Solihull has a number of parks including Malvern Park, Brueton Park, Tudor Grange Park and Shirley Park. The nearest parks to the town centre are Malvern and Brueton parks. They are interlinked and cover about 130 acres. Brueton Park used to be part of the grounds of Malvern Hall, which dates back to about 1690. It is home now to St Martin's School. Solihull has numerous leisure facilities including a public swimming pool on the edge of Tudor Grange Park. This pool replaced an outdoor pool in Tudor Grange Park which was demolished in the 1960s. The current pool is also under threat of demolition. Tudor Grange Park also has two sports centres: the more modern Tudor Grange sports centre, and the older Norman Green sports centre, formerly known as the Norman Green Athletics Centre. There is also an outdoor wooden skateboarding and in-line skating facility in Tudor Grange Park. Sailing takes place on Olton Reservoir.

The borough is well served by numerous youth groups, both from the statutory and voluntary sector. One of the largest is 4th Knowle Sea Scout Group, based in the south of Solihull. The Group is sponsored by the Royal Navy and provides a wide programme of activities for young people from all over Solihull aged from 6 to 18. The recently refurbished ice rink on Hobs Moat Road is home to Solihull's ice hockey teams the Solihull Barons, Solihull Vikings, a Junior ice hockey team, the Mohawks ice racing club, as well as ice dance and figure skating clubs. Above the ice rink is Rileys snooker club.

The River Blythe, a headwater tributary of the River Trent, passes through parts of Solihull including Malvern and Johnathon Parks.

[edit] Clubs and pubs

Pubs and restaurants in Solihull include: The White Swan (Wetherspoons), The Masons Arms, The Barley Mow, The Saddlers Arms, The Coach House, The Field House, The George and Bar Censsa. Other eateries include Après, TGI Fridays, Must, Nando's, La Tasca, Zizzi, Pizza Hut, Subway, Harry Ramsden's Express, Jimmy Spices and McDonalds. Solihull town centre has two clubs, both located on the High Street, called 'Reflex @ The Loft' (However most people refer to it as 'Rosies' which was its previous name.) and The Opal Lounge.