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Heavy Petting Zoo

Heavy Petting Zoo (known as Eating Lamb on the LP version) is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on January 31, 1996, through Epitaph Records. The record reached a position of No. 63 on the American Billboard 200 Albums chart, the first NOFX album to do so. In Austria, Heavy Petting Zoo peaked at No. 20, while the album achieved the No. 13 position in both Sweden and Finland.

Music
NOFX recorded the album in October 1995 with Ryan Greene at the Razor's Edge studio, San Francisco, a garage described by the band as "a total dive".

The music on Heavy Petting Zoo has been complimented as "melodic", and the album has been favorably compared to the band's 1991 Ribbed LP, but although tracks like "Hobophobic (Scared of Bums)" and "Freedom Lika Shopping Cart" have been lauded for their witty titles, they have also been criticized for being overly cynical.

The track "August 8th" makes reference to the death of Jerry Garcia. Songwriter Fat Mike commented that he wrote the song, "cuz I fucking hate the Grateful Dead, but it turns out I had the date wrong. He really dies on August 9th. Whoops. I guess I'm lame." According to Fat Mike, the first half of "The Black And White" is concerned with a repressed homosexual male living in "Small Town, USA".

"Liza" revisits the lesbians Liza and Louise introduced on the 1992 album White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean. The third song in the series, "Louise" is found on their eighth album Pump up the Valuum.

Artwork
There are two different cover images for the album, both illustrated by Mark deSalvo, a noted designer of punk album art. The artwork for the CD edition features a man fingering a sheep. The band's name and album title are featured at the top of the cover. The vinyl edition's artwork features the same man and sheep in a 69 position. The title Eating Lamb is given on the cover of the LP, with Heavy Petting Zoo written on the spine and record itself.

CMJ New Music Monthly, in their review of the album, described it as the band's "nastiest cover yet..", and in their analysis of NOFX's attitude, the authors of Screaming for Change: Articulating a Unifying Philosophy of Punk Rock state: "..the fact that none of the songs on the record deal with animals, zoos, or even bestiality, supports the assertion that the artwork contains little, if any, significant meaning other than portraying images the band is confident will upset and shock the establishment."

To promote the album's release, record label Epitaph sent out inflatable sheep with the message "Fuck ewe" attached. The LP version was banned in Germany, due to its zoophilic content. A court order in October 1996 prohibited distribution of the record in Germany, and confiscated copies with the offending artwork that were already on public display.

Track listing
All tracks written by Fat Mike.

NOFX

 * Fat Mike – vocals, bass
 * Eric Melvin – guitar
 * El Hefe – guitar, trumpet
 * Erik Sandin – drums

Production

 * Ryan Greene, NOFX – producers
 * Ryan Greene – mixing, engineer

title: Heavy Petting Zoo


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Professional File System

The Professional File System is a filesystem originally developed commercially for the Amiga, now distributed on Aminet with a 4-clause BSD license. It is a compatible successor of AmiFileSafe (AFS), with an emphasis on added reliability and speed compared to standard Amiga filesystems. It also features multi-user abilities like the older MuFS.

The device is split into two main areas. At the beginning of the device is the metadata section, which consists of a root block, and a generic array of blocks that can be allocated to store metadata. The rest of the device is another contiguous generic array of blocks that can be allocated to store data. The metadata section usually uses a few percent of the device, depending on the size of the device.

The metadata is stored as a tree of single blocks in the metadata section. The entire directory structure is recorded in the metadata, so the data section purely contains data from files. The metadata describes the location of data in files with extents of blocks, which makes the metadata quite compact.

When a metadata update occurs, the system looks at the block containing the metadata to be changed, and copies it to a newly allocated block from the metadata section, with the change made, then it recursively changes the metadata in the block that points to that block in the same way. This way, eventually the root block needs to be changed, which causes the atomic metadata update.

The filesystem is reasonably good at keeping files unfragmented, although there is a defragmentation tool available which will work on an online filesystem.

It was the first filesystem to introduce the concept of the Recycle Bin natively at filesystem-level to the Amiga, holding the last few deleted files in a hidden directory on the disk root.

PFS version 5.3 was developed in C and a small portion of assembly code by Michiel Pelt.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Professional File System


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Sparkhill

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

Historically part of Worcestershire, Sparkhill once existed as a rural area with its main industry being agriculture until the 1880s.

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

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

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

Annexation by Birmingham
Sparkhill was removed from Yardley and annexed by Birmingham in 1911 as part of the Greater Birmingham Act. Yardley also became a suburb of Birmingham in the same year. The former council house for Yardley District Council (built 1898–1902, architect Arthur Harrison) was converted into Sparkhill Library and opened on 19 January 1923. It is one of the earliest examples of double-glazed windows in a public building. Other buildings built for the district were a police station, magistrate's court and a fire station, which were all located next to the council house. St John's Church is the local Anglican Parish Church and the home of the charity Narthex Sparkhill. Designed by the famous Birmingham Architects Martin and Chamberlain, the church was built in 1888. A reredos in memory of Louisa Ryland was erected in the church after her death.

World War II
As a result of the nearby BSA factory being targeted, the area suffered from bombing in World War II, resulting in the loss of some houses, and their 1940s replacement (e.g. the houses at 180–190 Osborne Road). A memorial to those from the BSA works who died during the Second World War can be found in St John's Church.

Public houses
Another old landmark in Sparkhill is the Mermaid Inn, which has been the site of a pub since the 17th century. The building was converted into a Balti restaurant in the late 20th century; however, it was severely damaged by numerous fires in the 2000s decade. The building's art deco exterior decoration is by local sculptor William Bloye.

Other pubs, the Bear and The Antelope, both designed by Holland W. Hobbiss, have sculpted pub signs by William Bloye. The Antelope was, in 2010, converted into a Pakistani restaurant known as "Hajees Spice".

Immigration
In the 20th century, the area became heavily influenced by migrants who settled in the area. The first wave of immigrants were of Irish descent. This has progressed to include Afro-Caribbeans, South Asians, and more recently Somalis. Moreover, in the last decade, migrants of Romanian descent have begun to settle in the area, mostly inhabiting terraced houses. It has a large population of ethnic minorities, mainly of South Asian origin, which is reflected by the number of Asian eateries in the area. As a result, Sparkhill has become a main centre in the "Balti Triangle" of Birmingham.

Notable residents of Sparkhill

 * Bev Bevan, drummer with the Move and the Electric Light Orchestra
 * Charlie Timmins, Coventry City captain
 * Gil Merrick, Birmingham City goalkeeper
 * John Bentley, actor born in Sparkhill (1916)
 * Kevin McDonald, archbishop
 * Lock Up, band
 * Moazzam Begg, Guantanamo Bay detainee
 * Paul Bliss, keyboard player with the Moody Blues, the Hollies and the Bliss Band
 * Moeen Munir Ali, England international cricketer
 * Robert Melville, art critic
 * Sid Field, comedian
 * Roland Gift, actor and lead singer of Fine Young Cannibals
 * Simon Inglis, architectural historian, writer and broadcaster
 * Mona Washbourne, actress

In popular culture
The BBC sitcom Citizen Khan focuses on the life of Mr Khan and his family, Pakistani immigrants in the Sparkhill area, which it dubbed "The capital of British Pakistan" in the credits. The first series was broadcast from August 2012 with a new series each year; currently up to series 5 in 2016.

title: Sparkhill


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Ring name

A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting the wrong image. Since the advent of the Internet, it is relatively easy to discover a fighter's real name.

Professional wrestling
Ring names are much more common in professional wrestling than any other sport; famous examples include Terry Bollea becoming Hulk Hogan, Michael Shawn Hickenbottom becoming Shawn Michaels, Roderick Toombs becoming Roddy Piper, Dwayne Johnson becoming The Rock, Christopher Irvine becoming Chris Jericho, and Phillip Jack Brooks becoming CM Punk. A number of wrestlers adopted their real name or a variation of it, sometimes modifying the spelling to better fit their gimmick, such as Dave Bautista becoming Batista (later reverting to his real name for his Hollywood acting career), Patricia Stratigeas becoming Trish Stratus, Jonathan Good becoming Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson becoming Daniel Bryan, Richard Fliehr becoming Ric Flair and Randall Poffo becoming Randy Savage. Others simply use part of their name, such as Bill Goldberg using Goldberg, Nicole Garcia-Colace using Nikki Bella, Mike Mizanin using The Miz, Cody Runnels using Cody Rhodes, and Michael Wardlow using Wardlow. Many female wrestlers go solely by their first name, while many male and female wrestlers also use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. Ricky Steamboat is an unusual instance of a wrestler adopting a ring name to sound less intimidating, as his legal name of Richard Blood was considered unfitting for his babyface persona.

