125-492: Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham , in the county of the West Midlands , England. It is also the name of a council constituency , managed by its own district committee . Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency ; its Member of Parliament between 2001 and 2024 was Labour's Khalid Mahmood . The MP as of July 2024 is Ayoub Khan , who ran as an Independent. The constituency includes
250-522: 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
375-476: 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
500-560: 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
625-410: 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
750-536: A boycott of Tim Burton 's Alice in Wonderland at its cinemas in the UK, Ireland and Italy , over a plan by Disney to show the film for a shorter period to allow it to release the film on DVD earlier. Following individual negotiations with Disney ; Odeon, Cineworld and Vue reached agreements. On 24 August 2012, a customer named Matt Pledger posted a complaint on Odeon's Facebook wall about his experience with
875-503: 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
1000-578: 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
1125-534: A character different from most other cinemas in the UK, often having a unique and spectacular interior. George Coles was also one of their principal architects, remodelling a partially complete assembly hall in Portslade and designing his first purpose-built cinema in Upper Wickham Lane, Welling , Kent which opened on 22 October 1934 and closed on 22 October 1960. It is currently a bingo club in
1250-637: A cinema in New York City. Odeon eventually operated a wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, Odeon Theatres (Canada) Ltd., with more than a hundred cinemas in Canada, coast-to-coast. The head office of Odeon Theatres of Canada was in Toronto , and later, the north Toronto suburb of Willowdale . This business was sold in 1978 to the Canadian Theatres chain and became Canadian Odeon Theatres, then
1375-409: A clean sweep at the 2004 Council Elections in which all seats were contested, but only after three recounts. In 2006, Hamilton increased her personal majority from 31 to more than 1,500, and the party went on to win every election in the ward until boundary changes in 2018. The ward had Labour representation for a period, from 1995 till 2004 following the election of Mike Leddy (1995–2003), along with
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#17327805638421500-534: 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
1625-515: 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
1750-591: 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
1875-682: A length of the River Tame was diverted and canalised . A Wetherspoons pub, the Arthur Robertson, opened later is named after Arthur Robertson , the Birchfield Harriers' first Olympic gold medallist (1908). A memorial to PC Malcolm Walker, of the West Midlands Police , is situated outside shops on the city-bound side of Birchfield Road. He died on 4 October 2001, when his motorcycle was struck during
2000-624: 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
2125-415: A monthly fee. Odeon offers premium services for customers who are 18 years or older. It provides a fine dining experience and was formerly a gallery offering (this has since closed in all locations), offering a premium service, at six locations. In 2008, Odeon made a controversial move by refusing to screen Rambo on any of its UK screens, blaming it on "commercial differences". In 2010 Odeon proposed
2250-535: A new site in Perry Barr in the late 1960s, and was incorporated into the creation of Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University ) in 1971. The site had formerly been the location of Birchfield Road Primary School and Birchfield Road Secondary Modern School.Two of the college's buildings existed as part of the university's City North Campus, but closed in 2018 when the site was again levelled and construction began on accommodation for athletes competing in
2375-763: A police pursuit. The site of the former Perry Hall is now Perry Hall Park . Perry Park hosted the Birmingham Carnival in 2005. Major roads in the ward and constituency include the M6 motorway and the A34 . Bus routes operated by the National Express West Midlands Perry Barr bus garage in the area include Nos 11A, 11C, 33, 46, 51, 54, 68A, 68C, 907, 907A, 934, 937, 937A (evenings and Sundays), 952, 997, and 997E (towards Pheasey ). The A4040 and A34 roads cross at Perry Barr,
2500-589: 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
2625-505: 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
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#17327805638422750-492: 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
2875-673: A stake in the company for a nominal sum plus the supply of its films to the chain. UA eventually owned 50% of Odeon Cinema Holdings. In 1936, 35 more Odeons opened and in 1937, the Odeon Leicester Square opened in Leicester Square, London , which became the chain's flagship cinema. Another 35 Odeons also opened in 1937, with the chain concentrating on bigger cities. They also took over County Cinemas and George Singleton Cinemas in Scotland. Odeon Theatres Limited
3000-576: A telephone booking service in 2014. They run their own Guest Service Centre, based in Stoke-on-Trent, sharing the building with the cinema, but operating separately. The company has a support office in Manchester and a smaller office in London. "Limitless" is a nationwide scheme, which, on a twelve-month contract basis, allows members to see regular (not 3D) screenings as often as they want for
3125-549: 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
