Balsall Common is a large village in the
Metropolitan Borough of Solihull
The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough in West Midlands county, England. It is named after its largest town, Solihull, from which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is based. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region ...
, England. It is situated 4.75 miles (7.5 km) northwest of
Kenilworth
Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...
, west of
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
, east of
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 Blyth ...
and to the southeast of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, to which it serves as a
commuter village
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
. The name “Balsall” comes from the Anglo Saxon word “Baelle” meaning corner (or angle) of land, and “Heale” meaning a sheltered place
Overview
The village is split between the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
es of Balsall, which also includes Balsall Street,
Temple Balsall
Temple Balsall () is a small hamlet within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English West Midlands, situated between the large villages of Knowle (where population details as taken at the 2011 census can be found) and Balsall Common. I ...
, and Fen End, and had a population of 7,039 according to the 2011 census. It also lies on the
Heart of England Way
The Heart of England Way is a long-distance walk of around through the Midlands of England. The walk starts from Milford Common on Cannock Chase and ends at Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds linking south Staffordshire through Warwick ...
.
The village is of recent origin; most of the houses and shops were built in the 20th century. Previously, the village consisted of a couple of
hamlets
A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...
of about six to twelve houses each and a few scattered cottages - as shows. In the 1930s, there began the development which linked these isolated buildings, but it was not until after
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 opposin ...
that the village really began to grow.
With its close proximity to the village of
Meriden away, which until recently was long-believed to be the geographic centre of England, Balsall Common is perceived to be one of the furthest places from the
UK coastline. In fact,
Coton-in-the-Elms in south
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
holds this designation, situated 23.5 miles (37.8 km) to the north. Nevertheless, Balsall Common's
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
is named the
Heart of England School
Heart of England School is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status located in Balsall Common in the West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite directi ...
. The local primary school is name
Balsall Common Primary School
It is served by
Berkswell railway station (actually in Balsall Common) on the
Coventry-Birmingham line, and by bus to Solihull service 88/88A.
Other nearby towns and villages include
Knowle,
Kenilworth
Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...
,
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
,
Hampton in Arden
Hampton in Arden is a village and civil parish located in the Forest of Arden in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands of England. Hampton in Arden was part of Warwickshire until the 1974 boundary changes. It lies within th ...
,
Berkswell
Berkswell ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, county of West Midlands, England.
Historically in Warwickshire, Berkswell is situated in the rural east of the borough, approximately 2 miles (3.25 km) ...
,
Barston
Barston is a village and civil parish in Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands of England. It is approximately 4 miles (6.5 km) east of Solihull and is located inside a large meander of the River Blythe, at the western edg ...
,
Honiley
Honiley is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Beausale, Haseley, Honiley and Wroxall, in the Warwick district, in the county of Warwickshire, England. It is from Kenilworth, and from Coventry on the A4177 road. The ...
and
Hatton
Hatton may refer to:
Places Canada
* Hatton, Saskatchewan
England
* Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish
* Hatton, Derbyshire
* Hatton, Lincolnshire
* Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Hounslow
* Hatton, Shropshire, a ...
. Its districts include Needler's End, Yew Tree, Catchems Corner, Balsall Street and Hallmeadow (developed in the 1990s).
Since the late-1990s, plans for a bypass, a large national supermarket and larger swathes of new housing have so far been circumvented. This is mainly due to Balsall Common being situated at the heart of the West Midlands
green belt
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...
area known as the
Meriden Gap
The Meriden Gap is a mostly rural area located in the West Midlands between Solihull and Coventry. It serves as a part of the wider West Midlands Green Belt, and separates the latter from the large West Midlands conurbation, which includes Birming ...
, between
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 Blyth ...
and
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
, and is thus subject to strict planning regulations. Therefore, the village has so far not witnessed rapid growth given its location, as residents had long-feared that the village would act as a population overspill centre for Coventry, Solihull and
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. A new
Tesco Metro
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
store opened in December 2014 on Station Road.
Notable residents
Several Premiership and Championship footballers live (and have lived) in Balsall Common, especially those playing with
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
,
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
and
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
. These include
John Sillett
John Charles Sillett (20 July 1936 – 30 November 2021) was an English football player and manager. He played for Chelsea, Coventry City and Plymouth Argyle. He won the Championship with Chelsea in 1955, playing alongside his brother Peter Si ...
,
Trond Egil Soltvedt
Trond Egil Soltvedt (born 15 February 1967) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a midfielder. After playing for Viking, Brann and Rosenborg in Norway, he played in England with Coventry, Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday before he ...
,
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player foll ...
in the late 1970s,
Lee Carsley and
Robbie Keane
Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional Association football, football coach and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. Keane served as Captain (association football ...
. Other famous sporting residents include, former England cricket captain
Bob Wyatt
Robert Elliott Storey Wyatt (2 May 1901 – 20 April 1995) was an English cricketer who played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire and England in a career lasting nearly thirty years from 1923 to 1951. He was born at Milford Heath House in Surrey ...
and
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
ladies single champion
Maud Watson
Maud Edith Eleanor Watson, MBE (9 October 1864 – 5 June 1946) was a British tennis player and the first female Wimbledon champion.
Biography
Born in Harrow, Middlesex, the daughter of a local vicar Henry William and Emily Frances Watson. Sh ...
. Former England international goalkeeper
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...
briefly lived in the village from late-1995 to early 1996, before moving to nearby
Burton Green
Burton Green is a village and civil parish in the Warwick District, Warwick district of the county of Warwickshire, England, some northwest of Kenilworth (where the population can be found in Abbey electoral ward, Ward) and southwest of Coventry ...
..
Another notable resident is
Paddy Doyle
Paddy Doyle is an English athlete. The 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records recognised him as "The World Fitness Endurance Champion".
Personal history
Doyle was a member of the British Parachute Regiment
The Parachute Reg ...
, who formerly held numerous fitness and endurance world records.
Neil Back
Neil Antony Back MBE (born 16 January 1969) is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his ...
, Rugby Union,
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
British and Irish Lions also Lived in Balsall Common during his career in the 1990s – early 2000s.
References
BalsallCom.Com- community website with forums run by local people.
A brief history of Balsall Common*
Centre Stage- amateur dramatic group
The Jubilee- local community space for hire
The Balsall Common Festival Home balsallcommonfestival.com - voluntary organisation
The Bugle- community magazine published quarterly
External links
{{authority control
Villages in the West Midlands (county)
Solihull