Acock's Green is an area and
ward of south Birmingham
, England
. It
is named after the Acock family who built a large house in the area
in 1370.
Acock's Green is one of the four wards making
up Yardley
formal
district. Nowadays, it is also sometimes written without
an
apostrophe.
Stockfield, located in the north of the ward, was once a separate
village to the Acock's Green area. However, the two merged as a
result of housing developments during the 20th century. The ward
now covers an area . Areas covered by the ward include the
Edenbridge Road Estate, Gospel Estate, Pemberley Road Flats,
Stockfield Estate, part of the Tyseley Estate and the Yarnfield
Estate. The ward covers part of the B27 and part of the B11
postcode areas.
History
Acock's Green first developed north of the current centre at the
roundabout where the Warwick Road meets Shirley and Westley Roads.
This area was known Tenchlee or Tenelea, meaning 'ten clearings'.
The settlement that developed here has completely disappeared.
Huyon Hall and Broom Hall were moated manor houses located in the
area.
The
area of Fox
Hollies
in the ward receives its name from the time when
the Fox family bought the farm belonging to the atte Holies in the
15th century. The earliest known reference to Acock's Green
is in the Yardley Parish Register of 1604. In 1626, Acock's Green
House and other estates were given by Richard Acock to his son as a
wedding gift. In 1725, the Warwick Road was
turnpiked.
During the end of the 18th century, the
Warwick and
Birmingham Canal
was cut
through Acocks' Green. This is resulted in wharfs being
constructed at Stockfield Road and Yardley Road. The increased
prosperity brought by the canal prompted the construction of farms
and large residences.
Acock's Green began to expand in the 19th century when it was
connected to the Birmingham to Oxford railway in 1852. At this time
there were three hamlets along the Warwick Road; Flint Green,
Acock's Green, and Westley Brook. Westley Brook was to become the
centre of modern Acock's Green. As Acock's Green was closer to the
station, it developed faster than the old centre.
In 1911,
Yardley, of which Acock's Green was a part of, was absorbed
into Birmingham. Birmingham was in need of housing and in
the mid-1920s, municipal housing was built on around half of
Acock's Green, resulting in a large increase in the population.
Many new residents were unwelcome and existing residents moved away
leading to the nickname Snob's Green. Acock's Green benefited from
an increase in commerce brought about by the newcomers. It
developed into a major shopping area and churches and meeting halls
were extended to accommodate more people.
Trams first arrived in Acock's Green in 1916. They first stopped at
Broad Road, before stopping at the Green from 1922. The centre of
Acock's Green was remodelled in 1932, and a large island
incorporating the tram terminus was created. After the tram service
ended, the island was grassed over to become the Green.
Acock's Green was the location for a custom-built factory which
made parts for the
Bristol Hercules
radial engines. Construction of the
factory commenced in late 1936 on the site of Westwood's market
gardening business near the canal. The factory was the
Rover shadow factory and it was operational by
July 1937. Towards the end of the war, the Rover factory began to
produce
Meteor tank engines, and the
Meteorite engine. The factory was
visited by
King George VI in March
1938. The military connection the factory had made Acock's Green a
target for German bombers.
There are a number of statutorily
listed buildings; cottages at 89-93 Arden
Road (Grade II), the Baptist Church on Yardley Road (Grade II), the
Baptist church hall on Alexander Road (Grade II). As well as this,
there are locally listed buildings; the fire station (Grade B) and
caretaker's house (Grade A) on Alexander Road, police station on
Yardley Road (Grade B), a house on the corner of Elmdon Road, and
the library on Shirley Road (Grade A). In Fox Hollies Park, there
is a Bronze Age burnt mound with
Scheduled Ancient Monument
status.
Stockfield Estate was one of Birmingham's many interwar housing
estates, built by the local council during the 1920s and 1930s to
rehouse people from inner-city slums. The houses were popular on
their completion thanks to the inclusion of electricity, running
water, gardens, indoor toilets and bathrooms. The houses were
constructed out of
concrete and were
designed in the 'Parkinson' style. However, the housing was
declared defective by law in 1985 and structural tests carried out
in 1986 concluded that damage was so severe that repair would not
be possible. This meant that the 477 houses had to be demolished,
however, Birmingham City Council did not have the financial
services available to carry out the work. Residents of the estate
set up an Estate Development Group and architects
Webb Seeger Moorhouse were invited to
prepare a masterplan for the estate. They worked in partnership
with the residents and the city council. The masterplan and the
proposal to establish a community association were publicly
announced in October 1989 in a public meeting to the residents of
the estate who unanimously approved the plans. Stockfield Community
Association was formed in 1991 and a redevelopment partnership was
then formed between the Community Association, Birmingham City
Council, Halifax Building Society and Bromford Carinthia Housing
Association, with Anthony Collins Solicitors and Webb Seeger
Moorhouse Community Architects giving support.