3250-702: A twin-screened cinema. In 1989, they built their first multiplex with an 8-screen site in Stoke-on-Trent . In 1944, Rank acquired a 50% interest in a Canadian chain and built Odeon cinemas there. It partnered with Hoyts in Australia in 1945 and bought chains in Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa in 1946. By 1956, Rank Odeon had expanded to the West Indies , British Malaya and Ceylon and had an interest in 585 cinemas overseas. In 1957, they opened
3375-541: 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 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
3500-721: Is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsidiary of AMC Theatres . It uses the famous name of the Odeon cinema circuit first introduced in Great Britain in 1930. As of 2016, Odeon is the largest cinema chain in the United Kingdom by market share (although the Irish cinemas were also included within this figure). The first Odeon cinema
3625-666: Is a feeder reservoir, Perry Reservoir, in Perry Park . The River Tame passes through the area and is crossed by several bridges, including Perry Bridge , a scheduled ancient monument of 1711, on the line of the Roman Ryknild Street and its 1932 Art Deco replacement carrying the Aldridge Road. The old bridge appears on the badge of nearby Handsworth Grammar School . A stream, the Holbrook , originating on
3750-461: 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 –
3875-581: 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
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4000-668: 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
4125-614: Is now considered part of Great Barr ). On 1 October 1930 the parish was abolished and merged with Birmingham. In 1921 the parish had a population of 2700. It then became part of the West Midlands in 1974 when Birmingham became a metropolitan borough in the county. In 1903, Birmingham Crematorium , the City's first, was opened by Sir Henry Thompson , president of the Cremation Society , in Perry Barr at 389 Walsall Road. It has been privately owned, currently by Dignity plc . In
4250-553: Is now known as Event Cinemas . Since the turn of the century, Odeon has undergone a series of sales after the Rank Group needed cash injections to reduce their debt, firstly to Cinven in February 2000 for £280 million which merged Odeon, with 75 cinemas at the time, with Cinven's ABC Cinemas , which comprised 60 cinemas. In 2004, the chain was purchased by Terra Firma and merged with United Cinemas International to produce
4375-543: Is part of the Birmingham, Perry Barr parliamentary constituency . Following boundary changes in 2004, the eastern edge of the ward follows the M6 motorway from Spaghetti Junction to junction 7 at Great Barr , including parts of the communities of Witton , Aston , Perry Barr and Great Barr . Since 2004, the three councillors representing Perry Barr on Birmingham City Council have been Ray Hassall , Karen Hamilton and Jon Hunt, all of them Liberal Democrats . Hassall
4500-507: 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
4625-564: Is recorded as being the tenant in chief of both manors , and Drogo as the tenant. It is thought that the two manors may have been combined in the Early Middle Ages . In 1874, Perry Barr established its own institute based on the model of the Birmingham and Midland Institute .. In 1878, Henry Irving became the president of the Perry Barr Institute and addressed members of the institute on 6 March 1878. His speech
4750-800: 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
4875-687: 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
5000-783: The COVID-19 pandemic . On 11 December 2020, Odeon revealed they were losing $ 125 million a month due to the closure, and that the emergency funds that had been provided were running out. On 5 May 2023, Odeon announced the closure on 5 June of five sites, including two of the dwindling number of original Odeons, Ayr and Weston-Super-Mare and also the 1998 10-screen multiplex in Blackpool. There remain six "Oscar Deutsch" Odeons in operation:- Bristol (totally rebuilt internally), Exeter, Harrogate , London Leicester Square, Swiss Cottage and Worcester. They also ran their own advertising company, called Rank Screen Advertising , in competition with
5125-473: 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
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5250-521: 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
5375-644: 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
5500-549: 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
5625-536: 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
5750-460: 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 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
5875-517: 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
6000-729: 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 1920s Perry Barr Stadium on the Aldridge Road hosts greyhound racing and the Birmingham Brummies speedway team. It has a 500-seat capacity, and was refurbished in 2004. It is the former home of the Birchfield Harriers , whose Art Deco -styled bas relief badge it still carries. The Harriers now operate from nearby Alexander Stadium . Aston Technical College (later renamed North Birmingham Technical College) moved to
6125-454: 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
6250-403: 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
6375-475: The Aldridge Road plays host to two sports: greyhound racing , which is primarily run on Saturday nights with daytime meetings during the week, and speedway , the team racing there being the Birmingham Brummies , who run on a Wednesday night schedule from April to October. The Birmingham Brummies currently ride in the SGB Championship which is the second tier of British speedway. The Perry Barr ward
