View source for Great Barr

{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name            = Great Barr
| country                  = England
| region                   = West Midlands
| population               =
| os_grid_reference        = SP047945
| map_type                 = West Midlands
| post_town                = BIRMINGHAM
| postcode_area            = B
| postcode_district        = B42–B44
| dial_code                = 0121
| constituency_westminster = various
| metropolitan_borough     = {{Plainlist|
* [[City of Birmingham|Birmingham]]
* [[Sandwell]]
* [[Metropolitan Borough of Walsall|Walsall]]
}}
| metropolitan_county      = [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]]
| coordinates              = {{coord|52.548|-1.932|region:GB|display=inline,title}} 
|static_image              = ScottArms.jpg
|static_image_caption      = The Scott Arms junction, the traditional centre of Great Barr
}}

'''Great Barr''' is a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of [[Birmingham]], in the county of the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], England. The area was historically in [[Staffordshire]], and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as [[Perry Barr]], which is still the name of an adjacent Birmingham district. Other parts still known as Great Barr are now in the Metropolitan Boroughs of Walsall and Sandwell.

"Barr" means "hill", and the name refers to nearby [[Barr Beacon]]. The name '''Barr Magna''' is used on some old maps. Others show it as "Gt. Barr".

==History==
[[File:Great Barr, Sandwell sign - 2014-09-27 - Andy Mabbett.JPG|thumb|Sign erected by [[Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council]], in that part of Great Barr which lies in the borough]]

[[File:Appletons' Asbury Francis.jpg|thumb|Appletons' Asbury Francis]]

Samuel Taylor, an itinerant Methodist preacher, visited Great Barr in 1792 and remarked "preached at Barr, a village famous for nothing as having given birth to [[Francis Asbury]] of America and being the present residence of his parents, at whose house we preached".<ref>[http://www.brewinbooks.com/eliza_asbury?search=Eliza%20asbury Hallam, David J.A., Eliza Asbury: her cottage and her son], Studley 2003, p vi</ref>

Great Barr was largely rural until the early 20th century, though it was influenced by the early stages of the industrial revolution which affected the nearby towns of Birmingham and the Black Country. The Staffordshire parish of Barr straddled the route from Birmingham to Walsall.  Birmingham's historian William Hutton was surprised to see so many nail-making workshops in the area. He noted that "in some of these workshops I observed one, or more, females, stripped of their upper garments, and not overcharged with the lower, wielding the hammer with all the grace of their sex".

At that time the area was on the main drovers' routes which saw trains of horses taking coal from Walsall and Wednesbury to the factories and furnaces of Birmingham. At the Scott Arms there was a weekly cattle market which attracted large crowds. The Scott Arms and the Malt Shovel public house in Newton, did a roaring trade with drunkenness, cockfighting, and gambling common. Francis Asbury referred to it as "a dark place called Great Barre"

The rural economy was dominated by four great landowning families, the Wryley Birches, Dartmouths, Scotts and Goughs. The parish was series of tiny hamlets:  Howell's Row, Sneal's Green, Newton, Margaret's Lane, [[Queslett]], the Common, Bourn Pool, Bourn Vale, the Tamworth Road, the Gough Arms Inn (later called the Beacon Inn) and around Barr Hall. In 1817 there were 120 houses occupied by 127 families, 78 of whom were engaged in agriculture and 30 in trade. These trades included a tailor, boarding house owner, a wheelwright, a butcher, a grocer, who doubled as a constable, a shoemaker, two brick makers, a maltster, gun lock maker, three blacksmiths, and four spectacle frame makers.<ref>Hallam, 2003 ibid, pp16 - 18</ref>

