The boundaries of Yardley in 1911
When the Rural District of Yardley ceased to have a separate existence in
1911, its boundaries were as follows:
(* following a stream name indicates a convenient location name, applied
where no other name is known.)
The River Cole from a ditch outlet 200 yards west of Outmoor Farm in Sheldon,
upstream 6 miles to confluence with Spark Brook: up that brook 1¼ miles to
Stoney Lane: along that lane, Belle Walk, Billesley Lane, Springfield Road, (all
east side) Barn Lane (west side), to Hollybank Farm, thence south across fields
to Haunch Brook, 2 miles from the Spark: down Haunch Brook to Chinn Brook, 1
mile: south past Warstock Farm (in Kings Norton) to junction of Limekiln Lane,
Warstock Lane, thence south-south-east across fields to Prince of Wales Lane at
the boundary of Solihull Lodge and Kings Norton, and north-east across fields to
Yardley Wood Brook *, ¾ mile from the Chinn: down Yardley Wood Brook to the
Cole, ¾ mile: upstream 100 yards on the Cole to its confluence with Shirley
Brook *: (beneath railway embankment): up that brook, 1 mile, across fields
north-east to Stratford Road, a footpath to Solihull Lane, Gospel Lane (both
east side) to a point 300 yards from Solihull Lane, thence by hedge and ditch
past Langley Hall Farm (in Solihull) to Gospel Lane (east side): from a point
100 yards past Broomhall Brook *, north-north-east across fields to Warwick
Road: Lincoln Road (east side) to Clay Lane, footpath to Lyndon Farm (in
Solihull), hedge and ditch north-north-east to Westley Brook, across field 100
yards north-west, then 400 yards parallel to and west of the footpath, thence
along west side of lane to Coventry Road: skirting Gilbertstone Park (in
Solihull), 120 yards north-east, 150 yards north-west, 170 yards
north-north-east, 170 yards north-north-west: footpath beside ditch to Moat
Lane, along lane, 150 yards east to Lyndon Green Brook, 2¾ miles from Shirley
Brook: down Smarts Hill Brook to its confluence with Lyndon Green Brook *, up
that brook 550 yards, across fields 660 yards north-east to Pool Lane, 440 yards
along that lane east: there the boundary leaves the lane for 250 yards, cutting
across bends in lane (in Sheldon), returns to lane for 100 yards, then passing
The Lea in Yardley, follows The Lea Ditch north-east to the Cole, 1100 yards.
The boundary is about l7½ miles long, and of this distance 11¼ miles are
watercourses, including 6 miles of the Cole, about 3¼ miles are hedge lines or
across fields, and about 3 miles are lanes or paths.
This circuit of the boundaries has been given counter-clockwise for ease of
comparison with the report of 1609 which, rather unusually, goes in that
direction.
Since 1966 the ancient boundary of Yardley with Solihull has been abandoned
between Wellfield and Leysdown Roads: instead of going straight between these
two streets, the boundary follows the centre of Gospel Lane, so that the whole
or the Langley Hall housing estate is in Solihull. In compensation for this
small loss to Birmingham, the whole of the playing field east of Gospel Lane's
north end is now included in the City.
In 1974 the south-east side of the first part of the straight section of
Gilbertstone Avenue from Lyndon Field to Wichnor Road was transferred into Birmingham from
Solihull. The City owns Lyndon Field, although it is in Solihull.
In Yardley Wood, two small roads off Peartree Crescent, Gedney Close and
Navenby Close, which are on the Birmingham side of the Yardley Wood Brook, are
within Solihull according to the current boundary.
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