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#17327805638426500-598: The Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 in Perry Park.Delays in construction due to the Covid 19 pandemic meant that the accommodation was not completed in time to be used for this purpose. There is a mall-style shopping centre in the district known as "One Stop" Shopping Centre. This was built in the early 1990s, replacing a previous 1960s-era shopping centre. To facilitate the 1990s construction,
6625-432: 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
6750-421: 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
6875-427: 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 . Odeon Cinemas Odeon Cinemas Limited , trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps ),
7000-441: The Irish assets of Storm Cinemas, and as with the existing UCI chain, would be contracting the running of the cinemas to Odeon. On 31 May 2011, Odeon announced that it had bought back the UCI chain in Ireland (including the Storm Cinemas-branded locations) from Entertainment Enterprises. Odeon rebranded all of its Irish cinemas under the Odeon brand during 2012; the first rebranded cinema reopened on 27 March 2012. In February 2007,
7125-477: The Irish cinemas were sold to an Irish group, Entertainment Enterprises, in September 2006. This transaction went unreported in the Irish media. It also stated that the cinemas remained part of the Odeon chain under a management contract. Rank /Odeon previously ran cinemas in Ireland (including the flagship, the Savoy Cinema in O'Connell Street ) until 1982, when they were purchased by Ward Anderson . In April 2008, Entertainment Enterprises announced that it purchased
7250-504: The Mecca chain. It featured central linear lighting, a feature that became characteristic of his work. 15 other Odeon cinemas opened in 1934. In 1935, Deutsch commissioned John Maltby (1910–1980), a professional photographer, to photograph every cinema in the Odeon chain at that time. The resulting collection, of internal and external photographs, is held in the public archive of English Heritage and can be seen online. 13 more Odeon cinemas opened in 1935. The same year, United Artists took
7375-426: The Odeon Tottenham Court Road. In 1948, Rank merged the management and booking operations of Odeon and Gaumont. In 1953, Odeon brought 3D films , widescreen and CinemaScope to the UK. The Odeon Marble Arch showed Bwana Devil in 3D in March 1953. Later in the year, Odeon showed Tonight We Sing in widescreen at the Odeon Leicester Square and demonstrated CinemaScope at the Odeon Tottenham Court Road to
7500-511: The Odeon brand was in 1930, located in Perry Barr , Birmingham. It was designed by Harry Weedon using maritime-inspired Art Deco architecture. The frontage was remodelled following damage sustained during the Second World War and, having been a bingo hall, has since been converted into a conference venue. In 1932, Deutsch acquired more sites and planned the construction of a chain of cinemas; commissioning Weedon to design his future buildings, with five opening in 1933. Each Odeon cinema had
7625-441: The Odeon chain, and while they initially retained the UCI brand name, evidence of the merger became apparent, for example when booking tickets by credit card, the name "Odeon" appeared. The Odeon in-house film review magazine, Onscreen , was now also distributed in the UCI cinemas, retaining the Odeon logo font throughout. In August 2007, UCI launched a new Irish website with an identical layout to odeon.co.uk. This website stated that
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#17327805638427750-450: 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
7875-416: 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
8000-563: The UK became home to Europe's first DCI-compliant fully digital multiplex cinemas with the launch of Odeon Hatfield and Odeon Surrey Quays (in London), with a total of 18 digital screens. In 2007 Odeon acquired ten cinemas in Italy. It is now the largest cinema chain in Europe. In March 2012, the Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group under Terra Firma's control reported a £70 million loss for the year 2011, as posted on Companies House . In 2015, Terra Firma announced that it planned to sell Odeon and UCI Cinemas for around £1 billion. In April 2015,
8125-407: 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,
8250-495: The UK market leader Pearl & Dean , which it eventually overtook. Rank Screen Advertising was later rebranded as Cinema Media before being taken over by Carlton Communications and became Carlton Screen Advertising. In 2008, Odeon, along with rival chain Cineworld , bought back the company and today it is known as Digital Cinema Media . The company operates a website and mobile apps for iOS and Android , allowing customers to book tickets in advance of performances. They ceased
8375-468: The United States starting from 1905. The first cinema opened by Deutsch was located in Brierley Hill , Staffordshire , England in 1928. The building has long since been demolished, but as of 2006, the former UCI cinema (built in the 1980s as an AMC multiplex) at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Brierley Hill was refurbished as an Odeon cinema. However, its style is more functional than that of original Odeon cinemas. The first cinema that opened under
8500-429: 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 ,
8625-576: 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
8750-499: 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
8875-457: 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
9000-530: The area is Tower Hill Library. Aston Villa opened their Wellington Road ground in Perry Barr in 1876, playing there until 1897. Perry Barr was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Handsworth , on 26 March 1894 Perry Barr became a separate civil parish . Perry Barr Urban District was an urban district in Staffordshire from 1894 until 1928, when it was largely incorporated into Birmingham and thus also Warwickshire (this included an area which
