Summerfield is an 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, two miles west of the city centre. It is also the name of an

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. The area takes its name from Summerfield House, owned by members of the Chance family, local industrialists. Neighbouring areas are Cape Hill,

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

Ladywood Ladywood is an inner-city district next to central Birmingham. Historically in Warwickshire, in June 2004, Birmingham City Council conducted a citywide "Ward Boundary Revision" to round-up the 39 Birmingham wards to 40. As a result of this, La ...

, Rotton Park and

Winson Green Winson Green is a loosely defined inner-city area in the west of the city of Birmingham, England. It is part of the ward of Soho. It is the location of HM Prison Birmingham (known locally as Winson Green Prison or "the Green") and of City H ...

Edgbaston Reservoir Edgbaston Reservoir, originally known as Rotton Park Reservoir and referred to in some early maps as Rock Pool Reservoir, is a canal feeder reservoir in Birmingham, England, maintained by the Canal & River Trust.Environment Agency public regist ...

is immediately to the south.

Summerfield Park

Summerfield House and grounds were acquired by Birmingham Corporation, who laid out a public park, which was opened on 29 July 1876 by the Mayor of Birmingham,

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

George Baker. The park, originally of was increased in size in 1890 and 1892, but the house had been demolished by 1894. Summerfield was the sixth municipal park opened in Birmingham after

Adderley Park Adderley Park is an area in the east of Birmingham, England. Charles Adderley MP donated of land to create the park, which he managed privately from 1855 to 1864. The park was opened to the public on 30 August 1856. At the park's entrance were ...

Calthorpe Park Calthorpe Park is a public park in Birmingham, England, created in 1857 and managed by Birmingham City Council. Geography The park lies in the city council ward of Balsall Heath West, adjacent to and east of the A441 Pershore Road, a short ...

, Aston Park,

Cannon Hill Park Cannon Hill Park is a park located in south Birmingham, England. It is the most popular park in the city, covering consisting of formal, conservation, woodland and sports areas. Recreational activities at the park include boating, fishing, bowls ...

and Highgate Park. From 1968 to 1970 the park was the venue for an annual one day international jazz festival organised by the city council. Musicians appearing included bands led by

Chris Barber Donald Christopher Barber (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and Trombone, trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fleur ...

, Humphrey Lyttleton and

Monty Sunshine Monty Sunshine (9 April 1928 – 30 November 2010) was an English jazz clarinettist, who is known for his clarinet solo on the track "Petite Fleur", a million seller for the Chris Barber Jazz Band in 1959. During his career, Sunshine worked w ...

. The park hosted council run

Guy Fawkes night Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration list of minor secular observances#November, observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and firewor ...

bonfire and fireworks 'carnivals' from 1961 until the early 1980s. Summerfield Park has an area of and features a bandstand built in 1907. The former Summerfield police station on Dudley Road stands beside the park.

Governance

Summerfield forms part of North Edgbaston ward for elections to Birmingham city council.

Roads and rail

Major roads in the area include Dudley Road, City Road (part of the city's ring road, the A4040), Rotton Park Road, and Icknield Port Road. Gillott Road is named after industrialist and pen maker

Joseph Gillott Joseph Gillott (11 October 1799 – 5 January 1872) was an English pen-manufacturer and patron of the arts based in Birmingham. Pen manufacturing After a brief period of schooling, Gillott began working in the cutlery trade in his home ...

, who built houses in the area. The area was formerly served by

Icknield Port Road railway station Icknield Port Road railway station was a railway station in England, built by the Harborne Railway and operated by the London and North Western Railway in 1874. It served the Summerfield area of Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City stat ...

and

Rotton Park Road railway station Rotton Park Road railway station was a railway station in England, built by the Harborne Railway and operated by the London and North Western Railway in 1874. It served Summerfield and part of the Edgbaston area of Birmingham and was located ...

, on the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

Harborne branch line The Harborne Railway was a short standard gauge railway line constructed for residential travel from the Harborne area into the centre of Birmingham, England. The line opened in 1874, and was worked by the London and North Western Railway. As bus ...

, but the stations closed in 1931 and 1934 respectively. The trackbed now forms part of the Harborne Walkway.

Listed buildings

Opposite Summerfield Park on Dudley Road stands the

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

former

board school School boards were ''ad hoc'' public bodies in England and Wales that existed between 1870 and 1902, and established and administered Elementary school (England and Wales), elementary schools. Creation The Elementary Education Act 1870 (33 & ...

built in 1878 and designed by

Martin & Chamberlain John Henry Chamberlain, William Martin, and Frederick Martin were architects in Victorian Birmingham, England. Their names are attributed singly or pairs to many red brick and terracotta buildings, particularly 41 of the forty-odd Birmingham b ...

in their 'house' style. It could accommodate up to a total of 1,220 boys, girls and infants. The tower was for ventilation. The school closed in 1979, after 101 years and pupils moved to a new site. Since then, the buildings have been put to use for a community centre. The parish church, Christ Church, is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

References

{{Areas of Birmingham Areas of Birmingham, West Midlands Parks and open spaces in Birmingham, West Midlands