Some (mostly independent) wrestlers still go to great lengths to ensure that their real names are not publicly known. It is a highly respected tradition in Mexican lucha libre for performers to hide their true identities, usually wrestling under masks, and revealing a luchador's identity without their permission is considered a serious offence with real-life consequences. Professional wrestlers are often referred to by their contemporaries by their ring name. In interviews, Bret Hart regularly referred to Mark Calaway, Curt Hennig, and Kevin Nash by their ring names (The Undertaker, Mr. Perfect, and Diesel). Ring names are often trademarked by the promotion that creates a character or gimmick for a performer. It is common to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout their career, even if their overall persona remains similar. This is especially true in WWE, which has largely forced most wrestlers that have debuted since 2006 to use a WWE-owned ring name instead of a ring name that they used on the independent circuit or, such as with Daniel Bryan and a few others, their real name. One notable exception was made for David Otunga because of his real marriage to singer Jennifer Hudson at the time, which gave WWE some mainstream exposure.

Low Ki used a ring name specifically for his second TNA stint so that he would continue to hold on to his original ring name for elsewhere. Another example is the team known as The Dudley Boyz in ECW and WWE and Team 3D elsewhere. WWE trademarked the "Dudley Boyz" name, leading them to have to change their name when they went to TNA. The members' individual names were also trademarked by WWE, forcing them to have to change their names. WWE partially repealed the policy in 2015, allowing wrestlers who were well known in other promotions such as Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, and Eric Young to use their long-standing ring names (or, in Nakamura's and Roode's cases, their real names) as well as wrestlers who sign "Tier 2" NXT brand contracts such as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, who wrestle both on NXT and the independent circuit to keep their ring names (or, in Gargano's case, his real name). Gargano and Ciampa have since signed exclusive WWE contracts. "In-house" WWE wrestlers still use WWE-owned ring names.

In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as Marvel Comics' ownership of the name Hulk Hogan until early 2003, which was due to Hogan being advertised as "The Incredible Hulk Hogan" early in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character. Sometimes, a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the name Sting and licenses it to the musician of the same name. The wrestler formerly known as Test took this one step further and legally changed his name to "Andrew Test Martin". Jim Hellwig, known as The Ultimate Warrior, had his name legally changed to simply "Warrior".

In many cases, ring names evolve over time as the wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as the "Connecticut Blueblood" Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque's character later morphed into Triple H. A more drastic change sometimes occurs when a wrestler turns heroic or villainous, such as when Hulk Hogan joined the villainous nWo (New World Order) and became "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. His new attitude was enhanced by changing his costume color scheme from his famous red and yellow to nWo's black and white. Steve Williams adopted the ring name Steve Austin to avoid confusion with the then-more established performer "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. Austin would wrestle under that name for several years before signing with the WWF and being given the name "the Ringmaster". This gimmick failed to catch on, and Austin reverted to his established name, reaching his greatest level of success with the prefix "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Boxing
Numerous boxers have used ring names or nicknames as their mode of identification during their professional boxing careers, particularly during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The ring name "Kid" was particularly popular, indicating the boxer's comparative youth. Since the mid 20th century, ring names for boxers have typically been less common, although nicknames have become more popular in recent years. Famous examples of boxers who used ring names include:

 * Kid Azteca
 * Kid Chocolate
 * Kid Diamond
 * Kid Gavilan
 * Kid Meza
 * Kid Paret
 * Jack Kid Berg
 * Ted Kid Lewis
 * Jersey Joe Walcott
 * Joey Giardello
 * Rocky Marciano
 * Rocky Graziano
 * Takaloo
 * Steve Hearon

Global use

 * In Japan, sumo wrestlers use a ring name called shikona (四股名 or 醜名). Other martial artists use 'martial names' or 'warrior names' called Bugō.
 * In Mexico, Puerto Rico, and other parts of Latin America, lucha libre wrestlers use ring names and conceal their identities with masks.
 * In Latin America, boxers often use nicknames alongside their real names, and both may be used each time they are introduced. Examples include Wilfred "El Radar" Benítez, Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gómez, and Alexis "El Flaco Explosivo" Argüello.
 * In Thailand, both professional boxers and Muay Thai kickboxers tend to use their stable or gym name as the last part of their ring name, for example Khaosai Galaxy, Khaokor Galaxy, Sot Chitalada, Samart Payakaroon, Kongtoranee Payakaroon, Namphon Nongkee Pahuyuth, Namkabuan Nongkee Pahuyuth, Ratanapol Sor Vorapin, Ratanachai Sor Vorapin, Saen Sor Ploenchit, Chatchai Singwangcha, Saman Sorjaturong, Veeraphol Nakornlouang Promotion, Nawaphon Nakornloung Promotion. Also the names of commercial brands have been introduced as fighters' last name, as part of sponsorship deals. These names are liable to change if the brand sponsoring the fighter changes.  Examples of fighters who have taken the name of their commercial sponsor are: Samson Dutch Boy Gym, Yodsanan 3-K Battery, Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym, Teerachai Kratingdaenggym, Knockout CP Freshmart.

title: Ring name


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Stechford

Stechford is an area of East Birmingham, England, situated about five miles east of the city centre, bordering Ward End, Yardley, Hodge Hill and Kitts Green. Historically it lay within Worcestershire.

History
Stechford's history is unclear. Its oldest components are Station Road (known as Stoney Lane since Norman times) and Flaxleye Farm, first referenced in 1218. The farm itself no longer remains, however there is a farmhouse at 143 Flaxley Road, although the oldest parts of the current building cannot be older than the 17th century. The closest buildings of historical importance are St Edburgh's church and Blakesley Hall, both a stone's throw outside Stechford in Yardley. The name Stechford is apparently a reference to the Stich or Stitch, a local tributary of the River Cole, although the Stitch is now entirely under culverts. A ford over the Cole is first referenced in 1249. The name Stechford was unknown until the construction of Stechford Station in 1844, and it has been conjectured that it was simply a railway misspelling. The name Stycheforde is attested since 1400. The common misspelling Stetchford is not an acceptable variant.

Old Stechford appears to have been mainly a cluster of buildings around the railway station. Until 1900, most of the area was still farmland. Some station houses are still present and remain along the main road. However, development on this area was considered difficult due to the steep gradient of the land nearby which can clearly be seen. This resulted in buildings built on the slope having to have stilts located underneath the ground floor. In some buildings, these are clearly visible.

For most of the 20th century Stechford was its own parliamentary constituency, represented by Roy Jenkins, Labour for 27 years from 1950, although it has been alleged in parliament that he never lived there. When Jenkins stepped down to become a European Commissioner in 1977, the seat was won by Conservative Andrew MacKay, and Jenkins's future partners, the Liberal Party were leapfrogged by the British National Front, whose candidate Andrew Brons obtained third place. The National Front and its successor British National Party have continued to target the area. In 1983, the Stechford constituency was broken up into Birmingham Hodge Hill and Birmingham Yardley.

The first UK branch of German discount supermarket Aldi opened in 1990.

Politics
Stechford is part of the Stechford and Yardley North Ward of the Yardley Constituency. As of 2005, the councillors are Neil Eustace, Carol Jones and Barbara Jackson, and the MP is Labour MP Jess Phillips. Until 2005, the constituency was held by Estelle Morris (Labour), who was Secretary of State for Education in Tony Blair's Labour administration. From 1950 to 1977, the area was represented in the Stechford constituency by Roy Jenkins, (as a Labour MP), who was one of the biggest figures in British politics between the 1960s and 1980s. The ward councillors work closely with an advisory board of local people, which has led to the creation of a playground area next to the Cascades, the provision of security gates on many access alleys, and improvements to street lighting.

Politician Enoch Powell was born at Flaxley Lane, Stechford, in 1912. He moved to Kings Norton in 1918 and would later go on to be a classical scholar, poet, youngest Brigadier in the British Army when he fought in the Second World War, and politician. He is best known for his Rivers of Blood speech in 1968.

Attractions
Stechford has a long-standing row of shops along Station Road, with a lesser group of shops on Albert Road. Main shopping centres are connected by the Outer Ring Road (A4040) and Outer Circle bus. Nearby shopping areas are the Fox & Goose in Ward End and The Yew Tree in Yardley. Links to Birmingham are provided by bus services 14 (Audley Road) and 97 (Bordesley Green East).

