Selly Oak
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| Selly Oak | |
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  Selly Oak shown within the West Midlands |
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| Metropolitan borough | Birmingham |
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| Metropolitan county | West Midlands |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIRMINGHAM |
| Postcode district | B29 |
| Dialling code | 0121 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Birmingham Selly Oak |
| List of places: UK • England • West Midlands | |
- For the Selly Oak Parliamentary constituency see Birmingham Selly Oak (UK Parliament constituency).
Selly Oak is an area in south-west Birmingham, England. It is also a local council ward and a local council constituency.
The suburb of Selly Oak is bordered by Bournbrook and Selly Park to the north-east, Edgbaston and Harborne to the north, Weoley Castle and Weoley Hill to the west, and Bournville to the south. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the Birmingham Cross-City Railway Line run along the northern boundary of the area.
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[edit] Etymology
The Oak element of the name Selly Oak comes from a prominent Oak tree that formerly stood at the crossroads of the Bristol Road and Oak Tree Lane/Harborne Lane. The original spot is still commemorated by an old Victorian street sign above one of the shops on the north-side of Oak Tree Lane, which declares it to be "Oak Tree Place" and has the date of 1880.[1]
The Oak that stood here was finally felled in May 1909 amid fears about its safety, due to damage to its roots caused by the building of the nearby houses. The tree was cut-up and the stump removed to Selly Oak Park, where it remains to this day, bearing a brass plaque that reads "Butt of Old Oak Tree from which the name of Selly Oak was derived. Removed from Oak Tree Lane, Selly Oak 1909".[2]
The earliest attestations for the name 'Selly Oak' date from 1746, and come from the manorial court rolls for the Manor of Northfield and Weoley, of which the district of Selly was a part.[3] The stump of the old Oak in Selly Oak Park was examined using dendrochronology, and the results gave a date of 1710-1720 for when the tree began growing.[4] It is thought that the tree became a landmark following the turnpiking of the road from Bromsgrove to Birmingham (now the Bristol Road), which began in 1727.[5]
An older name for the same crossroads, where the road from King's Norton to Harborne (now represented by Oak Tree/Harborne Lanes) met the Bromsgrove to Birmingham road (the Bristol Road), appears to have been Selly Cross; at least during the 16th century when it was recorded as Selley Crosse in 1549 and Selley Cross in 1506.[6]
The supposed tradition that the original oak was associated with a witch named Sarah or Sally is without foundation,[7] and is likely to have arisen as a means of explaining what may have been a variant and local pronunciation of the name as 'Sally' Oak.[8] Indeed the name is recorded as Sally Oak on a canal map produced by John Snape in 1789.[9]
In March 1985, a 'new' Selly Oak was planted by local councillors on the north-side of the Bristol Road on the small triangle of land between Harborne Land and the Sainsbury's site, following road improvements to the junction.[10] Ironically, a second 'new' Selly Oak was planted in October 2000 at Bentella's Corner in front of the Blockbuster video store on the south-side of the Bristol Road, but on the opposite side of Oak Tree Lane to the original site.[11] In addition, there may also have been a third planting of yet another 'new' Selly Oak, next to the extension to Sainsbury's car park, after the demolition of The Great Oak pub in 1993.[citation needed] All of these Oaks are still alive and growing.
[edit] Governance
The Selly Oak local council ward covers not only the suburb of Selly Oak, but also the adjoining areas of Bournbrook, Selly Park and Ten Acres, together with a small part of the Stirchley area. The ward is served by three councillors on Birmingham City Council, representing the Liberal Democrats: Alistair Dow, David Radcliffe and Robert Wright. The Ward has also adopted a Ward Support Officer, the current holder of the title being Marcia Greenwood. The Selly Oak council constituency presently includes both the Selly Oak ward and the wards of Billesley, Bournville and Brandwood, and is managed by its own district committee.
[edit] Population and services
The 2001 Population Census recorded that 25,792 people were living in Selly Oak with a population density of 4,236 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. It had a below-average percentage of ethnic minorities with only 15.9% of the population consisting of ethnic minorities compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general.
There is one main cemetery in Selly Oak, Lodge Hill Cemetery, opened 1895, and run by Birmingham council since 1911. Its main entrance is on Weoley Park Road, at its junction with Gibbins Road and Shenley Fields Road.
Many secondary age school children attend Bournville School.
A number of colleges, mainly theological, collectively called the Selly Oak Colleges are now part of the University of Birmingham.
