A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction.
135-727: Lucas Industries plc was a Birmingham -based British manufacturer of motor industry and aerospace industry components. Once prominent, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was formerly a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . In August 1996, Lucas merged with the American Varity Corporation to form LucasVarity . After LucasVarity was sold to TRW the Lucas brand name was licensed for its brand equity to Elta Lighting for aftermarket auto parts in
270-522: A Eurostat measure of the functional city-region approximated to local government districts, had a population of 2,357,100 in 2004. In addition to Birmingham itself, the LUZ ( West Midlands conurbation ) includes the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley , Sandwell , Solihull and Walsall , along with the districts of Lichfield , Tamworth , North Warwickshire and Bromsgrove . Beyond this is
405-476: A Lord Mayoralty was conferred on Birmingham by Letters Patent on 3 June 1896. Birmingham's ten parliamentary constituencies are represented in the House of Commons as of 2024 by one Conservative , one independent and eight Labour MPs . Originally part of Warwickshire , Birmingham expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, absorbing parts of Worcestershire to the south and Staffordshire to
540-560: A conurbation with the borough of Solihull to the south east, and with the city of Wolverhampton and the industrial towns of the Black Country to the north west, which form the West Midlands Built-up Area covering 59,972 ha (600 km ; 232 sq mi). Surrounding this is Birmingham's metropolitan area – the area to which it is closely economically tied through commuting – which includes
675-416: A vacuum assisted brake system that greatly increases the force applied to the vehicle's brakes by its operator. This additional force is supplied by the manifold vacuum generated by air flow being obstructed by the throttle on a running engine. This force is greatly reduced when the engine is running at fully open throttle, as the difference between ambient air pressure and manifold (absolute) air pressure
810-615: A "King of the Road", but strictly speaking, this is quite wrong, as most lamps throughout the 20th century possessed either a name, a number or both. Joseph and Harry Lucas formed a joint-stock corporation with the New Departure Bell Co., of America in 1896, so that Lucas designed bicycle lamps that could be manufactured in America to avoid import duties. The King of the Road name returned in 2013 as Lucas Electrical reintroduced
945-410: A Section 114 notice to say that it could not meet its financial commitments. Effectively this meant the council was bankrupt. A major contributing factor is a £1.1b sum that has been paid out since 2010, for equal pay claims. There is still a bill for £760m, increasing by £14m a month. There are also problems with a new IT system that was projected to cost £19m but is now closer to £100m. In addition there
1080-600: A brake would convert all the kinetic energy into heat, in practice a significant amount may be converted into acoustic energy instead, contributing to noise pollution . For road vehicles, the noise produced varies significantly with tire construction, road surface , and the magnitude of the deceleration. Noise can be caused by different things. These are signs that there may be issues with brakes wearing out over time. Railway brake malfunctions can produce sparks and cause forest fires . In some very extreme cases, disc brakes can become red hot and set on fire. This happened in
1215-503: A broader range of specialist, higher-skilled and more lucrative activities. By the time of the English Civil War Birmingham's booming economy, its expanding population, and its resulting high levels of social mobility and cultural pluralism , had seen it develop new social structures very different from those of more established areas. Relationships were built around pragmatic commercial linkages rather than
1350-578: A century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years. The principal governing institutions of medieval Birmingham – including the Guild of the Holy Cross and the lordship of the de Birmingham family – collapsed between 1536 and 1547, leaving
1485-534: A considerable urban heat island effect. During the coldest night recorded, 14 January 1982, the temperature fell to −20.8 °C (−5.4 °F) at Birmingham Airport, but just −14.3 °C (6.3 °F) at Edgbaston, near the city centre. Birmingham is a snowy city relative to other large UK conurbations, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation. Between 1961 and 1990 Birmingham Airport averaged 13.0 days of snow lying annually, compared to 5.33 at London Heathrow . Snow showers often pass through
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#17327802009691620-515: A constantly diversifying range of products, in a highly entrepreneurial economy of small, often self-owned workshops. This led to exceptional levels of inventiveness: between 1760 and 1850 – the core years of the Industrial Revolution – Birmingham residents registered over three times as many patents as those of any other British town or city. The demand for capital to feed rapid economic expansion also saw Birmingham grow into
1755-490: A family business of brassfounders at Small Heath , Birmingham , and developed as an important manufacturer and supplier of motor vehicle lamps. In 1948, at the time of its acquisition by Lucas, 60 per cent of Butler's production was represented by its sales of lamps of various types to Ford Motor Company and Vauxhall Motors and to Simms (who resold the lamps to heavy vehicle manufacturers) for use as initial equipment. At this time, Butlers
1890-522: A flat shoe which is clamped to the rail with an electromagnet; the Murphy brake pinches a rotating drum, and the Ausco Lambert disc brake uses a hollow disc (two parallel discs with a structural bridge) with shoes that sit between the disc surfaces and expand laterally. A drum brake is a vehicle brake in which the friction is caused by a set of brake shoes that press against the inner surface of
2025-591: A haven for Nonconformists from the 1660s. By 1700 Birmingham's population had increased fifteen-fold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the cultural phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment . The town developed into a notable centre of literary , musical , artistic and theatrical activity; and its leading citizens – particularly
2160-624: A major financial centre with extensive international connections. Lloyds Bank was founded in the town in 1765, and Ketley's Building Society , the world's first building society , in 1775. By 1800 the West Midlands had more banking offices per head than any other region in Britain, including London. Innovation in 18th-century Birmingham often took the form of incremental series of small-scale improvements to existing products or processes, but also included major developments that lay at
2295-426: A massive increase in the number of women in the midlands joining British trade unions. After World War I, the firm expanded rapidly, branching out into products such as braking systems and diesel systems for the automotive industry and hydraulic actuators and electronic engine control systems for the aerospace industry. In 1926 they gained an exclusive contract with Austin . Around 1930, Lucas and Smiths established