Great Barr was formerly a [[Township (England)|township]] and [[chapelry]] in the parish of [[Aldridge]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/7877 |title=History of Great Barr, in Walsall and Staffordshire |publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]] |accessdate=2 October 2024}}</ref> in 1866 Great Barr became a separate [[civil parish]], which in 1894 became part of [[Walsall Rural District]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10272865 |title=Relationships and changes Great Barr CP/Tn/Ch through tim |publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time |accessdate=2 October 2024}}</ref> The 1901 census recorded a population of 1,344 and by 1921 this had increased to 2,232.<ref>[https://newtonroadurchistory.wordpress.com Hallam, David J.A., One hundred years of service to Newton: the history of Newton Road United Reformed (Allen Memorial) Church], Smethwick, 2018, p 4</ref> A 1919 report on health and [[sanitation]] in Walsall Rural District describes the parish of Great Barr as extensive, almost entirely rural and having a scattered population, with the exception of residential [[Streetly|Streetley]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fox |first=George Martin |url=https://archive.org/details/b30230780/page/2/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Annual Report of the Health and Sanitary Condition of Walsall Rural District for the year ending December 31, 1919 |date=28 September 1920 |page=2 |type=Report |access-date=25 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/wednesbury.html |title=Wednesbury Registration District |publisher=UKBMD |accessdate=2 October 2024}}</ref>

By 1931 the population had grown to 3,294<ref name="VoBpop">{{Cite web |title=Great Barr CP/Tn/Ch through time. Population Statistics. Total Population |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10272865/cube/TOT_POP |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241007100549/https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10272865/cube/TOT_POP |archive-date=2024-10-07 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=visionofbritain.org.uk}}</ref> and in that year Great Barr parish was reduced in size by transfers of land to West Bromwich, Walsall, and Sutton Coldfield parishes. In 1934 Walsall Rural District was abolished and Great Barr was transferred to Aldridge Urban District.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Great Barr CP/Tn/Ch Relationships and changes |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10272865 |access-date=25 February 2025 |website=Vision of Britain}}</ref> By 1951 the population of Great Barr had reached 12,648.<ref name="VoBpop"/> On 1 April 1966 Aldridge Urban District was abolished to form Aldridge Brownhills Urban District, part also went to [[West Bromwich]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aldridge UD Relationships and changes |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10272865 |access-date=25 February 2025 |website=Vision of Britain}}</ref> In 2015 the two local government wards in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, which now cover much of Great Barr, had a combined electorate of 18,840 adults.<ref>Hallam ibid 2018 p 27-28 quoting http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10272865/cube/TOT_POP</ref>

By the outbreak of the [[Second World War]] in 1939 it was a busy residential area with good road connections to [[West Bromwich]], [[Walsall]] and [[Birmingham]].

Expansion continued after the war, and during the 1960s the area received a motorway link when Junction 7 of the newly built [[M6 motorway]] was opened on the [[A34 road (England)|A34]]. It is also located close to the starting point of the [[M5 motorway|M5]], which can be accessed just one mile (1.6&nbsp;km) northwards on the M6.

On 11 August 1975, eight-year-old local schoolgirl [[Death of Helen Bailey|Helen Bailey was found dead]] from a single knife wound, in woods near Booths Farm. Her killer was never found.

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.

==Geography==
The modern centre of Great Barr is focussed on the busy junction of the [[A34 road (England)|A34]] and [[A4041 road|A4041]] roads, at the Scott Arms [[public house]] and shopping centre. This is named after the [[Scott Baronets of Great Barr|Scott family]] of [[Great Barr Hall]], which was once home of [[Samuel Galton Jr.|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 [[Chase Line|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.

[[File:BirdbrookRoadSigns.jpg|thumb|right|Street name signs on Birdbrook Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, showing old "Birmingham 22" (top) and modern "B44" postcodes.]]
[[File:Hamstead Road sign - 2014-09-27 - Andy Mabbett.JPG|thumb|Street name sign on Hamstead Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, showing the "B43" postcode]]

Great Barr includes much of the [[B postcode area|B42, B43 and B44 postcode areas]].