The local railway station is Stechford railway station. On 28 February 1967, Stechford station was the scene of a train collision which killed nine people and injured 16. Opposite the station is The Stechford Club which was founded in 1907. Houses in the area are mainly council houses or old Victorian houses built around the station.

Churches
Stechford has three churches. Stechford Baptist, on Victoria Road, All Saints (Anglican) on Albert Road, and Corpus Christi (Catholic) on Albert Road. The churches hold an annual Remembrance Day service at the Five Ways War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday, early November, which is attended by about 200 people.

Geography
The district is cut across by the River Cole, the Birmingham to London railway, and the Birmingham Outer Circle (A4040).

All of the land around the Cole is flood plain, which means that Stechford has a wide swathe of green, semi-wild vegetation. It is still possible to canoe from Stechford to Water Orton. The Cole and the green area around it, are being restored through the Kingfisher Project.

The project also takes in Stechford Fairground, which is home to two funfairs each year. The area around the River Cole is now green belt land which prevents developers from constructing on the site.

Healthcare

 * National Health Service care is provided by Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust
 * Heartlands Hospital is a major local employer

title: Stechford


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Moderator of the United Church of Canada

The Moderator of the United Church of Canada is the most senior elected official within the United Church of Canada. He or she may be a lay person or a member of the Order of Ministry and is elected to a three-year term by commissioners attending the church's triannual General Council. The current Moderator is Carmen Lansdowne, who was elected to the office at the 44th General Council in July 2022, and installed on August 7, 2022.

Role
The Moderator's authority exists by his or her ability to influence the direction of the denomination, rather than any sort of direct power to unilaterally enact changes. Duties of the Moderator include:
 * giving leadership ("especially in spiritual things, quickening in the hearts of the people a sense of God as revealed in Christ, and heartening and strengthening the whole United Church")
 * visiting pastoral charges across the country, "giving sympathetic guidance and counsel giving sympathetic guidance and counsel, and reporting to the General Council and its executive".
 * being the primary spokesperson and representative for the United Church
 * presiding at the meetings of the United Church's highest court, the triannual General Council, and chairing meetings of the General Council's Executive and Sub-Executive.

History of the office
When the United Church of Canada was founded in 1925, General Councils were biennial, giving each moderator a two-year term of office. (The first exception was the first moderator, George C. Pidgeon, who only served for one year. The second was the 43rd moderator, Richard Bott, who had his term extended to four years when the 44th General Council was postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ) At the 1994 General Council, the commissioners voted to make General Councils triennial, thus increasing the moderator's term to three years.

Although most moderators have been ordained ministers, this is not a requirement of office, and to date, four moderators have been lay persons. If the moderator is ordained, he or she is styled the "Right Reverend" while in office, and the "Very Reverend" afterwards.

Current and past Moderators
Source:


text:
List of 2002 Canadian incumbents

Crown

 * Head of State - Queen Elizabeth II

Federal government

 * Governor General - Adrienne Clarkson

Cabinet

 * Prime Minister - Jean Chrétien
 * Deputy Prime Minister - Herb Gray then John Manley
 * Minister of Finance - Paul Martin then John Manley
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs - John Manley then Bill Graham
 * Minister of National Defence - Art Eggleton then John McCallum
 * Minister of Health - Allan Rock then Anne McLellan
 * Minister of Industry - Brian Tobin then Allan Rock
 * Minister of Heritage - Sheila Copps
 * Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs - Stéphane Dion
 * Minister of the Environment - David Anderson
 * Minister of Justice - Anne McLellan then Martin Cauchon
 * Minister of Transport - David Collenette
 * Minister of Citizenship and Immigration - Elinor Caplan then Denis Coderre
 * Minister of Fisheries and Oceans - Herb Dhaliwal then Robert Thibault
 * Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food - Lyle Vanclief
 * Minister of Public Works and Government Services - Alfonso Gagliano then Don Boudria then Ralph Goodale
 * Minister of Human Resources Development - Jane Stewart
 * Minister of Natural Resources - Ralph Goodale then Herb Dhaliwal

Members of Parliament
See: 37th Canadian parliament

Party leaders

 * Liberal Party of Canada - Jean Chrétien
 * Canadian Alliance - Stockwell Day then Stephen Harper
 * Bloc Québécois - Gilles Duceppe
 * New Democratic Party - Alexa McDonough
 * Progressive Conservative Party of Canada - Joe Clark

Supreme Court justices

 * Chief Justice: Beverley McLachlin
 * Frank Iacobucci
 * John C. Major
 * Michel Bastarache
 * William Ian Corneil Binnie
 * Louise Arbour
 * Louis LeBel
 * Claire L'Heureux-Dubé then Marie Deschamps
 * Charles D. Gonthier

Other

 * Speaker of the House of Commons - Peter Milliken
 * Governor of the Bank of Canada - David Dodge
 * Chief of the Defence Staff - General R.R. Henault

Premiers

 * Premier of Alberta - Ralph Klein
 * Premier of British Columbia - Gordon Campbell
 * Premier of Manitoba - Gary Doer
 * Premier of New Brunswick - Bernard Lord
 * Premier of Newfoundland - Roger Grimes
 * Premier of Nova Scotia - John Hamm
 * Premier of Ontario - Mike Harris then Ernie Eves
 * Premier of Prince Edward Island - Pat Binns
 * Premier of Quebec - Bernard Landry
 * Premier of Saskatchewan - Lorne Calvert
 * Premier of the Northwest Territories - Stephen Kakfwi
 * Premier of Nunavut - Paul Okalik
 * Premier of Yukon - Pat Duncan then Dennis Fentie

Lieutenant-governors

 * Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta - Lois Hole
 * Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia - Iona Campagnolo
 * Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba - Peter Liba
 * Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick - Marilyn Trenholme Counsell
 * Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador - Arthur Maxwell House then Edward Roberts
 * Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia - Myra Freeman
 * Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario - Hilary Weston then James Bartleman
 * Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island - Léonce Bernard
 * Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec - Lise Thibault
 * Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan - Lynda Haverstock

Mayors

 * Toronto - Mel Lastman
 * Montreal - Gérald Tremblay
 * Vancouver - Philip Owen then Larry Campbell
 * Ottawa - Bob Chiarelli
 * Victoria - Alan Lowe

Religious leaders

 * Roman Catholic Bishop of Quebec - Archbishop Maurice Couture then Cardinal Archbishop Marc Ouellet
 * Roman Catholic Bishop of Montreal - Cardinal Archbishop Jean-Claude Turcotte
 * Roman Catholic Bishops of London - Bishop John Michael Sherlock then Bishop Ronald Peter Fabbro
 * Moderator of the United Church of Canada - Marion Pardy

title: List of 2002 Canadian incumbents


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Interpretations of the scientific method

Interpretations of the scientific method was proposed for deletion. This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was MERGE AND REDIRECT

This article covers the same ground as our current article on the Scientific method, only less well. I vote that it should be deleted. RK 15:35, Jul 20, 2004 (UTC) This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like other '/delete' pages is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion or on the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.
 * The content isn't that bad (compared to most VfD things) but it's silly to have yet another article covering things which ought to be adequately covered in scientific method, Paul Feyerabend, and The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. I'm going to vote merge and cleanup on this one... what disturbs me the most is that there is in this article what can only be interpretted as a deliberate lack of links to the original scientific method article. ...As I read over it some more, a lot of the content is actually pretty poor.. I'd say merge a bit of it, delete the rest. --Fastfission 18:24, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Merge with scientific method and redirect. The page was created by User:Cimon Avaro last year and since then has had exactly one edit (minor); maybe someone can ask him where he was going with it. Wile E. Heresiarch 03:07, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * There are much worse articles on Wikipedia, and it addresses a subject which might be interesting to "religionists," "magical thinkers" and others who may distrust the scientific method for whatever reason. Merge, redirect, link, cleanup, whatever, but don't delete...Fire Star 13:53, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC)


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Stirchley, Birmingham

Stirchley is a suburb in south-west Birmingham, England. The name likely refers to a pasture for cattle. The settlement dates back to at least 1658. Prehistoric evidence, Roman roads, and Anglo-Saxon charters contribute to its history. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the railways brought industry to the area. Stirchley's development is also linked to industries like screw-making and rubber manufacturing. Originally part of Worcestershire, Stirchley underwent administrative changes in 1911. Residential developments were established alongside the long-standing Victorian terracing which is associated with the suburb.

