Great Barr
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Great Barr | |
  Great Barr shown within the West Midlands |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan county | West Midlands |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIRMINGHAM, WALSALL |
| Postcode district | B |
| Dialling code | 0121 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | various |
| List of places: UK • England • West Midlands | |
Great Barr is a large and loosely-defined area which straddles the boundaries of Birmingham, West Bromwich (Sandwell; including the Great Barr with Yew Tree Ward) and Walsall, West Midlands, England. "Barr" means "hill", and the name refers to nearby Barr Beacon.
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[edit] History
Great Barr was a largely rural area on the Staffordshire-Warwickshire border as recently as the First World War, but during the 1920s development for private and council housing began and by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 it was a very busy residential area with good road connections to West Bromwich, Walsall and Birmingham.
Expansion continued after the war, and during the 1960s it received a motorway link when Junction 7 of the M6 motorway was opened on the A34. It is also located close to the starting point of the M5, which can be accessed just one mile (1.6 km) northwards on the M6.
Kidnapper and murderer Michael Sams held estate agent Stephanie Slater captive at a house in Great Barr for several days in January 1992, before letting her go and spending three weeks on the run before police finally arrested him. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 1993 for abducting Stephanie Slater and murdering Leeds prostitute Julie Dart, who died in July 1991. Sams had originally denied murdering Ms Dart but later confessed. He is still in prison as of 2008.[1]
[edit] Geography
The traditional centre of Great Barr is focussed on the busy junction of the A34 and A4041 roads, at the Scott Arms public house and shopping centre. This is named after the Scott family of Great Barr Hall, which was once home of Samuel Galton and a meeting place of the Lunar Society.
However, the name is also loosely applied to a swathe of the West Midlands bounded by junction 8 of the M6 motorway in the west, the Birmingham - Walsall railway line (part of the former Grand Junction Railway, opened in 1837, and including Hamstead railway station, formerly called Great Barr station) and Perry Barr to the south, Kingstanding to the east, and the open countryside of Barr Beacon to the north.
Great Barr includes much of the B42, B43 and B44 postcode areas.
[edit] Places of interest
Bishop Asbury Cottage (incorrectly named as "Bishop Ashbury's Cottage" on Ordnance Survey maps), was where Francis Asbury, the first American Methodist Bishop, was raised. It is owned by Sandwell Council and is Grade II listed. It is open by appointment for group visits, and opens occasionally to the general public. More details of access and opening times can be found in the link below.
Great Barr Hall is a Grade II* listed building, and due its current state of disrepair It is not open to the public.
Red House Park is open to the public and provides important amenities for the local community. It is owned by the Sandwell Council. In the grounds are both the Red House itself and an obelisk erected in memory of Princess Charlotte who died in childbirth in November 1817. The Red House is Grade II listed building, but is not currently open to the public and its future is uncertain.
Birmingham Canal Navigations' Tame Valley Canal runs through Great Barr, from Piercy Aqueduct at Hamstead, along a cutting in 200-million year old sandstone, under Freeth bridge at Tower Hill, under the A34 and into Perry Barr Locks at Perry Barr. [1]
[edit] Notable residents
Musicians Steve Winwood,Dave Swarbrick and actor Martin Shaw were raised in the Birmingham part of Great Barr. All three attended Great Barr School. Winwood was born in the nearby suburb of Handsworth.
[edit] Schools
Great Barr is well served with a number of primary and secondary schools.
[edit] Primary schools
- Calshot Primary School is a mixed infant and junior school.
- Glenmead Primary School is a mixed junior and infant school.
- Grove Vale Primary School is a mixed junior and infant school.
- Whitecrest Primary School is a mixed junior and infant school.
- St Margarets CE Primary School is a mixed junior and infant school.
- Holy Name RC Primary School is a mixed junior and infant school.
- St Mark's RC Primay School is a mixed junior and infant school.
- Greenholm primary school a mixed junior and infant school.
- Great Barr Primary School a mixed junior and infant school
[edit] Secondary schools
- Dartmouth High School is a mixed school catering for children aged 11 to 19.
- Great Barr School is a mixed school catering for children aged 11 to 19.
- Perry Beeches School is a Technology College catering for children of both sexes aged 11 to 16.
[edit] References
- ^ Nicholson waterways Guide 2 - Severn, Avon and Birmingham, Collins, 2006 ISBN 978-0-00-721110-4
