Bromford
| Bromford | |
|---|---|
 Bromford
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| Bromford shown within the West Midlands | |
| OS grid reference | SP115897 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIRMINGHAM |
| Postcode district | B36 |
| Dialling code | 0121 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Bromford is an industrial area of Birmingham, situated between Ward End, Alum Rock, Hodge Hill, Washwood Heath, Shard End, Stechford, Castle Bromwich and Tyburn.
In Old English, "Bromford" means "broom ford", signifying abundance of broom shrubs (or similar hard-wearing plants) and a location to cross the River Tame.
In the United Kingdom Census of 1841 the area was named as "Bromfield", however the exact location is uncertain.
Bromford has historically been associated with two main features – the river crossing (a bridge in the area was first documented in 1317) and a mill. Bromford Mill, serving nearby Erdington, was first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 and was a corn mill. At around 1600, it was converted to an iron mill – the last of Birmingham's mills to do so. In the Ordnance Survey map of 1864, the mill was annotated as Bromyard Forge; its use had changed from iron milling to paper milling and finally to wire drawing and steel rolling at approximately 1850. The production of steel continued in the surrounding area until the late 20th century.
The area covered by the Firs and Bromford Estates was originally farm land. With the growth of urbanization before the War (1939–1945) the process of ribbon development took place at the southern end of Chipperfield Road. The remainder of the Firs Estate area remained farm land, except for part that was developed into a golf course, the Club House being on the site of the present Comet Hotel. While this transformation was taking place on the Firs Estate, the present Bromford Estate was being developed into the Birmingham Racecourse.
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Wikipedia