Capturing, preserving and sharing Solihull's history. Also commemorating local casualties from the First World War #SolihullRemembers
We always aim to do our best to help with any queries relating to local history in connection with places in the Solihull Borough or former Rural District, but please book in advance of visiting The Core Library, if you need to view any books, photos, maps or archive documents.
This means we can ensure that you don’t have a wasted journey and that there is someone available to help you.
Continue reading “Viewing documents at The Core”
The first general ordinary meeting of the shareholders of the Solihull Gas Company Ltd was held at Solihull Town Hall, The Square, at 10am on 20th October 1869. The limited liability company was formed by a number of local people who wanted gas and the company started with capital of £2,500.
Land was purchased in Wharf Lane and the gas works was built on this site adjoining the canal – presumably to keep the smell and smoke away from residential areas. There were very few houses in the vicinity at the time – the whole area around Lode Lane and Elmdon Heath was farmland.
Continue reading “Solihull Gas Works”
On Saturday 24th November 1962, Solihull’s new parish hall was officially opened by Sir Martin Lindsay MP and dedicated by the Bishop of Birmingham, Dr J. L. Wilson. The new hall, named the Oliver Bird Hall, was built on land in Church Hill Road.
Continue reading “Oliver Bird Hall”
Over the autumn and winter 2022/23, Solihull Libraries will be offering free sessions to help you get started with your family history research.
Continue reading “KinFishers – family history help at Solihull Libraries”
At 3pm on 16th October 1938, a war memorial erected by the Solihull, Shirley, and Olton branches of the British Legion was unveiled at Robin Hood Cemetery. The intention was that the The Old Comrades’ grave would provide “a resting-place for old soldiers who die friendless or whose relatives cannot afford the cost of private burial.”
Continue reading “British Legion War Memorial, Solihull Cemetery”
In 2006/7, Solihull Libraries, working in partnership with Solihull College, ran a series of 10-week family history courses for people tracing ancestors from the Caribbean. We believe these to have been the first full-length courses in the UK for Caribbean family history. The courses were free to attend as a result of funding from the European Social Fund’s Equal Engage programme. When the funding came to an end in 2007, the tutors and some of the learners decided to continue as a family history group and have been meeting at the library ever since.
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The Grade II-listed hollow bronze statue in Malvern Park is by notable Victorian sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm (1834-1890) and was cast by H. Young & Co., Pimlico. Boehm was born in Austria to Hungarian parents but settled in England in 1862 and became a British subject three years later. He became the favourite sculptor of the Royal Family. The Horse and His Master statue was created in 1874 and from c.1904-1953 it stood on the lawn in front of Tudor Grange (as pictured above c.1910) before its removal to Malvern Park.
Continue reading ““Horse and His Master” statue”
Born in Trinidad in 1925, Prince Albert Jacob left his homeland at the age of 17½ to serve with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. Returning to Britain after being demobbed, he worked hard and overcame enormous difficulties, including discrimination and racial abuse, to have a successful career with the Post Office and represent Great Britain in athletics. After living in various Midlands towns since 1948, he and his wife settled in Knowle where they have lived for almost 50 years.
Continue reading “Jake Jacob: “nothing was easy””
Northmede was a Victorian house that stood in grounds between Station Road and Warwick Road, Solihull. Built in the mid-19th century as a private house, the building became Solihull Nursing Home in the early 20th century before being demolished in the late 1950s/early 1960s.
Continue reading “Northmede”
To mark Bickenhill Parish Council’s centenary (1894-1994), a 14-foot clock tower was installed in August 1997 at the top end of Marston Green’s Garden of Memory between Station Road and Elmdon Road. The clock was inaugurated at 3pm on 14th September 1997 and has since become an iconic part of Marston Green.
Continue reading “Marston Green Centenary Clock”
The history of Solihull Council’s Mayoral vehicle (“SOL 1”) is a long and interesting one and coincides with Solihull becoming a Borough in 1954. Being a Borough meant that Solihull would also have a Mayor for this first time. It was usual practice for Boroughs to have a Mayoral limousine in which the Mayor would be driven to official engagements.
Continue reading “SOL 1: Solihull’s Mayoral Limousine”
Solihull Life 