| Chapter 5 At the opening of the 20th Century, Worcestershire County Council
viewed with some disquiet the growth of the industrial metropolis
of Birmingham. For too long the parishes of Kings Norton and Yardley,
which had been looked upon as provincial backwaters, had been
neglected in favour of the larger cities and towns of the county.
In an attempt to redress the balance, and to forestall any take-over
by the industrial giant, the County Council began pumping money
into the two parishes. At Yardley a new Council House was opened
in 1902, along the Stratford Road in Sparkhill. A new Council
School was built in the village, in the triangle of land between
Warwick and Westley Roads. Police Stations were opened in Hay
Mills and Yardley Road, Acocks Green. Roads and bridges were improved
and plans were laid for the "greening" of the Cole Valley.
By 1900 Birmingham had become the greatest industrial city
that the world had ever known. Due to lack of space in the town
centre itself, new factories were built on its outskirts, in fields
where previously crops had grown. Roads were cut to link these
new factories with the town, and speculative builders constructed
houses for the workers. L.W.Clarke noted this expansion:
"...the neighbouring hamlets are approached by Birmingham's
streets and 'ere long will merge in her arms...the great and multitudinous
assemblage of one people - one vast manufacturing community -
one Birmingham." (1)
Some neighbouring hamlets were not overjoyed at this prospect.
For others, though, it appeared the lesser of two evils. In 1907,
Quinton, then part of Halesowen, had come under increasing pressure
from its Rural District Council. So much so, that at an extraordinary
meeting of the Parish Council, they passed an almost unanimous
resolution in favour of incorporation with Birmingham. In February
1909 the Local Government Board held an enquiry into the proposal.
Though Worcestershire County Council opposed the annexation ("...plunder
and robbery," was how its chairman, J.Willis Bund saw it)
the Board agreed to the wishes of the people of Quinton.
The City Council now put forward a proposal for the incorporation
of Quinton and the establishment of a Greater Birmingham. The
Boundaries Committee accepted the proposal and published its report
in February 1909.The report proposed that the borough of Aston
Manor, the urban districts of Erdington, Handsworth and Kings
Norton and Northfield, and the rural district of Yardley should
be incorporated into the City.
In 1881 Yardley, including the Solihull Poor Law Union, had
a population of 9,745. By 1909 this had risen to 60,000, due largely
to an influx of people from Birmingham. From 1905, new houses
were being built an average rate of 820 a year. Yardley District
Council was unable to cope with this demographic expansion. Civic
amenities were totally inadequate. There was no public library,
public baths or refuse collection. Gas and water were supplied
from Birmingham. Of its children of school age, 1,325 were attending
Birmingham Council schools (2)
On 26th May 1910, the Local Government Board issued a Provisional
Order, agreeing in almost every detail the proposal put forward
by Birmingham City Council. Aston and Erdington went along with
the decision but Handsworth, Kings Norton and Yardley opposed
it. The City entered into negotiations with Kings Norton and Northfield,
and after agreeing a differential rate of ls.8d in the pound,
less than that paid by the existing citizens of Birmingham, Kings
Norton agreed to the annexation. A similar agreement was reached
with Yardley in November. Only Handsworth held out. The Bill received
its third reading in Parliament on 20th February 1911. Handsworth
accepted the inevitable, and entered into negotiations for its
incorporation. On 9th May 1911, the Bill received the Royal Assent.
Acocks Green had become part of Birmingham.
Plans were now set afoot to link the new suburbs to the city
centre by trams. Some residents were not keen on the idea, though:
"Sir,
Rumours are afloat that the Tramway authorities are surveying
the Acock's Green district with a view of introducing their octopus
that is linking up suburban Birmingham. Surely to goodness with
such an excellent train service and the improvements now in progress
we can do without this peace disturber along our local roads.
Already the situation of the present Council Schools is a nightmare
to parents, and what with the irresponsible cyclists, the motorists,
and a prospect of tram cars, these combined will about complete
the death-trap.
Yours faithfully,
A RESIDENT." (3)
Work on improving the Warwick Road, widening, straightening,
and draining it, ensured that the tram did not reach Acocks Green
until 2nd February 1916. Even then the line terminated at Broad
Road. In October 1922 the line was extended into the village,
finally terminating at the Green. Further progress to the city
boundary with Olton was impossible due to the narrowness of the
road through the village.
The following year a bus service was introduced, which linked
Acocks Green and Six Ways, Erdington. It was the beginning of
the Outer Circle 11 bus route. The Circle was completed on 7th
April 1926. That same day the No.1 service, which linked the City
and Moseley, was extended as the No.1A, to a new terminus at Acocks
Green.
In July 1920 the Co-operative Builders
Ltd., erected 20 houses in Fox Hollies Road. It was to be the
start of a massive housing project by private builders and the
City Surveyor's Department. The Fox Hollies Estate, begun in 1928,
represented the high water mark of the City's housing development
plan. The estate consisted of over 2,500 houses, with Greenwood
Avenue as its focal point. The Avenue was built 150 feet wide
from house fence to house fence, with an additional 20 feet of
front garden onto the houses. The dual carriageway which ran its
length had a tree-lined central reservation. Three types of houses
were built on the estate: parlour, non-parlour, and a smaller
type of non-parlour. It was to prove a pleasing and attractive
estate with gracefully curving roads and an interesting variation
in house frontages. Original rents ranged according to the size
of the property: 14s. 11d., 11s. 4d., and 9s. 4d. In July 1928
the City purchased Gospel House Farm, and developed this 92-acre
site to provide an additional 2,065 houses.