2430-646: A motorcycle accessory business, Rotax began to specialise in aircraft components after the World War I. After an initial proposal for Lucas and Rotax to jointly take over CAV, Lucas decided in 1926 to take over both companies. In 1956 Lucas Rotax opened a new plant in the new town of Hemel Hempstead to the north of London. Lucas Rotax was later renamed Lucas Aerospace. By the 1970s the company had 15 plants at various locations. Originally Called Lucas GTE (Gas Turbine Equipment) Based in Birmingham from its link with
2565-714: A number of Labour councils, for example, the West Midlands , Sheffield , Cleveland and the Greater London Council , where Cooley was appointed Technology Director of the Greater London Enterprise Board after being sacked by Lucas in 1981. In August 1996, Lucas Industries plc merged with the North American Varity Corporation to form LucasVarity plc. Its specific history is covered on
2700-440: A parachute, or airplanes with both wheel brakes and drag flaps raised into the air during landing. Since kinetic energy increases quadratically with velocity ( K = m v 2 / 2 {\displaystyle K=mv^{2}/2} ), an object moving at 10 m/s has 100 times as much energy as one of the same mass moving at 1 m/s, and consequently the theoretical braking distance , when braking at
2835-401: A population of 1.145 million in the city proper . Birmingham borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Dudley and Solihull , forms the West Midlands conurbation . The royal town of Sutton Coldfield is incorporated within the city limits to the northeast. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million, making it
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#17327802009692970-412: A pressure reservoir called a hydraulic accumulator . Electromagnetic brakes are likewise often used where an electric motor is already part of the machinery. For example, many hybrid gasoline/electric vehicles use the electric motor as a generator to charge electric batteries and also as a regenerative brake . Some diesel/electric railroad locomotives use the electric motors to generate electricity which
3105-506: A pump may pass fluid through an orifice to create friction: Frictional brakes are most common and can be divided broadly into " shoe " or " pad " brakes, using an explicit wear surface, and hydrodynamic brakes, such as parachutes, which use friction in a working fluid and do not explicitly wear. Typically the term "friction brake" is used to mean pad/shoe brakes and excludes hydrodynamic brakes, even though hydrodynamic brakes use friction. Friction (pad/shoe) brakes are often rotating devices with
3240-742: A range of bicycle lighting to the UK. The name was reserved for the Lucas Electrical's premium LED bike lights. Lucas also acquired many of its British competitors: CAV Ltd was headquartered in Acton, London making diesel fuel injection equipment for diesel engine manufacturers worldwide and electrical equipment for commercial and military vehicles. The company was formed by Charles Anthony Vandervell (1870–1955), making accumulators , electric carriage lamps, and switchboards in Willesden . In 1904,
3375-530: A record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak , two tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in Erdington and Selly Oak – with six tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider West Midlands county. More recently, a destructive T6/F3 tornado occurred in July 2005 in the south of the city, damaging homes and businesses in the area. The tornado took an almost parallel path to that of
3510-417: A rotating drum. The drum is connected to the rotating roadwheel hub. Drum brakes generally can be found on older car and truck models. However, because of their low production cost, drum brake setups are also installed on the rear of some low-cost newer vehicles. Compared to modern disc brakes, drum brakes wear out faster due to their tendency to overheat. The disc brake is a device for slowing or stopping
3645-505: A shared ancestor, or a mythical tribal figurehead. Place names ending in -ingahām are characteristic of primary settlements established during the early phases of Anglo-Saxon colonisation of an area, suggesting that Birmingham was probably in existence by the early 7th century at the latest. Surrounding settlements with names ending in -tūn ('farm'), -lēah ('woodland clearing'), -worð ('enclosure') and -field ('open ground') are likely to be secondary settlements created by
3780-492: A single black box later described by an official American historian as "the most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores". The city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s. This included the construction of large tower block estates, such as Castle Vale . The Bull Ring was reconstructed and New Street station was redeveloped. In the decades following World War II, the ethnic makeup of Birmingham changed significantly, as it received waves of immigration from
3915-480: A stationary pad and a rotating wear surface. Common configurations include shoes that contract to rub on the outside of a rotating drum, such as a band brake ; a rotating drum with shoes that expand to rub the inside of a drum, commonly called a " drum brake ", although other drum configurations are possible; and pads that pinch a rotating disc, commonly called a " disc brake ". Other brake configurations are used, but less often. For example, PCC trolley brakes include
4050-549: A tourist attraction in the early 1900s. Birmingham has a temperate maritime climate ( Cfb according to the Köppen climate classification ), like much of the British Isles, with average maximum temperatures in summer (July) being around 21.3 °C (70.3 °F); and in winter (January) around 6.7 °C (44.1 °F). Between 1971 and 2000 the warmest day of the year on average was 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) and
4185-477: A trading agreement to avoid competition in each other's markets. During the 1920s and 1930s Lucas grew rapidly by taking over a number of their competitors such as Rotax and C.A.Vandervell (CAV). During WW2 Lucas was engaged by Rover to work on the combustion and fuel systems for the Whittle jet engine project making the burners. This came about because of their experience of sheet metal manufacture and CAV for
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4320-476: A virtual monopoly of automotive electrical equipment in Great Britain. With a monopoly in place, Lucas proceeded to supply electrical equipment that was commonly cited as the best reason not to buy a British car. The poor reliability of Lucas auto-electrics earned it the nickname "Prince of Darkness". Incidentally, heavy metal musician Ozzy Osbourne , who adopted the nickname as part of his stage image and
4455-488: A wedge-actuated braking system. In 1929 he sold the patent rights to the New Hudson company. Girling later developed disc brakes , which were successful on racing cars from the early 1950s to the 1970s. Girling brakes had the quirk of using natural rubber (later nitrile ) seals, which caused difficulties for some American owners of British cars because of incompatibility with US brake fluids. Girling brake manufacture
4590-442: A wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation; this provided an economic base for prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. The Watt steam engine was invented in Birmingham. The resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of political radicalism which, under leaders from Thomas Attwood to Joseph Chamberlain ,