Wimpey Homes were appointed as the developers
and work on the first phase of the estate commenced in July 1991.
This was met with opposition with some residents refusing to move
and the crime on the estate was so bad that the washing machine in
the show home provided by Wimpey was stolen. The first phase, 17
Bromford family homes for rent, were opened in the summer of 1991
by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham. By 1998, all four phases of the
estate were completed by Wimpey Homes.
Demography
The
2001 Population Census recorded
that there were 26,635 people living in Acock's Green with a
population density of 5,580 people/km². The 1991 Population Census
recorded 26,087 residents living in the ward, a decline of 6.7%
from 1981. 51.5% of the population is female whilst 48.5 is male.
19.6% (5,188) of the ward's population consists of ethnic
minorities compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general. 80.4% of
the population are White making it the largest ethnic group in the
ward. Chinese was the smallest ethnic group in the ward at 0.7%,
compared with the Birmingham average of 1.1%. 13% of the ward's
population was born outside the United Kingdom, compared with the
Birmingham average of 16.5% and the national average of 9.3%.
Christianity was the most prominent
religion in the ward at 64.3%, above the city average of 59.1%.
Islam was the second most selected religion at
7.7%, although "No Religion" had a higher percentage at
13.7%.
98.8% of the population live in households, which is above the
Birmingham average of 98.3% and the national average of 98.2%. 1.2%
live in communal establishments. There were 11,008 occupied
households in the ward at the time of the census with an average of
2.4 people per household, equal to the national average. 305
households were vacant. 57.2% of the total households were owner
occupied, below the city average of 60.4% and the national average
of 68.7%. The majority of the houses in Acock's Green were terraced
(39%), whilst semi-detached houses were also common in the area
(36.4%).
17.5% of people are of a pensionable age and 58.2% are of a working
age. 9.1% of the ward population was unemployed, above city average
of 6.8% and the national average of 4.1%. 36.6% of the unemployed
had been in such a situation for the long term, whilst 13.5% had
never worked. The majority of those that were employed worked in
the manufacturing sector (18.6%). Wholesale & Retail Trade and
Vehicle Repairs Finance and Real Estate & Business Activities
were both major employment sectors in the area at 16.4%. The
largest employer based in Acock's Green is Eaton Electric Ltd,
employing approximately 750 people.
Politics
The Acock's Green Ward is currently represented by three
Liberal Democrat councillors at
Birmingham City Council;
Iain Bowen, Roger Harmer and Penny Wagg.
The ward has adopted a Ward Support Officer, with the current
holder of the title being Bari Aziz.
Education
Within its borders are seven primary schools and two secondary
schools.
Acock's Green Primary School was created in 2004 upon the
amalgamation of Acock's Green Junior School and Acock's Green
Infant School. It is located in buildings dating to 1908. It was
opened in 1909 by
Worcestershire County Council
and was transferred to Birmingham City Council in 1911. The school
consisted of Boys, Girls and Infants departments, but in 1932 it
was reorganised into Senior Mixed and Junior Mixed departments. The
Senior Mixed department became a separate school in 1945 and the
Junior Mixed department became a primary school at the same time.
It currently has approximately 480 pupils.
The Cottesbrooke Infant and Junior schools opened on September 6,
1968 as a combined school. As the school was so oversubscribed,
which resulted in the use of the local church hall for lessons, it
was decided to split the school into an infant school and a junior
school. The infant school remained in the original school buildings
whilst the junior school was moved over the road with the original
headteacher taking charge. Cottesbrooke Infant School has 329
pupils whilst Cottesbrooke Junior School has 220.
Holy Souls Primary School is a
voluntary aided Roman Catholic primary school.
It is run
by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
Birmingham
in partnership with Birmingham Local Education
Authority. The school was established in 1907 and moved into
its current premises in 1968. There are 401 pupils on roll.
Oaklands Primary School, which was a primary school on Dolphin
Lane, was constructed in 1928 and opened in 1929 as Oaklands County
Primary School. It was expanded in 1932.
