Metropolitan Borough of Solihull (Solihull)
Since 2011, Solihull has formed part of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership along with neighbouring authorities Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Redditch, Tamworth and Wyre Forest.
Solihull probably derived its name from a 'miry or muddy' or soily hill. The parish church was built on a hill of stiff red marl, which turned to sticky mud in wet weather.
In 1894, Solihull (including the parishes of Shirley, Baddesley Clinton, Barston, Lapworth, Balsall, Bushwood, Elmdon, Knowle, Nuthurst, Packwood and Tanworth-in-Arden) was made into the Solihull Rural District in the county of Warwickshire. In 1932 some of its rural areas were taken away when the RDC was succeeded by Solihull Urban District Council. Expansion continued and Queen Elizabeth II granted a charter in 1954 making Solihull into a Municipal Borough; ten years later it was given the status of County Borough. Reorganisation of boundaries and council responsibilities in 1974 created the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull by the merger of the Solihull County Borough and most of the Meriden Rural District, which forms the main rural part of the borough and county. It included Balsall Common, Barston, Berkswell, Bickenhill, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Elmdon, Fordbridge, Hampton in Arden, Hockley Heath, Kingshurst, Knowle, Marston Green, Meriden, Olton, Smiths Wood, Solihull, Shirley and Temple Balsall.
In 1986 the Solihull borough effectively became a unitary authority when the West Midlands County Council was abolished. It remains part of the West Midlands for ceremonial purposes, and for functions such as police, fire and public transport. There is some support to return the borough to Warwickshire for ceremonial purposes, as was the case when the County of Avon was abolished and Bath was returned to Somerset. There were also complaints that Solihull was not involved in the design of the Warwickshire flag in 2016.
Map - Metropolitan Borough of Solihull (Solihull)
Map
Country - United_Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom |
The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 formed the Kingdom of Great Britain. Its union in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which formally adopted that name in 1927. The nearby Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown Dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation. There are also 14 British Overseas Territories, the last remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and a third of the world's population, and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and the legal and political systems of many of its former colonies.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
GBP | Pound sterling | £ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |
GD | Gaelic language |
CY | Welsh language |