Author: Jen Dixon

The first in a series of posts which will follow the route of the Roman road (written about here) which likely cut through the area between Lifford and Stirchley Library. Lifford was likely the spot where the Roman road crossed the River Rea.

James Baldwin & Sons were “paper makers, letterpress and lithographic printers” at Sherbourne Mill on Morville Street in Birmingham. They also had paper mills in Kings Norton on Lifford Lane, which was near to where James Baldwin (1801-1871) made his home at Breedon House on (what is now) the Pershore Road.[1] This house was demolished and …

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Several photographs of the River Rea were deposited at Stirchley Library several years ago. Many are mounted and possibly came from an exhibition put on by the “Engineers Dept.” of Birmingham City Council. Many have no description of which part of the River Rea that they depict, or the year that they were taken, so if anyone has any information, please contact Friends of Stirchley Library.

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The old name for Stirchley was Strutley Street. The “ley” part usually refers to a clearing and the “Strut” part usually relates to a street, and a Roman street at that, so Stirchley was a clearing by a road. Why Stirchley was named twice though – clearing-by-the-street street – is unknown. Maybe it was to reinforce that there was a road here, for anyone who hadn’t noticed. And there definitely was, and still is, a very straight road which leads from …

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Stirchley is only a relatively recent addition to any map of the area. The earliest known map showing Stirchley as a distinct place is from 1814 (see below), where it’s spelt “Straitland Street”, and there was (and is) an incredibly straight piece of road which leads from the settlement of “Straitland Street” down to Breedon Cross. This road is thought, with some debate, to be a section of the Roman road of Icknield or Ryknield Street.

An early …

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Today, Rowheath is a community-based organisation set around Rowheath Pavilion Church. At the centre is the Rowheath Pavilion building surrounded by green space and sports facilities, opened in July 1924. Before the area around became built up, Rowheath was a piece of farmland between Rowheath Farm, the farm building situated on Oak Farm Road, and Haygreen Farm, on Haygreen Lane. The Rowheath land had an old public footway running north-east through it, which later became Heath Road, and another …

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