The River Rea, which flows through the area and once powered mills at Lifford, Hazelwell, Dogpool and Moor Green, is now a walking and cycle route. The restored former Stirchley Baths community hub opened in 2016.

Political
In 2018, Stirchley separated from the Bournville Ward to become a ward in its own right. It is represented by Councillor Mary Locke (Lab). Stirchley is in the Parliamentary Constituency of Selly Oak represented by Steve McCabe (Lab). Until the Local Provisional Order Bill came into effect on 9 November 1911, the area was administered by the King’s Norton and Northfield Urban District Council in the East Worcestershire (UK Parliament constituency) represented by Austen Chamberlain. The event, known as the Greater Birmingham Act, required the ancient county boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire to be changed. The former county boundary was the Bourn Brook which separates Edgbaston (Warwickshire), from Selly Oak (Worcestershire). Slightly more than 22,000 acres of Worcestershire was transferred to Warwickshire in the extension of the administrative area of Birmingham, and this has grown further with the creation of New Frankley. Nearly 50% of modern Birmingham was formerly in Worcestershire or Staffordshire. The Evolution of Worcestershire county boundaries since 1844 is complex as a number of enclaves and exclaves were adjusted. Documentary references need to be researched under the county of origin. An editorial note in the VCH Warwickshire Volume 7 Birmingham refers to the special difficulties created by the change of the county boundaries and states that: "Accounts of the ancient parishes of King’s Norton, Northfield, and Yardley, and the parish of Quinton (in the ancient parish of Halesowen), now within the boundaries of the city, are contained in Volume III of the History of Worcestershire."

Toponymy
Lock considers the reference to Stercan Lei in the 730 Cartularium Saxonicum applies to Stirchley. A stirk or Styrk is Old English for heifer, and therefore the name signifies the clearing or pasture for cattle. This has been adopted as the meaning of Stirchley in Shropshire.

The earliest known reference of a settlement at Stirchley is a deed dated 6 May 1658, where it is described as an "Indenture between Katherine Compton and Daniel Greves and others concerning a tenement and lands at Stretley Streete in the Parish of King’s Norton". In his research of the history of the building called Selly Manor, Demidowicz identified it to be a Yeoman’s house before becoming cottages called the Rookery. He also identified the site of the medieval settlement of Barnbrook’s End. This is connected to Barnbrook Hall, frequently referred to as Bournbrook Hall, which is confusing because of another property of the same name in Bournbrook. Demidowicz accessed a 1602 map that showed that Stretley Brook was the boundary between the ancient parishes of Northfield and King’s Norton. The brook was later known as Gallows Brook, Griffins Brook, and, after the Cadbury Brothers established their Cocoa Company it became ‘The Bourn’. It is likely that Gallows Brook was the former name of Wood Brook, which flows from Northfield, as in 1783 Thomas Wardle, was sentenced to be executed and his body hung in Chains on the further Part of Bromsgrove Lickey, near Northfield. Three others also received death sentences.

In a map published in 1789, James Sheriff names the place as Stutley, while one of 1796 names Sturchley. However, Chinn suggests that an 18th-century map maker mis-read the ‘ee’ and replaced it with a ‘u’.

In 1863, Strutley Street branch national school was opened to accommodate 132 pupils. It replaced a former school suggesting there was an established population in the area before this date. Hazelwell Street was shown as Strutley Street on the plans for the sale of land to be developed in conjunction with straightening the Pershore Road.

Prehistoric
Evidence of human activity during the Bronze Age is provided by the presence of mounds of heat-shattered and fissured pebbles in charcoal referred to as ‘burnt mounds’. Such mounds have been identified along the River Rea in Wychall Lane, at Ten Acres, and at Moseley Bog. No settlement associated with this period has been found. Prehistoric settlements or farmsteads are difficult to find in built-up areas, however, there is a possibility of occupation at Cotteridge. Chinn suggests that the name Cotteridge means Cotta’s Ridge, and there is a clear ridge running up from Breedon Hill. The Tithe Map records a feature of Near and Far Motts, now beneath the housing development at Foxes Meadow suggesting the possibility of an ancient Celtic settlement, hill-fort, or look-out site at the top of the ridge which runs through Northfield to Dudley. Alternatively, it may be the medieval Vill of Northfield’s Sub-Manor of Middleton as the site was possibly included on the auctioneer's plan for the sale of the Estate of Middleton Hall.

Hutton commented that "In the parish of King’s Norton, 4 mi south west of Birmingham is ‘The Moats’, upon which long resided the ancient family of Field. The numerous buildings, which almost formed a village, are totally erased and barley grows where the beer was drank." This location would have provided an excellent panoramic view of the south of the Birmingham Plateau. The ancient pre-urban landscape was not dissimilar to that of Bredon Hill near Evesham. Both ‘Bre’ (Celtic) and ‘don’ (Old English) mean hill. Demidowicz has identified that the Rea was formerly called the Cole, a derivative of the Welsh Celtic word ‘colle’ meaning Hazel. In a map of the locations mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon Charter the site where the Rea crosses Dogpool Lane was referred to in 1495 as Collebrugge and in 1496 as Colebruge.

Roman
The Roman Road Icknield Street, or Ryknield Street, connected Alcester with Metchley Fort. Evidence of this road at Walkers Heath Road, Broadmeadow Lane, Lifford Lane, and Stirchley Street suggests a route along a terrace that avoided medieval King’s Norton Green and Cotteridge. There is a reference to Selly Cross which may be where Icknield Street converged with the Upper Saltway now the Bristol Road (A38). The Roman Road may have followed a more ancient packhorse route with salt as the most obvious commodity to be transported. From Metchley Fort the road went north through the Streetly Valley in Sutton Park where there is a watercourse called the Bourne Brook Continuing northwards, Icknield Street crossed Watling Street (A5) near Letocetum, the Roman site at Wall,  close to Hammerwich where the Staffordshire Hoard was found. Barrow suggests that another road, the Hadyn Way ran in a southerly direction from the Ryknield Street near Bournbrook through Stirchley Street and Alauna (Alcester) to join the Fosse Way near Bourton-on-the-Water. Peter Leather indicates that Dogpool Lane may have been a minor Roman route from the Alcester Road to Metchley Fort via Warwards Lane and Selly Park Recreation Ground where a significant archaeological survey was undertaken.

Until recently, the place name of Stirchley was accompanied by ‘Street’. Gelling suggests that major place-names like Strete or Streetly refer to the position of the settlement on or close to one of the main roads of Roman Britain. It is possible that the name Street is a corruption of the OE Stroet which has been interpreted as a "Roman road, a paved road, an urban road, a street". The 1838 Tithe Map for King’s Norton Parish in the County of Worcestershire identifies the place, rather than the road name, as Stirchley Street. Other Place names associated with Roman occupation are Street Farm Northfield where the road from Wootton Wawen met the Bromsgrove Road, and Moor Street Bartley Green.

Anglo-Saxon
Stirchley was in the ancient parish of King’s Norton. King’s Norton had two Anglo-Saxon boundary charters: Hellerelege (AD 699-709) which was a grant by Offa, King of Mercia, and Cofton (AD 849) in which Bishop Ealhun of Worcester has leased the 20 hide estate to King Berhtwulf. Plotting these boundaries has proved difficult as many of the names have changed. The boundaries of King’s Norton parish and the manor were coterminous and stretched from Balsall Heath in the north to Wythall in the south, from Rednal in the west to Solihull Lodge in the east. Beating the bounds took four days to complete. The population was scattered but small hamlets and later sub-manors were formed. For administration purposes the parish was divided into five yields or taxable divisions. Lea yield, which was probably focused on the area of Leys Farm in Stirchley, was consumed by the Moseley and Moundesley yields around the time of the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 and is not shown with the Tithe Map and Apportionments.

Domesday Book indicates that Bromsgrove was a significant manor with eighteen outliers or berewicks. Some these manors are now part of the Anglo-Saxon presence in Greater Birmingham: Moseley, King’s Norton, Lindsworth, Tessall, Rednal, Wychall, and possibly Lea. There are ongoing arguments as to the location of Lea. Monkhouse considered the reference to belong to the Stirchley area of Leys Farm while F and C Thorn identified it as Lea Green near Houndsfield and Wythwood. Leys Farm was not mentioned on the 1832 OS map although there is the possibility of a building on the site. A considerable period of time has elapsed since those discussions and it seems valid that the debate should be resumed now that so much more information is available.