Selly Oak itself was blighted for a large part of the 20th century by a road-widening scheme for the Bristol Road (A38). In the latter half of that century, many historic buildings were demolished around the Bristol Road at the heart of old Selly Oak. However, plans for significant regeneration of the area were confirmed in 2005. A new 10 metre wide, 1.5 km stretch of road will alleviate the heavily congested Bristol Road through both Selly Oak and nearby Bournbrook, with improvements to public transport and other facilities in the district. A major new Sainsbury's superstore will be built, replacing the existing Selly Oak store, and there is funding for the reopening of a small part of the Selly Oak to Lapal and Halesowen canal (Dudley No. 2 Canal) to enhance the area and provide a focal point. Work will be completed by 2009.
The redevelopment of the area also involves the local hospitals Selly Oak Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital which together form the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Construction work has started on Birmingham Super Hospital on the current Queen Elizabeth Hospital site, and is due to be completed in 2009. On completion, it is anticipated that Selly Oak Hospital will close as an NHS hospital.
Both Selly Oak and Bournbrook are served by Selly Oak railway station on the Cross-City Line, providing services to the Birmingham New Street, Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch stations. The former Bristol Road tram route and its depots were replaced by buses in 1952.
The area is served by Selly Oak Library which hosts the Selly Oak Library Local History Group.
Alex Higgins won his first snooker World Championship in 1972 at the British Legion Club in Selly Park.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Maxam, Andrew, Selly Oak & Weoley Castle on old picture postcards, Yesterday's Wawrickshire Series No. 20, caption 25 (Reflections of a Bygone Age, 2004, ISBN 1-900138-82-4)
- ^ Dowling, Geoff, Giles, Brain and Hayfield, Colin, Selly Oak Past and Present: A Photographic Survey of a Birmingham Suburb, p. 2 (Department of Geography, University of Birmingham, 1987)
- ^ Baker, Anne, Butler, Joanne and Southworth, Pat, 'How Did The Oak Get Into Selly', Birmingham Historian, Issue 23, October 2002, p. 7 (Birmingham & District Local History Association, 2002, ISSN 0953-0909)
- ^ Leather, Peter, 'Old Oak gives up secrets', Birmingham Evening Mail, 7 June 2001, p. 9
- ^ The Statutes at Large, of England and of Great-Britain: From Magna Carta to the Union of the Kingdom’s of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. VIII, p. 831 (1811)
- ^ Page, William and Willis-Bund, J. W. (eds)Victoria County History of The Counties of England: A History of Worcestershire, Vol. III., p. 194 (Institute of Historical Research, University of London, 1913)
- ^ Leonard, Francis W., The Story of Selly Oak Birminham, p. 2 (St Mary's Parochial Church Council, 1933)
- ^ Butler, Joanne, Baker, Anne and Southworth, Pat, 'Back to roots: Dates don't support Selly witch theory', Birmingham Evening Mail, January 2001
- ^ Snape, John 'Plan of the Intended Navigable Canal from Birmingham to Worcester', 1789
- ^ 'Putting the oak in Selly Oak', Birmingham Evening Mail, 29 March 1985
- ^ 'From a great oak - a little sapling is set to grow', Birmingham Evening Mail, 14 October 2000
[edit] Bibliography
- Dowling, Geoff, Giles, Brain and Hayfield, Colin (1987). Selly Oak Past and Present: A Photographic Survey of a Birmingham Suburb. Department of Geography, University of Birmingham. ISBN 0-7044-0912-7.
- Moth J. (1951). The City of Birmingham Baths Department 1851 - 1951. James Upton Ltd..
[edit] External links
- 1884 Ordnance Survey 25" map of Selly Oak
- A Brief History of Selly Oak
- St Mary's Parish Church, Selly Oak (includes PDF version of Francis W. Leonard's The Story of Selly Oak)
- Photographs of Selly Oak
- More Photos of Selly Oak (includes one of the plaque on the stump of the original Selly Oak)
- Excavations of lime kilns at Selly Oak
- Restoration of Selly Oak to Lapal canal, Selly Oak section
- Birmingham City Council's Selly Oak Ward
- Birmingham City Council's Selly Oak Constituency
- Selly Oak New Road (Birmingham City Council website)
- Selly Oak Community Network pages
- Birmingham, B29
- One Stop Guide to Selly Oak
- Map sources for Selly Oak
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