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History Of West Midlands
The West Midlands region straddles the historic borders between the counties of Warwickshire (Birmingham and Coventry), Staffordshire in the north, and Worcestershire in the south. Economic history Coventry was one of England's most important cities during the Middle Ages, its prosperity built upon wool and cloth manufacture. Birmingham and Wolverhampton have a tradition of industry dating back to the 16th century when small metal-working industries developed. Birmingham was known for its manufacture of small arms, whereas Wolverhampton became a centre for lock manufacture and brass working. Birmingham and Coventry became important centres of the car industry from the early 20th century. The Austin car plant was built in 1905 at Longbridge, to the south of Birmingham, and gradually expanded over the next 75 years, but closed down in 2005 on the bankruptcy of MG Rover. Since 2007, part of the former Longbridge plant has been retained by new owners Nanjing Automobile for the produc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level for Statistics, statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands (England), Midlands. The region consists of the ceremonial counties of england, counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Worcestershire. The region has seven cities; Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester, England, Worcester. The West Midlands region is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of the West Midlands conurbation to the rural counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire which border Wales. The region is landlocked. However, the longest river in the UK, the River Severn, traverses the region southeastwards, flowing through the county towns of Shrewsbury and Worc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin Metro
The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin mini Metro. It was intended to complement and eventually replace the Mini, and was developed under the codename LC8. The Metro was named by ''What Car?'' magazine as 'Car of The Year' in 1983 as an MG, and again as the Rover Metro in 1991. During its 18-year lifespan, the Metro wore many names: Austin Metro, MG Metro and Rover Metro. It was rebadged as the Rover 100 series in December 1994. There were also van versions known as the Morris Metro and later, Metrovan. At the time of its launch, the Metro was sold under the Austin brand. From 1982, MG versions became available. During 1987, the car lost the Austin name, and was sold simply as the Metro. From 1990 until its withdrawal in 1998, the Metro was sold only as a Rover. Although the R3 generation Rover 200 (introduced in 1995 and smaller than previ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solihull
Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Forest of Arden area. Solihull's wider borough had a population of 216,240 at the 2021 Census. Solihull itself is mostly urban; however, the larger borough is rural in character, with many outlying villages, and three quarters of the borough is designated as green belt. The town and its borough, which has been part of Warwickshire for most of its history, has roots dating back to the 1st century BC, and was further formally established during the medieval era. Today the town is famed as, amongst other things, the birthplace of the Land Rover car marque, the home of the British equestrian eventing team and is considered to be one of the most prosperous areas in the UK. History Toponymy Solihull's name is commonly thought to have deri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solihull Plant
Solihull plant is a car manufacturing factory in Lode Lane, Lode Heath, Solihull, UK, owned by Jaguar Land Rover. The plant sits on a 300-acre (121-hectare) site and employs over 9,000 people in manufacturing. Shadow factory: 1936–1945 Originally two farms, Wharhall and Fordrove, were purchased in 1936 by the British Government on which to build a shadow factory in preparation for any potential war with Nazi Germany. Construction was started almost immediately, with the factory complete as a shell and placed in mothballs in late 1938. At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the factory was allocated to the Coventry-based Rover Company, who were assigned the task to build Bristol Hercules engines. Named No.2 Solihull, after starting fitting out initial production was undertaken in Acocks Green, with machined parts supplied from Drakelow. Rover took possession of the fitted-out factory in January 1940, and produced the first Rover-built Hercules engine in October 1940 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griffon engined Mk 24 using several wing configurations and guns. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire remains popular among enthusiasts; around 70 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world. The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell developed the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing with innovative sunken rivets (designed by Beverley Shenstone) to have the thinnest possible cross-section, achieving a potential top speed greater than that of several contemporary fight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castle Bromwich Assembly
