Highgate, Birmingham

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Highgate is an area of Birmingham, England. It is located about half a mile south-east of the city centre around the River Rea. This area is regarded as the site of the original Anglo-Saxon settlement which gave the city of Birmingham its name.

Highgate mainly consists of commercial premises and some modern council-owned residential properties. There are some older buildings such as the large Victorian houses opposite Highgate Park, and the Church of St. Albans the Martyr on Leopold Street. This dates back to 1871, on weekdays it also served as a school. Stratford House, a Grade II listed building dating from 1601, is located near Camp Hill traffic island.

Highgate’s most distinctive building is probably Birmingham Central Mosque. It is also home to the Birmingham Sports Centre and Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College.

Local amenities include an array of small shops, around Gooch Street. The local community is very mixed due to successive waves of immigration. It includes West Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Yemeni, Irish, and newer arrivals such as Somalis.

The local expansion of Sharia compliant shops selling Halal meat and Halal fast foods have given the area an economic boost.^{[citation needed]} Birmingham's first Halal Meat shop was founded in 1962 by Mr Haji Abdul Jabbar on Longmore Street.^{[citation needed]}