4725-401: Is "off-brake drag", or drag that occurs when the brake is not intentionally actuated. After a braking event, hydraulic pressure drops in the system, allowing the brake caliper pistons to retract. However, this retraction must accommodate all compliance in the system (under pressure) as well as thermal distortion of components like the brake disc or the brake system will drag until the contact with
4860-581: Is a projected £87m deficit for the financial year 23/24. Birmingham City Council has 101 councillors representing 77 wards as of 2018. Its headquarters are at the Council House in Victoria Square . As of 2023 , the council has a Labour Party majority and is led by John Cotton. Labour replaced the previous no overall control status at the May 2012 elections. The honour and dignity of
4995-668: Is located in the centre of the West Midlands region of England on the Birmingham Plateau – an area of relatively high ground, ranging between 500 and 1,000 feet (150 and 300 metres) above sea level and crossed by Britain's main north–south watershed between the basins of the Rivers Severn and Trent . To the immediate south west of the city lie the Lickey Hills , Clent Hills and Walton Hill , which reach 1,033 feet (315 m) and have extensive views over
5130-440: Is not perfectly efficient . Therefore, a good metric of efficient energy use while driving is to note how much one is braking. If the majority of deceleration is from unavoidable friction instead of braking, one is squeezing out most of the service from the vehicle. Minimizing brake use is one of the fuel economy-maximizing behaviors . While energy is always lost during a brake event, a secondary factor that influences efficiency
5265-577: Is now dominated by the service sector . The city is a major international commercial centre and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub. Its metropolitan economy is the second-largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $ 121.1bn (2014 ). Its five universities, including the University of Birmingham , make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham's major cultural institutions –
5400-507: Is particularly a large community of Asian descent, especially from Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi backgrounds, as well as Afro-Caribbeans from the Commonwealth , and a solid Chinese presence through migrants from the former colony of Hong Kong . Birmingham also has an older Irish connection, with the city having the largest population of Irish in mainland Britain and home to its only Irish quarter, Digbeth . In Birmingham, 65.9% of
5535-423: Is reduced, and therefore available vacuum is diminished. However, brakes are rarely applied at full throttle; the driver takes the right foot off the gas pedal and moves it to the brake pedal - unless left-foot braking is used. Because of low vacuum at high RPM, reports of unintended acceleration are often accompanied by complaints of failed or weakened brakes, as the high-revving engine, having an open throttle,
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5670-658: Is then sent to a resistor bank and dumped as heat. Some vehicles, such as some transit buses, do not already have an electric motor but use a secondary "retarder" brake that is effectively a generator with an internal short circuit. Related types of such a brake are eddy current brakes , and electro-mechanical brakes (which actually are magnetically driven friction brakes, but nowadays are often just called "electromagnetic brakes" as well). Electromagnetic brakes slow an object through electromagnetic induction , which creates resistance and in turn either heat or electricity. Friction brakes apply pressure on two separate objects to slow
5805-460: Is unable to provide enough vacuum to power the brake booster. This problem is exacerbated in vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions as the vehicle will automatically downshift upon application of the brakes, thereby increasing the torque delivered to the driven-wheels in contact with the road surface. Heavier road vehicles, as well as trains, usually boost brake power with compressed air , supplied by one or more compressors. Although ideally
5940-800: The Anglican Diocese of Birmingham was created in 1905. There are two other cathedrals: St Chad's , seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew . The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands is also based at Birmingham, with a cathedral under construction. The original parish church of Birmingham, St Martin in
6075-687: The Birmingham Political Union bringing the country to the brink of civil war during the Days of May that preceded the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832. The Union's meetings on Newhall Hill in 1831 and 1832 were the largest political assemblies Britain had ever seen. Lord Durham , who drafted the Act, wrote that "the country owed Reform to Birmingham, and its salvation from revolution". This reputation for having "shaken
6210-473: The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra , Birmingham Royal Ballet , Birmingham Repertory Theatre , Library of Birmingham and Barber Institute of Fine Arts – enjoy international reputations, and the city has vibrant and influential grassroots art , music , literary and culinary scenes. Birmingham was the host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games . In 2021, Birmingham was the third most visited city in
6345-521: The Commonwealth of Nations and beyond. The city's population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents. 21 people were killed and 182 were injured in a series of bomb attacks in 1974, thought to be carried out by the Provisional IRA . The bombings were the worst terror attacks in England up until the 2005 London bombings and consisted of bombs being planted in two pubs in central Birmingham. Six men were convicted , who became known later as
6480-644: The Frisch–Peierls memorandum of 1940, the same year that the cavity magnetron , the key component of radar and later of microwave ovens , was invented by John Randall and Henry Boot . Details of these two discoveries, together with an outline of the first jet engine invented by Frank Whittle in nearby Rugby , were taken to the United States by the Tizard Mission in September 1940, in
6615-475: The Midlands Enlightenment and during the Industrial Revolution , which saw advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society . By 1791, it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising
6750-652: The River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn , approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre . The city does however have numerous canals , collectively named the Birmingham Canal Navigations . Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during
6885-549: The Soho Manufactory , pioneering the combination and mechanisation under one roof of previously separate manufacturing activities through a system known as "rational manufacture". As the largest manufacturing unit in Europe, this came to symbolise the emergence of the factory system . Most significant, however, was the development in 1776 of the industrial steam engine by James Watt and Matthew Boulton. Freeing for
