Bearwood, West Midlands

General description

Modern Bearwood centres around the Bearwood Road, and especially the crossroads with Sandon Road (to the east) and Three Shire Oak Road (to the west). Historically, Bearwood extended as far north as Smethwick High Street by Victoria Park east of the Council House. The 1899 Smethwick Borough surveyor's map of Smethwick shows Bearwood Ward as including Cheshire Road from its junction immediately opposite the Council House. Bearwood Hill is the old name for the High Street south of Victoria Park. The approach to Cape Hill from Birmingham via Portland Road still (March 2014) has a sign saying Bearwood.

Bearwood has a series of shopping parades along Bearwood Road, including a small indoor market, and a number of other local amenities such as banks, supermarkets, bakeries and pharmacies. There are several opticians and a large NHS dental practice situated on this road. The Birmingham Outer Circle bus routes (the 11A and the 11C), which link Birmingham's suburbs, have stops here. Bearwood also has a number of restaurants serving a range of different cuisines.

Bearwood Road leads northwards to Smethwick High Street, and at the southern end joins Hagley Road, one of the main arterial routes into Birmingham from the M5 at Junction 3. If the plans for the Midlands Metro extension along the Hagley Road are realised, Bearwood will also have a tram stop.

Between 1923 and 1973, Bearwood was the headquarters of the Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Company - or "Midland Red" - based at the company's depot in Bearwood Road. Although most of the company's innovative buses were built at its Carlyle Road workshops in nearby Edgbaston, they were all registered at Bearwood and as such carried the Smethwick 'HA' prefix on their number plates.

History

Maps of the Bearwood area up to the mid 19th century show the area as being rural, with farms, mansions such as Lightwoods House, and two small hamlets near the main crossroads. Bearwood Road was an important route linking the growing industrial area of Smethwick with Harborne, Selly Oak and King's Norton, with crossroads at Sandon Road (site of The Bear Tavern) and Hagley Road (site of The King's Head). From about 1880, there was quite rapid growth with a mixture of "ribbon development" and planned streets. This development ignored the county boundaries, and covered the Staffordshire central section along Bearwood Road, and spread into Warwickshire (eastwards), Shropshire (north-westwards) and Worcestershire (south-westwards). By 1903, the entire area of Bearwood between Barnsley Road and Wigorn Road, north of Adkins Lane, and as far north as Rawlings Road (marked by the Baptist Chapel) had been developed in an orderly manner.

Also by 1903, most of the northern section of Bearwood Ward had also been developed. The north-east part included the M&B Brewery, and a substantial housing estate for the brewery workers. In 1903, Beakes Farm retained open country from Rawlings Road to Waterloo Road. The older terraces in Willow Avenue, Poplar Avenue and Dorset Road has also been built.

The early 20th century before World War 1 was marked by a number of ornate landmark buildings. One example is the 1908 structure opposite The Bear Tavern on the corner of Sandon Road and Bearwood Road. Built in 1907 for the Co-operative Society, this imposing building with terra cotta ornaments is now divided into a number of separate shops.

The Merrivale Road housing estate south of Hadley Stadium was built from 1905 to 1908.

Some of the Birmingham conurbation's older properties can be found in the roads adjoining Bearwood Road. A traditionally upper working class area of Victorian terraced houses, this has more recently become much sought after, as house prices in neighbouring areas such as Harborne have moved out of the range of first time buyers.

Commerce and industry

Until the main era of house building in the 20th century, the main industry was agriculture. By 1903, Beakes Farm between Rawlings Road and Hadley Stadium was the last farm. Bearwood has had very little manufacturing industry, the most important being the William Mitchell Pens factory at the northern end of Bearwood Road.

The main commercial activity is shops and other service sector businesses.

Landmarks

For completeness, landmarks up to the 1899 Bearwood Ward boundary, and those associated with the Bearwood area, both on the Birmingham side of the border, and west of Thimblemill Brook, may be included.

Northern

This section is now thought of as Cape Hill rather than Bearwood, but it was in the original Bearwood Ward of Smethwick Borough Council as surveyed in 1889.

The Edward Cheshire Nurses Home is near the most northerly point of the old Bearwood Ward in the time of the old Smethwick Town Council.

Central

For convenience, this is taken as the area south of the junction of Waterloo Road and Bearwood Road, to the north side of the junction of Bearwood Road with Sandon Road and Three Shire Oak Road.

Birmingham side

Sandon Road has two church buildings which are locally associated with Bearwood.

West of Thimblemill

Abbey Infant and Junior schools, on the peak of Abbey Road by Warley Woods, serve the Bearwood area.

Transport

Bearwood is well served by major bus routes, with the Bearwood Interchange at the crossroads of the Hagley Road and Bearwood Road. Some other bus routes cross the Bearwood Road by The Bear.

Parks

Lightwoods Park is located to the west of Bearwood, on the north side of Hagley Road. It consists of Lightwoods House and grounds. In 1902, following the death of Caleb Adkins, the house and grounds were put up for sale, with the risk that it would be demolished for building houses on the estate. A. M. Chance led a committee which by public subscription purchased the estate and handed it over to Birmingham Corporation as a public park. By 1905, further public subscriptions enabled more land to be bought and added to the park.

