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 north east, Shard End to the south west, Castle Vale, Erdington and Minworth to the north and Hodge Hill to the west – all areas of the City of Birmingham. It constitutes a civil parish, which had a population of 11,857 according to the 2001 census, falling to 11,217 at the 2011 census. The population has remained quite stable since then; the 2017 population estimate was 12,309.

It was a civil parish within the Meriden Rural District of Warwickshire until the Local Government Act 1972 came into force in 1974, when it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull.

In 1861, the population was 613. This rose to just over 1,000 in the 1920s, when half of the original parish was ceded to the City of Birmingham for the construction of overspill estates. This caused a drop to 678 (almost the 1861 level). Post Second World War estate building in Castle Bromwich increased the population to 4,356 in 1951, 9,205 in 1961 and 15,941 in 1971. The parish was then split into two, resulting in the lower 2001 figures.

History

Castle Bromwich was originally a Warwickshire village. There has been a settlement here since before Stone Age times. There is evidence that the area was first settled some 5,000 years ago. Romans, Saxons and Normans have also settled on this raised piece of land close to a natural ford across the River Tame. The Chester Road which runs through the village follows the line of a drovers' road called the Welsh Road, whose origins probably lie as an ancient trackway from the pre-Roman era. Bromwich is not named in the Domesday Book in 1086 yet was located within the ancient hundred of Coleshill. Bromwich comes from the old words 'brom' for the yellow flowering broom which grows here and 'wich' an ancient name for a dwelling or settlement. The motte (called the Pimple Hill locally) is some 40 metres in diameter and appears to be a natural feature that was probably heightened by Iron Age settlers, then by the later Normans and once again during the developed of the 1970s to make way for the A452 "Collector Road", which by-passed Castle Bromwich to the north.

The "Pimple" commanded the important crossing place of the River Tame. It still remains today, somewhat reduced, sandwiched between the M6 and the Collector Road (Castle Bromwich & Chelmsley Wood bypass). There was an extensive archaeological dig of the area prior to the development of the Pimple site, and discoveries were made that confirmed folk tales of the area. The Pimple was the highest point of an iron-age fortification that encompassed most of Castle Bromwich. The land between the Pimple and Kyters Lane was particularly well defended by several ridge and furrow workings; indeed, Kyters Lane and Rectory Lane were built within ditches. Other ditches were excavated between Kyters Lane and the Pimple but nothing of consequence was found. The name "Pimple" was commonly used from about the year 1915 onwards, and the story that the hill was a Saxon burial ground appeared around 1935, when the spread of dwellings from Washwood Heath began to appear over Hodge Hill. Modern houses now occupy the site and overlook the graveyard. The ridge and furrows have been obliterated.

There is a good view over Castle Vale (formerly Castle Bromwich Aerodrome) and the Tame valley from the top of the hill.

During the 18th century Castle Bromwich was an important place at the junction of two turnpike roads. Chester Road, an old Roman way which ran from London to Chester, joined the Birmingham to Coleshill road near Castle Bromwich Hall. There was a toll gate at the junction of Chester Road, School Lane and Old Croft Lane, near the village green. The toll house still exists, although the massive wide toll gate has been lost. In the 1780s stagecoaches travelling from Holyhead to London stopped in the village, as did a horse-drawn bus from Birmingham to Coleshill. There were several coaching inns and two survive today. The Midland Railway arrived in 1842 and Castle Bromwich Station was rebuilt in 1901. Boy Scouts used to arrive here and trek the four miles (6 km) to their major camp at Yorkswood in Kingshurst. The station closed in 1965 and was part-demolished in 1975.

Until 1894, the village was a hamlet in the large parish of Aston. Castle Bromwich has had historic ties with both Erdington and Water Orton through administration, governance and land ownership whilst being part of the Parish. The Local Government Act 1894 created a parish of Castle Bromwich from part of the Aston parish not in either Birmingham or Aston Manor urban district. It was part of the Castle Bromwich Rural District from 1894 until 1912, when it became part of the Meriden Rural District.

During the 18th, and especially during the 19th centuries wealthy Birmingham businessmen built large houses in Castle Bromwich.

Castle Bromwich has a village green. The land for this, called Seven Acre Green, was given to the village by Viscount Newport in 1895. The War Memorial was erected in 1920 on a small island nearby. There is also another green called Whateley Green. Whateley is derived from the Anglo-Saxon for wheatfield clearing. This was the site of the village's stray animal pounds and a smithy. It had two pounds, stocks and a whipping post. Whateley Hall was nearby. The ancient duck pond was filled in during the late 1950s.

In 1931, a portion of Castle Bromwich land was sold and ceded to the City of Birmingham who built the overspill Chipperfield Road development during 1937–8. This halved the area of the parish of Castle Bromwich, from to .

During World War II, the occupants of Chipperfield Road pulled down an ancient white-washed farm house thinking it would deny German bomber crews a marker to the aerodrome and the adjoining factories. The Firs Estate (as it was then known, and including Chipperfield Road, Oakdale Road, Millington Road and Ermington Crescent) were private semi-detached houses that briefly enjoyed the benefit of the farmland and golf links. In the late 1950s further development took place. The new council housing was built adjacent to Chipperfield Road and as far as the Newport Road. The name "Firs Estate" now points to the council estate and the name originated from the fir trees that stood near a large house between Chipperfield Road and Hodge Hill Common.

The council housing was also extended up what was known locally as "The Golf Links" to meet the Stables, now known as the Comet.

Castle Bromwich Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in the 1890s. The club and course closed at the onset of World War II.

Churches

There are two from the Church of England, and a Methodist and a Baptist nearby. St Mary and St Margaret's Parish Church is the original church and is in the west of the village. It is unusual as it is a "church within a church". A small stone chapel was known on the site before 1165. It was replaced in the 15th century by a large half-timbered structure. The church was extensively altered between 1726 and 1731 by Sir John Bridgeman and the old timber one was encased in brick and plaster. The massive oak timbers can be seen now in the roof. It is considered to have outstanding architectural and historic merit.

St Clement's Church is in the east and was built in 1967, when the original parish was split into two.

Castle Bromwich Hall

Castle Bromwich Hall is a Jacobean mansion that was built in 1599 by Sir Edward Devereux, the first MP for Tamworth in Staffordshire. It was a single storey with a plain entrance. It was bought by Sir Orlando Bridgeman (keeper of The Great Seal) in 1657, for his son Sir John Bridgeman I. Sir John extended and improved the property in 1672, adding the second floor and a large front porch. His son, Sir John Bridgeman II, inherited it in 1710. He extended the Hall and rebuilt it in local hand-made bricks of clay. The Bridgmans were created Barons of Bradford in 1792, and Earls of Bradford in 1851. A marriage also brought Weston Park into their possession, which the family gave to the National Trust in 1986. The Hall was then rented out or used for other family members to live in. It is famous for having twelve windows (one for each Apostle) and four dormers above (one for each Of the four Gospels).

The garden door passed through a grapevine which was always trimmed into the form of a cross. The last family member, Lady Ida Bridgeman, Dowager Countess Bradford left the Hall in 1936. It then was used for storage during World War II. Post-war it was leased out as an apprentice training centre for the GEC</