Walmley is a suburban village situated in the civil parish of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. It lies within the City of Birmingham on its northeastern outer fringe, where it forms part of the Sutton Walmley and Minworth electoral ward. It is in southern Sutton Coldfield, close to Minworth, Erdington, Wylde Green, Pype Hayes and south of Thimble End. It is approximately northeast of Birmingham City Centre. It is the main focus of the Sutton New Hall Birmingham City Council ward.

History

The origins of Walmley are unknown, however, it is believed it may have formed as a community for workers at the nearby halls of Langley Hall, New Hall Manor, Penns Hall and Peddimore Hall. It may have originally begun at a point near Penns Hall as it had a major influence in the area, employing many for its activities in Penns Mill and other industries. A small community of Langley developed on the Fox Hollies Road and was mentioned in the Domesday Book, however, it was nothing more than a hamlet with no church, inn or community meeting centre.

John Vesey, Bishop of Exeter, played a small role in Walmley's early development through the construction of several buildings in the area. These were some of 51 stone cottages built by the Bishop who was concerned with the deteriorating state of Sutton Coldfield as a whole. One of these cottages was the ford keeper's house on the banks of Plants Brook, which enabled travellers to pass along Wylde Green Road and over the ford in safety. The building is now listed.

Walmley would have developed from a few scattered houses along Walmley Road which was a main commuter route from Sutton Coldfield to Birmingham. To the north were several farms including one built by Bishop Vesey. Most of the properties were built at the junctions with other roads such as Penns Lane and Fox Hollies Road.

left|thumb|St John's Church by D.R. Hill.

Walmley developed in the 19th century into a prominent area of Sutton Coldfield. It became one of four ecclesiastical districts formed from the parish of Sutton Coldfield, with the others being Boldmere, Hill and Sutton Coldfield. Walmley's first church, St John the Evangelist Church, was built in 1845. The ecclesiastical parish of Walmley was formed in 1846 with St John the Evangelist Church becoming the parish church. Walmley developed into a ward of the Sutton Corporation, covering an area of 4,424 of the total of Sutton Coldfield. Despite being part of the Sutton Corporation area, Walmley was incorporated into the Erdington postal area. Walmley Ash, in the southern part of Walmley, was incorporated into the Minworth postal area. Information from the 1991 national census published in the plan shows the town's population had, by then, risen rapidly to a total of 17,294.

Geography

right|thumb|Walmley Village and Community Hall in Walmley Village.

Walmley is four kilometres southeast of Sutton Coldfield town centre and eleven kilometres northeast of Birmingham city centre. To the west of Walmley is the Wylde Green and Erdington areas, to which Walmley is connected by a road running through the New Hall Valley, which features the New Hall Valley Country Park and the Plantsbrook Local Nature Reserve. To the east, a road runs towards Minworth and the main A38 dual carriageway. Falcon Lodge and Reddicap Heath are directly north of Walmley. To the south, along Eachelhurst Road, is Pype Hayes in the district of Erdington.

The central area of Walmley where the shops are located is known as Walmley Village.

Plants Brook (originally known as Ebrook) flows from the west of Walmley to the south of the area. It flows through New Hall Country Park in a channelled section, and it once provided power to New Hall Mill, near New Hall Manor. In the northern area of Walmley Village, on Fox Hollies Road, is a small wooded area of land known as Jones Wood. It is now protected and preserved. To the west of this was a small area of land known as Beyond The Wood to locals. Archaeological excavations of this parkland have revealed that it maybe historically significant.

Walmley is a reasonably affluent suburb, containing many large detached and semi-detached houses, and despite large-scale residential development in the post-war period, it retains a distinct identity from other local areas.

Places of interest

right|thumb|The Fox pub in Walmley village. The current building dates to the 1930s, though a pub has been sited here for much longer.

