Chelmsley Wood, United Kingdom
Chelmsley Wood is a town of 13,278 people in England, United Kingdom.
Why visit Chelmsley Wood
Townapedia lists 4 museums and landmarks, 23 parks and trails, 39 places to eat and 9 places to stay in and around town.
Highlights include Blakesley Hall, National Motorcycle Museum, Meriden Park and Birmingham Business Park.
Weather in Chelmsley Wood
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Chelmsley Wood
Chelmsley Wood, sometimes called just Chelmsley, is a town, ward, and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands. It is located near Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre. It lies about eight miles east of Birmingham city centre and 5 miles to the north of Solihull. The town is also close to both Coleshill and Water Orton in Warwickshire, the county the area was historically part of.
From the Wikipedia article Chelmsley Wood (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos of Chelmsley Wood
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Museums and landmarks4
Blakesley Hall
Museum · 3.0 mi
Tudor hall in Yardley, Birmingham, England; now a museum
National Motorcycle Museum
Museum · 2.7 mi
Motorcycle museum in West Midlands, England
Grimstock Hill Romano-British settlement
Monument and historic site · 2.5 mi
Romano-British settlement site in Warwickshire
Parks, trails and playgrounds23
Birmingham Business Park
Park · 1.2 mi
Business park in Solihull, West Midlands, England
Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens
Park · 3.0 mi
Restored Jacobean gardens near Birmingham, England
Kingfisher Country Park
Park · 2.6 mi
Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom
Yorks Wood
Park · 1.3 mi
Woodland and nature reserve in Kingshurst, West Midlands, England, UK
11 more on the map.
Restaurants and cafes39
Bengal Palace
Restaurant · Indian · 1.4 mi
54 East Meadway, Birmingham
Su-Th 17:30-00:00; Fr-Sa 17:30-01:00
Pizza Delfino
Restaurant · Pizza · 1.4 mi
62 East Meadway, Birmingham
Mo-Th 17:00-00:00; Fr-Sa 16:00-01:00; Su 16:00-00:00
Olympic Cafe
Cafe · 1.4 mi
50 East Meadway, Birmingham
Mo-Sa 08:00-14:00; Su 09:00-14:00
Little Owl
Bar and pub · 1.4 mi
Bickenhill Parkway, Solihull
Mo-Fr 11:30-23:00; Sa 11:30-23:00; Su 11:30-22:00
27 more on the map.
Where to stay9
The White House Bed and Breakfast
Motel and hotel · 1.0 mi
33 Elmdon Road, Solihull
History
Chelmsley Wood was built by Birmingham City Council in the late 1960s and early 70s on ancient woodland, once part of the Forest of Arden, as an overspill town for Birmingham. Permission for the construction of the overspill estate on green belt land was granted by Richard Crossman as Minister of Housing and Local Government. A shopping centre (which opened on 7 April 1970), a library (completed in 1970 at £240,000), hall and belatedly a few public houses. With the adjoining neighbourhoods of Fordbridge and Smith's Wood it became part of Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in 1974.
By the end of the Second World War 12,391 homes had been destroyed by aerial bombing in Birmingham and there was to be no house building in the city for six years so the programme of slum clearance had been halted. By the 1950s there were terrific demand for homes. Large estates were built within the city boundaries such as Druid's Heath, Castle Vale and at Bromford on the site of the city's former racecourse, but by 1963 there was no further land available within the city boundaries.
Read more of the history
The city council had powers under the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1900 to purchase land out-of- area. On 21 December 1964, Richard Crossman the new minister for housing sent a letter to Sir Frank Price, leader of Birmingham City Council proposing the scheme. The population was increasing and it was estimated that there would be a deficiency of 43,000 dwellings by 1971, which would have been worse than it had been in 1959. At a meeting of the House Building Committee in February 1965, it was decided to build a large new development to the east of the city. Objections were raised about the scheme, particularly from Meriden Rural District Council and the local Parish Councils in the nearby villages of Kingshurst and Hampton-in-Arden, on grounds of amenity and the threat to the green belt separating Birmingham and Coventry. A similar application for the use of nearly 300 acres at Wythall to the south of Birmingham was considered, but this was turned down. Permission was granted.
