Harborne today is a west Birmingham suburb, yet older residents still describe a visit to the shops as 'going down the village'. Everywhere there are visible reminders of the town’s rural heritage, from the wide, open sweep of the golf courses to the 'old village' conservation area, with its ancient hall, 18th-century stately home, cottages and village pub. The parish church, too, retains an old-world air, with its 14th-century tower, its memorials to worthies of past centuries and its old charity boards.
This book, the first comprehensive history of Harborne, starts its story before Domesday, tracing the early relations between Harborne and its exuberant daughter Smethwick. It reveals how the early dominance of Lichfield was gradually engulfed by the increasing wealth of Birmingham, so that by the early 19th century city manufacturers and bankers were making their home here. The author's entertaining and informative text, based on original research, is complemented by splendid illustrations.
The book will be warmly welcomed throughout the area and it makes a significant contribution to the history of the West Midlands conurbation.
Contents:
List of Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
1. Boundaries and Beginnings
2. Mapping Medieval Harborne
3. Henry VIII to Queen Anne
4. The Eighteenth Century
5. The Parish Church and Vicatage
6. The Early Nineteenth Century
7. Early Victorian Harborne
8. The Later Nineteenth Century
9. From 1887 to 1920
10. The 1920s to the Second World War
11. From the Second World War to the Present Day
Bibliography
Index
Review:
... an extremely well-researched book that gives an authoritative and entertaining account of Harborne... profusely illustrated... This is the first truly comprehensive history of Harborne and is to be greatly welcomed... It will undoubtedly be the definitive work on Harborne for many years to come. - Harborne Society Newsletter
