Sparkhill

Sparkhill is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England, situated between Springfield, Hall Green and Sparkbrook.

Sparkhill takes its name from Spark Brook, a small stream that flows from Moseley to the River Cole in Small Heath. It was, as the name suggests, a hill that was situated alongside the stream. The watercourse can be traced almost entirely along its length from source to where it joins the River Tame, although most of its tributaries are now culverted, and is a popular route for leisure walkers and cyclists. The only part where it cannot easily be followed is a short tunnel where it passes under the Grand Union Canal, very close to the old BSA motorcycle factory near Golden Hillock Road. Most of the route is accessible through Ackers Trust artificial ski slope and sports centre, which was built on BSA's old test track. This part of the route is still used for off-road cycling and similar pursuits.

Historically part of Warwickshire, Sparkhill once existed as a rural area with its main industry being agriculture until the 1880s. In the Middle Ages, the Sparke family farmed in the area.

Development of the area began in the 1890s as a result of the Industrial Revolution which was causing Birmingham to expand. In the 1850s, a small area of land was bought by a building society and sold to separate developers who built houses for the working class. People who owned a property were entitled to vote and a campaigner for the working class vote was Joseph Sturge, a Birmingham manufacturer. As a result of his campaigning, a newly created street in the area was named after him. The architecture of the houses was varied due to the different developers. A centre began to develop for the area with its own pub, The Cherry Arbour.

In the late 1860s, developments appeared all over Sparkhill with the creation of long, straight streets forming a uniform pattern. The new houses were terraced with their own back garden, coal shed and lavatory. For the wealthy middle class, larger houses were built in a plot bounded by Stoney Lane, Alfred Road and Durham Road.

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