Barston in the context of "Balsall Common"

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⭐ Core Definition: Barston

Barston is a village and civil parish in Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands of England. It is approximately 4.5 miles (7 km) east of Solihull and is located inside a large meander of the River Blythe, at the western edge of the Meriden Gap, and midway between the far larger villages of Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden. The nearest large city is Birmingham, 11 miles (18 km) away to the west. According to the 2001 UK Census, the parish had a population of 499, increasing to 533 at the 2011 Census.

Barston is an affluent village with many historic buildings, some of which are timber-framed. The Church of St. Swithin is a Church of England church which dates from 1721, and is built on the site of an earlier church. The village also possesses two pubs, The Bulls Head Archived 14 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine and The Malt Shovel, and about 50 residential properties. The Barston Memorial Institute, opposite the Bulls Head, hosts many village activities with a Friday night youth club and regular Art Classes as well as the Barston WI and U3A meetings. There is no bus service or any other form of public transport in the village, although an abandoned bus stop still exists at the end of the central road of Barston, Oak Lane, which is left over from an old-school service from the 1970s and 1980s. Next to the bus stop is an old-fashioned red phone box.

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Barston in the context of River Blythe

The River Blythe flows through the English Midlands from central Warwickshire, through the Borough of Solihull and on to Coleshill in north Warwickshire. It runs along the Meriden Gap in the Midlands Plateau, is fed by the River Cole and is a tributary of the River Tame beside the West Midland Bird Club's Ladywalk reserve. This then joins the River Trent, whose waters reach the North Sea via the Humber Estuary.

The river rises at various sources near Earlswood Lakes, but the principal tributary is listed as Spring Brook (52°21′03″N 1°50′37″W / 52.350915°N 1.843601°W / 52.350915; -1.843601; grid reference SP107725). From here it winds north east, skirting Cheswick Green, towards Solihull. Here it passes through a local wildlife park, Malvern and Brueton Park and Nature Reserve, where it briefly splits/outpours for approximately 250 metres to form Brueton Park Lake. From here it meanders east, past several old country houses—Old Berry Hall, Ravenshaw Hall and Eastcote Hall—before turning sharply south towards Barston, which is encircled within a large meander of the river. At Temple Balsall the Cuttle Brook feeds the river, which now arcs north, and again close by Barston. Past Hampton in Arden the river is fed by Shadow Brook, at Diddington Hall. Travelling further north it passes to the east of Coleshill, and is fed by the River Cole, only a few hundred yards before it itself feeds into the River Tame (52°31′20″N 1°41′18″W / 52.522317°N 1.688242°W / 52.522317; -1.688242; grid reference SP212916), at Ladywalk Nature Reserve.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← River Blythe
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Village → Civil parish → Metropolitan Borough of Solihull → West Midlands (county) → England → Solihull → Meander → River Blythe → Meriden Gap → Balsall Common → Hampton-in-Arden → Birmingham → 2001 UK Census → Church of England → Church (building) → Wayback Machine → Women's Institutes → U3A →