Fordbridge is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in England between

Kingshurst Kingshurst is a post-war housing estate and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands. It lies about east of Birmingham city centre. Smith's Wood borders it to the north and east, Fordbridge to the south and th ...

and

Chelmsley Wood Chelmsley Wood is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England, with a population of 12,453. It is located near Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre. It lies about eight miles eas ...

in the

Metropolitan Borough of Solihull The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough in West Midlands county, England. It is named after its largest town, Solihull, from which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is based. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region ...

, which is in the West Midlands and also part of the

West Midlands conurbation The West Midlands conurbation is the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the towns of Sutton Coldfield, Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge and Halesowen in the English West Midland ...

. It is east of

Birmingham city centre Birmingham City Centre, also known as Central Birmingham and often known locally as town, is the central business district of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is now defined as being the area wi ...

. It has a town council. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 8,749. Fordbridge lies within the historic county of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

. The area falls within the borders of North Solihull, parts of which are currently undergoing a £1.8 billion regeneration project. Many inhabitants of Fordbridge do not recognise it as a distinct area, instead classing it as part of the larger Chelmsley Wood Estate. The area around the eastern end of Cooks Lane is also often referred to as "Bacon's End".

Etymology

Fordbridge gets its name from the crossing over the River Cole on Cooks Lane, which was referred to as "Ford Bridge" on 19th century OS maps. This name suggests this site was previously a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, but eventually a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

was built on the site of that ford, thus giving the bridge and ultimately the civil parish its name.

Education

Fordbridge lies inbetween a number of schools in the surrounding areas. Schools in and around the local area include:

Nearby Secondary Schools

* Tudor Grange Academy Kingshurst *

John Henry Newman Catholic College John Henry Newman Catholic College (JHNCC), formerly ''Archbishop Grimshaw School'', is an English secondary school in the Fordbridge area of Solihull, although it lies in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull The Metropolitan Borough of Soli ...

Grace Academy (Solihull) Grace Academy is a non-selective co-educational secondary school within the English Academy programme, at Chelmsley Wood, Solihull, West Midlands. It opened in 2006 and replaced the old Whitesmore School. It is a specialist Business and Enterpr ...

* Smiths Wood Sports College * Park Hall Academy * The Coleshill School * Tile Cross Academy Also close by in Smith's Wood is the

Solihull College Solihull College & University Centre, formerly called Solihull Technical College, is a further education college located in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands, England. The College has two main campuses; the Blossomfiel ...

Woodlands Campus.

Primary schools

* Fordbridge Community Primary School * St Anne's Catholic Primary School * Bishop Wilson Church of England Nursery, Infant, and Junior School * Kingshurst Primary School * Saint Anthony's Catholic Primary School * St John The Baptist RC Primary School * Kingfisher Primary School

Transport

National Express West Midlands National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, as well as limited routes outside of the general area of Birmingham, s ...

operate a number of buses in and around the Fordbridge area. The Cooks Lane area is served by the 94, 55 and 71 bus services while Bosworth Drive is served by the 97 and 14 routes. Close by is Chelmsley Wood shopping centre which hosts a wide range of transport options. Buses are available to and from Solihull town centre, Coleshill,

Castle Bromwich Castle Bromwich () is a large suburban village situated within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of the West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east; also Sutton Coldfield to the east and ...

, Sutton Coldfield and

Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Borou ...

. The closest railway station is

Marston Green Marston Green is a large suburban village of around 5,000 residents in the civil parish of Bickenhill and Marston Green, in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands. It lies within the historic counties o ...

. From there, there are trains to Birmingham International,

Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...

, and stations in Coventry as well as services to London Euston station.

Leisure

Fordbridge is served by North Solihull Sports Centre.

Politics

In the British House of Commons, Fordbridge is in the Meriden constituency. The Conservative Party have held the seat since 1979, with the current MP being

Saqib Bhatti Mohammad Saqib Bhatti (born 18 June 1985) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Meriden since the 2019 general election. He has been the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Business ...

, although Fordbridge itself is traditionally Labour-voting area.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Fordbridge
Fordbridge Town Council
Towns in the West Midlands (county) Solihull