This blog is aimed at providing you with some basic information about Solihull, which is a large town that lies in the centre of England within the county of West Midlands. It is the largest town in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull and contributes to almost 50% to the population of the Borough with about 100,000 inhabitants. Solihull is also the administrative centre of the Borough.
In terms of its history, the name of Solihull was derived from the Anglo-Saxon times and connotes muddy or “soily hill”. This stems from the fact that it is located on a hill of stiff red soil that turn to sticky mud in wet weather. Therefore from “soily hill” it ultimately ended up being titled Solihull with the residents being labelled as Silhillians.
Historians believe that Solihull came into being over a thousand years ago and started as a result of a clearing in the forest where people gathered to trade. It then became a market centre and with population and economic growth it was classed as an Urban District before being promoted to a Municipal Borough. With further growth it eventually became a County Borough in 1964 and is part of what forms the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. Around this same time, it got transferred from the county of Warwickshire to West Midlands. Other districts in the metropolitan borough include the nearby Shirley, Knowle, Dorridge, Balsall Common, Castle Bromwich and Chelmsley Wood (North Solihull).
In terms of its physical presence, Solihull is very favourably located with Birmingham city just 9 miles in the north westerly direction and with London about 110miles to the south. Solihull is just a few miles off the M42 motorway and very close to visitor attractions such as Cadbury World, National Motor Cycle Museum, Sea Life Centre and the National Exhibition Centre. Solihull is positioned at the centre of air, rail and road networks that joins every part of the United Kingdom, Europe and the world.
As majority of the Solihull area falls in the Green Belt it has a profusion of parks and open air public spaces. This sort of surrounding assists it to live up to its reputation of ‘Urbs in Rure’ which can be translated as ‘the town in the country’. It definitely lives up to that reputation as it gives the residents the best of both worlds. Though Solihull has evolved mainly due to commerce and is built on history, it is definitely one of the greenest and most pleasant countryside in England
If you live in and around the Solihull area or if you would like to visit the area, you can visit Activ Solihull for all the information you need. Activ Solihull is a comprehensive online guide to Solihull as it provides a directory of local businesses in Solihull, jobs in Solihull, cars for sale in Solihull, property in Solihull, shopping in Solihull, dating in Solihull, hotels in Solihull, community events and news from Solihull.
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