Origins
From 'Nortune' to Kings Norton
Kings Norton appears in Domesday as 'Nortune' of Bromsgrove and later became a separate royal manor.
Discover more →Beyond today's headlines
Discover Kings Norton
Local history, places and properly sourced stories worth keeping.
15 stories and growing. Sourced local history, not filler.
Place
The Green: the heart of the old village
The Green preserves the village character that makes Kings Norton feel different from many outer Birmingham suburbs.
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Landmark
St Nicolas Church: the medieval landmark on the skyline
A Grade I medieval church whose tower and spire still dominate Kings Norton.
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Building
The Old Grammar School began life as a priest’s house
The Grade II* timber-framed school probably began as a priest’s house in the early 15th century.
Discover more →Unexpected history
The suffragettes who spared the Old Grammar School
Historic England records a remarkable 1913 suffragette incident at the Old Grammar School.
Discover more →Civil War
The Saracen’s Head and Queen Henrietta Maria
A late-medieval merchant’s house became tied to one of the most dramatic moments in Kings Norton’s Civil War story.
Discover more →Street name
Why Camp Lane is called Camp Lane
The name is linked by Birmingham City Council to the Royalist army camped in Kings Norton during the Civil War.
Discover more →Tradition
The Mop Fair: centuries of hiring, stalls and tradition
Kings Norton’s Mop Fair has roots in the hiring fairs of the 16th century.
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A market town built on wool, pottery and a 1616 charter
By the Tudor and early Stuart periods Kings Norton was developing as a trading and manufacturing centre.
Discover more →Engineering
The canal junction with a guillotine lock
At Kings Norton Junction two major canals meet beside an unusual stop lock designed to protect water levels.
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Railway
Kings Norton station has been carrying passengers since 1849
One of the oldest stations on today’s Cross-City Line grew into an important railway site.
Discover more →Industry
From corn mills to paper and chemicals at Lifford
The River Rea, canals and railway helped turn part of rural Kings Norton into an industrial district.
Discover more →Green space
Kings Norton Park: medieval landscape, civic gift
The park’s landscape has medieval roots, but its public future was secured in the 20th century.
Discover more →Living memory
How the Three Estates reshaped post-war Kings Norton
Pool Farm, Primrose Hill and Hawkesley grew from major post-war housing development on former farmland.
Discover more →Conservation
Why the old village centre is protected
The historic core around The Green has been protected as a conservation area since 1969.
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