Solihull


Solihull is a large town and administrative centre in England with a population of 123,187 in the 2011 Census. Historically in Warwickshire, it is the largest town in, and administrative centre of, the larger Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, which itself has a population of 214,909. Solihull is situated southeast of Birmingham, northwest of Warwick and northwest of London.
Solihull is the most affluent town of the West Midlands, and one of the most affluent areas in the UK outside London. In November 2013, the uSwitch Quality of Life Index named Solihull the "best place to live" in the United Kingdom.

History

Toponymy

Solihull's name is commonly thought to have derived from the position of its parish church, St Alphege, on a 'soily' hill. The church was built on a hill of stiff red marl, which turned to sticky mud in wet weather.

Early history

The town is noted for its historic architecture, which includes surviving 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 English Gothic church architecture, with a traditional spire 168 feet high, making it visible from a great distance. It is located at the head of High Street and is a Grade I listed building. 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.

20th century

Unlike Birmingham, the Industrial Revolution largely passed Solihull by and until the 20th century Solihull remained a small market town.
World War II had minimal effect on Solihull. 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 railway lines, Solihull escaped largely intact.
In 1901, the population of the town was just 7,500. This growth was due to a number of factors including a large slum clearance programme in Birmingham, the development of the 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 terraced houses linking High Street with Warwick Road. The construction of the central shopping area known as Mell Square involved the demolition of properties in Mill Lane and Drury Lane, some of which were several hundred years old, 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 the town's oldest landmarks, The George, which dates from the 16th century. It is now called the Ramada Jarvis Hotel.
On 23 November 1981, an F0/T1 tornado touched down in nearby Shirley. The tornado later moved over Solihull town centre, causing some damage to the town centre before dissipating.
Arden Golf Club, Solihull, was founded in 1891. The course was still appearing on maps into the 1930s.

Governance

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, Balsall Common, Castle Bromwich and Chelmsley Wood.
The member of parliament for the Solihull constituency is Conservative Julian Knight, who won his seat in 2015.

Wards

There are 17 wards in Solihull; Olton, Knowle, Dorridge, Silhill, Blythe, Meriden, Elmdon, Lyndon, Smith's Wood, Chelmsley Wood, Hockley Heath, St. Alphege, Shirley West, Shirley East, Shirley South, Kingshurst & Fordbridge, Castle Bromwich and Bickenhill. Each ward is represented by three councillors at Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, making a total of 51 councillors. The mayor is elected by the Council and is currently Stuart Davis of the Conservative Party.

Education

Solihull has no university, but there are seven universities within of the town; five in Birmingham and two in Coventry. However, Solihull College, formerly known as the Solihull College of Technology, incorporates a University Centre which offers several foundation degree and full degree courses, particularly in technical subject areas such as computer sciences and engineering. As yet it has not applied to attain university college status.
There is also a sixth form college located on the outskirts of the town centre. This is known as Solihull Sixth Form College.
Solihull School is an independent school and is located on Warwick Road near the centre of the town. It was founded in 1560 and celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2010.
Solihull had a 'Wave 1' proposal of the Building Schools for the Future investment programme approved. They were awarded over £80 million to transform six schools in the north of the borough in December 2004. As a result of the funding, there will be six new schools constructed within seven years. The school curriculum will be redesigned as well as a further £6 million investment in managed ICT services. The six schools to be rebuilt are Park Hall, Smith's Wood, Archbishop Grimshaw, Lanchester Special School and Forest Oak and Merstone special schools. Forest Oak and Merstone have been already rebuilt on one site. Lanchester, Park Hall and Smith's Wood have been built by BAM PPP, under 'Private Finance Initiative'. Archbishop Grimshaw has been built by BAM PPP under a traditional contract.

Transport

A number of main roads pass through Solihull including the A41 Birmingham to Warwick road and the A34 Birmingham to Stratford road: the A34 becomes the commercial centre of Shirley, making for a busy town-centre feel along the main 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. Birmingham Airport is located in Solihull.
Solihull railway station is on the former Great Western Railway line from Birmingham Snow Hill station to London Paddington although trains now run along the Chiltern Main Line terminating at London Marylebone. Solihull railway station was first built on a very grand scale, with 2 island platforms complete with nearly full length canopies, and a large goods yard, boasting space for some 200+ waggons; the yard was equipped with a loading dock, goods shed and large crane. Solihull was also rare in being only one of a handful of stations in the area to have a goods relief line..
Other railway 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 through Solihull are now run by Chiltern Railways and local services by West Midlands Railway. Cross Country trains pass through the station but no longer stop here.
The Grand Union Canal passes across Solihull, coming within of the town centre and linking the town to the River Thames in London.
Local bus services are provided largely by National Express West Midlands from their Yardley Wood and Acocks Green depots in south and southeast Birmingham respectively. Other services are provided by Johnson's of Henley-in-Arden, including service X20 between Coventry and Stratford-upon-Avon, Landflight and Diamond Bus.