The oldest part of Walmley is New Hall Manor. It claims to be the oldest inhabited moated house in Great Britain. It also has two large housing estates named after it. The first one is the New Hall estate and the other is the New Hall Manor Estate also known as The Grange in some parts. The New Hall Manor Estate is newer by 30 years than the New Hall Estate.

The main shopping parade, Walmley Village, was refurbished in 2004 in line with Birmingham City Council's "Walmley Village Local Action Plan", with new paving surfaces, car parking spaces, and a through road speed limit. The local Walmley Library and Community Hall was also refurbished. The main pub in Walmley is "The Fox Inn", which has been serving the area for a long time. The present building has existed since the 1930s. It underwent a refurbishment in 2005 when it came under the possession of new owners.

St Johns Church, built in 1845 to a design by D. R. Hill, is located on Walmley Road and is constructed of Staffordshire blue brick. It is the parish church for Walmley and is of a Norman architectural style. However, the building has been criticised in the past by authors such as Nikolaus Pevsner who criticised the lack of stone, and the use of industrial bricks in a religious building. An extension to the church was built alongside it in the 1990s to house community facilities. It is an Anglican church in the Diocese of Birmingham.

left|thumb|upright|Walmley's war memorial is located next to 'The Fox Inn'.

At the junction of Walmley Road and Fox Hollies Road, north of Walmley Village, are almshouses constructed in the 19th century, 1924 and 1971. The first two cottages were built in 1828 and the second two in 1863. They are Grade II listed.

Overlooking New Hall Country Park, on Wylde Green Road, is Wincelle, a 15th-century timber-framed house. It was originally built in the area of Wigginshill, however, in 1910, it was dismantled and reassembled at its current site. Wincelle is the old name for Wigginshill, under the name it appeared in the Domesday Book.

Transport

right|thumb|Walmley Road looking towards Walmley Village. To the right are 1930s semi-detached houses and to the left are 1970s detached houses.

A railway station once served Walmley, Penns (for Walmley) Station on the Sutton Park Line, which was closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching Axe even though it was very well patronised. The station has since been demolished.

Education

Fox Hollies Road and Walmley Ash Road house several nurseries such as the Paint Pot Nursery, Seesaw Day Nursery, Little Hollies Nursery and the nurseries run by the Shrubbery School and Walmley Infant School.

There are numerous primary schools located within Walmley. The first school to be established in the area was a charity school. Founded in 1792, it was financed from funds impounded by the Courts in respect to acts of alleged mismanagement by the Sutton Corporation. It was constructed on the area known as Beyond The Wood along with an adjacent house for the school headmistress. The school had a capacity of 60 children until 1851, when it was moved to a larger school was built next to the church.

Walmley First School on Walmley Ash Road was built in 1956 when the infants transferred from the old village school to the premises. The juniors remained in the old school prior to the building of Walmley Middle School in 1974. An Italian prisoner of war camp once occupied the land they are built on during World War II. These two schools are now Walmley Infants School and Walmley Junior School and are run by the Birmingham Local Education Authority. Walmley Infants School has a pupil capacity of 270 children. It is grant-maintained, as is Walmley Junior School which has a pupil capacity of 356.

The Deanery Church of England Infants and Junior School on Fox Hollies Road is also grant-maintained. The school was built in 1980 with construction commencing on 1 March 1979. It was initially two schools, however, merged in the 1990s. The Little Hollies Nursery was opened by the Bishop of Aston for the school in 1998.

There is a private primary school also located in Walmley, on Walmley Ash Road. The Shrubbery School was founded in 1930 by Janice Rankin. It features a nursery, infants and juniors department. The Shrubbery School building is Grade B locally listed.

There are no secondary schools in Walmley, however, Bishop Walsh Catholic School is near the border of Walmley on Wylde Green Road in the west. Two comprehensive schools, John Willmott School and Fairfax School are also located in nearby Falcon Lodge.

References

  • 1889 Ordnance Survey map of Walmley
  • Walmley