In 1950, one of the
timber buildings which formed the infants block was dismantled and
reassembled in the newly-constructed Gilbertstone
estate to form Gilbertstone Primary School.
It currently has 335 pupils on roll.
Archbishop Ilsley Catholic Technology
College and Sixth Form Centre
is a specialist Technology College with a sixth form centre. Construction commenced
in 1955 and the school was opened in 1957. The school is named in
memory of Archbishop
Edward Ilsley,
who built the first church in Acocks Green.
Ninestiles
Technology College
has over 1,300 laptop
computers. It is attached to Fox Hollies Leisure Centre,
which complements Acock's Green's other sports, gym and
recreational facilities.
Fox
Hollies School and Performing Arts College, in Fox Hollies in
the western area of the ward, is a
special school.
A private school is to be found on Yardley Road. Adult education
takes place at Stone Hall, Archbishop Ilsley Technology College,
Ninestiles Technology College, and Fox Hollies Leisure Centre. City
College run an IT training facility from the Green. There is a yoga
institute on Westley Road.
Places of interest
Acock's Green also has numerous parks and green spots, including
Fox Hollies Park in the south which is home to a man-made lake
called Round Pool.
The roundabout where Warwick Road meets Shirley Road and Westley
Road is called
The Green by most locals. This is the main
shopping area in Acock's Green. Most of the general retail shops
are located here and further along Warwick Road. There is also a
library and a bowling alley. Outside The
Green you will not find many shops except
convenience stores and
off-licences, although there is a large modern
bingo hall located on Stockfield Road.
Acock's
Green has seven churches including
St Mary
the Virgin, Acocks Green
, Holy Souls, a Methodist church on Shirley Road, a
Baptist church on Yadley Road and the Ghamkol Sharif Mosque. There is
a large cultural diversity in Acock's Green with a mix of people
from all religions and races. In recent years, Acock's Green has
begun to see an increase in Polish residents.
On August 12, 2006,
Gospel Lane Skatepark was opened to the public.
It was created using Neighbourhood Renewal Fund grants and through
the advice of youngsters who would use the park. The British Legion
have a local office and club in the ward. Hall Green Little Theatre
is also located in Acock's Green.
The area is served by Acock's Green library which has been in use
since June 14, 1932. Outside the library is the Acock's Green
war memorial.
Transport
Acocks Green railway station
Acock's
Green has very good transport links to Birmingham city centre and
Solihull
. Birmingham Moor Street
and Solihull
stations can both be reached in under ten minutes
by train from Acocks Green railway station
or Spring Road railway station
.
Many bus routes are served by Acock's Green Bus Garage, including
the
Outer Circle (11A/11C),
which is the longest urban bus route in any European city. The 37
service links Solihull and Birmingham City Centre and runs mainly
along the Warwick Road, passing through "The Green". The 37 bus
route is also featured in Acocks Green, this runs between the areas
of Solihull and Birmingham City Centre. Also the 31 service links
Hall Green Church and Birmingham City Centre and runs mainly along
Stratford Road, and runs in Acock's Green, as of November 2009, the
31 service runs directly through Acocks Green Village. The 1
service runs between Acocks Green and Birmingham Town Hall (located
in Birmingham City Centre) via Moseley.
The area can become congested and there have been calls for a
bypass to ease pressure on the roads. Businesses in the shopping
area have opposed the ideas as they have concerns about loss of
passing trade and residents do not want increases in traffic past
their houses. Another idea which has been proposed in recent years
to resolve some of the problems of congestion in the centre, whilst
also making the area more pedestrian friendly, is to introduce a
type of high street design known as
Shared
Space.
References
- Acock's Green History Society: The Rover shadow
factory
- Acock's Green History Society: Acock's Green's
vulnerability
- Birmingham City Council: Acocks Green
Today
- Acocks Green Ward Development Plan
- Birmingham Economy: Acock's Green
- Records of Acock's Green County Primary School,
1909-1956, Birmingham City Archives, transferred by the Chief
Education Officer in November 1973 [Catalogue Reference: S1]
- 'Public Education: Schools ', A History of the County of
Warwick: Volume 7: The City of Birmingham (1964), pp. 501-548. URL:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22984. Date
accessed: 02 May 2008.
- Acock's Green Focus Group: Campaign for the
Regeneration of Acock's Green Centre
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