Great Barr

Infobox UK place |
country = England
map_type= West Midlands
official_name= Great Barr
latitude = 52.548
longitude = -1.932
population=
metropolitan_borough=
metropolitan_county= West Midlands
region = West Midlands
constituency_westminster= various
post_town= BIRMINGHAM, WALSALL
postcode_district= B
postcode_area= B
dial_code= 0121
os_grid_reference= SP047945

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.

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 Michael Sams abducted estate agent Stephanie Slater from a house in Turnberry Road, Great Barr before holding her for eight days in January 1992. Following receipt of £175,000 ransom, Sams released her. Police arrested him three weeks later and he was sentenced to life imprisonment for abducting Slater and murdering Leeds prostitute Julie Dart. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19980816/ai_n14179797]

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.

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. "Nicholson waterways Guide 2 - Severn, Avon and Birmingham", Collins, 2006 ISBN 978-0-00-721110-4]

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.

chools

Great Barr is well served with a number of primary and secondary schools.

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

econdary 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/ Birmingham City Council]
* [http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/ Sandwell Council (includes West Bromwich)]
* [http://www.walsall.gov.uk/ Walsall Council]
* [http://www.B43.co.uk B43 postcode area]
* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/redhousepark/index.html Friends of Red House Park]
* [http://www.laws.sandwell.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/leisure-and-culture/museums-and-galleries/bishop-asbury-cottage/ Bishop Asbury Cottage (page on the Sandwell Council website)]