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Dorridge

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 Dorridge is a small town in the West Midlands borough of Solihull, England.

Dorridge: The Forest Hotel

Location

Dorridge is to the East of the M40 and the South of the M42 which, along with a small but important green belt area, separates Dorridge and its neighbour Knowle from the greater urban area of Birmingham. It falls in the Meriden Gap and historically was part of Warwickshire. Indeed, there are no major towns between Dorridge and Warwick.

History

Dorridge did not exist as a community until the mid-nineteenth century, though it is mentioned as far back as the 1400s in the Westminister Muniments which recorded a place called 'Derrech'. It was just the name given to the ridge of land running westwards from Knowle ('Dorege').

In 1852 the railway was built by the Great Western Railway, originally in Brunel's preferred 7-foot gauge track. The station, which was originally called Knowle, and later Knowle and Dorridge, created the focal point for a new community. The Munz family granted the land for the railway on condition that a station was built. There is some folklore about the agreement that suggests that the railway was obliged to stop at Dorridge; however, with the affluent residents of Knowle and Dorridge, it was probably more a commercial practicality. In its heyday the train service ran between Paddington and and Birmingham with four tracks, but by the mid-1960s the passenger route was all but closed and it then dwindled into a single track route, with no through trains between London and Birmingham. The route was revived in the 1990s as part of the privatisation of British Rail and full dual track running was reinstated, and, in spite of being a small town, Dorridge still has the privilege of being one of the stops on the express service.

The development of Dorridge is strongly linked to the Muntz family, who lived in nearby Umberslade Hall. The Muntz family were descendants of Philip Fredrick Muntz, a French immigrant of the 18th century. Through industrial wealth, founded on a steel-making process, the family acquired a considerable estate in the area. Dorridge was not considered a district in its own right until 1940. At the turn of the 19th century, much of what is now Knowle Wood Road, (was then Packwood Road) was farmland with just a few substantial dwellings, similarly Avenue Road (which was then Warwick Road) had a handful of dwellings. By the 1930s the main Dorridge Triangle was properly established.

The Muntz family built and owned the Forest Hotel, and it is suggested that in part this was created as a stopover for themselves and guests to allow an early morning train departure to London. The Forest Hotel only recently left the Muntz family ownership.

Aside from the substantial family homes, there are a significant number of mansions, some of which such as Parkfield near the park, have now been converted into flats.

The development of Dorridge as a select residential area appears to have been under the guidance of the Muntz family. Indeed, there are many developments with covenants restricting developments — for example, the making of bricks or beer is banned on land in Knowle Wood Road based on the covenants for the original sale of land in the late 1800s.

A gasworks was developed on land that, as of 2005, is known as Eveson's, a fuel merchants, but this land is due to be developed into flats. Many of the buildings around the area that is now a Conservation Area — Station Approach — date back to the turn of the century or before, though aside from the Forest Court shopping centre and the HSBC Bank, the centre is essentially unchanged from the mid-1950s.

There was a substantial development in the 1960s around the area christened by estate agents as the "Golden Triangle" — alluding to the expensive and desirable housing of the area bounded by Dorridge Road, Avenue Road and Knowle Wood Road. In the late 1990s another substantial development was built in the area known as Four Ashes.

The architecture is a reflection of this development — there are some fine buildings from the Victorian era all around the area. Over the years, each period has then added buildings of its style — Avenue Road, for example, has a classic Art Deco house with rounded metal framed windows. Building sizes were restricted in the post-war era. Buildings in the 1960s, though of limited architectural merit, were built with large gardens, and owners have often since imposed character on these often plain houses. More modern developments have seen the move by developers to build apartment-style blocks, though there have also been several substantial, perhaps even disproportionately large, houses built, often on the site of much smaller houses and at the expense of the large gardens that still characterise the area.

Dorridge today

The station again fulfils an important role providing easy travel to London and Birmingham, for Dorridge and for numerous local villages such as Knowle, which do not have a train station, with Chiltern Railways having created an inter-city route out of the run-down remnants of what had become primarily a goods line.

Dorridge is neither urban nor a village. However, it sits right next to the Warwickshire countryside, with green fields being a short walk from the town centre.

It has a small shopping centre, a village hall, at least three churches and also an excellent primary school. It has a substantial park bordering the countryside. There are a few small restaurants, and three pubs: The Railway Inn (nowhere near the railway), the Forest Hotel (right next to the railway) and the Drum and Monkey near the Four Ashes estate.

Accomodation is available at the Forest Hotel and at Hogarths. Nearby is a golf driving range and a riding Club. It has two cricket clubs. It also has a tennis club. Solihull is just five minutes' drive away with its modern shopping centre, cinema and variety of sports facilities.

The property prices around Dorridge are amongst the highest in the West Midlands region, in part driven by the perception of desirability of the local state schools, the easy access to the main motorway system and the airport, as well as the train links mentioned earlier, but in part it is also a reflection of the well-spaced gardens and large houses. In 2005, several houses changed hands for over £1,000,000 according to the land registry.

There are a number of notable residents who live here or very nearby, Jasper Carrott, Sir Adrian Cadbury, Karen Brady Managing Director of Birmingham City F.C, Steve Bruce, manager of Birmingham City F.C., along with a number of other Premiership Football notables.

Dorridge is part of the Meridian constituency, MP Caroline Spelman who also lives nearby. Dorridge is regarded as a Conservative stronghold.

Community groups

Aside from the strong church communities, the town benefits from a Round Table, a Residents' Association, drama groups and youth organisations. Some of the organisations are shared with Knowle, such as the Sea Scouts.

Place of interest

Nearby there are the historic buildings of Packwood House and Baddersley Clinton now in the care of the National Trust, and the Grand Union Canal is in walking distance with both the Heron's Nest and Black Boy pubs being accessible. The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal also links in nearby.

A short distance away, Knowle has a 600 year-old church, and a number of buildings dating back to the 16th century, including a recreation of a Knot Garden.

The ancient town of Warwick is a short drive away, notable for its castle.

References

  • Around Knowle & Dorridge. Charles Lines. Alan Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0750908173
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