Place:Kings Norton, Worcestershire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

Kings Norton (sometimes King's Norton) has been part of Birmingham, England since 1911. Prior to that time it was in Worcestershire. Kings Norton was a large civil parish located south of the city of Birmingham which included the separate ecclesiastical parishes of Moseley, King's Heath and Wythall. In 1894 it became part of the Kings Norton Rural District consisting of the parishes of Northfield, Kings Norton and Beoley. Balsall Heath, formerly the northeast corner of Kings Norton, was formed into a separate civil parish and was moved into Birmingham County Borough in 1891. The rural district was made an urban district in 1898 and named Kings Norton and Northfield. In 1911 the Birmingham Extension Act was passed and the greater part of the urban district was absorbed into Birmingham. However, Wythall was made into a separate civil parish in 1911 and remained in Worcestershire until 1974. Beoley also remained in Worcestershire. In 1901 King's Norton parish covered an area of 11,726 acres, of which 112 acres were covered with water, 1,251 were arable land, 7,810 pasture and 37½ woods.

British History Online provides the following geographical description of Kings Norton from the Victoria County History, A History of the County of Worcester: Volume 3. Originally published in 1913:

"The parish is watered by the River Rea, the Bournville River and the River Cole, which last divides it from Warwickshire on the east. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the Stratfordon-Avon Canal, which joins it to the north-east of King's Norton village, are fed by two reservoirs on the River Rea. The chief roads are the main road between Birmingham and Alcester and Icknield or Rycknield Street, (fn. 4) the Roman road which joins the same places. These run almost parallel, the first passing through Moseley, King's Heath and Wythall Heath, the second through Stirchley Street and Walker's Heath.

"The ground is hilly, being 400 ft. above the ordnance datum on the banks of the Rea, and varying from that to a height of about 600 ft. near Weatheroak Hill. The trade, and consequently the population, of the parish have increased enormously during the last century. Thus in 1831 the population was 3,977, while in 1891 it had increased to 17,750 and in 1901 to 35,790. The most populous parts are Moseley and King's Heath, which are the nearest to Birmingham. The chief manufactures are paper, metal and ammunition, gun-barrels and screws. Cadbury's cocoa and chocolate are made at the Bournville factory near Stirchley Street.

"King's Norton is rapidly developing the monotonous appearance inseparable from the suburbs of a large town, though the older portion near the church still retains something of its original character. The houses are here grouped about a green stretching almost the length of the village, with the church standing in a large churchyard at the north-west corner."

Facts from the above article and from Wikipedia have been used to write the brief political history of Kings Norton that introduce this page. The Victoria County History continues with description of the various manors which existed in the parish and the families which inhabited them.

Two industries mentioned in the VCH article: chocolate and the building of weapons, different as they may be, were the most important in the growth of Birmingham during the 20th century.

Research Tips

• Ordnance Survey Maps of England and Wales - Revised: Worcestershire illustrates the parish boundaries of Worcestershire when rural districts were still in existence and before the West Midlands came into being. The map publication year is 1931. The map blows up to show all the parishes and many of the small villages and hamlets. Maps in this series are now downloadable for personal use.
• British History Online has a large collection of local maps from the Ordnance Survey 1883-1893. These blow up to a size that permits viewing of individual hamlets, farms, collieries, but there is no overlapping of one map to the next, and no overall map to tie the individual ones together.
• British History Online also has three volumes of the Victoria County History of Worcestershire online. Volume 3 (published in 1913) deals with the Halfshire Hundred; Volume 4 (published in 1924) deals with the City of Worcester, as well as parishes in the hundreds of Pershore and Doddingtree. Volume 2 covers religious houses in the county. The remainder of the county is not represented in the British History Online series.
• GENUKI makes a great many suggestions as to other websites with worthwhile information about Worcestershire as well as leading to a collection of 19th century descriptions of each of the ecclesiastical parishes.
• The FamilySearch Wiki provides a similar information service to GENUKI which may be more up-to-date. An index of parishes leads to notes and references for each parish. The auxiliary website English Jurisdictions can also be helpful.
• Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service, The Hive, Sawmill Walk, The Butts, Worcester WR1 3PD (Telephone: 01905 822866, e-mail: archive@worcestershire.gov.uk) The Archives Collections Catalog Summary outlines the contents of the Archives Collection and also notes on what has been transferred to the national online service Access to Archives
• The Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry has a branch in Bromsgrove which deals in Worcestershire family history. There are also branches at Stourbridge and Worcester.
• The Midlands Historical Data project produces searchable facsimile copies of old local history books and directories of interest to genealogists. It specialises in the three counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire, working closely with libraries, archives and family history societies in the area. Digital images are made freely available to participating organisations to improve public access. Free search index on its web-site to all its books. In many cases payment will be required to see the extract.
• A Vision of Britain through Time has

1. organization charts of the hierarchies of parishes within hundreds, registration districts and rural and urban districts of the 20th century
2. excerpts from a gazetteer of circa 1870 outlining individual towns and parishes
3. reviews of population through the time period 1800-1960

• Brett Langston's list of Worcestershire Registration Districts and parishes within each registration district from 1837 to the present can indicate where to find details of civil registration entries since the process began in England.
• More local sources can often be found by referring to "What Links Here" in the column on the left.

• Victoria County Histories, Worcestershire, Volume 3, originally published 1913 on King's Norton, provided by British History Online.