At the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, Birmingham was a manor in Warwickshire with less than 3,000 acres whereas the current Birmingham Metropolitan Borough is closer to 66,219 acres (26,798 ha). Birmingham developed in the hinterland of three counties – Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire and nearly 50% of modern Birmingham has Domesday Book manors that were formerly in either Staffordshire, or Worcestershire, As the city expanded the ancient Shire boundaries were changed in order that the area being administered came under one county authority – Warwickshire. To establish the Saxon presence in the territory of modern Birmingham all the former Manors and Berewicks/Outliers mentioned in Domesday Book that are now within the boundaries of the City, need to be combined. This is complicated by the fact that separate figures were not given for Harborne (Staffordshire), Yardley and King’s Norton (Worcestershire) which were all attached to manors outside the area. The Birmingham Plateau had about 26 Domesday Book manors, a population of close to 2,000, with seven mills, and three priests.

Other Worcestershire manors mentioned in Domesday Book are: Yardley; Selly Oak and its outlier Bartley Green; Northfield; Frankley (New Frankley); and Halesowen (Quinton). Harborne (Staffordshire) was owned by the Bishop of Lichfield. Selly Oak was leased to Wulfwin, who owned Birmingham as a freeman, by the Bishop of Lichfield. "Leases meant services to the bishop, and in this way he ensured the cultivated of the lands he retained in his own hands, as well as those which he let out, and had a large force ready at hand in case of war or tumult." These services could have been called upon during the raids by the Danes. The nun-cupative (oral) will is a unique inclusion and suggests that the Bishop had a particular reason for not wishing to lose the territory of Selly Oak which meets Stirchley north of the Bourn and west of the River Rea.

The Domesday Book manors of both King’s Norton and Selly Oak were in pre-Conquest Came Hundred which later became Halfshire Hundred. A Hundred was an administrative division of a Shire (County). Some Tithe maps field names near Moor Green called Big Hundred (3260), Little Hundred (3257), Upper Hundred (2759), Lower Hundred (2760), plus Hundreds Meadow (3261), hint that there was once a hundred meeting place there in Anglo-Saxon times. The site is near to the Dogpool Lane Bridge over the Rea, which might once have been a ford as the stream runs wide and shallow at that point. Such a spot was favoured for early meeting places. Just west of the River Rea is the Selly Wick Estate. The ‘wick’ may be a loan from the Latin vicus, a civilian settlement associated with a Roman fort or it may belong to a variety of meanings including salt-working centre or a dairy farm. This estate joins the Selly Hall Estate and as ‘sel’ or 'cel' may derive from the Anglo-Saxon for house, hall, or storage building it is possible that an earlier structure may lie beneath what is now the Convent of the Sisters of Charity of St Paul the Apostle. Near Selly Wick House and once part of the Selly Hall Estate are the remains of a medieval moat and fishponds.

Mills
Lifford Mill and pool lie on the south side of Tunnel Lane where it crosses the eastern of the two branches of the Rea at Lifford. It may have been the Dobbs Mill shown in the area in 1787–9. The pool and the reservoir below the mill were formed when the Worcester and Birmingham Canal was constructed in the early 19th century. In 1830 the mill was described as a ‘rolling mill of 15 horse power upon a never-failing stream. In 1841 Joseph Davies left it together with Harborne Mill to his son Samuel. In 1873 and 1890 it was occupied by india-rubber manufacturers. By 1900 it had become part of the works of J & E Sturge, chemical manufacturers. The mill building is now derelict, but both it and Lifford House form part of the premises of J & E Sturge, Ltd.

Hazelwell Mill and pool lie on the east of the Rea immediately above Hazelwell Fordrough. The three water corn mills in Hazelwell manor in 1704 were probably at this mill, and the mill was similarly described when in the tenure of Thomas Hadley in 1733. Edward Jordan, who took over the mill from John White in 1756, was, like the Hadley’s, a gunsmith. The mill was, however, being used for corn milling, stones in the rye mill and the wheat mill being mentioned in the lease. The three water corn mills were again mentioned in 1776 and in 1787, but by the early 19th century the mill had been converted to metal working. In 1843 and 1863 it was in the tenure of William Deakin and Sons, sword-cutlers, gun-barrel and bayonet manufacturers, and in the 1870s of William Millward and Sons, sword-cutlers, gun and pistol-barrel makers. It was a gun-barrel works in 1886, but by the 1900s had become a rubber factory.

Dogpool Mill with its pool lies to the west of the Rea just below the point where Griffin’s Brook joins the Rea. It was mentioned as Dog Poo’ Mill in 1800 and was a rolling mill in 1836. The tenant in 1843 was John Phipson and in 1863 Tomlinson and Co., tube- and wire-manufacturers. By 1875 the mill had been taken over by C Clifford and Sons, metal-rollers and tube-makers.

Moor Green, or Farmons Mill and its pool, lay on the east of the Rea just above the point where Holders Lane reaches the river. The mill, called a blade mill, was already in existence when the Moore family acquired it from John Middlemore, together with the manor, in 1597. It was held by the Moore family until 1783 when it was sold by John Moore to James Taylor. The Serjeant family held the lease of the mill from Moore and Taylor between 1780 and 1841, and William Serjeant greatly improved the mill, then still a blade mill, between 1816 and 1841. In 1841 his widow surrendered the lease to James Taylor and the freehold was sold to Charles Umpage, metal-roller. William Betts and Co., metal-rollers, occupied the mill in the 1860s and 70s. It was still in use as a rolling mill in the 1880s but seems to have fallen into disuse shortly after, and only a part of the wheel channel still remains.

Sherborne Mill, also known as the Kings Norton Paper Mill, was built by James Baldwin & Sons Ltd, paper makers of Birmingham, in the 1850s. The mill produced brown papers for wrapping, grocery papers, paper bags and gun wadding. The mill became an independent business in 1926 which was dissolved in 1967. The buildings were converted to hold the Patrick Collection of vintage cars. It is now called the Lakeside Centre and Lombard Rooms. An artificial pond, created to provide water for the paper-making process, still exists on site. James Baldwin was Mayor of Birmingham in 1853–54. The Baldwin family lived nearby at Breedon House, now the site of the Cotteridge school.

Farms
Using the modern road names to identify the location: Lea House Farm was near Lea House Road; Two Gates Farm was by the junction of Sycamore Road and Willows Road; Barnbrook Farm was by the cross-roads of Linden Road and Bournville Lane; Row Heath Farm was at the junction of Franklin Road and Oak Tree Lane, and Barnbrook Hall Farm later became the recreation ground for female staff at Cadbury’s; Fordhouse Farm was half way up Fordhouse Lane near The Worthings; Bullies Farm was located on Cartland Road, close to the junction with Pineapple Road; Pineapple Farm was at the bottom of Vicarage Road, just across the railway lines from Hazelwell Hall; Dawberry Farm stood near Dawberry Fields Road and Harton Way.

Estates and high status residences
Breedon House: The 1840 Tithe Map shows that John Lane Snow owned Breedon House on the estate of which is now Cotteridge Primary School. The house and estate was occupied by the Baldwin family, papermakers (whose principal mill was off Lifford Lane), between c.1860 and c.1895. The Old Cross Inn was sold c. 1900 and the owner moved to larger premises on the other side of the canal to enable the expansion of the screw factory. Stirchley Village starts at the foot of Breedon Hill.

Pershore Road (A441)
King’s Norton village was connected to Birmingham by a minor rural track until it reached the road from Alcester to Balsall Heath which was turnpiked in 1767. There was no Pershore Road until an Act of 1825 authorised the construction of the Pershore Turnpike. This new road from Birmingham to Redditch began near Smithfield Market and headed south through Edgbaston Parish (Warwickshire) to Pebble Mill where the Bourn Brook marks the former county boundary. It continued through Northfield Parish (Worcestershire) past Moor Green to Ten Acres, where it crossed the watercourse of the Bourn into King’s Norton Parish. This particular section of the road does not appear on either the first series OS Map or the 1839 Tithe maps. A surveyors plan for the sale of Dogpool Mill on 15 July 1847 names the stretch of road from the Bourn to Dogpool Lane as ‘New Street’ and the continuation of this to Birmingham as ‘New Pershore Road’. The new road created a one way system as it appears that a small hamlet had formed at the junction of Bournville Lane and Hazelwell Street. The Pershore Road joined the old Roman Road as far as Breedon Cross and went straight up the hill to Cotteridge which was probably little more than a farmstead. It went down the hill towards the manorial mill and up to King’s Norton village. The new road that bypassed King's Norton Green was not authorised until 1834 although the section to West Heath had been constructed in 1827.

