Elmdon, West Midlands
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Elmdon () is a suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the county of
West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
,
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 population of this Solihull Ward at the 2011 census was 12,067. The name Elmdon means hill of the elms. It is primarily a residential area. It was formerly home to Elmdon Aerodrome, which is now Birmingham Airport. Elmdon Parish Church dates from 1780 and overlooks the Rover Works, home of
Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...
since 1946. Whilst mention is made in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of Elmdon, as being in the Hemlingford Hundred, it was little more than an estate until the opening of the
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 ...
-
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 ...
turnpike through the parish created an important junction and staging-post where the modern Coventry Road crosses Old Damson Lane/Elmdon Lane. The focus of the village moved from the area immediately surrounding what is now the parish church (i.e. the Elmdon Hall estate and its vicinity) to this junction. Notable residents of Elmdon Hall include the Spooner and Alston families, after whom nearby Alston Road is named.
William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...
lived in Elmdon for some time after his marriage to
Barbara Spooner Barbara Ann Wilberforce (née Spooner; 24 December 1777 – 21 April 1847) was the spouse of Abolitionism in the United Kingdom, abolitionist and Member of Parliament, MP William Wilberforce. Early life She was born in Birches Green, Erdington, ...
; the church's Wilberforce Hall is named after him. Local legend has it that the ancient Sweet Chestnut tree on top of the 'elm-don', now in Elmdon Park, was planted by
Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...
. Its sister tree, which once demarcated the farthest extent of the Elmdon estate, is several miles away at the junction of Lode Lane and Solihull By-Pass/Seven Star Road on the outskirts 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 Blythe i ...
town centre. The northern suburbs of Solihull as far as the Coventry Road, and the entire
Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...
factory, are built on land that was once part of the estate. Much of this land was sold for development and agriculture in 1920, and the rest in 1930. The hall and its much-depleted grounds remained. In 1944 the hall itself was sold to Solihull Council, who initially used it to house the Home Guard, and demolished it in 1956. Two stone eagles which once topped the gateposts at the gatehouse on the Coventry Road were removed by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
to decorate an airbase. In its final years the hall was dilapidated, a favourite haunt for local children. The council turned the land into Elmdon Park and a handful of private residences.
Elmdon Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Boro ...
opened on land north of the Coventry Road in 1939, but was taken over and closed to civilian use by the Royal Air Force almost immediately, due to the outbreak of
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 ...
. It re-opened after the war, and eventually became Birmingham Airport. The construction of the runways necessitated the closure of Elmdon Lane between the village and Marston Green to the north, and the demolition of Elmdon village itself. Two dwellings remain of the original settlement at the crossroads, and maps still show this point as the centre of Elmdon. The name these days largely refers to the church and park, so the focus of the parish has effectively returned to its pre-turnpike location. Birmingham International railway station, on the West Coast Main Line, and the
National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway stati ...
, are adjacent to the airport and on the border between Elmdon and
Bickenhill Bickenhill is a small village in the civil parish of Bickenhill and Marston Green, in the Solihull district, in the county of the West Midlands, England, on the eastern fringe of the West Midlands conurbation. Bickenhill is home to Birmingham A ...
. Solihull Moors Football Club has its stadium,
Damson Park Damson Park is an association football stadium in Damson Parkway, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It was the new home of Solihull Borough following their departure from their original Widney Lane Ground. It is now the home of Solihull Moors, ...
, in Elmdon, adjacent to the Land Rover factory and Elmdon Park. Plans for a rail link from the factory to the West Coast Main Line were scrapped when Ford sold Land Rover and
Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
.


References


1891 Ordnance Survey map of Elmdon village


External links


St. Nicholas Church, Elmdon
{{coord, 52.44202, -1.75869, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SP165827), display=title Solihull