GREAT BARR

'Great Barr' is a large and loosely-defined area which straddles the boundaries of Birmingham, West Bromwich (Sandwell; including the Great Barr with Yew Tree Ward) and Walsall, West Midlands, England. "Barr" means "hill", and the name refers to nearby Barr Beacon.

Contents

History

Geography

Places of interest

Notable residents

Schools

Primary schools

Secondary schools

References

External links

History

Geography

The traditional centre of Great Barr is focussed on the busy junction of the A34 and A4041 roads, at the Scott Arms public house and shopping centre. This is named after the Scott family of Great Barr Hall, which was once home of 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 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.
Great Barr includes much of the B42, B43 and B44 postcode areas.

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 Council and is Grade II listed. It is open by appointment for group visits, and opens occasionally to the general public. More details of access and opening times can be found in the link below.
Great Barr Hall is a Grade II
★ listed building, sadly in a poor state of repair. It is not open to the public.

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 is Grade II listed building, but is not currently open to the public and its future is uncertain.
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. ^[1]

Notable residents

Musician Steve Winwood and actor Martin Shaw were raised in the Birmingham part of Great Barr. Both attended Great Barr School. Winwood was born in the nearby suburb of Handsworth.

Schools

Great Barr is well served with a number of primary and secondary schools.

Primary schools

★ Calshot Primary School is a mixed infant and junior school.

★ Glenmead Primary School is a mixed junior and infant school.

★ Grove Vale Primary School is a mixed junior and infant school.

★ Whitecrest Primary School is a mixed junior and infant school.

Secondary schools

★ Dartmouth High School is a mixed school catering for children aged 11 to 16.

★ Great Barr School is a mixed school catering for children aged 11 to 19.

★ Perry Beeches School is a Technology College catering for children of both sexes aged 11 to 16.

References

1. ''Nicholson waterways Guide 2 - Severn, Avon and Birmingham'', Collins, 2006 ISBN 978-0-00-721110-4

External links

★ Birmingham City Council

★ Sandwell Council (includes West Bromwich)

★ Walsall Council

★ B43 postcode area

★ Friends of Red House Park

★ Bishop Asbury Cottage (page on the Sandwell Council website)