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#17327802009697020-562: The Transport & General Workers' Union (T&G). In protest to the factory's plans, Eden organised a mass walkout of 10,000 Lucas factory worker women, who refused to work for a week. The strike was successful and the Lucas Electrics factory management was forced to back down. After the victory, the overjoyed factory workers were so ecstatic that the factory could not function during normal hours and had to be closed early. One of
7155-536: The Victorian era , the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was granted city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria . Joseph Chamberlain , mayor of Birmingham and later an MP, and his son Neville Chamberlain , who was Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later the British Prime Minister, are two of
7290-454: The kinetic energy of the moving object into heat , though other methods of energy conversion may be employed. For example, regenerative braking converts much of the energy to electrical energy , which may be stored for later use. Other methods convert kinetic energy into potential energy in such stored forms as pressurized air or pressurized oil. Eddy current brakes use magnetic fields to convert kinetic energy into electric current in
7425-634: The largest outside London. Located in the West Midlands region of England, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands . It is just west of the traditional centre point of England at Meriden , and is the most inland major city in the country, and lying north of the Cotswolds and east of the Shropshire Hills . Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly
7560-452: The "King of the Road" epithet for every lamp manufactured. They used this name on only their most prestigious and usually highest priced lamps and goods. This naming format would last until the 1920s when the "King of the Road" wording was pressed into the outer edge of the small "lion and torch" button motifs that frequently decorated the tops of both bicycles and motor-car lamps. The public was encouraged by Lucas to refer to every Lucas lamp as
7695-517: The 112-mile (180 km) London and Birmingham Railway of 1838. Birmingham schoolteacher Rowland Hill invented the postage stamp and created the first modern universal postal system in 1839. Alexander Parkes invented the first human-made plastic in the Jewellery Quarter in 1855. By the 1820s, the country's extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources and fuel for industries. During
7830-656: The 1890s, Wooden block brakes became obsolete when Michelin brothers introduced rubber tires. During the 1960s, some car manufacturers replaced drum brakes with disc brakes. In 1966, the ABS was fitted in the Jensen FF grand tourer. In 1978, Bosch and Mercedes updated their 1936 anti-lock brake system for the Mercedes S-Class . That ABS is a fully electronic, four-wheel and multi-channel system that later became standard. In 2005, ESC — which automatically applies
7965-412: The 1920s Lucas signed a number of cross-licensing agreements with Bosch, Delco, and most of the other automotive electrical equipment manufacturers in Europe and North America. In addition, these agreements included a non-competitive clause agreeing that Lucas would not sell any electrical equipment in their countries and they would not sell electrical equipment in Great Britain. By the mid-1930s Lucas had
8100-659: The 1930s the factory developed a range of Diesel fuel injectors. In the World War II the company again became the principal supplier of magnetos for aircraft and tanks, also supplying dynamos , starter motors , lights, pumps, nozzles, spark plugs and coils. The East Finchley factory continued to expand after the war, eventually reaching 300,000 square feet (28,000 m). In 1955, the company acquired seven other British light engineering companies: R.F. Landon Partners, Horstman, Mono-Cam, Hadrill and Horstmann , Industrial Fan and Heater, Clearex Products and Simplus Products. At
8235-454: The 1931 tornado. Notable tornadoes have also struck the city in 1923, 1946, 1951, 1998 and 1999, most of which being of T2-T4/F1-F2 intensity. There are 571 parks within Birmingham – more than any other European city – totalling over 3,500 hectares (14 sq mi) of public open space. The city has over six million trees, and 250 miles (400 kilometres) of urban brooks and streams. Sutton Park , which covers 2,400 acres (971 ha) in
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#17327802009698370-403: The 2001, 2011, and 2021 censuses, the proportion of Christians in Birmingham decreased from 59.1% to 46.1% to 34%, while the proportion of Muslims increased from 14.3% to 21.8% to 29.9% and the proportion of people with no religious affiliation increased from 12.4% to 19.3% to 24.1%. All other religions remained proportionately similar. St Philip's Cathedral was upgraded from church status when
8505-547: The Birmingham Six and sentenced to life imprisonment, who were acquitted after 16 years by the Court of Appeal . The convictions are now considered one of the worst British miscarriages of justice in recent times. The true perpetrators of the attacks are yet to be arrested. Birmingham remained by far Britain's most prosperous provincial city as late as the 1970s, with household incomes exceeding even those of London and
8640-476: The Borough was divided into 13 wards. William Scholefield became the first Mayor and William Redfern was appointed as Town Clerk. Birmingham Town Police were established the following year. Birmingham's tradition of innovation continued into the 19th century. Birmingham was the terminus for both of the world's first two long-distance railway lines: the 82-mile (132 km) Grand Junction Railway of 1837 and
8775-700: The Bull Ring , is Grade II* listed . A short distance from Five Ways the Birmingham Oratory was completed in 1910 on the site of Cardinal Newman 's original foundation. There are several Christadelphian meeting halls in the city and the Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Group has its headquarters in Hall Green . Braking system Most brakes commonly use friction between two surfaces pressed together to convert
8910-502: The LucasVarity page but for the sake of continuity key aspects of the old Lucas business histories to date, particularly that referring to CAV and Lucas Diesel Systems are still included here. Harry Lucas designed a hub lamp for use in a high bicycle in 1879 and named the oil lamp "King of the Road". This name would come to be associated with the manufactured products of Lucas Companies, into the present day. However, Lucas did not use
9045-564: The Rivers Tame, Rea and Cole and their tributaries. To the north and west of the fault, between 150 and 600 feet (46 and 183 metres) higher than the surrounding area and underlying much of the city centre, lies a long ridge of harder Keuper Sandstone . The bedrock underlying Birmingham was mostly laid down during the Permian and Triassic periods. The area has evidence of glacial deposits , with prominent erratic boulders becoming
9180-475: The South East, but its economic diversity and capacity for regeneration declined in the decades that followed World War II as Central Government sought to restrict the city's growth and disperse industry and population to the stagnating areas of Wales and Northern England . These measures hindered "the natural self-regeneration of businesses in Birmingham, leaving it top-heavy with the old and infirm", and
