California is a small suburban area of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. It lies south west of Birmingham city centre, near to

Woodgate Valley Country Park Woodgate Valley Country Park is a country park within the Bartley Green and Quinton districts of Birmingham. It is the third largest Birmingham Country Park after Sutton Park and Lickey Hills Country Park. The park is maintained as a wildlife ...

. It is within Bartley Green ward and the

Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham Edgbaston is a constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Preet Gill, a Labour Co-op MP. The most high-profile MP for the constituency was former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1937–19 ...

constituency.

History

Originally within the parish of Northfield,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

the settlement of California takes its name from the California Inn built by Isaac Flavell at the junction of Barnes Hill and Alwold Road. Barnes Hill is named after John Barnes, a master brickmaker who founded the earliest brickworks in the area. Flavell bought Stonehouse Farm and the surrounding land in 1842, and set up a brick making business. There are tales that the name of the California Inn was taken from the state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

where Flavell had earlier made "something of a fortune" in the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

; however, the Gold Rush did not start until 1848, and records show that Flavell was established in business well before that, with operations at Gas Street, as well as the Stonehouse site. The village became well known for brick making. The bricks were transported by canal barge along the Dudley No. 2 Canal; California being the eastern portal of the

Lapal Tunnel The Lapal Tunnel (old spelling Lappal Tunnel) is a disused canal tunnel on the five mile dry section of the Dudley No. 2 Canal in the West Midlands, England. It takes its name from the settlement of Lapal. History The narrow brick-lined t ...

. From 1877 brickmaking in the area started to decline, but it was not until the late 1940s that it ceased altogether. California became part of Birmingham in 1911 along with Northfield.

Modern suburb

Today, California is a largely residential area centred on the junction of Barnes Hill (the B4121) and Stonehouse Way, off of which is Woodgate Valley Fire Station. It is bounded to the west by Woodgate Valley Country Park and to its east by the Bourn Brook, which forms the boundary with

Harborne Harborne is an affluent area sited south-west of Birmingham, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward in the Government of Birmingham, England#Districts, formal district and ...

. The clay pits for brickmaking have been filled in and grassed over; one site is now the playing field of Hillcrest School., p. 95. Nearby places include

Bartley Green Bartley Green is a residential suburban area and electoral ward in Birmingham, England, south west of the city centre. The ward is part of the Birmingham Edgbaston constituency and is represented in parliament by Labour Co-operative MP Preet G ...

and Weoley Castle.

Transport

California lies along the B4121 which runs from

Cotteridge Cotteridge is an area of Birmingham, England, and part of the Bournville ward. It is about miles south of Birmingham city centre. It has a shopping centre with a mixture of local shops, eateries and national brands. Church The Cotteridge Church ...

to Quinton. The area is linked to

Birmingham city centre Birmingham city centre, also known as Central Birmingham, is the central business district of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Warwickshire. Following the removal of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road, the city cent ...

National Express West Midlands National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is bus operator in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. It is a subsidiary of Mobico Group (formerly National Express Group) and is the largest bus operator in the region, as well as one of ...

routes 23, 76 and X22. The 76 also links the area to Weoley Castle and Northfield while the 23 and X22 provide links to Bartley Green. Kev's Car and Coaches bus services 39 and 39A links the area to Quinton and Woodgate Valley.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

California on William Dargue's ''A History of Birmingham Places & Placenames . . . from A to Y''
Areas of Birmingham, West Midlands {{WestMidlands-geo-stub