Economy

Solihull offers a variety of shopping facilities. It has an open-air 1960s-style shopping centre called Mell Square which was constructed following the demolition of several terraces of Victorian houses and the original Solihull Congregational Church. In recent years, the town has undergone much development, and High Street has been pedestrianised since 1994. On 2 July 2002, a large new shopping centre, Touchwood, was opened by the Queen.
Solihull is the home of the four-wheel-drive car manufacturer Land Rover's main production plant and a range of other major companies. The village of Meriden was the famous home of the Triumph motorbike factory from 1942-1983. The former home of retail bakers Three Cooks, after it was brought out of administration in 2006, the new company Cooks the Bakery retains its HQ in Solihull. Other major companies headquartered in Solihull include pub company Enterprise Inns, mortgage and personal loan provider Paragon, and retail and commercial bank Secure Trust Bank.
The National Exhibition Centre is within the borough of Solihull, as is almost all of Birmingham Airport and the ever-expanding Birmingham Business Park.

Communal facilities

Parks and local nature reserves

Solihull has a number of parks and local nature reserves, including:
Other parks include Tudor Grange Park, Elmdon Park, Hillfield Park, Cole Bank Park, Knowle Park and Shirley Park. The nearest parks to the town centre are Malvern and Brueton Parks. They are interlinked and cover a total area of about. 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 Independent School for Girls.
Solihull also has the UK's first dedicated hedgehog conservation area.
The River Blythe, a headwater tributary of the River Trent, passes through parts of Solihull including Malvern and Tudor Grange Parks.

Leisure

Solihull has numerous leisure facilities including a public swimming pool on the edge of Tudor Grange Park. This pool replaced the old Tudor Grange Sports Centre, which was demolished in 2007, to make way for the brand new leisure centre. This in turn had replaced the outdoor swimming pool – Malvern Park Lido – that had served Solihull from 1954 till its closure in 1982. At present there are two sports centres, the more modern Tudor Grange Sports Centre, and the older North Solihull Sports 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. There are several Scout groups including which is based in the south of Solihull and is sponsored by the Royal Navy providing 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 a Riley's snooker club.

Events

Every year since the early 1930s, Solihull Carnival has taken place. This is now fixed to the first weekend after the June half-term and takes place in Tudor Grange Park, organised by Shirley Round Table. The event raises about £10,000 for charitable causes each year.
Tudor Grange Park is also the venue for the annual free firework display held on the Saturday closest to 5 November, organised by Solihull Round Table. The event attracts about 15,000 people to the park.

Sport

The largest football club in the town is Solihull Moors, who play at Damson Park, from the town centre. The club was established in 2007 following the merger of Solihull Borough and Moor Green and currently play in the National League after being promoted from the National League North at the end of the 2015-16 season.
Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C., known as "the Bees", compete in Midlands 4 West league as of 2020-21. The club played at Sharmans Cross Road until August 2010, and following a brief spell at Solihull Moors' Damson Park ground the club now play at Portway.
Solihull Swimming Club is based at Tudor Grange Leisure Centre, Solihull School and St. Martin’s School. First established in 1963, the club now boasts over 600 members and also runs water polo teams.
Solihull Barons are the local ice hockey team and play their home games at the Solihull Ice Rink.
Solihull also has a number of field hockey clubs, namely Old Silhillians Hockey Club, Olton & West Warwickshire Hockey Club and Solihull Blossomfield Hockey Club.
Gaelic games are played by Warwickshire GAA who play their home matches in Páirc na hÉireann in Solihull.
The town has an indoor bowling area and club.
Solihull is also home to Solihull Cycling Club which was founded in 1929. The club has produced National Champions, Olympic Medallists and Tour de France riders

Suburbs

Solihull town has several suburbs including Olton, Solihull Lodge, Blossomfield, Haslucks Green, Sharmans Cross, Cranmore, Shirley, Shirley Heath, Hillfield, Monkspath, Widney Manor, Lode Heath, Elmdon Heath, and World's End.
Solihull Borough includes several satellite towns and villages including Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Cheswick Green, Dorridge, Dickens Heath, Knowle, Balsall Common, Meriden, Hampton in Arden, Hockley Heath, Eastcote, Barston, Bickenhill, Catherine-de-Barnes and Bentley Heath.

Twin towns

Solihull is twinned with:

  • Cholet, France
  • Main-Taunus-Kreis, Germany

    • Notable people

    This list includes notable persons who were born or have lived in Solihull.