9315-569: The Tuscan GP, when the Mercedes car, the W11 had its front carbon disc brakes almost bursting into flames, due to low ventilation and high usage. These fires can also occur on some Mercedes Sprinter vans, when the load adjusting sensor seizes up and the rear brakes have to compensate for the fronts. A significant amount of energy is always lost while braking, even with regenerative braking which
9450-588: The UK by people from foreign nations. The name Birmingham comes from the Old English Beormingahām , meaning the home or settlement of the Beormingas – a tribe or clan whose name means 'Beorma's people' and which may have formed an early unit of Anglo-Saxon administration. Beorma , after whom the tribe was named, could have been its leader at the time of the Anglo-Saxon settlement,
9585-412: The UK, continental Europe, Australia and the United States, and the Plan was also supported by and influenced the work of radical scientists such as the British Society for Social Responsibility in Science and community, peace and environmental activists through spreading the idea of encouraging socially useful production. The Plan's proposals also had an influence on the economic development strategies of
9720-584: The United Kingdom. The Lucas trademark is currently owned by ZF Friedrichshafen , which retained the Elta arrangement. In the 1850s, Joseph Lucas , a jobless father of six, sold paraffin oil from a barrow cart around the streets of Hockley . In 1860, he founded the firm that would become Lucas Industries. His 17-year-old son Harry joined the firm around 1872. At first it made general pressed metal merchandise, including plant pot holders, scoops and buckets, and later in 1875 lamps for ships. Joseph Lucas & Son
9855-556: The Wake Green football club; Bartley and Frankley reservoirs; and Handsworth cemetery with surrounding golf courses. Birmingham has many areas of wildlife that lie in both informal settings such as the Project Kingfisher and Woodgate Valley Country Park and in a selection of parks such as Lickey Hills Country Park , Pype Hayes Park & Newhall Valley, Handsworth Park , Kings Heath Park , and Cannon Hill Park ,
9990-628: The Welsh capital Cardiff , 45 miles (72 km) south-west of Nottingham , 70 miles (110 km) south of Manchester , and 75 miles (121 km) north-north-east of Bristol . Much of the area now occupied by the city was originally a northern reach of the ancient Forest of Arden and the city remains relatively densely covered by oak in a large number of districts such as Moseley , Saltley , Yardley , Stirchley and Hockley . These places, with names ending in "-ley", deriving from Old English - lēah meaning "woodland clearing", are named after
10125-499: The age of 25 and the median age being 34 years of age, below the national average of 40. Religion in Birmingham (2021) Christianity is the largest religion within Birmingham, with 34% of residents identifying as Christians in the 2021 Census . The city's religious profile is highly diverse: outside London, Birmingham has the United Kingdom's largest Muslim , Sikh and Buddhist communities; its second largest Hindu community; and its seventh largest Jewish community. Between
10260-639: The area during the Bronze Age , when a substantial but short-lived influx of population occurred between 1700 BC and 1000 BC, possibly caused by conflict or immigration in the surrounding area. During the 1st-century Roman conquest of Britain , the forested country of the Birmingham Plateau formed a barrier to the advancing Roman legions, who built the large Metchley Fort in the area of modern-day Edgbaston in AD ;48, and made it
10395-470: The borough are designated as green belt , as a portion of the wider West Midlands Green Belt. This is a strategic local government policy used to prevent urban sprawl and preserve greenfield land . Areas included are the aforementioned Sutton Park; land along the borough boundary by the Sutton Coldfield, Walmley and Minworth suburbs; Kingfisher, Sheldon, Woodgate Valley country parks; grounds by
10530-459: The brake pedal of a modern vehicle with hydraulic brakes is pushed against the master cylinder , ultimately a piston pushes the brake pad against the brake disc which slows the wheel down. On the brake drum it is similar as the cylinder pushes the brake shoes against the drum which also slows the wheel down. Brakes may be broadly described as using friction, pumping, or electromagnetics. One brake may use several principles: for example,
10665-475: The brake disc, fin, or rail, which is converted into heat. Still other braking methods even transform kinetic energy into different forms, for example by transferring the energy to a rotating flywheel. Brakes are generally applied to rotating axles or wheels, but may also take other forms such as the surface of a moving fluid (flaps deployed into water or air). Some vehicles use a combination of braking mechanisms, such as drag racing cars with both wheel brakes and
10800-492: The brakes to avoid a loss of steering control — become compulsory for carriers of dangerous goods without data recorders in the Canadian province of Quebec. Since 2017, numerous United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) countries use Brake Assist System (BAS) a function of the braking system that deduces an emergency braking event from a characteristic of the driver's brake demand and under such conditions assist
10935-475: The city became increasingly dependent on the motor industry . The recession of the early 1980s saw Birmingham's economy collapse, with unprecedented levels of unemployment and outbreaks of social unrest in inner-city districts. Since the turn of the 21st century, many parts of Birmingham have been transformed, with the redevelopment of the Bullring Shopping Centre , the construction of
11070-575: The city via the Cheshire gap on north westerly airstreams, but can also come off the North Sea from north easterly airstreams. Extreme weather is rare, but the city has been known to experience tornadoes . On 14 June 1931, an extremely damaging T6/F3 tornado struck the city, carving an 11-mile damage path through Hollywood, Hall Green, Sparkbrook, Tyseley, Greet and Small Heath, causing extensive damage and killing 1 woman. On 23 November 1981, during
11205-528: The city. Birmingham is drained only by minor rivers and brooks, primarily the River Tame and its tributaries the Cole and the Rea . Birmingham is located significantly inland, and its nearest body of sea is at Liverpool Bay . It lies at the same latitude as Lowestoft , Britain's easternmost settlement; it is therefore much more proximate to the western coast of Wales, at Cardigan Bay . The City of Birmingham forms
11340-557: The coldest night typically fell to −9.0 °C (15.8 °F). Some 11.2 days each year rose to a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above and 51.6 nights reported an air frost. The highest recorded temperature recorded at the Edgbaston Campus was 37.4 °C (99.3 °F), whilst a temperature of 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) was recorded at Birmingham Airport on the city's eastern edge, both recorded on 19 July 2022 . Like most other large cities, Birmingham has
11475-601: The communist activists who had encouraged Eden was raised up upon the shoulders of factory workers at a dinner hour in celebration. This strike was described by the Trades Union Congress as "unprecedented at the time", and led to the T&;G's leader (then Ernest Bevin ) to award Jessie Eden with the union's Gold Medal. Eden's leadership and organisation of the Lucas Electronics factory strike prompted