Public transport was by horse-drawn bus operated by City of Birmingham Tramways Co. The building that became Halford Coach Trimmers was once the stable for the horses that pulled the horse-drawn tram. Its concrete floor had drainage grooves set into it. Under the powers of 1901 the King’s Norton and Northfield UDC constructed a tramway along the Pershore Road, and a short connecting line along Pebble Mill Road was constructed to link the Bristol Road section with the new line. As the Bristol and Pershore Roads were so closely related, arrangements were made for CBT to work the new line on behalf of the two councils until the lease of the Bristol Road section expired in 1911. CBT cars began working to Breedon Cross on 29 May 1904, and through to Cotteridge on 23 June 1904. The addition of another 40 cars became necessary when it was realised that many of the 30 cars operated by CBT on the Selly Oak and King’s Norton routes were in such poor condition that they could not be counted upon for regular service when due for acquisition in July 1911.

In 1911, Birmingham Corporation Tramways took over the operation. At the beginning of World War I the Pershore Road line had been doubled between Pebble Mill Road and Cotteridge. At Ten Acres where, because of the narrowness of the road, a single track with a passing loop was retained. The single track in Pebble Mill Road was doubled and placed on the central reservation between dual carriageways, the first use of this layout in Birmingham. World War I brought difficulties to all undertakings and Tramways were no exception. Buses were impressed for military use, staff shortages became acute giving rise to the appearance of conductresses, costs rose and supplies of all kinds became difficult to obtain. The upper saloon bulkheads were replaced by half-glazed partitions enclosing new quarter-turn staircases, at the head of which doors were provided. The suggestion of saloon handrails on these partitions was suggested initially by a regular passenger, R A Howlett, who lived in Stirchley. The scope of his proposed scheme was enlarged and handrails were provided for the whole length of the partitions. The eight cars stationed at either the Bournbrook or Cotteridge depots were painted in the chocolate and cream livery when taken over in July 1911. Wartime grey livery was applied to some cars with them being repainted in the standard livery when next overhauled between July 1945 and April 1946. The line closed in 1952 and the depot was demolished and replaced with Beaumont Park Sheltered Housing.

Canals
After protracted arguments on 10 June 1791 the Worcester and Birmingham Canal Bill received the Royal Assent. It involved the expertise of civil engineers in the construction of tunnels, cuttings and embankments with aqueducts over roads, rivers and streams. An early wooden accommodation draw-bridge at Leay House Farm, located where Mary Vale Road now crosses the canal, was replaced by a brick bridge in 1810. The route of the canal didn’t respect farm and estate boundaries: "Unfortunately this work meant the destruction of growing wheat on the land of Mr Guest of Barnbrook, and he was promised compensation for his crops, as were other farmers similarly affected on the line of the canal as the work proceeded." The labourers, who had travelled to the area, were housed in barracks possibly large wooden huts that could be moved to other sites as the work progressed. Food, beer and other domestic needs were serviced by the local community, who also provided skilled work as carpenters, blacksmiths, and brickmakers. The canal was completed in 1815 although sections had been opened when completed and had enabled a route from Dudley to London. The Lapal, or Dudley 2, connection from Netherton to Selly Oak had been opened on 28 May 1798. The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal joined the Worcester and Birmingham canal near King’s Norton village and was fully opened in 1816. An unusual guillotine lock was installed to control the difference in height of the water. This is now a scheduled ancient monument. Wharves were built to offload supplies of coal and lime which were then distributed by horse-drawn carts.

Railways
In 1828 powers were obtained to build a railway or tramway (sic) from Bristol to Gloucester and in  1836 another Act authorised the route from Gloucester to Birmingham. This line was opened on 17 December 1840 with a terminus at Camp Hill and on 17 August 1841 trains commenced running into the London and Birmingham Terminus at Curzon Street. Lifford has had three stations. The first Lifford railway station opened 1840–1844; The Birmingham West Suburban Railway opened the second station on its line which closed in 1885. The third station was on the Camp Hill line and closed in 1941. The station at King’s Norton (Cotteridge) opened in 1849. Another station that served Stirchley was Hazelwell at the top of what would become Cartland Road.

Construction of the Birmingham West Suburban Line began in 1872. This required expanding the canal embankment. A section of the canal had to be drained to complete the work scheduled to last for a week. The canal was to be re-watered through a valve in the southern stop-gate but someone opened the gate and water from as far as Tardibigge rushed towards Birmingham "like a great tidal wave" resulting in a breach of the canal in Edgbaston  and causing damage to a number of canal boats. The water spent itself in Charlotte Road where the culverts carried away an immense quantity. It was a major event for the emergency services and the navvies, and witnessed by a multitude of people who turned up to witness the devastation. The railway opened on 3 April 1876 with a station at Stirchley Street (now Bournville). By this time the Midland Railway Company had taken over the Birmingham West Suburban Railway and in 1881 obtained an act for doubling the track and creating a direct route to King’s Norton that avoided the Lifford Loop.

Midland Railway Company Engine Shed The opening of Lifford curve in July 1892 allowed for a more intensive local service. New sidings were opened at Cadbury’s and Selly Oak in 1885 and by 1892 Selly Oak was handling over 55,000 tons of goods traffic and Lifford over 17,000 tons. The Midland Railway Company identified an available site near Stirchley Street which was bordered by the Birmingham West Suburban main line, Cotteridge Park, Breedon Road, and Mary Vale Road. Land was purchased from the Trustees of the late J Hock. The engine roundhouse was built by Messrs. Garlick and Horton at a cost of £11,546 and Eastwood Swingler gained the contract for a 50’ turntable. Construction began in 1893 and the shed opened on 12 March 1894. Although named Bournville Engine Shed it was unrelated to Bournville Model Village. The shed was significant during World War I and drivers and firemen were classified as being in a Reserved occupation. The lighter Engines required for the Dowery Dell viaduct operated from Lifford taking empty wagons on the outward journey and returning with loads, usually steel tubes and coil, manufactured in the Halesowen area. The arrival of diesel driven units and the 1950s rationalisation of the railway programme meant the end of the shed. It closed on 2 February 1960. It became the new ‘Parkside’ distribution centre for Cadbury’s. By 1971 Cadbury’s had switched from rail to road transport so the depot became surplus to requirements and was demolished and replaced with a housing estate.

Industry
Guest, Keen, and Nettlefold Ltd: James and Son constructed a screw making factory at Breedon Cross in 1861-2. In 1864 William Avery joined the firm and the company name changed to James, Son, and Avery. Joseph Chamberlain (senior) gave financial support to his brother-in-law, John Sutton Nettlefold, to secure at a cost of £30,000, the English rights to an American screw making machine. In 1866 Nettlefold and Chamberlain moved into the factory at Breedon Cross. The company was managed by the sons of the owners, Joseph Chamberlain and Joseph Henry Nettlefold. Joseph Chamberlain left the company in 1874 to concentrate on politics. In 1880 the company was incorporated as Nettlefolds Ltd, the various firms incorporated were those of Messrs Nettlefold’s, at Heath Street, and Princip-Street, Birmingham, and at King’s Norton. and later, in 1902, became part of Guest, Keen, and Nettlefold (GKN).

Boxfoldia: in 1924 Boxfoldia moved to the Ten Acre Works. They manufactured cartons for well-known companies such as Colman's, Reckitt Benckiser, and the Dunlop Rubber Company. The founder, Charles Henry Foyle, believed that business was a partnership between employer and employee, and set up a Works Council. By 1933 these works had become too small and Boxfoldia moved to Dale Road, in Bournbrook From 1934 the site was then taken over by Cox, Wilcox & Co who were manufacturers of domestic Hardware. Ten Acre Mews, a small housing development now occupies the site.

Capon Heaton: Hazelwell Mill was established in the late 17th century to grind corn for the sub-manor of Hazelwell in Kings Norton. In about the mid-18th century it was converted to the boring and grinding of gun barrels. By 1904 the earlier watermill had been demolished. Edward Capon and Harry Heaton entered into a partnership in 1883. As Capon-Heaton and Company they manufactured India-rubber at Lifford until the mid-1890s when the firm moved to Hazelwell, the next mill downstream where they continued until acquired in 1964 by Avon India Rubber Co. In 1978-9, The Stirchley Industrial Estate was built over the original mill and mill pool site.

