Lickey is a 'Linear Development', as opposed to a village, in the north of

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, England approximately south west from the centre 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 ...

. It lies in

Bromsgrove District Bromsgrove is a Districts of England, local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Bromsgrove. It borders the built up area of Birmingham to the north. Other places in the district include Alvechu ...

and is situated on the Lickey Ridge, amongst the

Lickey Hills The Lickey Hills (known locally as simply ''The Lickeys'') are a range of hills in Worcestershire, England, to the south-west of the centre of Birmingham near the villages of Lickey, Cofton Hackett and Barnt Green. The hills are a popular count ...

, its proximity to

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, ...

and the city makes it a popular commuter area. 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 ...

of Lickey and Blackwell has a population of 4,140.Census 2001
/ref> The name of Lickey dating back to 1225 is thought to have derived from 'leac' (a clearing) and 'hey' (an enclosed space), including perhaps referring to a clearing in the forest. Various names have included La Lecheye, La Lekeheye, Lechay, Lekhaye. The area forms part of the

Lickey Hills Country Park Lickey Hills Country Park is a country park in England. It is 10 miles (16 kilometres) south west of Birmingham and 24 miles (39 kilometres) north east of Worcester. The park is situated just south of Rednal and close to Barnt Green. It is hal ...

which covers 524 acres.

People

The Birmingham-born watercolourist

Elijah Walton Elijah Walton (November 1832 – 25 August 1880) was a British landscapist, and best known for his landscapes of mountains in the Alps. Biography He was born in November 1832 in Birmingham, where his earlier years were spent. Due to the poorne ...

(1832–1880) lived at Beacon Farm in Lickey towards the end of his life, and died there in 1880. The area was populated rapidly from the 1870s onwards by

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

s and

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

s such as

Herbert Austin Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin (8 November 186623 May 1941) was an English automobile designer and builder who founded the Austin Motor Company. For the majority of his career he was known as Sir Herbert Austin, and the Northfield bypass ...

, who moved to

Lickey Grange Lickey Grange is a Victorian house and estate in the village of Lickey, Bromsgrove District, Worcestershire, near Birmingham, England, where the automobile manufacturer Herbert Austin lived for 31 years. It later became a residential school and i ...

in 1910 and lived there until his death in 1941. He is buried in the graveyard of the local church of

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. The First World War fighter ace Oliver Bryson was born in Lickey on 18 August 1896. The author

Jonathan Coe Jonathan Coe (; born 19 August 1961) is an English novelist and writer. His work has an underlying preoccupation with political issues, although this serious engagement is often expressed comically in the form of satire. For example, '' What a ...

was born in Lickey in 1961. Today the area has a mainly professional and entrepreneurial population.

Landmarks

Opposite

Holy Trinity Church, Lickey Holy Trinity Church, Lickey is a Church of England parish church in Lickey, Worcestershire. History The foundation stone was laid on 16 May 1855 by Robert Windsor-Clive (MP). It was built as a chapel of ease to St John the Baptist Church, Bromsg ...

is a drinking trough for horses and drinking fountain for travellers. The Monument, a 60–80 ft tall obelisk, is situated behind the trees bordering the old Birmingham road directly opposite the petrol station in Lickey. The inscription reads "To commend to imitation the exemplary private virtues of Other Archer 6th Earl of Plymouth". The Earl had land at

Tardebigge Tardebigge () is a village in Worcestershire, England. The village is most famous for the Tardebigge Locks, a flight of 30 canal locks that raise the Worcester and Birmingham Canal over over the Lickey Ridge. It lies in the county of Worcester ...

, near Lickey.

Houses

Lickey has some late Victorian houses but there was steady development of housing in the 20th century. Since the 1990s, there has been 'infill' housing.

Transport

Lickey is served by hourly buses to

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about northeast of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area). Bromsgrove is the main town in the ...

Rubery Rubery is a village in the Bromsgrove District and a suburb of Birmingham in the counties of Worcestershire and West Midlands, England. It is from Birmingham city centre and a similar distance from Bromsgrove. Rubery was built on a sandstone q ...

Droitwich Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. The ...

and

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...

. These are operated by Diamond Bus. The nearest railway station is

Longbridge Longbridge is an area of Northfield in the south-west of Birmingham, England, located near the border with Worcestershire. Public Transport Longbridge is described as a hub for public transport with a number of bus services run by Kev's Coa ...

in Rubery with a frequent

West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...

service to

Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...

References

External links