== Namesakes ==
'''Barr Limestone''' is a type of rock first identified in Great Barr.<ref>{{cite web |title=BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units - Result Details |url=https://webapps.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=BLZ |publisher=[[British Geological Survey]] |access-date=20 April 2023}}</ref> The [[specific name (zoology)|specific name]] of the fossil trilobite species ''[[Bumastus barriensis]]'', roughly meaning "of Barr", comes from its common name among collectors, the "Barr trilobite", referring to its plentiful occurrence in these formations, at Great Barr.<ref name="page">{{cite book|author=David Page|author-link=David Page (geologist)|title =Handbook of geological terms, geology and physical geography|publisher =W. Blackwood and sons|year =1865|page=121|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cBw5AAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

==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|Sandwell Council]] and is Grade II listed. It is open by appointment for group visits, and opens occasionally to the general public.

[[Great Barr Hall]] is a Grade II* [[listed building]], and due its current state of disrepair is not open to the public. [[St. Margaret's Church, Great Barr|St. Margaret's Church]] stands nearby.

[[Image:RedHouseGreatBarr.jpg|thumb|right|The Red House]]
[[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, a [[country house]] also used a convalescent home, and then a community centre, is Grade II listed building, but is no longer open to the public, having been sold in 2015 and converted to residential apartments.

[[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.<ref name="Nicholson2">''Nicholson waterways Guide 2 – Severn, Avon and Birmingham'', Collins, 2006 {{ISBN|978-0-00-721110-4}}</ref>

==Residents==<!--
following list is alphabetical by surname
-->

* [[Steve Adey]] – Musician was born in Great Barr and attended [[Great Barr School]]
* [[Francis Asbury]] (1745–1816) – one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.
* [[Death of Helen Bailey|Helen Bailey]], an eight-year-old schoolgirl who was killed in 1975
* [[John Bainbridge (author)|John Bainbridge]], – Writer, attended Hamstead Primary School, Grove Vale School and Dartmouth Comprehensive
* [[William Booth (forger)|William Booth]], – Forger. Booths Farm Road and Booths Lane are named after him.
* [[Arthur Browning (speedway rider)|Arthur Browning]] moto cross/speedway rider 
* [[Mike Burney]], – Musician from [[Wizzard]], attended at Hamstead Junior School and Churchfields Comprehensive
* James Michael Curtin, - professional wrestler better known as [[Rockstar Spud]]<ref name="RealSport x TNA's Rockstar Spud: exclusive interview">{{cite web | url=https://realsport101.com/news/sports/wwe/realsport-exclusive-interview-with-tna-s-rockstar-spud | title=RealSport x TNA's Rockstar Spud: exclusive interview | publisher=RealSport | date=2017 | access-date=19 January 2017}}</ref>
* [[Cat Deeley]], – TV presenter, actress and former model, attended Grove Vale Primary School and [[Q3 Academy Great Barr|Dartmouth High School]]
* [[Mark "Barney" Greenway]], – Singer of [[Napalm Death]], born in Great Barr.
* [[Tim Iroegbunam]], - footballer for [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] and [[Everton F.C.|Everton]]
* Keith Law, – Songwriter for [[Velvett Fogg]] attended Hamstead Junior School and Churchfields High School Comprehensive
* [[Vaughan Lowe]], – Lawyer and Oxford professor, attended Hamstead Primary School
* [[Keith Linnecor]], - Labour Councillor for Oscott Ward for 25 years
* [[Geoff Morris (footballer, born 1949)|Geoff Morris]], – professional football player for [[Walsall F.C.|Walsall]], [[Shrewsbury Town F.C.|Shrewsbury Town]] and [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]], was born in Great Barr
* [[Dhani Prem]], – [[Padma Shri]] winner and the first [[Asian people|Asian]] Councillor to represent Great Barr in 1946.<ref name="Dr Dhani Prem - Birmingham's first Asian Councillor">{{cite web|url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/dhaniprem |title=Dr Dhani Prem – Birmingham's first Asian Councillor |publisher=Birmingham City Council |date=2015 |access-date=23 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623125023/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/dhaniprem |archive-date=23 June 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Martin Shaw]], – Actor, attended [[Great Barr School]]
* [[Dean Smith (footballer, born 1971)|Dean Smith]], Former [[Walsall F.C.|Walsall]] football player and manager, former head coach of [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] and [[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]], born in Great Barr and attended Dartmouth High School.
* [[Jeff Smith (motorcyclist)|Jeff Smith]], – [[motocross]] world champion 1964 & 1965, born in [[Colne]], Lancashire
* [[Dave Swarbrick]], – Musician, attended [[Great Barr School]]
* [[Steve Winwood]], – Musician, attended [[Great Barr School]], born in [[Handsworth, West Midlands|Handsworth]]
* [[Chris Woakes]], – Cricketer for Warwickshire and England attended [[Barr Beacon School]]
* [[Gillian Wearing]] – Artist, Turner Prize Winner

