Selly Oak

This fascinating collection of 200 photographs forms a pictorial history of Selly Oak over the last century. The manors of Selly are mentioned in Domesday Book but the name of Selly Oak first appeared in the early eighteenth century, probably as the Bristol Road was turnpiked. The area became an attractive one for those who had profited from expanding industry in the area and wanted a more rural lifestyle. The nineteenth century saw the gradual disappearance of farms with increasing industrialisation and by 1911 Selly Oak had officially became a suburb of Birmingham. From the mid-twentieth century, as older industries declined, the impact of the expanding university has been increasingly felt and the twenty-first century will bring further changes: the building of a new hospital will significantly affect the local road network, and there are plans to reopen a section of the Dudley Canal and to recreate the canal basin for tourist purposes. This timely record of the area was compiled by members of Selly Oak Local History Group using photographs drawn from their own archives and those of Birmingham Central Library.