Castle Bromwich Assembly is a factory owned by Jaguar Land Rover. It is located on the Chester Road in Castle Vale, Birmingham, England and employs 3,200 people. The plant covers an area of 110 acres (44.5 hectares), with a 60,000 m² (6-hectare) manufacturing facility. It manufactures all Jaguar saloon and sports cars. The site was first developed as Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory, a shadow factory for the production of aircraft by the car industry as part of the rearmament of the UK in the pre-Second World war era. After initial problems it was brought under the control of aircraft manufacturers and became one of the largest producers of aircraft during the war. History Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory Nuffield: 1936–1940 In 1936, the British government had formalised a plan under the Air Ministry called the Shadow factory plan to increase capacity within Britain's aircraft industry. Headed up by automotive pioneer Herbert Austin, the plan was to create nine new factor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applied for the lion trademark. Armand Peugeot (1849–1915) built the company's first car steam tricycle, in collaboration with Léon Serpollet in 1889; this was followed in 1890 by an internal combustion car with a Panhard- Daimler engine. The Peugeot company and family are originally from Sochaux. Peugeot retains a large manufacturing plant and Peugeot museum there. In February 2014, the shareholders agreed to a recapitalisation plan for the PSA Group, in which Dongfeng Motors and the French government each bought a 14% stake in the company. Peugeot has received many international awards for its vehicles, including six European Car of the Year awards. Peugeot has been involved suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partly nationalised in 1975, when the UK government created a holding company called British Leyland, later renamed BL in 1978. It incorporated much of the British-owned motor vehicle industry, which in 1968 had a 40 percent share of the UK car market, with its history going back to 1895. Despite containing profitable marques such as Jaguar, Rover and Land Rover, as well as the best-selling Mini, BLMC had a troubled history, leading to its eventual collapse in 1975 and subsequent part-nationalisation. After much restructuring and divestment of subsidiary companies, BL was renamed the Rover Group in 1986, becoming a subsidiary of British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, then was subsequently bought by BMW. The final surviving incarnation of the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryton Plant
The Ryton plant is a former car manufacturing plant in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, England. Developed by the Rootes Group as a shadow factory in 1939 to produce aircraft engines for World War II; post war it became the headquarters of the group. Taken over by Chrysler Europe in 1967 and then by PSA Group in 1978, it shut in December 2006, and was subsequently redeveloped by Trenport Investments Ltd, for industrial use in March 2007. The plant met its final demise in November 2007, when it was completely demolished. History Shadow factory Under plans developed by the Air Ministry in 1936, the Shadow factory plan headed up by Herbert Austin, aimed to increase production capacity in the British aircraft industry. The plan required the construction and development of nine new factories, and investment in the expansion or the capability of the United Kingdom's existing motor vehicle manufacturing plants, to enable them to more quickly turn to aircraft production. Situated between the A45 (o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rootes Group
The Rootes Group or Rootes Motors Limited was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. Run from London's West End, the manufacturer was based in the Midlands and the distribution and dealers business in the south of England. In the decade beginning 1928 the Rootes brothers, William and Reginald, made prosperous by their very successful distribution and servicing business, were keen to enter manufacturing for closer control of the products they were selling. One brother has been termed the power unit, the other the steering and braking system. With the financial support of Prudential Assurance, the two brothers bought some well-known British motor manufacturers, including Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam, Talbot, Commer and Karrier, controlling them through their parent, Rootes' 60-per-cent-owned subsidiary, Humber Limited. At its height in 1960, Rootes had manufacturing plants in the Midlands at Coventry and Birmingham ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canley
Canley is a suburban neighbourhood located in CV4, south-west Coventry, England. Canley became part of Coventry as a result of successive encroachment of the latter's boundaries between 1928 and 1932, having historically been part of the Stoneleigh parish. Electorally, it is largely in Westwood ward and partially within the Wainbody and Earlsdon wards. The area is home to many students attending the nearby University of Warwick. There was a level crossing adjacent to Canley railway station until 2003, when the road was closed and a foot bridge was built over the railway. The suburb is bisected by the A45 dual-carriageway, with a major state housing development (built in the early-1950s) lying to the south and an area of private housing (Canley Gardens) situated north of this road towards Canley rail station. Adjacent districts include Cannon Park and Cannon Hill to the east, Tile Hill South to the north and Westwood Heath to south. History Canley is known as the site of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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