Perry Barr

Encyclopedia : P : PE : PER : Perry Barr

Perry Barr constituency shown within Birmingham

Perry Barr is an area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a ward and formal district, managed by its own district committee.

Birmingham Perry Barr is a constituency; its member of Parliament is Khalid Mahmood.

"Perry" means "pear" and "Barr" means "hill".

The University of Central England's main campus is in Perry Barr.

The A4040 and A34 roads cross at Perry Barr, the former carrying the Birmingham Outer Circle bus routes.

History

Perry Barr was an urban district in Staffordshire from 1894 until 1928 when it was incorporated into Birmingham, and therefore become associated with Warwickshire.

Perry Barr railway station, opened in 1837, is on the old Grand Junction Railway line, and is one of the oldest stations in the country to remain on its original site.

In the 1920s, Oscar Deutsch opened his first ever Odeon cinema here. The original cinema is now a conference venue, having also been a bingo hall.

The site of the former Perry Hall is now Perry Hall Park.

There is a large shopping centre in the district known as "One Stop" Shopping Centre.

There is also a popular Greyhound stadium and race track on the Aldridge Road; it is the home of the Birchfield Harriers, whose badge, in art deco style, it still carries.

The River Tame passes through the area and is crossed by several bridges, including the Zig Zag bridge of 1711 and its 1932, art deco, replacement, carrying the Aldridge Road. The Zig Zag bridge appears on the badge of nearby Handsworth Grammar School.

Birchfield Community Library was opened in 1874 as the Perry Barr Institute. It converted to a Carnegie- funded library in September 1897. The building is now in a poor state of repair, and a replacement is to be commissioned.

Update: It has now moved to another site much to the regret of locals who love the old, Victorian building.

As of 2006, the three councillors representing Perry Barr on Birmingham City Council are Ray Hassall, Karen Hamilton and Jon Hunt, all of the Liberal Democrat Party.

Birmingham carnival was held in Perry Park in 2005.

See also

• Perry Barr Park
• Perry Barr Reservoir
• Perry Hall, Maryland

External links

• [Birmingham City Council's Perry Barr pages]
• [Perry Barr Community Network]
• [Birchfield Library]
• [Greyhound Dog Racing in Perry Barr]
• [Zig Zag bridge]
• [Old warning sign from Zig Zag Bridge]
• *[Map sources] for Perry Barr

Government of Birmingham
Birmingham electoral districts and wards
Edgbaston : Bartley Green | Edgbaston | Harborne | Quinton | Erdington : Erdington | Kingstanding | Stockland Green | Tyburn | Hall Green : Billesley | Brandwood | Hall Green | Hodge Hill : Bordesley Green | Hodge Hill | Shard End | Washwood Heath | Ladywood : Aston | Ladywood | Nechells | Soho | Northfield : Longbridge | Northfield | Weoley | Perry Barr : Handsworth Wood | Lozells and East Handsworth | Oscott | Perry Barr | Selly Oak : Bournville | Kings Norton | Moseley and Kings Heath | Selly Oak | Sparkbrook : Acocks Green | Sparkbrook | Springfield | Sutton Coldfield : Sutton Four Oaks | Sutton New Hall | Sutton Trinity | Sutton Vesey | Yardley : Sheldon | South Yardley | Stechford and Yardley North

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.