Aston
Encyclopedia
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham
, in the West Midlands
of England
. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre
, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood
.
in 1086 as "Estone", having a mill, a priest and therefore probably a church, woodland and ploughland. The Church of SS Peter & Paul, Aston was built in medieval times to replace an earlier church. The body of the church was rebuilt by J. A. Chatwin during the period 1879 to 1890; the 15th century tower and spire, which was partly rebuilt in 1776, being the only survivors of the medieval building.
The ancient parish of Aston (known as Aston juxta Birmingham) was large. It was separated from the parish of Birmingham by AB Row, which currently exists in the Eastside
of the city at just 50 yards in length. It was partly included in the borough of Birmingham in 1838, and a further part, Saltley
was added in 1891.
Old buildings which became popular within Aston included the Aston Hippodrome
and the Bartons Arms
public house
. Gospel Hall on Park Lane was opened in 1892 and demolished in the 1970s to be rebuilt at the top of Park Lane in 1979. The original hall had a seating capacity of 73. Another meeting place was the Ellen Knox Memorial Hall which was next door to the Midland Vinegar Brewery. The brewery was owned by the Midland Brewery Company was built around 1877. It was located on Upper Thomas Street. The brewery was a three storey brick building with rounded corners and semi-circular windows. The roof was slated. Other industry that was located in Aston include the Premier Motor Works which produced car
s during the early 20th century. The works were situated at the junction of Aston Road and Dartmouth Street. On Miller Street was a tramcar depot which had a storage capacity of 104 tramcars. It opened in 1904.
Aston underwent large scale redevelopment following World War II
. South Aston was designated a renewal area whilst a new town to the west of this. This became "Newtown
" and is a large estate consisting of sixteen tower blocks, five of which have since been demolished. The project was approved in 1968. Three 20 storey tower blocks on the complex contained 354 flats alone.
Today, Aston is famous for Aston Villa F.C.
and Aston University
(the campus of which is not in Aston but actually located to the far south of Aston in Birmingham city centre). Aston University is one of three universities in Birmingham. Aston Villa have played at Villa Park
since 1897, and it has traditionally been one of the largest football grounds in England that has staged many notable matches at club and international level. The park has also hosted other sports and events including international level rugby league
and rugby union
.
Much of Aston consists of terraced houses that were built around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Some of these houses were demolished in the late 1960s to make way for the Aston Expressway, which links Birmingham city centre to the M6 motorway
. In the late 1950s, Aston was the location of the famous 'Venus Baby' case of Cynthia Appleton (87 Fentham Road).
By the early 1980s, Aston was suffering from severe deprivation with many of the terraced houses being outdated for the requirements of the time. Many of them lacked bathrooms and indoor toilets, whilst the vast majority were suffering from decay as a result of a lack of maintenance. There was speculation that the homes would be demolished, but Birmingham City Council made money available to the homeowners for them to be brought up to modern standards.
In recent years, Aston has been the location of racial tensions due to the high number of immigrants, mainly Pakistan
i and Afro-Caribbean
. The crime rate is higher than the city average and higher than the UK average and is one the most high crime and deprived places in the UK and many high profile incidents have been reported in national news outlets. On 2 January 2003, gunmen shot at three innocent teenage girls who were celebrating the New Year in the Lozells
area of Aston. Two of the girls were killed and another was seriously injured. More than 18 bullets were fired from at least two weapons.Four men were later tried and found guilty of murder in March 2005. Marcus Ellis (the half-brother of one of the two dead girls), Nathan Martin and Michael Gregory were sentenced to life imprisonment
with recommended minimum terms of 35 years on two charges of murder and three of attempted murder. A fourth man, Rodrigo Simms, received life with a recommended minimum of 27 years for the same crimes.A fifth defendant, Jermaine Carty, had walked free from court after being cleared of possessing a firearm.The four men convicted were members of a notorious local gang known as the Burger Bar Boys, who had been trying to gain revenge on members of their rival gang the Johnson Crew - a notorious local gang with roots stretching back to the mid 1980s
.
Gun and knife crime is still heavily present in Aston.
Capgemini
have a major technical centre located in Aston.
by the Labour Party
candidates who were subsequently removed from the council. In a subsequent by-election, all three council seats were gained from Labour by Liberal Democrat
candidates. In 2006 Labour recovered one of the three seats it lost as a result of the affair and one of the remaining Liberal Democrat councillors, Abdul Aziz, defected to the Respect Party. Aston is therefore now represented by one Labour, one Liberal Democrat, and one Respect councillor.
Aston has adopted a Ward Support Officer with the current holder of the title being Pat Whyte.
