Minworth

Minworth is a village on the outskirts of Birmingham in the West Midlands area of England. It is located near Walmley, Wishaw, Warwickshire, Curdworth, Thimble End and Castle Vale.

A large Asda Wal-Mart Supercentre is situated on the Minworth border with Walmley. This opened on 3 May 1977 as a Carrefour,^[1]before being taken over by Gateway in 1987 and since about 1990 it has been an Asda. By 2007, however, the building was becoming outdated and Asda decided to rebuild it, the new store opening in November 2009.^[2]

The site also has a Wickes. There is a Homebase on the adjacent site and a Screwfix opposite. Minworth has two pubs: The Hare and Hounds and The Boat, which lies on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. Minworth Social Club is on Water Orton Lane. Navpreets Convenience is a small local shop on Kingsbury Road and opposite this is Mansells offering MOTs and repair services for motorcycles, bicycles and lawnmowers. Motorcycle training is provided by Spirit Rider on the Kingsbury Road and further motorcycle repair services are provided by Flying on Wings Motorcycle Repair, which is adjacent. Also nearby are: Chili Spice Indian takeaway and Hullternative environmental services.

On Forge Lane and Maybrook Road there are industrial units including: Selecta (vending); steelworks; Cooke & Son (furniture); Speedy (hire); Safestyle UK and Selco (building). At Midpoint Park there are premises for: The Works (books); Cadbury; Hozelock (hoses) and a paper company. Towards the east of Minworth there is a large Severn Trent wastewater treatment plant. Opposite there is an American Auto Center offering specialist services for US vehicles.

History

Minworth's name probably came from Mynna's Estate. Minworth and Curdworth both originated in the 6th or 7th centuries, being established by Angle settlers, and are historically associated with the Arden family (William Shakespeare's maternal relations). Peddimore Hall is a double-moated farmstead and can be associated with the Ardens from 1298 until 1659. The present farmhouse can be dated to the 16th century.

Minworth was originally a hamlet in the parish of Curdworth in the hundred of Hemlingford.^[3] Minworth then became a civil parish in the Castle Bromwich Rural District of Warwickshire from 1894 to 1912, then becoming part of the Meriden Rural District. In 1931 the parish was abolished, with the populated parts being split between Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham, and an area of unpopulated land going to Castle Bromwich parish.^[4]

Plans to revitalise Minworth in the past have met with a cool reception. A council plan aimed to construct new housing, shops and encourage new industry into the area. However, residents did not back the plan as they wanted Minworth to remain the same. Another plan to develop an 11-acre (45,000 m²) patch of land into a canal-side marina also met with disapproval from residents, who did not want the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to become a busy area.^[5]

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]
3. ^ British History Online: A Topographical Dictionary of England - Minworth
4. ^ Vision of Britain entry
5. ^ Walmley and its surroundings (Chapter V: Minworth), Douglas V. Jones, 1990, Westwood Press (ISBN 0-948025-11-5)

Coordinates: 52°31′52.05″N 1°46′37.96″W / 52.531125°N 1.7772111°W / 52.531125; -1.7772111