9125-470: 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
9250-400: The boundaries of the ward; Hamstead railway station and Perry Barr railway station . The latter, opened in 1837, is one of the oldest stations in the country to remain on its original site. The Tame Valley Canal bisects the ward, with boats from Salford Junction , under Gravelly Hill Interchange climbing the 13-flight Perry Barr Locks towards Hamstead and on to Rushall Junction. There
9375-672: The chain had 258 cinemas throughout Britain, including 142 specially built. After his death, his wife sold his shares to Rank, giving Rank control of both Odeon and the rival Gaumont-British chain, which the Rank Organisation had acquired earlier in the year. In July 1942, Odeon acquired a second tranche of the Paramount chain, including the Paramount Theatre in Tottenham Court Road , later renamed
9500-491: The cinema, citing high ticket prices, high food prices, inattentive staff, sound bleeding through from the cinema next door, and displaying adverts on how piracy was killing film. The complaint eventually went viral, with over 275,000 'Likes' and over 23,000 comments as of 3 September 2012, as well as receiving attention from the national media, including a programme feature on BBC Radio 4 . On 29 April 2020, Odeon Cinemas, alongside its parent company AMC Theatres , announced
9625-523: The circuit for a further sixty years. Through a number of sales and acquisitions in the early 2000s the company was purchased by Terra Firma , which merged Odeon and UCI Cinemas to form Odeon UCI Cinemas Group. Most UCI cinemas then took the Odeon brand name in 2006. Terra Firma/UCI sold the company to AMC Theatres in November 2016. Ironically, UCI was originally formed through the merger of AMC UK and Cinema International Corporation in 1989. Odeon Cinemas
9750-475: 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
9875-642: 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 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
10000-575: 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
10125-586: 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
10250-557: 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
10375-820: The company agreed to sell its cinemas in Gerrards Cross , Esher , Muswell Hill and Barnet to its smaller rival Everyman Cinemas for £7.1 million. In July 2016, the company was bought for $ 921 million by the American company AMC Theatres , which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group . The deal received approval from the European Commission on 17 November 2016, and was completed on 30 November 2016. In 2018, AMC Theatres bought Norwegian chain SF Kino and renamed it Odeon Kino . On 17 March 2020, Odeon closed all of its theatres due to
10500-548: 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
10625-658: The defection of Ron Whitehouse from the Liberal Democrats to the Labour Party (2000–2004). For the 2018 and any subsequent elections the ward was reduced in size to two councillors and parts of the former Aston ward, included in 2004, were returned to a new Aston ward. The new Perry Barr ward includes Witton Cemetery and the Moor Lane Sports Ground. The 2001 Population Census recorded that 22,704 people lived in Perry Barr. 28.2% (6,410) of
10750-463: 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
10875-626: 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
11000-399: 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 , was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy. From
11125-458: 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
11250-426: 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
11375-647: 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
11500-636: The former carrying the Birmingham Outer Circle bus routes. In addition the A453 towards Sutton Coldfield begins at Perry Barr. Route X51 runs through Perry Barr, but does not stop in Perry Barr. The nearest stop on the route is Walsall Road, Alexander Stadium before running non-stop to Birmingham City Centre. To the south-west of the ward is the Walsall line, part of the old Grand Junction Railway , which has two railway stations within
11625-592: 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
11750-399: 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 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
11875-550: 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
12000-441: 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
12125-572: The largest cinema chain in Europe. As a condition of the merger (imposed by the Office of Fair Trading ), Odeon's Newcastle upon Tyne , Sutton Coldfield , Poole , Quinton , Hemel Hempstead and Bromley cinemas were sold to Empire Cinemas . Many smaller, older cinemas such as Odeon Grimsby on Freeman Street were closed to keep market share within legal limits. The remaining UCI cinemas, including Thefilmworks brands, were rebranded as Odeon by early November 2005. UCI cinemas in Ireland have also joined
12250-536: 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
12375-538: 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 ,
12500-472: 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
12625-425: 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
12750-618: 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
12875-612: 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
13000-544: 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
13125-420: 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
13250-537: 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
13375-451: 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
13500-519: The slopes of Barr Beacon , flows into the river just upstream from the bridge. The area around the bridge is known as Holford . Aston Manor Cricket Club are situated in Perry Barr, as is the international athletics stadium Alexander Stadium . These are located on Church Road just by Perry Park . The Hub on Holford Drive is home to Continental Star F.C. , as well as Continental Star Cricket, Continental Stars table tennis club, tennis clubs, and Aston Amateur Boxing Club. Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium on