Land was compulsorily purchased and construction of the 15,590 dwellings was begun in 1965 and completed in 1970. Although the area became part of Solihull in 1974, Birmingham City Council retained control of their houses until they were officially transferred to Solihull MBC on 29 September 1980. Construction started in 1965 and the first rates were levied on houses in Oak Croft on 6 March 1967. Such was the scale of the operation that a development company was to design finance and build a complete town centre which was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 7 April 1972.
The "Wood" was to be 80% public housing and 18% privately developed homes, houses were reserved for 100 policemen and rows of terraced homes were let out or sold at a reduced rate to key workers: nurses, social workers and teachers working on the estate. The "Wood" had considerable thought put into its planning and won architectural awards for its landscaping. It was provided with schools, a library and shopping areas, but in the early days there was no local pub, the nearest one being reached by a five-mile bus journey.The "unity and harmony" of the design made it appear monotonous rather than modern.
From the History section of Chelmsley Wood on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Chelmsley Wood
Glynn PurnellEnglish chefPhoto: Amy Martin Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0- Barry AustinEnglish-man widely reputed to be the heaviest man in UK
Born in Chelmsley Wood, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Churches and places of worship22
Shopping13
Gas and EV charging3
Schools, colleges and libraries26
Healthcare9
Map of Chelmsley Wood
148 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Birmingham Airport (BHX) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 2 miles away.
- Solihull 5 mi south, about 8 min by car
- Birmingham 7 mi west, about 11 min by car
- Sutton Coldfield 7 mi northwest, about 11 min by car
- Knowle 7 mi south, about 11 min by car
- Streetly 9 mi northwest, about 15 min by car
- Hartshill 10 mi northeast, about 17 min by car
- Atherstone 10 mi northeast, about 17 min by car
- Coventry 11 mi southeast, about 17 min by car
- West Bromwich 11 mi west, about 18 min by car
- Kenilworth 11 mi southeast, about 18 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Chelmsley Wood
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Keep exploring
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre Compass, Wulgulmerang, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Chelmsley Wood - Chelmsley Circus, Carl Baker, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Chelmsley Wood - Shopping Centre, Carl Baker, CC BY-SA 2.0
- The Stick without the Bogey at Meriden Park, Chelmsley Wood (55500613163), Elliott Brown, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Blakesley Hall (1), Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, England, CC BY 2.0
- National motorcycle museum 26a07, Snowmanradio, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens Parterre - North Garden, Graham High, CC BY 3.0
- Coleshill Church, Mark Walton, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Sheldon St Giles church, Oosoom at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Old Yardley Church, Birmingham, Erebus555, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Water Orton SS Peter and Paul, MaryCleary, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Fordbridge - Meriden Park Lake, Carl Baker, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church Tile Cross Birmingham, Sean C Sweetman, CC0
- Sheldon Hall 1, Tony Hisgett, CC BY 2.0
- Gressell Lane White Hart PH, Brianboru100, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Birmingham Business Park, Cormackadvertising, CC BY-SA 4.0
- John Henry Newman Catholic College 2014, 360Libre, CC BY-SA 2.0
- KFC (8402607376), Ozzy Delaney from Birmingham, CC BY 2.0
- G-CEYU (8155148649), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- G-ORDH (8155178520), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- G-POLA (8155178996), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- ZA714 (8155179652), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- G-WMAS (8155149899), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- G-NETR (8155179552), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- WV595 (8155177794), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- G-NETR (8520181911), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- G-ORDH (8248813614), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- Apaches (8122055019), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- G-HEOI (8122054657), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- Seagull orange sunset (8410861397), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- ZH181 (8122075880), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- HA-PCC (8122072268), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- G-CHAN (8249270701), ozz13x, CC BY 2.0
- Street-level photo, adam2, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, adam2, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, adam2, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, adam2, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, adam2, CC BY-SA 4.0
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