Perry Beeches is an area of

Great Barr Great Barr is now a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as Perry Barr, which is still the name of an adjacent Birmi ...

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, within the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Perry Barr Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, England. It is also the name of a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency; its Member of Parliament is Khalid Ma ...

. Previously agricultural, with some sand and gravel quarrying on the site of Asda Queslett; it was developed as a residential suburb of Birmingham immediately before and after World War II. Many of the houses in the Thornbridge Avenue and Booth's Farm Road areas were constructed before the outbreak of war, while the remaining part of the estate (between the Beeches and Aldridge Roads) was completed after 1945. The Perry Beeches area is bisected by the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...

, constructed in the early 1970s. The housing in the southern part of Perry Beeches -in the Thornbridge Avenue area and at the eastern end of the Beeches Road (formerly known as Brick Kiln Lane)- was built by

Henry Boot Henry Boot (1851–1931) was the founder of Henry Boot PLC. Henry Boot was the eldest surviving son of Charles and Ann Boot. He was born on 9 December 1851 in Heeley, a small village two miles outside Sheffield. Henry's father had described him ...

of Sheffield for the 'First National Housing Trust' - who also built a similar estate, albeit with houses of a slightly larger floorplan, at

Pheasey Pheasey is a residential area of Walsall Metropolitan Borough in the West Midlands of England, often considered to be part of Great Barr. The area was predominantly developed for housing, as the Pheasey Estate, in the 1930s, but work was not co ...

. This is located to the north-east of the Beeches Estate on land that was part of Aldridge Urban District Council and now part of

Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council Walsall Council, formerly Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council was created in 1974 to administer the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Walsall. Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council was assessed by the Audit Commission in 2008 and judged to ...

. Most of these houses were built in blocks of 4-6 with some blocks of 2 semi-detached in a similar style where space would not allow for larger blocks, or where the land was too steep for these blocks - notably in Holmesfield Road; that was built on a steep hill. While many residents have now bought these properties and made many alterations, the original floorplan for most houses consisted of a hallway, front room and then a rear kitchen with pantry, coal hole and a downstairs toilet. As these houses were originally rented, they had identical wooden doors and windows painted cream, with either dark green or brown doors and outer frames. Wooden fences with a garden hedge were also placed around every house. The houses to the north of the area (north of the Beeches Road between the Walsall and M6) were by contrast privately owned. These are mostly blocks of semi-detached houses with generally more decorative features, including large circular bay windows on the upper and ground floor, stained glass front doors and windows, and in most cases both a front and back reception room. At the rear of most houses in the Walsall Road and Booths Farm Road area, the houses were built with long rear access 'right of ways'. These proved useful as more people owned a private car from the early 1950s onwards and were able to build a garage on the bottom part of their back garden plot opening onto these 'right of ways'. They also made good short-cuts. In recent years, however, these became good access routes for thieves breaking into garages and houses. Due to this, many now have large padlocked gates at their roadside entrance and are only accessible to residents. There are a number of primary schools around this area and two secondary schools with one being directly located on the Beeches Estate. Secondary education is provided at

Arena Academy Arena Academy is a coeducational secondary school located in the Perry Beeches area of Birminghamin the West Midlands of England. Previously a community school administered by Birmingham City Council, Perry Beeches School converted to acade ...

References

{{reflist Areas of Birmingham, West Midlands Great Barr