Perry Barr

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Perry Barr is an area in north Birmingham, England . It is also a ward and formal district, managed by its own district committee.

Birmingham Perry Barr is a constituency; its member of Parliament is Khalid Mahmood.

"Perry" means "pear" and "Barr" means "hill".

The University of Central England's main campus is in Perry Barr.

The A4040 and A34 roads cross at Perry Barr, the former carrying the Birmingham Outer Circle bus routes.

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History

Perry Barr was an urban district in Staffordshire from 1894 until 1928 when it was incorporated into Birmingham, and therefore become associated with Warwickshire.

Perry Barr railway station, opened in 1837, is on the old Grand Junction Railway line, and is one of the oldest stations in the country to remain on its original site.

In the 1920s, Oscar Deutsch opened his first ever Odeon cinema here. The original cinema is now a conference venue, having also been a bingo hall.

The site of the former Perry Hall is now Perry Hall Park.

There is a large shopping centre in the district known as "One Stop" Shopping Centre.

There is also a popular Greyhound stadium and race track on the Aldridge Road; it was formerly the home of the Birchfield Harriers, whose badge, in art deco style, it still carries.

The River Tame passes through the area and is crossed by several bridges, including the Zig Zag bridge of 1711 and its 1932, art deco, replacement, carrying the Aldridge Road. The Zig Zag bridge appears on the badge of nearby Handsworth Grammar School.

Birchfield Community Library was opened in 1874 as the Perry Barr Institute. It converted to a Carnegie- funded library in September 1897. The building is now in a poor state of repair, and a replacement is to be commissioned.

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