13625-460: The smaller Perry Barr ward , and the wards of Handsworth Wood , Lozells and East Handsworth , and Oscott , which each elect three councillors to Birmingham City Council . There were four ancient manors in this area (all part of the parish of Handsworth) called Hamstead, Oscott, Perry, and Little (or Parva) Barr. Perry is the area around the parish church and this name is seen on maps but now seldom used. Over time, through confusion or convenience,
13750-534: 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 is now dominated by the service sector . The city
13875-607: 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
14000-430: 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
14125-588: The trade and to the public with The Robe at the Odeon Leicester Square. In January 1959, Rank restructured its exhibition operation and combined the best Gaumonts and the best Odeons for a new "Rank" release, while the rest of their cinemas were given a new "National" release. With the continuing decline in attendance and cinema numbers, the National release died on its feet and henceforth there were two release patterns, Rank and ABC . There
14250-585: 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 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
14375-570: The ward's population was represented by ethnic minorities , compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general. According to the UK Census 2021, 69.4% of Perry Barr and South Hamstead were non-White ethnicities . British musician Steve Winwood was a choirboy at St John the Evangelist Church of England parish church in Perry Barr. Birmingham Birmingham ( / ˈ b ɜːr m ɪ ŋ ə m / BUR -ming-əm )
14500-617: The whole district came to be known as Perry Barr. "Perry" comes from the Old English "pirige", meaning "pear tree". The derivation of "Barr" is Old Celtic "barro" meaning "hill top". Barr Beacon , the area's highest hill, is in neighbouring Great Barr . Perry Barr was originally two separate entities, both mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'Pirio' and 'Barre'. Pirio is recorded as having an estimated population of 35 and Barre with an estimated population of 25. William Fitz-Ansculf
14625-817: 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
14750-471: Was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch . Odeon publicists liked to claim that the name of the cinemas was derived from his motto, "Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation", but it had been used for cinemas in France and Italy in the 1920s, and the word is actually Ancient Greek ᾨδεῖον, Ōideion, meaning "a place for singing". The word " Nickelodeon " was coined in 1888 and was widely used to describe small cinemas in
14875-418: 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
15000-510: Was elected in 1990, Hunt in 2003 and Hamilton in 2004. Hamilton became the first black councillor elected for the ward. In a 2017 by-election , Morriam Jan, elected as a Liberal Democrat, became the first councillor of South Asian origin elected for the ward. Prior to 1990, the ward had a strong tendency towards the Conservative Party . No single party held all the seats in the ward between 1990 and 2004. The Liberal Democrats took
15125-499: Was formed to consolidate the chain of 250 cinemas into one public company. In 1938, Deutsch sold an interest in the business to J. Arthur Rank , who was in the process of forming the Rank Organisation . In 1939, they acquired most of the small UK cinema operations of Paramount Pictures , including key sites in Birmingham , Glasgow , Leeds , Liverpool and Newcastle upon Tyne . By the time of Deutsch's death in December 1941,
15250-877: Was no reason to perpetuate the Gaumont name, and in towns that lost their Odeon, the Gaumont was usually renamed Odeon within a couple of years of the latter's closure. Even so, the Gaumont name continued to linger until, in January 1987, the last Gaumont, in Doncaster, was renamed Odeon. A smaller number of Odeon cinemas opened in the post-war years (Odeon Marble Arch and Odeon Elephant & Castle being notable instances), but many single-screen cinemas either closed, sub-divided into smaller screens or were converted into other uses, such as bingo. In 1965, Odeon opened their first multiplex converting their site in Nottingham into
15375-590: Was opened by Oscar Deutsch in 1928, in Brierley Hill , Staffordshire (now West Midlands ), England, although initially called "Picture House". The first cinema to use the Odeon brand name was Deutsch's cinema at Perry Barr , Birmingham in 1930. The brand's flagship cinema, the Odeon, Leicester Square in London , opened in 1937. Odeon then became part of the Rank Organisation who continued their ownership of
15500-413: Was reprinted in the 13 March release of Theatre and also reprinted onto pamphlets by the institute's members and sold for sixpence to fund the construction of a new building for the institute. It was converted into a Carnegie-funded library in September 1897. In early 2007, this library, ultimately known as Birchfield Community Library, was demolished due to its dilapidated condition. Another library in
15625-486: Was sold again in 1984 to Cineplex Corporation , forming Cineplex Odeon , then later became known as Loews Cineplex Entertainment . It also owned fifty per cent of an Australian subsidiary, Greater Union Organisation, based in Sydney , with dozens of cinemas across Australia. The Rank Organisation's share of Greater Union Organisation was sold to Amalgamated Holdings Ltd., an Australian company, also in 1984. Greater Union
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