Kingsbury
CountryEngland
Static image nameBodymoor Heath canalside cottages.JPG
Coordinates52.5641°N 1.7084°W
Civil parishKingsbury
Shire districtNorth Warwickshire
Shire countyWarwickshire
RegionWest Midlands
Constituency westminsterNorth Warwickshire
Post townSutton Coldfield
Postcode districtB76
Postcode areaB

Bodymoor Heath is a small village in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England, situated on, and with a bridge over, the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal close to the much larger village of Kingsbury.[1]

History

Bodymoor Heath was originally a separate village but later became inclosed as a part of the parish of Kingsbury.[2] Bodymoor Heath was the centre of a High Court of Chancery case of Barker v. Barker where it was held that the husband of a daughter who had inherited her father's lands in Bodymoor Heath, was not entitled to any dividend just through curtesy.[3] The village later came into the ownership of the twice Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel along with the surrounding Kingsbury parish.[4] The village is located near the planned route of the High Speed 2 railway line. The route passes through the Bodymoor Heath Training Ground, which necessitated Aston Villa to relocate a number of their facilities and pitches away from the planned route.[5]

Dog and Doublet Inn

Bodymoor Heath has a pub. The pub is called the Dog and Doublet. It was constructed in 1786. Although some sources state it did not become a pub until 1835[6] it was trading in 1817.[7]

The inn provided refreshments for the parishioners of Kingsbury at the end of their annual two-day walk Beating the Bounds procession, when they covered the boundary of the 8,000 acre parish.[8][9]

The pub was granted grade II listed status in 1981 by English Heritage.[10] It also has a grade II listed bridge.[1]

Aston Villa

Bodymoor Heath is also the home of Aston Villa Football Club's Bodymoor Heath Training Ground. The land it was built on was purchased in the 1970s by Aston Villa's chairman Doug Ellis from a local farmer.[11] It was redeveloped in the 1990s after criticism of under-investment by the Villa manager John Gregory.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Petition". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Parishes: Kingsbury". British-history.ac.uk. 11 May 1909. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  3. ^ Simons, Nicholas (1843). Reports of Cases Decided in the High Court of Chancery. Vol. 2. Gould, Banks & Company. pp. 251–254.
  4. ^ Barton, Henry (1866). The Law Journal Reports. Vol. 36. Edward Brett Ince. p. 141.
  5. ^ "Aston Villa's Bodymoor Heath and HS2". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  6. ^ "18 country pubs near Birmingham". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Sale at the Dog and Doublet Inn, at Bodymoor Heath". Aris’s Birmingham Gazette. 3 March 1817. Retrieved 26 May 2026. – via British Newspaper Archive
  8. ^ "Kingsbury. Walking the Parish Boundary of Kingsbury". Tamworth Herald. 12 June 1880. Retrieved 26 May 2026. – via British Newspaper Archive
  9. ^ "Kingsbury. Walking the Boundary". Tamworth Herald. 25 October 1919. Retrieved 26 May 2026. – via British Newspaper Archive
  10. ^
  11. ^ "Bodymoor Heath Training Ground". City Seeker. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Gregory plays down chairman row". BBC News. 28 December 2000. Retrieved 17 March 2020.