Northfield - Take a tour with us!
Birmingham has much more to offer than its magnificent city centre. There are some fascinating places to experience out in the neighbourhoods. Here's a look at Northfield. Well worth a visit. For history, there's St Laurence's Church and the Great Stone. Victoria Common is a great open space and not far away is Manor Farm Park.
Take our article.
How to get to Northfield?
Take the no 61 or 63 bus from Birmingham and travel along Bristol Road South to Northfield High Street; catch a train on the Cross City Line to Northfield station; or take a cycle ride which will take in some great sights along the canal.
If travelling by train, we recommend you buy a ticket in advance using the West Midlands Railway app and you will get a QR code to scan at the ticket gates at Birmingham New Street. Paper tickets are still available to buy at the automatic ticket machines or at staffed ticket desks.
The train takes a scenic route via Five Ways, Birmingham University, Selly Oak and Bournville, before arriving at Northfield. Some sections of this run alongside the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.
Northfield Station
Welcome to Northfield Station. You get off the train at Platform 4. Head towards the exit via the subway. You can either take the exit towards Station Road, or via the subway head to the station building and exit at Copse Close via Quarry Lane.
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Take the Station Road exit if you want to head to the old Northfield Village, where you will find St Laurence's Church and the Great Stone Inn.
From Station Road, walk up to Church Hill Road. Walk under the railway bridge, until you get to St Laurence's Church.
St Laurence's Church
St Laurence's Church has origins going back to the 12th century, with elements dating from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. The church is part of a conservation area.
The last major change to the church took place in the year 1900, when G F Bodley built the north aisle in the 14th century style.
The major 13th century feature is the chancel. The south chancel and lower stage of the west tower also dates to the 13th Century.
A 4 bay octagonal pier arcade at the south chancel dates to the 14th Century.
The upper tower was built during the 15th Century.
The roof is most likely a 15th century replacement of an earlier 13th century nave roof.
The church has Royal Arms from the Hanoverian period. The church was built of sandstone.
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After the church, it is a short distance to the Great Stone Inn and the Village Pound, at the corner of Church Hill and Church Road.
The Great Stone and the Village Pound
The Great Stone Inn is an historic public house at the corner of Church Hill and Church Road.
The Inn probably dates back to the 18th century.
It is a timber-framed building with painted brick and a tile roof.
The Inn is close to St Laurence Church in the historic old Northfield village. It is now a traditional pub with a beer garden run by Great Pubs.
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A few meters away on Church Road is The Village Pound, and the current location of the historic Great Stone which the Inn was named after.
Dating back to the 17th century, The Village Pound was a high walled structure used to keep livestock in, such as stray cattle, pigs and sheep.
The Village Pound is now the home of the Great Stone, moved by Birmingham City Council to this site in 1954. It is a glacial bolder formed in a volcanic eruption 450 - 460 million years ago.
For generations The Great Stone was at the corner of Church Road and Church Hill in Northfield, where it protected the Inn wall. A glacial erratic bolder that was former in an explosive volcanic eruption during the Ordovician period, 450-460 million years ago. During the ice age, possibly up to 400,000 years ago, it was carried by an ice sheet from the Snowdon area of North Wales and deposited with many others around Northfield when the area was a frozen wasteland.
Birmingham City Council moved the boulder to this site in 1954 for road safety reasons.
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Next, we recommend taking a short walk up Church Road towards Great Stone Road.
Cross over the road at the traffic lights, then walk towards Northfield Library.
Walk up Meeting House Lane to get into Victoria Common Recreation Ground.
Victoria Common
This is a great recreation ground hidden behind Northfield Shopping Centre.
You will find playgrounds and tennis courts here plus paths for walking. There's plenty of green open spaces to enjoy.
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After your walk round Victoria Common head to the path that leads to the Bristol Road South, and walk down Northfield High Street for a bit of retail therapy.
You can alternatively walk down Sir Herbert Austin Way and pop into the Starbucks Coffee Drive Thru. Alternatively, there are many cafes and places to eat in Northfield.
If you fancy a meal in a traditional pub, in addition to the Great Stone Inn, there's The Black Horse located on Bristol Road South (near Frankley Beeches Road).
The Black Horse
The Black Horse opened on the 1st December1929 and was designed for the Davenport Brewery,by Francis Goldsbrough (from the local architectural practice of Bateman and Bateman).
The Black Horse is one of the largest and finest examples of a Brewer’s Tudor-style public house in the country.
It was registered a Grade II listed building in 1981. JD Wetherspoon refurbished the pub in May 2010.
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If you are not too full, next have a walk to Ley Hill Park. Leave the Black Horse, and head past Sainsbury's via Sir Herbert Austin Way. Or if you had a toastie or panini with your coffee at Starbucks, you just have to walk up Vineyard Road, past Bellfield Junior School. The park is at the top of the hill.
Ley Hill Park
You can enter this park from the entrance at Merritt's Brook Lane. Take any path you want for your walk, or walk onto the grass if it's not too wet. Head up to the top of the hill for views down to the Northfield High Street.
There is a play area, plus benches to sit on.
You can exit the park at Merritt's Hill and walk down the road towards Brookside.
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Now head into Merritt's Brook Greenway, and walk along the path, following the Merritt's Brook towards Bell Hill. Cross over the road at the traffic lights near Whitehill Lane and enter Manor Farm Park.
Manor Farm Park
This park was once the home of George and Elizabeth Cadbury, who lived at the Northfield Manor House (until their respective deaths).
The park opened to the public in 1951.
Follow the paths around the park with a 2 kilometre walking route. See our suggested trail HERE.
You will walk past a lake. The Manor House is nearby. The park also has a play area and old farm buildings. dndimg dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Manor%20Farm%20Park%20(April%202017)%20(1)%20.jpg" />
If you exit near the lake at New House Farm Drive, perhaps have a detour up to the Northfield Manor House? Just walk until you get to Manor House Drive.
Northfield Manor House
The original house was built in the early 1800s.
George Cadbury purchased the property in 1890, and he moved in with his wife Elizabeth in 1894.
They named it Manor Farm.
The lived here until his death in 1922 and her's in 1951.
The University of Birmingham took it over, and converted it into a hall of residence from 1958, but it ceased this function by 2007.
Years of dereliction lead to arsonists (teenagers) burning it down in 2014.
Partial demolition in 2015, followed by a full restoration between 2019 and 2021.
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Head down Manor House Drive, back onto New House Farm Drive and onto Bristol Road South.
Leave the park at Bristol Road South. A short walk away is another property once owned by George Cadbury. This is the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.
Royal Orthopaedic Hospital
A house called The Woodlands was built on this site around 1840.
It was later to become one of George Cadbury's homes, who in 1907 gave it to the then named "Cripples Children's Union".
After various mergers, what has now become known as the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, was firmly based on this site.
At one point they had an Outpatients Department on Broad Street at Islington House (this lasted until the end of the 20th century). One of the surgeons based here was Mr Naughton Dunn (from 1913 to 1939), who was a national pioneer and Birmingham's first orthopaedic specialist.
The hospital has been part of the NHS since it's founding in 1948.
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We hope you enjoyed this tour of Northfield.
If you have return tickets on the train, walk back to Northfield Station. Alternatively, head to a bus stop on Bristol Road South. If getting a bus, we recommend that you have a Swift card, and buy your ticket at National Express West Midlands in advance. Otherwise, you will need to pay a cash fare, or use contactless. Alternatively, you can have the NXWM app and buy your ticket on there. Bus routes include the 20, 61 and 63 from National Express West Midlands or the 144 from First Midland Red.
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Photography by Elliott Brown