Turves Green
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Turves Green is an area 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 ...
partly in West Heath and partly in
Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connec ...
(the boundary between these two wards runs through Turves Green). In addition the area of
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 ...
borders Turves Green. A road with the simple name Turves Green runs through the area.


Past

In the
Mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
era Turves Green was considered good grazing, the name originally meant, "turf green" which meant
Common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...
and the land was probably enclosed during the late 1850s. The land remained agricultural till
Austin Village Austin Village is a First World War housing estate of prefabs between Longbridge and Northfield, Birmingham. Herbert Austin, who created the Austin Motor Company at Longbridge in 1905, had to take on more workers during the First World War wh ...
was built there during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
for workers producing munitions in a Longbridge factory. Between the world wars council houses with gardens were built bordering Turves Green mostly on the West Heath side.


Present day

During the 1960s a
Council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
was built and Turves was conceived. The area round Fairfax Rd includes,
Semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...
houses,
Terraced house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
s, single story
bungalows A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a bu ...
, and nine ten story
Tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently ...
s. There are also four story maisonettes where one lot of tenant occupy the lower two stories and have two small gardens while a second lot of tenants must climb two flights of stairs to reach their front doors and have balconies instead of gardens. There is a small group of shops on Fairfax Rd including two small
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
s selling food, also general goods and a furniture clearance store. A small area of Turves Green remains open without building and
Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...
maintains this as a recreation area. In 2011 Birmingham Council added a children's play area with attractions including a roundabout, swings and an assault course with slides. Turves Green Brook, which is a tributary to the
River Rea The River Rea (pronounced "ray") is a small river which passes through Birmingham, England. It is the river on which Birmingham was founded by the Beorma tribe in the 7th century. Since 2012, TA Media had obtained the rights and access to the ...
runs through the recreation area, partly open, partly in
culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...
s. The recreation area consists of mown
grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
, with a few benches and alongside the brook natural woodland. The woodland looks pleasant, during the
spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...
there are
pussy willow Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus ''Salix'' (willows and sallows) when their furry catkins are young in early spring. These species include (among many others): *Goat willow or goat sallow ('' Salix caprea ...
,
blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...
and
hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
which flower in succession. After the willows have finished flowering white flowers of hemlock give the area a deadly beauty in sections which the council leaves unmown. Later in the year
Himalayan balsam ''Impatiens glandulifera'', Himalayan balsam, is a large annual plant native to the Himalayas. Via human introduction it is now present across much of the Northern Hemisphere and is considered an invasive species in many areas. Uprooting or cutt ...
and
bindweed Bindweed may refer to: * Some species of Convolvulaceae (bindweed family or morning glory family): ** ''Calystegia'' (bindweed, false bindweed, morning glory), a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants ** ''Convolvulus'' (bindweed, morning ...
flower there and
stinging nettles ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Ori ...
are prominent. In winter
evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
trees and plants including
ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...
on
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
trees provides some greenery together with the grass. Near the play area on either side of the brook is a small
spinney Spinney may refer to: *A copse or thicket People *Art Spinney (1927–1994), American football guard *Caroll Spinney (1933–2019), American puppeteer and cartoonist *Edgar Keith Spinney, (1851–1926), Canadian politician *Franklin C. Spinney (b ...
with trees including
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
s,
larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...
es and other
conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
s. Residents sometimes use the woodland for recreation but the brook is
polluted Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
and there is frequently a noticeable smell. The grassy area is acceptable and residents use it more. In the part of the recreational area nearer to
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 ...
is a basketball court and post war private houses border the recreational area there. Older private houses are along Longbridge Lane which borders the top part of the recreational area. The council estate is socially mixed, some residents face
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
and
social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...
, others enjoy better incomes and some could afford to buy their council houses. Those with jobs are typically
skilled A skill is the Learning, learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into Departmentalization, domain-general and domain-specific skills. Fo ...
or unskilled manual workers.
Anti-social behaviour Antisocial behavior is a behavior that is defined as the violation of the rights of others by committing crime, such as stealing and physical attack in addition to other behaviors such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disrupti ...
may be reported to
Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...
who endeavour to prevent or reduce it. Overall there are far fewer problems with anti-social behaviour than in many
sink estate A sink estate is a British term used for a council housing estate with high levels of social problems, particularly crime. Origin The phrase came into usage in the 1980s, and was used by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair in 1998, when he referred to ...
s. On the road, Turves Green there is a small shopping centre with a Cooperative shop and a
Dental technician A dental technologist (dental laboratory technician) is a member of the dental team who, upon prescription from a dental clinician, constructs custom-made restorative and dental appliances. There are four major disciplines within dental technol ...
among others, near those shops are more post-war council houses, maisonettes and flats with further tower blocks. The road, Turves Green has mainly private houses with some two-story private maisonettes and some council properties.
Turves Green Boys' School Turves Green Boys' School is a secondary school in the West Heath area of Birmingham, England. It is approximately 80 years old. The school is an all-boys school with Technology College and Humanities College status. It received Technology Coll ...
and
King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls (formerly Turves Green Girls' School) is a secondary school located on Turves Green in the Northfield area of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Previously a foundation school administere ...
, both
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) ...
s and Turves Green Primary School are also all on that road.


References

{{coord, 20.18111, -10.111, region:GB-BIR, display=title Northfield Constituency Areas of Birmingham, West Midlands