The 2001 Population Census
found that 27,917 people were living in Aston with a population density of 4,185 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. 50.4% of the population was female and 49.6% was male. This was above and below the national and city average respectively.
Aston has an area of 6.4 km²/ 451.5 hectares. Aston is a very diverse community, ethnically, with 70.6% (19,030) of the area's population being of an ethnic minority compared with 29.6% for Birmingham. 36.9% of the population was born outside the United Kingdom, over double the city average of 16.5% and nearly four times the national average of 9.3%. The largest ethnic group was Asian at 49.8%. More specifically, the Pakistani ethnic group was the largest at 27.2%. White British was the second largest ethnic group at 26.00% and Black British was third with 21.51%. The smallest broad ethnic group was Chinese and Other at 2.2%, double the city average of 1.1%. Islam
was the most prominent religion in the ward with 44.3% of the ward's population stating themselves as Muslim. Christianity
was the second most prominent religion in Aston at 32.4%.
The ethnic make-up of the area drastically changed in the 1950s
and 1960s
with immigration from the Commonwealth
. Most of the immigrants were from the Indian subcontinent
, though a significant number were from the Caribbean
.
A total 99% of the residents lived in households, above the city average of 98.3% and the national average of 98.2%. 1% lived in communal establishments. There was a total of 9,939 occupied households in Aston at the time of the census resulting in an average of 2.8 people per household, above the city average of 2.5 and the national average of 2.4. 37.7% of households were owner occupied, below the city average of 60.4%. 33.5% of households were rented from Birmingham City Council, above the city average of 19.4%. 454 households were stated as being vacant. 41.7% of the total households were stated as terraced, above the city average of 31.3%. 28.2% of households were stated as purpose built blocks of flats, just over double the national average of 14%.
11.6% of the population was of a pensionable age, below the city average of 16.7% and the national average of 18.4%. 57.7% were of a working age, below both the city and national average. The largest age group in the ward was 25-44 at 28.1%, compared with the city average of 28.3%. This age group is also the largest for Birmingham and the country.
46.7% of the residents were in full time employment, below the city average of 59.9% and the national average of 61%. At 20.6%, Aston had an above average unemployment rate with the city average being 9.5% and the national average 5%. 35% were in long term unemployment, below the city average of 36.3% but above the national average of 30.3%. 20.2% had never worked. The manufacturing industry provided the most employment to the ward at 18.2%.
and Aston Manor School
. There are seven primary schools: Aston Tower Community Primary School, Birchfield Community School, Lozells Junior & Infant & Nursery School, Manor Park Primary School, Mansfield Green Community School, Prince Albert Junior and Infant School and Yew Tree Community School.
, and there is a campus of City College, Birmingham there. Aston Manor Brewery was started in Thimblemill Lane in 1982 by former employees of Ansell's after Ansell's Aston Brewery closed.
From 1956 to 1969, Aston Cross was the Midlands base of television broadcaster ATV which had its Alpha Studios on Aston Road North. The ATV office building later became the studios of radio stations BRMB and XTRA-AM. Although both stations moved to Birmingham's Broad Street in the early 1990s, the building is still called Radio House. Launching in February 1974, BRMB was the UK's fourth commercial radio station and, while in Aston, was the most listened to station in the West Midlands.
Various musicians have lived in Aston with the lead singer of Black Sabbath
, Ozzy Osbourne
, being one of the most famous of these. Bandmates Tony Iommi
, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler
were all born and raised in the area. Albert Ketèlbey
, composer, conductor and pianist, was born in Aston on August 9, 1875. R&B singer Jamelia
lived for a short period in Aston.
Leicester City F.C.
winger Lloyd Dyer
was born in Aston and Gustard was also a resident.
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre
Birmingham City Centre
Birmingham city centre is the business, retail and leisure hub of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is newly defined as being the area within the Middle Ring Road. Birmingham city centre is undergoing massive redevelopment with the Big City Plan...
, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood
Ladywood
Ladywood is an inner-city area in Birmingham, England. It is a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Ladywood ward and the wards of Aston, Nechells and Soho. In June 2004, Birmingham City Council conducted a city-wide "Ward Boundary...
.
History
Aston was first mentioned in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1086 as "Estone", having a mill, a priest and therefore probably a church, woodland and ploughland. The Church of SS Peter & Paul, Aston was built in medieval times to replace an earlier church. The body of the church was rebuilt by J. A. Chatwin during the period 1879 to 1890; the 15th century tower and spire, which was partly rebuilt in 1776, being the only survivors of the medieval building.