The bandstand and other features have the Birmingham City crest with the motto, "Birmingham Forward" in recognition of the ownership of the park by Birmingham City Corporation.

The most recent tenant of Lightwoods House was the Hardman company, which makes stained glass windows. In November 2010, by agreement between the two Councils, Lightwoods Park was handed over to Sandwell MBC.

Features include a skateboard ramp and bowling green. "The Shakespeare Garden", a walled garden alongside the house, was planted with every identifiable plant in Shakespeare's plays. The bandstand (a Grade II listed building ). A drinking fountain also has City of Birmingham inscriptions. The historic Lightwoods House, a Grade II listed building is now undergoing extensive renovation.

Also on 14 September 2012 it was host to a Drive-in movie for the viewing of Grease one of the first Drive-In movies in the United Kingdom for many years.

Warley Woods is grade II listed on the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. It covers 100 acres (0.40 km²) and includes a meadow, woodland and a public golf course.

Every year Warley Woods hosts a music festival entitled Picnic In The Park - to promote local bands & artists and to raise funds to maintain the parkland.

Primary

Bearwood Primary School is the main school in Bearwood, located on Bearwood Road on the corner with Ethel Street. above average size, serving 479 pupils, it is a mixed sex school for children aged of 3 to 11 years.

St Gregory's Primary School on Park Road, between Abbey Road and St Mary's Road, is a mixed school for children aged 3 to 11.

Abbey Infants School and Abbey Junior School lie to the west, overlooking Warley Woods at the junction of Abbey Road and Barclay Road.

Secondary

At the northern end of the Bearwood area is Shireland Collegiate Academy, on Waterloo Road.

On the southern border, in Harborne, Lordswood Boys' School and Lordswood Girls' School take a substantial number of students from the Bearwood area.

Places of worship

The local Church of England parish church is St Mary's, which stands at the junction of Bearwood Road and St Mary's Road. The parish was originally part of the parish of St Peter's, Harborne.

There is a Roman Catholic church (Our Lady and St Gregory's) on Three Shires Oak Road.

Bearwood Baptist Church is on the corner of Bearwood Road and Rawlings Road.

Bearwood Chapel is set back from Bearwood Road opposite the Bearwood Primary School.

The Methodist Church is now in the former Church of Christ Scientist on the junction of Sandon Road and Poplar Avenue.

The original Wesleyan Methodist Church building on the corner of Sandon Road and Barnsley Road is now used by the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

New Life Christian Centre is the Assembly of God Pentecostal church, located on Pargeter Road near to Thimblemill Road.

Local entertainment

Bearwood has a small range of local restaurants, including: Azadi Persian Restaurant, The King's Head, Purnima (formerly Teknaf Cuisine) Butler Dosa (S Indian) Haweli (Indian).

Local pub The Bear Tavern (The Bear Hotel) hosted comedy nights in the 1980s hosted by local comedian Frank Skinner (Chris Collins) and many TV comedians appeared there, including Sean Hughes, Ed Byrne and some of TV's "The Fast Show". It now stages a monthly clubnight, Club Mojo, and hosts an annual charity Music festival entitled Bearwoodstock. "The Midland" a real ale pub opened in July 2014 at the site of the old Midland Bank on Bearwood Road.

Bearwood's main musical claim to fame lies with Christine Perfect, who grew up in Bearwood and studied sculpture at art college in Birmingham. She joined Fleetwood Mac and married John McVie in 1970 and, as Christine McVie, went on to become one of the outstanding members in the band's long and illustrious career. Keith Law member of the bands, Velvett Fogg and 'Jardine', lived in Park Road, Bearwood, in the mid-1980s. Other musical claims to fame include the now defunct "Little Nibble" cafe getting a mention on Dexy's Midnight Runners "Don't Stand Me Down" album and local -ish band The Twang rehearsing at the Sandwell Snooker Centre in the town. Award-winning actress Julie Walters is from Smethwick and lived in Bishopton Road as a child.

There are many local musicians in the area and until recently there were regular acoustic performances at Atticus Bar, which closed its doors in November 2008. Until his death in 2012 saxophonist Andy Hamilton performed weekly gigs along with his sons and Blue Notes band at the Corks Club on Bearwood High Street.

Since 2015 a theatre group, called The Bearwood Players, was set up by a local resident to raise money for charity. In November 2015 their first production, a version of the traditional pantomime, Cinderella, was performed at the Bearwood Corks Club raising money for BBC Children in Need. A total of just over £3,800 was raised. In July 2016 they performed Hairspray - The Musical, again at the Corks Club and raised £20,000 - again for BBC CiN. Since July 2016 the Bearwood Players have moved venues to the Windsor Theatre Bar on Bearwood Road.

In 2011 a group of local people began to stage free music events at the bandstand in Lightwoods Park, these events are known as the Bearwood Shuffle and have attracted large crowds with an eclectic mix of local acts both established and unsigned.