Selly Park is a

residential A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

an district in south-west

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 ...

. The suburb of Selly Park is located between the Bristol Road ( A38) and the Pershore Road (

A441 List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European isla ...

Toponymy

Selly Park is named after the parkland that was originally associated with Selly Hall, now preserved within Selly Convent.

History

Initially Selly Park was developed on the parkland around Selly Hall, whilst the land to the west of the Pershore Road (A441) was laid out for development in the mid nineteenth century with spacious plots and tree-lined streets, and where development is still restricted by covenant. On the other side of the Pershore Road, between it and Cannon Hill Park are several streets of superior c19 terraced housing, built by Grants, the principal local builder. One or two of the larger houses have been converted into offices and two small hotels.

Governance

The suburb is in the

Selly Oak Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harborne ...

local authority

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

, along with the districts of

Bournbrook Bournbrook is an industrial and residential district in southwest Birmingham, England, in both the Selly Oak Council Ward and the Parliamentary District of Selly Oak. Prior to what is commonly termed the Greater Birmingham Act, which came in ...

, Ten Acres and a small part of Stirchley. It also comes under the Selly Oak local council constituency, which is managed by its own

district committee In Birmingham, England, each council constituency is managed by a Constituency Committee, made up of all the councillors for the wards in that constituency. Birmingham's ten Council constituencies were formally created as eleven "districts" on 5 ...

, and comprises both the Selly Oak ward as well as the wards of Billesley,

Bournville Bournville () is a model village on the southwest side of Birmingham, England, founded by the Quaker Cadbury family for employees at its Cadbury's factory, and designed to be a "garden" (or "model") village where the sale of alcohol was forbidd ...

and Brandwood.

Geography

Education

Selly Park is the location of Selly Park Girls' School, St Edwards Primary School, and Raddlebarn Primary School.

Religion

St Stephen's Church, Selly Park, Birmingham - 20120128-01

St Edward's Church, Selly Park is the main local Catholic Church. Selly Park is also home to three Protestant Churches, namely St Stephen's Church,

Christ Church, Selly Park Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and Selly Park Baptist Church.

Television

The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Pebble Mill Studios Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne o ...

were located to the north of the region, before moving to

The Mailbox Mailbox Birmingham (also known as The Mailbox) is a mixed-use development located within the city centre of Birmingham, England. It houses British luxury department store chain Harvey Nichols, and the BBC Birmingham studios. The scheme compr ...

in 2004. Some episodes of "Dalziel and Pascoe" have been shot in Oakfield Road, An episode of "Bird of Prey" was filmed in Selly Wick Drive and various local shops and houses have been used in the soap opera of "Doctors".

Notable residents

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

(1907–1973), who briefly lived in the grounds of Selly Wick House. *Sir Richard Alfred Pinsent (1852–1948), 1st Baronet Pinsent of Selly Hill, 1938–1948, and former President of the

Law Society A law society is an association of lawyers with a regulatory role that includes the right to supervise the training, qualifications, and conduct of lawyers. Where there is a distinction between barristers and solicitors, solicitors are regulated ...

, 1918–1919, who lived at Selly Wick. *

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and ba ...

(1949–1986), rock musician, was baptised in St Edwards Church and lived in the area as a child. The economist P. Sargent Florence lived in Highfield House on Selly Park Road. The area is and was home to many academics from Birmingham University, such as Prof. Ivor Keys (1919–1995) and Dr Gordon Warwick (1918–1983), and to two former Olympic athletes, Audrey Court and Max Madders.

Sporting history

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Wor ...

won his first snooker World Championship in 1972 at the British Legion Club in Selly Park. This was demolished around 2000 and is now a block of flats.

References

{{Areas of Birmingham Areas of Birmingham, West Midlands