A new bus service, the No. 31, was introduced in November 1928.
It ran between the City centre and Olton Boulevard East. In September
1930, it was extended to Nailstone Crescent, and further extended
on lst June 1936 to link up with the new No. 32 bus service. In
January 1937 the No. 44 tramway service was replaced by buses,
and extended to the City boundary in Warwick Road. In April 1939,
due to pressure by residents, the bus route was further extended
up Lincoln Road North.
Even before these major housing projects, the Roman Catholic
population in the district was on the increase. A convent, dedicated
to Our Lady of Compassion, was established at Wilton House, Warwick
Road, in 1905. The following year a chapel was constructed from
a greenhouse at the back of the house. Mass was said here for
18 months, until a chapel was opened on the upper floor of the
newly constructed school next door. The foundation stone of the
school was laid on 2nd April 1907 by the Earl of Denbigh, and
blessed by Mgr. (later Archbishop) Ilsley. (4)
The foundation stone of the present church, dedicated to the
Sacred Heart and Holy Souls, was laid on 18th April 1923. Now
known as Holy Souls Church, to differentiate it from the Sacred
Heart Church, Aston, it was designed by the architectural firm
of Harrison and Cox. The initial construction finished in March
1925, but the church was not finally completed until 1940. (4)
In those years between the wars a by-pass to take heavy traffic
away from Acocks Green village was begun. Olton Boulevard, the
name given to the new road, was begun in 1929. It started almost
opposite the Warwick Road junction with Lincoln Road, and continued
across former fields to link up with Greenwood Road, which ran
between Victoria Road and Fox Hollies Road. The old road was widened,
and incorporated into the new by-pass. While this phase of the
scheme was being prepared, work was proceeding on the Tyseley
section of the by-pass, between Reddings Lane and Spring Road.
The Second World War brought all work on the bypass to a halt
in 1939. The section between Reddings Lane and the Warwick Road
- Weston Lane junction at Greet was never completed.
There were developments in the village itself. The last of
the cottages were demolished, and replaced by shops. In 1929 the
Warwick Cinema in Westley Road was opened. It replaced the old
Acocks Green Picture Playhouse, situated on the corner of Warwick
and Station Roads. On 14th June 1932, Birmingham opened its 24th
branch library, at Acocks Green. The long-awaited library cost
£13,000 to build and equip, and had an initial stock of
23,000 books. The Lord Mayor, Ald. J.B. Burman performed the opening
ceremony, using a silver key presented by the architect, Mr. F.J.
Osborne. In its first week, Acocks Green Library issued 9,725
books.
For a short period during the 1930s, Acocks Green had its own
4 page weekly newspaper. 'The Acock's Green Times' was published
from Stratford-upon-Avon by E.P. Ray. It cost one penny, and included
local news, a women's page and theatre reviews. The paper ran
from lst January to 6th May 1932. Its short life was probably
due to the fierce competition it faced from such well established
Birmingham newspapers as the 'Gazette', 'Mail', 'Post', 'Despatch',
'Weekly Post', and the 'Sunday Mercury'.
In 1939 the Second World War broke out. It was a war that touched
both fighting men and civilians. Terror bombing raids on civilian
targets made each town and city in the United Kingdom part of
the front line. In early December 1940, there were a series of
heavy bombing raids on Birmingham. Attacks then shifted to London,
but on the night of l0th December, the assault on Birmingham was
resumed. At 8.20 p.m. a pattern of high explosive bombs was dropped
on Acocks Green. One bomb crashed through the roof of St. Mary's
Church, and exploded just in front of the lectern. The roof was
utterly destroyed, but surprisingly, not one of the arches in
the church was moved even one eighth of an inch out of alignment.
In all, nearly 70 high explosive bombs were dropped on Acocks
Green during the war. Of these 26 failed to explode. A pattern
of 4 unexploded bombs fell on Alexander Road during one raid.
At Hazelwood Road, only 1 out of a pattern of 4 exploded. Of the
56 incendiary bombs that were dropped on the suburb, all of them
exploded, setting fire to houses and contents. (6)
NOTES
1. Clarke, L.W., The History of Birmingham, 1870. Unpublished
MSS, Local
Studies Dept., Birmingham Reference Library
2. Greater Birmingham: Newspaper Cuttings relating to the City
Extension Scheme, 1911, p.75. (B.R.L. 373354)
3. The Acock's Green, Olton and Solihull Journal, May 1911, p.
209.
4. Catholic Calendar & Directory of the Diocese of Birmingham,
1908
5. The official Catholic Directory of the Archdiocese of Birmingham,
1950.
6. Air Raid Maps, Local Studies Dept., Central Library. (B.R.L.
995199)
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