== Education ==
Great Barr is well served with a number of primary and secondary schools. Great Barr School is the largest single-site school in the country with over 2,400 pupils on roll.

===Primary schools===
* Barr View Primary School
* Beeches Infant School
* Beeches Junior School
* Calshot Primary School
* Dorrington Road Primary school
* Ferndale Primary School
* Glenmead Primary School
* Greenholm Primary School
* Grove Vale Primary School
* Hamstead Infant School
* Hamstead Junior School
* Holy Name RC Primary School
* St Margarets CE Primary School
* St Mark's RC Primary School
* Whitecrest Primary School
* Meadow View Primary School
* Pheasey Park Farm Primary School

===Secondary schools===
* [[Fortis Academy]] is a mixed school catering for children aged 11 to 19.
* [[Arena Academy]] is a mixed [[Academy (English school)|academy]] catering for children aged 11 to 16.
* [[Q3 Academy Great Barr]] (formerly Dartmouth High School) is a mixed academy catering for children aged 11 to 19.
* [[Barr Beacon School]] is a mixed school catering for children aged 11 to 19.

Perry Beeches does not have a 'Primary' School it has two separate schools Beeches Infant School and Beeches Junior School.

The Perry Beeches Campus is the largest school campus in Birmingham and houses 5 schools: Perry Beeches Nursery School, Beeches Infant School, Beeches Junior School, Arena Academy and Priestley Smith School for the Visually Impaired.

===College===
[[File:Birmingham-Metropolitan-College-James-Watt-Campus-June-2010.jpg|thumb|right|James Watt campus of Birmingham Metropolitan College in June 2010]]

The James Watt campus of [[Birmingham Metropolitan College]] is at the junction of Beeches Road and Aldridge Road, at the [[Old Oscott]] side of Great Barr. The buildings were originally Brooklyn Technical College.

==Bibliography==
*Asbury, Francis, "The Journal and Letters of Francis Asbury" 1st edition 1821, republished Nashville and London, 1958
*[http://www.brewinbooks.com/history_of_west_bromwich?search=History%20of%20West%20Bromwich Hackworth, F.W., "History of West Bromwich]" 1895, republished Studley, 2001
*[http://www.brewinbooks.com/eliza_asbury?search=Eliza%20asbury Hallam, David J.A. "Eliza Asbury: her cottage and her son]" Studley, 2003 {{ISBN|1 85858 2350}}
*[https://newtonroadurchistory.wordpress.com Hallam, David J.A. "One hundred years of service to Newton: The history of Newton Road United Reformed (Allen Memorial) Church 1917-2017] Smethwick, 2018 {{ISBN|978-1-9999387-0-3}}
*White, William, "The History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire", Sheffield, 1834
*Woodall, Richard, "The Barr Story", Aldridge, undated, (1950?)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [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] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905165129/http://www.walsall.gov.uk/ |date=5 September 2017 }}
* [http://www.B43.co.uk B43 postcode area]
* {{OpenDomesday|SP0495|barr|Barr}}

{{Areas of Birmingham}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Great Barr| ]]
[[Category:Areas of the West Midlands (county)]]
[[Category:Areas of Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in the West Midlands (county)]]
[[Category:Metropolitan Borough of Walsall]]
[[Category:West Bromwich]]