Eccles Caravans: In 1913 A J Riley and his son built his first recreational vehicle by putting a caravan body onto a Talbot car chassis. After World War I ended the Riley’s decided to invest in a motor haulage company that was having difficulty. It was called the Eccles Motor Transport Company. By the late 1920s the factory had outgrown its premises and moved to a 4-acre site in Hazelwell Lane, Stirchley, where a modern, single story factory was built. Believed to be the first purpose built caravan factory of its kind in the World it was fitted with the latest high tech woodwork machinery. It was here that 'overrun brake systems' were invented and these are still fitted on caravans produced today. During World War II orders for caravans virtually stopped however the Eccles factory survived by adapting to the war situation. Commissioned by the British Military Authorities the Eccles factory still produced caravan bodies but these were used as portable workshops and radio offices. The factory also built ambulances and search light vehicles. By 1960 Bill Riley had retired, shutdown the factory and sold it to Sprite Caravans who moved production to their factory in Newmarket.

The Hampton Works Company in Twyning Road, was a manufacturer of custom precision pressings. The building was designed by Bradley and Clark of Temple Row, Birmingham in 1934. It was extended c.1939 by the same architects and air raid shelters were built at the same time to the west of the existing factory buildings. It is a listed building now occupied by Rivfast Ltd. The buildings are of plum-coloured brick laid in Flemish bond with decorative bands of brown brick dressings and partially glazed pitched roofs and metal-framed windows. The decorative motifs are in an Art Deco style.

Jesse Hill Gunmakers, Ash Tree Road, is a family business that began in 1921. The building is listed.

R J Hunt & Sons: The iron foundry was acquired by J Brockhouse and Co in 1937 and continued to trade as Brockhouse Hunt. They produced cast iron products from scrap and other metal using sand from Bromsgrove. The site is now derelict and will potentially become a small housing estate.

Rubberplas BSP Ltd, Mary Vale Road, manufactures Rubber Moulding, Thermoplastic Moulding & Vacuum Metallizing for automotive and domestic industries. It also launched the Golf Grass Mat used to install permanent or temporary walkways around Golf Courses.

Edwin Showell and Sons: Showell and Barnes were founded in 1790, in Loveday Street. By 1820 they were trading as Edwin Showell and Sons, manufacturing door springs and architectural brassware. After Edwin died his two sons, Charles and Edwin Alfred ran the company. The move to the Stirchley Brass Foundry in Charlotte Road took place in c1902. The property included an attractive Elizabethan red brick farmhouse, called Ivy House or Nine Elms into which Charles Showell moved. The factory gradually expanded to include the whole site and the farmhouse, which had fallen into disrepair, was demolished. During World War I they produced 100,000 Enfield oilers for Birmingham Small Arms Company rifles. In 1956 they were taken over by Josiah Parkes and Sons.

Stirchley Neighbourhood Forum
Stirchley Neighbourhood Forum represents all residents of Stirchley. The forum holds a monthly open meeting attended by police and the local councillor.

Ten Acres and Stirchley Street Co-operative Society (TASCOS)
This co-operative society was formed by a group of traders who met in Ten Acres School (now Darris Road). The front room and cellar of a house at 112 Hazelwell Street was rented, trading stock was bought, and on 25 June 1875 the first shop was opened. The success was such that bigger premises were necessary and in 1893 the Stirchley Street Central Premises was opened. Adjoining shops and cottages were acquired and the Central Premises was extended. The Drapery and Footwear Departments were trading in 1893 from the first Central Premises. By 1913 further expansion resulted in the construction of a new building at the corner of Hazelwell Street and Umberslade Road. Throughout the district various shops became branches where members could recite their ‘divvy’ number and be rewarded by collecting a dividend for shopping in the TASCOS chain of stores. Initially bread was made at a bake-house at the rear of the old Central Premises until larger premises were opened in 1905 and even larger premises were acquired in Mary Vale Road in 1929. The Central Butchery was established in 1913. By 1914 the model dairy in Ribblesdale Road was distributing 5,000 gallons of milk a week. Although TASCOS began trading in coal in 1898 the site at Lifford was not operational until 1917. The furnishing department opened in 1915. A Hairdresser (1926), a chemist (1928), and the Funeral Department (1932) were also opened. The laundry moved from Mary Vale Road to Bewdley Road where it opened in 1939 at a cost of £36,000. The building was a target in 1940 air raids. The Co-Operative movement had an ethos of Education and Social Activities. A sports pavilion was erected on ground purchased near Lifford. By 1951, the membership had grown to over 60,000 and the office staff to 192. After a short period of administration by the Co-operative Wholesale Society in 1971 TASCOS was absorbed into the Birmingham Co-operative Society.

The co-op food store ceased trading in Stirchley on 25 January 2020, ahead of Morrisons supermarket taking over the building.

Housing
Much of Pershore Road from Cotteridge to Pebble Mill is lined with artisans houses built from the 1870s. Many of the side roads have similar houses and there are also unique terraces, Derwent Cottages, and Rose Cottages that lie behind the Pershore Road. The main builders were Grant’s Estates and they often gave the terraces names and the date of construction. Grant’s Estates was founded by brothers Thomas James Grant and Henry Michael Grant in the 1890s. Groups of terraced housing in Cotteridge and King’s Heath, stable blocks, and other jobbing work in 1897 can be traced to the company. They concentrated on buying building plots on green field sites, laying out the roads and drainage, and letting the properties. Their business premises were next to the railway bridge in Cotteridge. Sewell’s acquired the business in 1961. The family lived in a house called Falcon Hill which became a police station in the 1960s and was replaced by Grant’s Court ten years later. The family name is preserved in the Grant Arms pub. Mrs Ellen Grant Ferris bought Harvington Hall, in 1920, which she gave to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham.

The houses on the East side of the Pershore Road from Ten Acres heading towards Pebble Mill are known as the ABC houses as they are named in alphabetical order after places in Britain. The ambitious project only got as far as J for Jarrow.

Parks and open spaces
Stirchley Park is a pocket park between Hazelwell Street and Bond Street. There is mown grass with mature as well as recently planted trees and a few benches. A wall by the park has some professional Graffiti. The park once had a competitive bowling club with a green and pavilion for the players. This had not been used for many years and, as part of a Community Asset Transfer, will become the car-park for the new Community Centre. The park has now been established as the venue for the annual Stirchley Festival. The vehicular entrance to the park is being improved by the demolition of an extension to the listed Friends Meeting House. It is likely that the Farmers Market will also relocate to this site. Hazelwell Park was the former venue for the festival but major works to address issues of flooding meant it was temporarily unavailable and the new location fits in well with the regeneration of Stirchley. Near Hazelwell Park, still known to some as Newlands Park, there are significant community allotments. Ten Acres Park is between Cartland Road and Dogpool Lane where the former head race for the mill was cut from the Bourn and the River Rea. The community has suggested the creation of a natural wetland area on land subject to flooding. Holders Lane Playing Fields is on the site of the ancient Farmons Mill. Lifford Reservoir was built near the junction of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal, as a supply lake for the nearby mills. It was also a leisure resort with a tea shop, boating and fishing. During the 1920s and 1930s there were tea rooms, boats for hire, and fishing at Dogpool Mill pool.

Cinemas and library
Picturedrome, Hudson Drive: It was opened on the site of Hudson Brothers Ltd in 1913 but  Cotteridge Cinema Ltd went into liquidation in 1932. It is now a factory unit and a small estate has been built on the former industrial land at the end of the Drive.

Savoy Cinema, Breedon Cross: This building was opened in 1922 as the ‘Palace of Varieties’. Ten years later the name was changed to the Savoy and it closed in 1958. The building continued in use as Wyvern Engineering.

Empire, Pershore Road: It opened in 1912 to the design of architects Wood and Kenrick of Colmore Row. William Astley, father-in-law of Sidney Clift, who started the Clifton Circuit, was the first proprietor of the Empire. The cinema, known locally as the ‘Bug House’, had closed by 1950. The building was then used as a car hire depot.

Stirchley Pavilion, Pershore Road, was designed by Harold Seymore Scott and opened on 18 November 1931 by Alderman Sir Percival Bower. In 1931 a large house was demolished, an orchard ploughed up, and the Cinema was built. The promoters included Joseph Cohen who owned the News Theatre in Birmingham. The Pavilion’s at Stirchley and Wylde Green were intended as the first of a chain of Pavilions throughout the Midlands. However, the idea was abandoned and they became ABC houses. It had a seating capacity of 2,500 and a restaurant. A Ten-pin bowling alley was built next to the cinema which closed in 1968. After alterations it became ‘The Star’, a Bingo (United Kingdom) and bowls venue. Part of the building is now Fitness First.