11610-479: The creation of a planned market town and seigneurial borough within his demesne or manorial estate, around the site that became the Bull Ring . This established Birmingham as the primary commercial centre for the Birmingham Plateau at a time when the area's economy was expanding rapidly, with population growth nationally leading to the clearance, cultivation and settlement of previously marginal land. Within
11745-566: The diesel industry and later fuel systems for aircraft. Lucas bought Bosch's interest out in 1937 and it became CAV Ltd in 1939. In 1978 the company's name became Lucas CAV. In 1980 the Acton factory employed around 3,000 people making heavy-duty electric equipment for commercial vehicles, by this time high volume diesel fuel injection manufacturing had been relocated to larger modern factories in Kent, Suffolk, Gloucestershire, and many countries throughout
11880-452: The disc and attached wheel to slow or stop. Pumping brakes are often used where a pump is already part of the machinery. For example, an internal-combustion piston motor can have the fuel supply stopped, and then internal pumping losses of the engine create some braking. Some engines use a valve override called a Jake brake to greatly increase pumping losses. Pumping brakes can dump energy as heat, or can be regenerative brakes that recharge
12015-641: The disc, for example, knocks the pads and pistons back from the rubbing surface. During this time, there can be significant brake drag. This brake drag can lead to significant parasitic power loss, thus impacting fuel economy and overall vehicle performance. Since traditional manufacturing technology is too expensive for brake pad production and requires a lot of development time and production time, including multiple finishing processes, etc. In order to overcome these limitations, 3D printing technology can be used to manufacture brake pads. This method can improve some economic costs and improve environmental protection. In
12150-419: The driver to improve braking. In July 2013 UNECE vehicle regulation 131 was enacted. This regulation defines Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS) for heavy vehicles to automatically detect a potential forward collision and activate the vehicle braking system. On 23 January 2020 UNECE vehicle regulation 152 was enacted, defining Advanced Emergency Braking Systems for light vehicles. From May 2022, in
12285-401: The early 1970s, Lucas was the principal supplier to British manufacturers (such as BSA , Norton and Triumph ) of magnetos, dynamos, alternators, switches and other electrical components. Thousands of workers belonging to Birmingham's Lucas electrical factory walked out and joined the 1926 United Kingdom general strike . Birmingham communist activist and trade union leader Jessie Eden , who
12420-625: The early Rover Jet engine development. Lucas during the late 1960 and early 70s purchased (given help/encouragement by the British government) various aerospace related companies to create a British world class aerospace equipment supplier to complement Rolls-Royce Jet engine manufacturer in a failed attempt to become a major player in the expanding world aviation market. Hobson's, Rotax, the Smiths Industries aerospace related companies were all consumed to create this expanded company. One of
12555-575: The end of 1957, the company formally changed its name to Simms Motor and Electronics Corporation Ltd., informally known as the Simms Group. The Simms Group was taken over by Lucas in 1968 and integrated within the CAV division. Manufacturing in East Finchley was steadily run down and the factory closed in 1991 to be redeveloped for housing. It is commemorated by Simms Gardens and Lucas Gardens. In
12690-413: The era. These allow the aircraft to maintain a safe speed in a steep descent. The Saab B 17 dive bomber and Vought F4U Corsair fighter used the deployed undercarriage as an air brake. Friction brakes on automobiles store braking heat in the drum brake or disc brake while braking then conduct it to the air gradually. When traveling downhill some vehicles can use their engines to brake . When
12825-463: The exchange of knowledge between pure science and the practical world of manufacturing and technology. This created a "chain reaction of innovation", forming a pivotal link between the earlier Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution that would follow. Birmingham's explosive industrial expansion started earlier than that of the textile-manufacturing towns of the North of England , and
12960-626: The fabric of privilege to its base" in 1832 led John Bright to make Birmingham the platform for his successful campaign for the Second Reform Act of 1867, which extended voting rights to the urban working class. The original Charter of Incorporation , dated 31 October 1838, was received in Birmingham on 1 November, then read in the Town Hall on 5 November with elections for the first Birmingham Town Council being held on 26 December. Sixteen Aldermen and 48 Councillors were elected and
13095-453: The firm moved to Warple Way, Acton. The firm pioneered the dynamo-charged battery principle and in 1911 it produced the world's first lighting system used on a double-decker bus . By 1918 1,000 employees were making vehicle electrics and aircraft magnetos. Wireless components were also made from 1923. In 1926 CAV was bought by Lucas. In 1931, CAV in partnership with Robert Bosch , became CAV-Bosch Ltd and began making fuel injection pumps for
13230-596: The firm's work organisation. The plan was not put into place but it is claimed that the associated industrial action saved some jobs. In addition, the Plan had an impact outside of Lucas Aerospace: according to a 1977 article in New Statesman , "the philosophical and technical implications of the plan (were) now being discussed on average of twenty-five times a week in international media". Workers in other companies subsequently undertook similar initiatives elsewhere in
13365-458: The first importance" in the development of the mechanised cotton industry . In 1741 they opened the world's first cotton mill in Birmingham's Upper Priory. In 1746 John Roebuck invented the lead chamber process , enabling the large-scale manufacture of sulphuric acid , and in 1780 James Keir developed a process for the bulk manufacture of alkali , together marking the birth of the modern chemical industry . In 1765 Matthew Boulton opened
13500-426: The first time the manufacturing capacity of human society from the limited availability of hand, water and animal power, this was arguably the pivotal moment of the entire Industrial Revolution and a key factor in the worldwide increases in productivity over the following century. Birmingham rose to national political prominence in the campaign for political reform in the early 19th century, with Thomas Attwood and
13635-647: The focus of a network of Roman roads . Birmingham was then later established by the Beormingas around the 6th or 7th century as a small settlement in the then heavily forested Arden region in Mercia . The development of Birmingham into a significant urban and commercial centre began in 1166, when the Lord of the Manor Peter de Bermingham obtained a charter to hold a market at his castle , and followed this with
13770-535: The former forest. Birmingham is dominated by the Birmingham Fault, which runs diagonally through the city from the Lickey Hills in the south west, passing through Edgbaston and the Bull Ring, to Erdington and Sutton Coldfield in the north east. To the south and east of the fault the ground is largely softer Mercia Mudstone , interspersed with beds of Bunter pebbles and crossed by the valleys of
