Yardley, Birmingham

Yardley constituency shown within Birmingham.

Yardley is an area in east Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee.

Birmingham Yardley is a constituency and its Member of Parliament is Jess Phillips, elected in May 2015.

Features

St Edburgha's Church (Old Yardley Church) within the conservation zone.

Yardley's main shopping area is known as Yew Tree, named after the yew that stood, originally to the south of the roundabout, outside what was then Boots, then on the roundabout at the junction in the centre of Yardley. It was damaged during work to the roundabout, and as a result was removed. It was later replaced by another tree located in the centre of the island.

Yardley once had a local pub owned by the brewery company Bass, called The Yew Tree. It was run by the Williams family who had lived there for over 20 years. It was shut down in June 2000 after being stripped of its liquor licence and told by police that it was a magnet for crime.[1] It was subsequently subject to two arson attacks.[2] One of the fires caused an adjacent road, Stoney Lane, to be closed to traffic for one day. The pub was later demolished and replaced by a Co-op supermarket and new restaurants.[3][4] A new Yew Tree pub has now opened within the premises.

At a Council Licensing meeting on 5 September 2011 Wetherspoons was granted a licence to convert the former Woolworths premises at 140 Church Road to a pub.[5] This will help to replace the many local pubs closed over the years The Swan on the Coventry road, The Ring O'Bells on Church Road, and others. It was expected that the premises will open in the next six months or so.[6] The licence was granted despite local concerns over noise, nuisance, anti-social behaviour and delivery vehicles blocking alleyways. A resident Rob Clark had told the committee that neighbours in the Grove were anxious about disturbances. He said: "There have been problems with anti-social behaviour before, it needs CCTV cameras and some lighting."I am sure we can work with Wetherspoons to get this done." The committee was also concerned by nuisance from smokers under a canopy on the front pavement. But the company argued that its staff are all trained in dealing with problems and that there would be regular checks. Wetherspoons also promised CCTV and lighting to the rear of the site to prevent problems.[7]

In 2012, the Swan Shopping Centre was opened in the area serving the Yardley area in the place of the old Swan Centre which used to hold markets.

History

Yardley is not a town. Yardley is named in the Domesday Book and was referred to as early as 972 in King Edgar's Charter where it is named Gyrdleah. It was mentioned as being under the possession of Pershore Abbey.

The parish of Yardley, historically part of Worcestershire, became the only parish in the Yardley Rural District under the Local Government Act 1894, and was added to Birmingham and Warwickshire in 1911.[8] The ancient parish of Yardley included the areas known as Stechford and Hall Green. The area of Gilbertstone straddles the border of Yardley and South Yardley.

Yardley has a Tudor hall called Blakesley Hall and an old church, St Edburgha's, that dates back to the 13th century, with the church tower and spire dating to the 15th century. It was not established by the abbey, but by Aston Church in the Diocese of Lichfield.[9] A Tudor addition to the church is a doorway surrounded by Tudor roses and a pomegranate, commemorating the marriage of Prince Arthur, Prince of Wales, to Catherine of Aragon.

Yardley had a manor that was owned by various lords. It remained unoccupied from 1700 onwards. It was owned by the Royal Family until 1626, when it was bought by Richard Grevis of Moseley Hall. His descendants sold it in 1759 to pay off debts. John Taylor, one of the founders of Lloyds Bank, bought the lordship in 1766. Most of the land, had by then, been purchased by other people so Taylor owned only a small portion of the original grounds.[9]

A small amount of Yardley, called Old Yardley, was granted conservation area status in 1969, becoming Birmingham's first conservation area.[10]

In 1981, an Arcon V prefab home on Moat Lane was dismantled and transported to Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings.[11]

Yardley also contains a moated medieval site called "Kent's Moat". Now dry, it has retained its depth and shape remarkably well considering its age, as excavations have shown evidence of inhabitation from as early as the 12th century.

Education

Old Yardley Grammar School within the conservation zone.

Yardley has four main primary schools. These are Yardley, Blakesley Hall, Lyndon Green and Oasis Academy Hobmoor. It also has two main secondary schools, which are Cockshut Hill Technology College and King Edward VI Sheldon Heath Academy.

Hobmoor Primary School moved to new premises in Summer 2007. The former building is to be demolished and the site redeveloped.

Transport

Yardley's nearest railway station is Stechford railway station. It is served by National Express West Midlands buses, most connecting to Birmingham city centre, outer circle, Chelmsley Wood and Solihull.

The area used to be well-served by horse-buses and then by steam buses. Electric trams were then introduced and they travelled across a new bridge at the River Cole to the Swan.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Brewery shuts pub after police protest; Magistrates to hear of violent incidents - Birmingham Evening Mail, 28 July 2000 (Retrieved 19 June 2007)
  2. ↑ Guards patrol disused pub; Building is target for vandals, Birmingham Evening Mail, 3 May 2001 (Retrieved 19 June 2007)
  3. ↑ Yew Tree pub for the chop - The Birmingham Post, 2 March 2001 (Retrieved 19 June 2007)
  4. ↑ TIME'S UP FOR PUB; New shops tidy up area, Birmingham Evening Mail, 20 September 2002 (Retrieved 19 June 2007)
  5. ↑ Birmingham City Council letter Annette Wright Principal Licensing Officer 6th Sept 2011
  6. ↑ Birmingham Mail 6 September 2011 by Neil Elkes Former Yardley Woolworths store to be converted into a JD Wetherspoons pub
  7. ↑ As before Birmingham Mail 06/09/11
  8. ↑ Yardley RD Worcestershire through time | Administrative history of Local Government District: hierarchies, boundaries
  9. 1 2 3 Images of England: Yardley (Introduction), Michael Byrne, 2002, Tempus Publishing (ISBN 0-7524-0339-7)
  10. ↑ Yardley on BirminghamUK.com
  11. ↑ Stratton, Michael (2000). Twentieth Century Industrial Archaeology. Taylor & Francis. p. 36. ISBN 0-419-24680-0.
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Coordinates: 52°28′N 1°49′W / 52.467°N 1.817°W / 52.467; -1.817

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