The area is served by Stirchley Library.

Public houses
The earliest pubs were the Cross Inn, that was relocated to build the GKN works and the Black Horse where Stirchley Baths was built.

The Three Horseshoes public house existed in 1836 although it was rebuilt in the 1920s. It was also used as a meeting place to auction local plots of land. The Inn sold Davenports’ Celebrated and Noted Bottled Ales and Stouts. Davenports operated a ‘beer at home’ delivery service. In 2020 the pub was refurbished and opened under the new name of The Bournbrook Inn. It includes a bar, restaurant and 53 rooms and is operated by Westfield Leisure.

The British Oak was a small beer house that was rebuilt in 1926. The new building was designed by Mr Brassington, who had designed the Barton Arms some twenty two years earlier. At the rear is a bowling green, gardens, and a children’s playground.

The New Dogpool Hotel was previously on the opposite corner on Dogpool Lane where the Birmingham Municipal Bank was opened in 1928. It replaced the Ten Acres Tavern, a Holt’s pub, which stood at the junction of St Stephen’s Road and dates from 1923. It has changed names a number of times.

Further along the Pershore Road is the Selly Park Tavern with its bowling green and skittle alley. Formerly the Pershore Road Inn and then the Selly Park Hotel, it was built on land owned by the brewer Sir John Holder whose initials appear on the centre gable. After 1920 Holders Brewery was acquired by Mitchells & Butlers. The Tavern has a separate skittle alley in what may have been the earlier inn’s outbuildings. It also has a bowling green.

The Highbury marks the boundary with Moseley and King’s Heath Ward. The Lifford Curve suffered the same fate as the Breedon Bar being burnt beyond repair. The Hazelwell was built on the site of Hazelwell Hall.

The Lifford Curve public house was located on Fordhouse Lane. The name of the pub was taken from the nearby curve in the Camp Hill line.The building was badly damaged by a fire in May 2010. The pub was later demolished and the site sold for redevelopment. The site is now occupied by Thrifty Car Rental

The Breedon Bar was closed in 1993. It was a listed building but was so badly damaged by a major fire that it had to be demolished. It is now an apartment block.

Between 2015 and 2019, the area saw a sudden increase of micropubs, bars and breweries (with adjacent tap houses) launch either on or near the Pershore Road. This included The Wildcat Tap, Cork & Cage, Artefact, Attic Brew, Glasshouse Brewery and the Birmingham Brewing Company. In 2019, the Couch cocktail bar opened (also selling beer). The area became colloquially known as the Stirchley Beer Mile and often also included Cotteridge Wines and Stirchley Wines off licenses as well as the long established British Oak pub.

Stirchley Baths
On 25 June 1911, Stirchley Baths in Bournville Lane were opened to the public by King's Norton and Northfield Urban District Council. These were the second baths constructed by the council with the other being located on Tiverton Road, Bournbrook. Later that year, the baths were taken over by the Birmingham Baths Committee. The baths contained one swimming pool with a spectators' gallery, private baths for men and women and a small steam room. In the winter months, the swimming pool was floored over and the room was used as a hall. The private baths service was discontinued after the baths were taken by the City of Birmingham Baths Department shortly after opening. An unusual feature of the baths was a system of aeration and filtration of the water, which was obtained from the council's mains supply and continuously filtered. This was one of the first uses of such a system in swimming baths in the country and it was later introduced and installed in all baths in all local authorities. Swimming baths usually obtained the water from deep wells constructed beneath the premises.

These baths are a grade II Listed building but were closed in 1986 and became tumbledown. In January 2015 a building refurbishment project began, using money from the sale of the old Community Centre (as part of a supermarket redevelopment) and a £1 million community development grant. The building reopened as a community centre in January 2016.

Pictures of the derelict state of the baths can be viewed here and here.

The ongoing building project and associated community activities can be viewed here.

Places of worship
Church of Ascension: construction of the Church of Ascension began in 1898 on Hazelwell Street on land adjoining the Church School and School House. These later became the church hall. Construction was completed in 1901 and it was consecrated by the Bishop of Coventry on 30 October 1901. It was designed by W. Hale as a Chapel of ease to St. Mary's Church in Moseley. A separate Parish was assigned to it in 1912 out of the parishes of St. Mary's, Moseley and St. Nicolas, Kings Norton. On 1 December 1927, a daughter church dedicated to St. Hugh of Lincoln serving the Dads Lane estate was opened in Pineapple Grove. A new parish of St Mary Magdalene, Hazelwell, was created, taking in part of Stirchley parish. During World War II the church hall was taken over by the ‘British Restaurant’.

On 29 October 1965 the Church of Ascension was destroyed by fire and was demolished. Services continued at St Hugh's. A new church, designed by Romilly Craze, was constructed next to St. Hugh's and was consecrated by the Bishop of Birmingham on 14 July 1973. Surviving features from the original church, such as some of the stained glass, the Stations of the Cross, the altar silver, the processional crosses and the vestments, were used in the new church. St. Hugh's became the church hall for the new Church of Ascension A new vicarage was built on land behind the church in 1992. The Church of Ascension is a large building with an octagonal main church, and a church hall. There is also a chapel, and a large organ on an upper balcony in the main building.

Andrew Cohen Residential Care home constructed a small private Synagogue for the benefit of its residents, staff, and visitors.

Christadelphians, Hazelwell Street. The institute, formerly the Friends Institute, was in use for Christadelphians meetings in 1941 to 1954.

Christ Church: Pershore Road, Selly Park

Friends meeting house, Hazelwell Street. Hazelwell Street: A meeting room was in use from 1882 to 1892. At first it was a small dining room near Mosley’s Lodge by Stirchley station. The meeting owed its foundation to the removal in 1879 of Cadbury’s cocoa and chocolate works from Bridge Street, Birmingham, to their new site at Bournville, and the consequent migration of management and staff, some of whom were Quakers. It was preceded by Christian Society meetings at the Stirchley Street Board School, started in 1879. The congregation moved in 1892 to Stirchley institute.

Gospel Mission Hall: 1937

Islam: St Stephen’s Road and Pershore Road.

Kingdom Hall for Jehovah's Witnesses

Stirchley Community Church

The Salvation Army used the top floor of Jesse Hill’s premises in Ash Tree Road for children’s services. A new building was constructed in 1914 near Hazelwell Street. The building became a retail tile warehouse and has recently been demolished for a new supermarket development.

Selly Park Baptist Church: The original Dogpool Chapel, St Stephen’s Road, was a gift from Mr Wright of a chapel from Acocks Green. It was moved and re-erected by Mr Johnson and the first service was held on the first Sunday in May 1867. William Middlemore made a substantial contribution of £2,600 for a new permanent church that was opened in 1877 and officially established the following year. The wooden building was extended in 1874 and Sunday school classes began two years later. This building was moved to the site of the current school hall.

St Andrews Methodist Church: Cartland Road: the Primitive Methodists had held meetings in local cottages until 1906 when a corrugated iron building was erected. At first it was called the Cartland Road Methodist Church but when the Selly Park church closed and the congregations amalgamated a new building was constructed and it was consecrated as St Andrews.

Stirchley Institute and Elim Pentecostal: Hazelwell Street:

Stirchley Methodist Chapel, Mayfield Road was built in 1897 by the Methodist New Connection and once had a lovely garden with iron railings in front. The main hall could seat 136 people and there were two other rooms. After World War II the chapel was used as an annexe to Stirchley School. It ceased to be registered for public worship in 1956. The Stirchley Young Men’s Association (YMA) was connected with the Chapel in Mayfield Road. The building is now used as storage space for a private business.

Wesleyan Chapel: Stirchley Street 1839

Pineapple Farm estate
Pineapple Farm council estate was developed in the 1920s and 1930s in the east of Stirchley and from 1923 was served by a primary school, which opened initially with space for 400 pupils, at a site on Allen's Croft Road. However, an annex was opened at Hazelwell Parish Hall in 1930 to accommodate growing pupil numbers, before the main site was finally expanded to create a 14-class (two-form entry) 5-11 school in 1952. The school buildings were replaced in 2007, by which time they were all between 55 and 84 years old. During World War II, a number of bombs aimed by the German Luftwaffe at local factories fell on the Pineapple Farm estate, resulting in eight deaths, account for all but three of the 11 air raid fatalities at Stirchley during the war.

title: Stirchley, Birmingham