The ancient parish of Aston (known as Aston juxta Birmingham) was large. It was separated from the parish of Birmingham by AB Row, which currently exists in the Eastside
Eastside, Birmingham
Eastside is a district of Birmingham City Centre, England currently undergoing a major redevelopment project. The overall cost when completed is expected to be £6–8 billion over a period of ten years which will result in the creation of 12,000 jobs. 8,000 jobs are expected to be created during the...
of the city at just 50 yards in length. It was partly included in the borough of Birmingham in 1838, and a further part, Saltley
Saltley
Saltley is an inner-city area of Birmingham, east of the city centre. The area is currently part of the Washwood Heath ward, although formerly a feature of the Nechells ward...
was added in 1891.
Aston Hippodrome
The Aston Hippodrome , also known as The Hipp, was a popular theatre in the Aston area of Birmingham, England.It was opened to the public on December 7, 1908 after the completion of construction at a cost of £10,000...
and the Bartons Arms
Bartons Arms
The Bartons Arms is a pub in the High Street in the Newtown area of Aston, Birmingham, England.Built in 1901 by noted pub architects partnership James and Lister Lea for Mitchells & Butlers, it is a grade II* listed building, famous for its wall-to-wall Minton-Hollins tiles and its snob screens,...
public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
. Gospel Hall on Park Lane was opened in 1892 and demolished in the 1970s to be rebuilt at the top of Park Lane in 1979. The original hall had a seating capacity of 73. Another meeting place was the Ellen Knox Memorial Hall which was next door to the Midland Vinegar Brewery. The brewery was owned by the Midland Brewery Company was built around 1877. It was located on Upper Thomas Street. The brewery was a three storey brick building with rounded corners and semi-circular windows. The roof was slated. Other industry that was located in Aston include the Premier Motor Works which produced car
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...
s during the early 20th century. The works were situated at the junction of Aston Road and Dartmouth Street. On Miller Street was a tramcar depot which had a storage capacity of 104 tramcars. It opened in 1904.
Aston underwent large scale redevelopment following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. South Aston was designated a renewal area whilst a new town to the west of this. This became "Newtown
Newtown, Birmingham
Newtown is an inner city area of Birmingham, England, to the north of the city centre. It is located in the Aston council ward, in the council constituency of Ladywood. The housing in the area is made up of a number of tower blocks, maisonettes and terraced houses.Newtown is centred around the busy...
" and is a large estate consisting of sixteen tower blocks, five of which have since been demolished. The project was approved in 1968. Three 20 storey tower blocks on the complex contained 354 flats alone.
Today, Aston is famous for Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
and Aston University
Aston University
Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...
(the campus of which is not in Aston but actually located to the far south of Aston in Birmingham city centre). Aston University is one of three universities in Birmingham. Aston Villa have played at Villa Park
Villa Park
Villa Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...
since 1897, and it has traditionally been one of the largest football grounds in England that has staged many notable matches at club and international level. The park has also hosted other sports and events including international level rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
and rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
.
Much of Aston consists of terraced houses that were built around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Some of these houses were demolished in the late 1960s to make way for the Aston Expressway, which links Birmingham city centre to the M6 motorway
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
. In the late 1950s, Aston was the location of the famous 'Venus Baby' case of Cynthia Appleton (87 Fentham Road).
By the early 1980s, Aston was suffering from severe deprivation with many of the terraced houses being outdated for the requirements of the time. Many of them lacked bathrooms and indoor toilets, whilst the vast majority were suffering from decay as a result of a lack of maintenance. There was speculation that the homes would be demolished, but Birmingham City Council made money available to the homeowners for them to be brought up to modern standards.
In recent years, Aston has been the location of racial tensions due to the high number of immigrants, mainly Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i and Afro-Caribbean
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
. The crime rate is higher than the city average and higher than the UK average and is one the most high crime and deprived places in the UK and many high profile incidents have been reported in national news outlets. On 2 January 2003, gunmen shot at three innocent teenage girls who were celebrating the New Year in the Lozells
Lozells
Lozells is a loosely-defined inner-city area in the West of Birmingham, England. It is centred on Lozells Road, and is known for its multi-racial population. It is part of the ward of Lozells and East Handsworth and lies between the districts of Handsworth and Aston.Lozells has a high population...
area of Aston. Two of the girls were killed and another was seriously injured. More than 18 bullets were fired from at least two weapons.Four men were later tried and found guilty of murder in March 2005. Marcus Ellis (the half-brother of one of the two dead girls), Nathan Martin and Michael Gregory were sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
with recommended minimum terms of 35 years on two charges of murder and three of attempted murder. A fourth man, Rodrigo Simms, received life with a recommended minimum of 27 years for the same crimes.A fifth defendant, Jermaine Carty, had walked free from court after being cleared of possessing a firearm.The four men convicted were members of a notorious local gang known as the Burger Bar Boys, who had been trying to gain revenge on members of their rival gang the Johnson Crew - a notorious local gang with roots stretching back to the mid 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
.