13905-550: The heart of the emergence of industrial society . In 1709 the Birmingham-trained Abraham Darby I moved to Coalbrookdale in Shropshire and built the first blast furnace to successfully smelt iron ore with coke , transforming the quality, volume and scale on which it was possible to produce cast iron . In 1732 Lewis Paul and John Wyatt invented roller spinning , the "one novel idea of
14040-500: The industry's products. By the 1600s Birmingham formed the commercial hub of a network of forges and furnaces stretching from South Wales to Cheshire and its merchants were selling finished manufactured goods as far afield as the West Indies . These trading links gave Birmingham's metalworkers access to much wider markets, allowing them to diversify away from lower-skilled trades producing basic goods for local sale, towards
14175-476: The later expansion of the Anglo-Saxon population, in some cases possibly on earlier British sites. There is evidence of early human activity in the Birmingham area dating back to around 8000 BC, with Stone Age artefacts suggesting seasonal settlements, overnight hunting parties and woodland activities such as tree felling. The many burnt mounds that can still be seen around the city indicate that modern humans first intensively settled and cultivated
14310-538: The latter also housing the mini zoo, Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park . The 2021 census recorded 1,144,900 people living in Birmingham, an increase of around 6.7% from 2011 when 1,073,045 were recorded. It is the 27th largest city in Europe by population within its city boundary. Birmingham's continuous urban area extends beyond the city's boundaries: the Birmingham Larger Urban Zone ,
14445-665: The many factories was based in the Park Royal Industrial Estate, London, opposite Lucas Rotax. This facility provided components for BAE Systems , principally for the Stingray Torpedo Project. In 1913 Frederick Richard Simms started Simms Motor Units Ltd, which in World War I became the principal supplier of magnetos to the armed forces. In 1920 the company took over a former piano factory in East Finchley , North London . During
14580-472: The members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham – became influential participants in the circulation of philosophical and scientific ideas among Europe's intellectual elite. The close relationship between Enlightenment Birmingham's leading thinkers and its major manufacturers – in men like Matthew Boulton and James Keir they were often in fact the same people – made it particularly important for
14715-425: The most well-known political figures who have lived in Birmingham. The city established its own university in 1900. The city suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II 's " Birmingham Blitz ". The city was also the scene of two scientific discoveries that were to prove critical to the outcome of the war. Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls first described how a practical nuclear weapon could be constructed in
14850-618: The new Library of Birmingham (the largest public library in Europe) and the regeneration of old industrial areas such as Brindleyplace , The Mailbox and the International Convention Centre , as well as the rationalisation of the Inner Ring Road . In 1998 Birmingham hosted the 24th G8 summit . The city successfully hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games . On 5 September 2023 Birmingham city council issued
14985-612: The north and west. The city absorbed Sutton Coldfield in 1974 and became a metropolitan borough in the new West Midlands county . A top-level government body, the West Midlands Combined Authority , was formed in April 2016. The WMCA holds devolved powers in transport, development planning, and economic growth. The authority is governed by a directly elected mayor , similar to the Mayor of London . Birmingham
15120-544: The north of the city, is the largest urban park in Europe and a national nature reserve . Birmingham Botanical Gardens , located close to the city centre, retains the regency landscape of its original design by J. C. Loudon in 1829, while the Winterbourne Botanic Garden in Edgbaston reflects the more informal Arts and Crafts tastes of its Edwardian origins. Several green spaces within
15255-425: The offer it had received from Butlers on the general ground that it would be a mistake to refuse the additional capacity, particularly for short orders and obsolete types of lamps. In 1952, the purchase of the share capital of Butlers was effected through nominees, and ownership by Lucas was not made public until 1952 when the company was listed as a subsidiary in Lucas's Annual Report. Also Lucas did not want to bring
15390-420: The population were aged between 15 and 64, higher than when compared to the national average of 64.1% in England and Wales. Furthermore, 20.9% of the population were aged under 15, higher than the national average of 17.4% while the population aged over 65 was 13.1%, which was lower than the national average of 18.6% respectively. Birmingham is one of the youngest cities in Europe with 40% of its population below
15525-537: The population were born outside the UK, an increase of 4.5% percentage points from 2011. Figures showed that the five largest foreign-born groups living in Birmingham were born in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Romania and Jamaica. In 2011, 57% of primary and 52% of secondary pupils were from non-White British families. As of 2021, 31.6% of school pupils in Birmingham were White , 37.7% were Asian , 12.6% were Black , 9.7% were Mixed race and 8.4% were Other. There
15660-525: The pumps and injectors. In about 1957 they started a semiconductor manufacturing plant to make rectifiers and transistors . In 1976, the workforce within Lucas Aerospace were facing significant layoffs. Under the leadership of Mike Cooley , they developed the Lucas Plan to convert the company from arms to the manufacture of socially useful products, and save jobs. The plan was described at
15795-451: The rigid paternalism and deference of feudal society , and loyalties to the traditional hierarchies of the established church and aristocracy were weak. The town's reputation for political radicalism and its strongly Parliamentarian sympathies saw it attacked by Royalist forces in the Battle of Birmingham in 1643, and it developed into a centre of Puritanism in the 1630s and as
15930-400: The rotation of a road wheel. A brake disc (or rotor in U.S. English), usually made of cast iron or ceramic , is connected to the wheel or the axle. To stop the wheel, friction material in the form of brake pads (mounted in a device called a brake caliper ) is forced mechanically , hydraulically , pneumatically or electromagnetically against both sides of the disc. Friction causes
16065-417: The spares side of Butlers' business into the Lucas distribution and service network but wished to study it and find out how it worked. Lucas also said that it did not want to add to current press criticism of itself as a monopolistic giant which absorbed competitors. The company started as a car brake manufacturer after, in 1925, Albert H. Girling (also co-founder of Franks-Girling Universal Postage ) patented
