Sutton Coldfield
|
Sutton Coldfield constituency shown within Birmingham |
Sutton Coldfield is a part of the City of
Birmingham,
England. Until
1974 Sutton Coldfield was a
borough in its own right and ceremonially part of
Warwickshire, enjoying the title of "Royal Town".
Sutton (as it is often called) has a population of about
105,452, and forms the
Sutton Coldfield parliamentary constituency. The
Member of Parliament since
2001 is
Andrew Mitchell (
Conservative). It comprises the wards of
Sutton Four Oaks,
Sutton Trinity,
Sutton Vesey and
Sutton New Hall. Sutton Trinity ward was created in June 2004, at which time the other three wards' boundaries were changed. From
5 April 2004, it has been a
formal district, with many local services managed by a
district committee made up of all Sutton's councillors.
The town features two of the foremost Residential Estates in the Midlands,
Little Aston Park and the Four Oaks Estate, both home to the area's multi-million pound houses. The area in general is regarded as one of the most prestigious locations in the
West Midlands and Central England.
In
1528, a charter of
King Henry VIII gave the town the right to be known for ever as "The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield" and to be governed by a warden and society. This
unreformed corporation survived until
1885, when it was replaced by a
municipal borough. Altough the title "Royal Town" was still used, the municipality created in
1885 was not itself a
Royal Borough. The town and borough were cermonially part of
Warwickshire until
1974. The formal
Mayoral chains of office are now on display in
Birmingham Council House.
The area is home to
Sutton Park,
Sutton Coldfield Town F.C., and
Sutton Coldfield television transmitter, the first
television transmitter outside London. Just outside Sutton Coldfield is
The Belfry, a hotel with a renowned
golf complex whose Brabazon course has hosted the
Ryder Cup several times. Other notable hotels include
New Hall Hotel,
Moor Hall Hotel,
Moxhull Hall Hotel, and
Ramada Hotel and Resort
Penns Hall.
Linked by regular and fast services from
Sutton Coldfield railway station on the
Cross-City Line to the centre of Birmingham, Sutton is mostly a commuter dormitory town for people who work in Birmingham. The
1955 Sutton Coldfield rail crash occurred here.
The
Roman road Icknield Street crosses
Sutton Park to the west of the town. Nowadays, the town is bypassed to the north by the
M6 Toll, the first toll motorway in the UK. The
A38 used to run through the centre of the town but now uses the bypass to the east. The former route of the A38 is now the A5127.
Sutton has produced several celebrities including:
*
Colin Charvis -
Welsh international rugby player
*
Cat Deeley - TV presenter
*
Rory Delap - footballer
*
Kate Gerbeau (née Sanderson) - TV presenter
*
Rob Halford - lead singer of
Judas Priest*
James and Oliver Phelps - actors, play the Weasley twins in the
Harry Potter series of films
*
Jane Sixsmith - sportswoman
*
Darius Vassell - footballer
*
Dorian Yates - six times Mr Olympia Bodybuilding World ChampionMany of them still live within the town.
Adventure Soft Publishing operates from within the town; they have produced the successful
Simon the Sorcerer series of games.
*
Sutton Coldfield Community Network*
Birmingham City Council's Sutton Coldfield pages*
Sutton Coldfield Library*
Sutton Coldfield College