Gun and knife crime is still heavily present in Aston.
Capgemini
Capgemini
Capgemini is a French global IT services company, one of the world's largest management consulting, outsourcing and professional services companies with a staff of 114,274 operating in 40 countries. It is headquartered in Paris and was founded in 1967 by Serge Kampf, the current chairman, in...
have a major technical centre located in Aston.
Politics
The 2004 Council Election was marred by vote riggingRichard Mawrey
Richard Mawrey QC is a barrister and Deputy High Court Judge in the United Kingdom. He is a bencher of Gray's Inn and a member of Henderson Chambers...
by the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidates who were subsequently removed from the council. In a subsequent by-election, all three council seats were gained from Labour by Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
candidates. In 2006 Labour recovered one of the three seats it lost as a result of the affair and one of the remaining Liberal Democrat councillors, Abdul Aziz, defected to the Respect Party. Aston is therefore now represented by one Labour, one Liberal Democrat, and one Respect councillor.
Aston has adopted a Ward Support Officer with the current holder of the title being Pat Whyte.
Demographics
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
found that 27,917 people were living in Aston with a population density of 4,185 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. 50.4% of the population was female and 49.6% was male. This was above and below the national and city average respectively.
Aston has an area of 6.4 km²/ 451.5 hectares. Aston is a very diverse community, ethnically, with 70.6% (19,030) of the area's population being of an ethnic minority compared with 29.6% for Birmingham. 36.9% of the population was born outside the United Kingdom, over double the city average of 16.5% and nearly four times the national average of 9.3%. The largest ethnic group was Asian at 49.8%. More specifically, the Pakistani ethnic group was the largest at 27.2%. White British was the second largest ethnic group at 26.00% and Black British was third with 21.51%. The smallest broad ethnic group was Chinese and Other at 2.2%, double the city average of 1.1%. Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
was the most prominent religion in the ward with 44.3% of the ward's population stating themselves as Muslim. Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
was the second most prominent religion in Aston at 32.4%.
The ethnic make-up of the area drastically changed in the 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
and 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
with immigration from the Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
. Most of the immigrants were from the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, though a significant number were from the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
A total 99% of the residents lived in households, above the city average of 98.3% and the national average of 98.2%. 1% lived in communal establishments. There was a total of 9,939 occupied households in Aston at the time of the census resulting in an average of 2.8 people per household, above the city average of 2.5 and the national average of 2.4. 37.7% of households were owner occupied, below the city average of 60.4%. 33.5% of households were rented from Birmingham City Council, above the city average of 19.4%. 454 households were stated as being vacant. 41.7% of the total households were stated as terraced, above the city average of 31.3%. 28.2% of households were stated as purpose built blocks of flats, just over double the national average of 14%.
11.6% of the population was of a pensionable age, below the city average of 16.7% and the national average of 18.4%. 57.7% were of a working age, below both the city and national average. The largest age group in the ward was 25-44 at 28.1%, compared with the city average of 28.3%. This age group is also the largest for Birmingham and the country.
46.7% of the residents were in full time employment, below the city average of 59.9% and the national average of 61%. At 20.6%, Aston had an above average unemployment rate with the city average being 9.5% and the national average 5%. 35% were in long term unemployment, below the city average of 36.3% but above the national average of 30.3%. 20.2% had never worked. The manufacturing industry provided the most employment to the ward at 18.2%.
Education
There are three secondary schools in Aston: Broadway School (Broadway has also got a campus in Perry Barr), King Edward VI AstonKing Edward VI Aston
King Edward VI Aston School is a selective, all-boys' grammar school and specialist Sports College. The school, designed by Birmingham architect J.A. Chatwin, opened in 1883 and is still located on its original site, in the Aston area of Birmingham, England....
and Aston Manor School
Aston Manor School
Aston Manor Academy is a mixed-sex secondary school in the Aston area of Birmingham, England. The school serves approximately 730 pupils aged 11–16. Due in part to the fact that it is situated in Aston, it has children from a wide variety of ethnic minority groups...
. There are seven primary schools: Aston Tower Community Primary School, Birchfield Community School, Lozells Junior & Infant & Nursery School, Manor Park Primary School, Mansfield Green Community School, Prince Albert Junior and Infant School and Yew Tree Community School.