16200-492: The strike, Eden had noticed that Lucas factory supervisors had been closely observing her work, and that the supervisors were monitoring her because she was a fast worker and that they planned to use her work speed as a standard for all the other workers in the factory. Eden approached the Amalgamated Engineering Union ; however, they did not allow women to join their membership so she instead approached
16335-525: The time by the Financial Times as "one of the most radical alternative plans ever drawn up by workers for their company", and by Tony Benn as "one of the most remarkable exercises that have ever occurred in British industrial history". The Plan took a year to put together, consisted of six volumes of around 200 pages each, and included designs for 150 proposed items for manufacture, market analysis and proposals for employee training and restructuring
16470-607: The town of Tamworth and the city of Lichfield in Staffordshire to the north; the city of Coventry and the towns of Nuneaton , Bedworth , Whitnash , Kenilworth , Rugby, Atherstone , Coleshill , Warwick and Leamington Spa to the east in Warwickshire and the Worcestershire towns of Redditch and Bromsgrove to the south west. As the crow flies, Birmingham lies approximately 100 miles (160 km) north-west of London , 85 miles (137 km) north-east of
16605-430: The town with an unusually high degree of social and economic freedom and initiating a period of transition and growth. The importance of the manufacture of iron goods to Birmingham's economy was recognised as early as 1538, and grew rapidly as the century progressed. Equally significant was the town's emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials and traded and marketed
16740-606: The traction limit, is up to 100 times as long. In practice, fast vehicles usually have significant air drag, and energy lost to air drag rises quickly with speed. Almost all wheeled vehicles have a brake of some sort. Even baggage carts and shopping carts may have them for use on a moving ramp . Most fixed-wing aircraft are fitted with wheel brakes on the undercarriage . Some aircraft also feature air brakes designed to reduce their speed in flight. Notable examples include gliders and some World War II -era aircraft, primarily some fighter aircraft and many dive bombers of
16875-502: The vehicle in a controlled manner. Brakes are often described according to several characteristics including: Foundation components are the brake-assembly components at the wheels of a vehicle, named for forming the basis of the rest of the brake system. These mechanical parts contained around the wheels are controlled by the air brake system. The three types of foundation brake systems are “S” cam brakes, disc brakes and wedge brakes. Most modern passenger vehicles, and light vans, use
17010-817: The wider metropolitan area with a population numbering 3,558,916 in 2019 according to Eurostat. Around 305,688 or 26.7% of the population in 2021 were foreign-born , making it a city with one of the largest migrant populations in Europe . According to figures from the 2021 census, 48.7% of the population was White (42.9% White British , 1.5% White Irish , 4.0% Other White , 0.2% Roma , 0.1% Irish Traveller ), 31% were Asian (17.0% Pakistani , 5.8% Indian , 4.2% Bangladeshi , 1.1% Chinese , 2.9% Other Asian ), 10.9% were Black (5.8% African , 3.9% Caribbean , 1.2% Other Black ), 4.8% of Mixed race (2.2% White and Black Caribbean, 0.4% White and Black African, 1.1% White and Asian, 1.1% Other Mixed), 1.7% Arab and 4.6% of Other ethnic heritage. The 2021 census showed 26.7% of
17145-409: The world. Acton continued to make low volume specialist pumps for the military and for Gardner engines. The electrical business was sold to US company Prestolite Electric in 1998 and remained at Acton until relocating to nearby Greenford in 2005. The diesel fuel injection equipment research, engineering, and manufacturing business known in later years as Lucas Diesel Systems Ltd continue at all of
17280-774: The worldwide sites (with the exception of those in Japan and South Carolina, US, which had closed by this time) and since 2000 has been owned by Delphi , a US-domiciled automotive parts and systems manufacturer. The name has been changed to Delphi, and the business is a major part of the Delphi Powertrain Division. Worldwide diesel fuel injection business sites: England - Gillingham, Kent; Park Royal, London; Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. France - Blois and La Rochelle. Brazil - São Paulo. Mexico - Saltillo. Spain - Sant Cugat, Barcelona. Turkey - İzmir. India - Mannure, Chennai. Korea - Changwon, Busan. Butlers Limited formed as
17415-487: Was a volunteer union steward for the only section of unionised women in the factory, convinced the women to join the strike. The strike was depicted in the British crime drama Peaky Blinders . Jessie Eden again organised another strike of Lucas factory workers in 1931, this time leading 10,000 non-unionised women on a week-long strike, during which she joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) . Before
17550-470: Was also from Birmingham, was a former Lucas Industries employee as was his mother. Birmingham Birmingham ( / ˈ b ɜːr m ɪ ŋ ə m / BUR -ming-əm ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England . It is the second-largest city in Britain – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom – with
17685-615: Was based in Little King Street from 1882 and later Great King Street, Birmingham . In 1902, what had by then become Joseph Lucas Ltd, incorporated in 1898, started making automotive electrical components such as magnetos , alternators , windscreen wipers , horns, lighting, wiring and starter motors . The company started its main growth in 1914 with a contract to supply Morris Motors Limited with electrical equipment. During World War I Lucas made shells and fuses, as well as electrical equipment for military vehicles. Up until
17820-418: Was driven by different factors. Instead of the economies of scale of a low-paid, unskilled workforce producing a single bulk commodity such as cotton or wool in large, mechanised units of production, Birmingham's industrial development was built on the adaptability and creativity of a highly paid workforce with a strong division of labour , practising a broad variety of skilled specialist trades and producing
17955-463: Was supplying the whole of Ford's requirements of lamps for initial equipment. Butlers also had a substantial business in the supply to wholesalers of accessory lamps, mainly foglamps and spare tail-lamps of various sizes. Lucas reported that it knew that Ford, Vauxhall and Simms would not like the purchase and that it did not want to upset them or disturb Butlers' wholesale customers or its own wholesalers at home or abroad; nevertheless it decided to accept
18090-552: Was taken over by Lucas in 1938, but the patent remained held by New Hudson until this in turn was purchased by Lucas in 1943. Lucas then moved its Bendix brake and Luvax shock absorber interests into a new division which became Girling Ltd . Girling products included: Rotax went through several name changes and manufacturing locations, the last of these being the former premises of the Edison Phonograph Company in Willesden , west London in 1913. Initially
18225-624: Was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz . The damage done to the city's infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive urban regeneration in subsequent decades. Birmingham's economy
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