Aston Cross
Aston Cross was once the home of Ansells Brewery and HP SauceHP Sauce
HP Sauce is a popular brown sauce originally produced by HP Foods in the UK, now produced by H.J. Heinz in the Netherlands.It is the best-known brand of brown sauce in the United Kingdom and Canada as well as the best selling, with 71% of the UK market....
, and there is a campus of City College, Birmingham there. Aston Manor Brewery was started in Thimblemill Lane in 1982 by former employees of Ansell's after Ansell's Aston Brewery closed.
From 1956 to 1969, Aston Cross was the Midlands base of television broadcaster ATV which had its Alpha Studios on Aston Road North. The ATV office building later became the studios of radio stations BRMB and XTRA-AM. Although both stations moved to Birmingham's Broad Street in the early 1990s, the building is still called Radio House. Launching in February 1974, BRMB was the UK's fourth commercial radio station and, while in Aston, was the most listened to station in the West Midlands.
Places of interest
- Aston Expressway
- Aston HallAston HallAston Hall is a municipally owned Jacobean-style mansion in Aston, Birmingham, England. Washington Irving used it as the model for Bracebridge Hall in his stories in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.-History:...
- Aston UniversityAston UniversityAston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...
- Aston Villa Football ClubAston Villa F.C.Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
and Villa ParkVilla ParkVilla Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County... - Aston ReservoirAston ReservoirAston Reservoir, sometimes known as Salford Lake, Salford Park Pool or Salford Bridge Reservoir, is a 19th-century reservoir, formerly used for drinking water extracted from the River Tame, in Birmingham, England. It was built by the Birmingham Waterworks Company and was at that time situated in...
- Spaghetti JunctionGravelly Hill InterchangeGravelly Hill Interchange, better known by its nickname Spaghetti Junction, is junction 6 of the M6 motorway where it meets the A38 Aston Expressway in Birmingham, England.- Overview :...
- King Edward VI AstonKing Edward VI AstonKing Edward VI Aston School is a selective, all-boys' grammar school and specialist Sports College. The school, designed by Birmingham architect J.A. Chatwin, opened in 1883 and is still located on its original site, in the Aston area of Birmingham, England....
- Former Norton motorcycle factoryNorton (motorcycle)Norton is a British motorcycle marque, originally from Birmingham, founded in 1898 as a manufacturer of "fittings and parts for the two-wheel trade". By 1902, they had begun manufacturing motorcycles with bought-in engines. In 1908, a Norton-built engine was added to the range...
- Church of SS Peter & Paul, Aston
Notable residents
Famous people who have lived in Aston include:- Victor JohnsonVictor Johnson (cyclist)Victor Louis Johnson, Vic Johnson, was a British track cycling racer who, in 1908, won a gold medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics; became 'World Amateur Sprint Champion' and the 'British National Quarter-mile Champion'....
, (1883–1951) was a track cycling racer who, in 1908, won a gold medal at the Olympics; became 'World Amateur Sprint Champion' and the 'British National Quarter-mile Champion'. - The author Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, who worked in the area for a short period. - John Benjamin StoneJohn Benjamin StoneSir John Benjamin Stone , known as Benjamin, was a British Conservative politician, and noted photographer.Stone was born in Aston, Birmingham the son of a local glass manufacturer...
, a politician and prolific photographer, was born in Aston and took over his father's glass manufacturing business in the area upon his death.
Various musicians have lived in Aston with the lead singer of Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, being one of the most famous of these. Bandmates Tony Iommi
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and its sole continual member through multiple personnel changes.Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in...
, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler
Geezer Butler
Geezer Butler is an English musician and songwriter. Butler is best known as the bassist and lyricist of heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He was also involved in Heaven & Hell from 2006 to 2010.-Career:Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, with old friend John "Ozzy" Osbourne in the autumn of...
were all born and raised in the area. Albert Ketèlbey
Albert Ketèlbey
Albert William Ketèlbey , born Ketelbey, was an English composer, conductor and pianist.-Biography:...
, composer, conductor and pianist, was born in Aston on August 9, 1875. R&B singer Jamelia
Jamelia
Jamelia Niela Davis , best known mononymously as Jamelia, is an English singer-songwriter, model, entertainer, television presenter and actress. She is most famous for her use of a cappella and prolific work in the R&B genre...
lived for a short period in Aston.
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
winger Lloyd Dyer
Lloyd Dyer
Lloyd Richard Dyer is an English footballer currently playing for Championship side Leicester City.-West Bromwich Albion:...
was born in Aston and Gustard was also a resident.