1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
England
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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 lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
3.
West Midlands (region)
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The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area known as the Midlands. The city of Coventry is also located within the West Midlands county, the region is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of the conurbation to the rural western counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire which border Wales. The region also encompasses five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Wye Valley, Shropshire hills, Cannock Chase, Malvern Hills, Warwickshire is home to the town of Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of the writer William Shakespeare. The highest point in the region is Black Mountain, at 703 metres in west Herefordshire on the border with Powys, Wales. The region contains five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including all of the Shropshire Hills, Malvern Hills and Cannock Chase, the Peak District national park also stretches into the northern corner of Staffordshire. Served by many lines in the areas such as the West Coast Main Line. The Welsh Marches Line and the Cotswold Line transect the region as well as the Cross Country Route, there are plans to reopen the Honeybourne Line. Numerous notable roads pass through the region, with most converging around the central conurbation, the M6 toll provides an alternative route to the M6 between Coleshill and Cannock, passing north of Sutton Coldfield and just south of Lichfield. The M40 connects the region through South East England to London, with its terminus at its junction with the M42, it passes close to Warwick. The M42 connects the M5 at Bromsgrove, passing around the south and east of Birmingham, joining the M40 and M6, passing Solihull and Castle Bromwich, to Tamworth, the M50 connects the M5 from near Tewkesbury to Ross-on-Wye in the southwest. The M54 connects Wellington in the west, passing Telford, to the M6 near Cannock, the A5 road traverses the region northwest-southeast, passing through Shrewsbury, Telford, Cannock, Tamworth and Nuneaton. As part of the planning system, the Regional Assembly is under statutory requirement to produce a Regional Transport Strategy to provide long term planning for transport in the region. This involves region wide transport schemes such as those carried out by the Highways Agency, within the region, the local transport authorities carry out transport planning through the use of a Local Transport Plan which outlines their strategies, policies and implementation programme. The most recent LTP is that for the period 2006-11, in the West Midlands region, the following transport authorities have published their LTP online, Herefordshire, Shropshire U. A. The transport authority of Stoke-on-Trent U. A, Major towns and cities in the West Midlands region include, Bold indicates city status. The region is based on the former region of Mercia. The Battle of Edgehill in October 1642 started the English Civil War, jane Bunford of Bartley Green until 1982 was the tallest woman ever in the world, and now the second tallest, and the tallest person ever in the UK, at 7 ft 11in
4.
Staffordshire
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Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England. It adjoins Cheshire to the north west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south east, West Midlands and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The largest city in Staffordshire is Stoke-on-Trent, which is administered separately from the rest of the county as an independent unitary authority, Lichfield also has city status, although this is a considerably smaller cathedral city. Major towns include Stafford, Burton upon Trent, Cannock, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Leek, smaller towns include Stone, Uttoxeter, and Rugeley, and large villages Eccleshall, Wombourne, Kinver, Penkridge, Tutbury and Stretton. Cannock Chase AONB is within the county as well as parts of the National Forest, Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Bromwich, and Smethwick were historic Staffordshire towns until local government reorganisation created the West Midlands county in 1974. Historically, Staffordshire was divided into the five hundreds of Cuttlestone, Offlow, Pirehill, Seisdon, the historic boundaries of Staffordshire cover much of what is now the metropolitan county of West Midlands. The Act also saw the towns of Tamworth and Burton upon Trent united entirely in Staffordshire, in 1553 Queen Mary made Lichfield a county separate from the rest of Staffordshire. Handsworth and Perry Barr became part of the county borough of Birmingham in the early 20th century, Burton, in the east of the county, became a county borough in 1901, and was followed by Smethwick, another town in the Black Country in 1907. In 1910 the six towns of the Staffordshire Potteries, including Hanley, a major reorganisation in the Black Country in 1966, under the recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England led to the creation of an area of contiguous county boroughs. Meanwhile, the county borough of Dudley, historically a part of Worcestershire, expanded. County boroughs were abolished, with Stoke becoming a district in Staffordshire. On 1 April 1997, under a recommendation of the Banham Commission, in July 2009 the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found in Britain was discovered in a field near Lichfield. The artefacts, known as The Staffordshire Hoard have tentatively dated to the 7th or 8th centuries. Some nationally and internationally known companies have their base in Staffordshire. They include the Britannia Building Society which is based in Leek, JCB is based in Rocester near Uttoxeter and bet365 based in Stoke-on-Trent. The theme park Alton Towers is in the Staffordshire Moorlands and several of the worlds largest pottery manufacturers are based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire has a completely comprehensive system with eight independent schools. Most secondary schools are from 11–16 or 18, but two in Staffordshire Moorlands and South Staffordshire are from 13–18, there are two universities in the county, Keele University in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire University, which has campuses in Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury. The modern county of Staffordshire currently has three football clubs – Stoke City and Port Vale, both from Stoke-on-Trent, and Burton Albion, who play in Burton upon Trent. They were among the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888, in 1972, the club finally won a major trophy when they lifted the Football League Cup, but after relegation from the First Division in 1985 they would not experience top flight football for 23 years
5.
Burton upon Trent
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Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town on the River Trent in East Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299, the demonym for residents of the town is Burtonian. The town originally grew up around Burton Abbey, Burton Bridge was also the site of two battles, in 1322 when Edward II defeated the rebel Earl of Lancaster and 1643 when royalists captured the town during the First English Civil War. William Lord Paget and his descendants were responsible for extending the house within the abbey grounds. Burton grew into a market town by the early modern period. The town is served by Burton-on-Trent railway station, Ryknild Street, a Roman road, ran north-east through what later became the parish of Burton, linking camps at Letocetum, near Lichfield, and Derventio, near Derby. Burton was almost certainly one of the sites, the name Andresey given to an island in the river Trent near the church means Andrews isle. The island is associated with the legend of St Modwen or Modwenna and it is likely that any surviving religious house would have been destroyed during the Danish incursion into the area in 874. Place names indicate Scandinavian influence, and several names of Scandinavian origin were still used in the area in the early 12th century. In 1003 a Benedictine abbey was established on a new site on the west bank of the Trent at Burton by Wulfric Spott and he is known to have been buried in the abbey cloister in 1010, alongside his wife. The monastery was the most important in Staffordshire and by the 1530s had the highest revenue and it is known that there were frequent Royal visits to the abbey, including those by William I, Henry II and Edward I. In the 12th and 13th centuries streets were laid out off the west side of High Street, the earliest being New Street, Horninglow Street at the north end of High Street was part of a major east-west route using the bridge over the river. A royal charter was granted on 12 April 1200 by King John to the Abbot to hold a market in Burton every Thursday. The bridge was the site of two battles, first in 1322 when Edward III defeated the rebel Earl of Lancaster and also in 1643 when the Royalists captured the town during the First English Civil War. Under Henry VIII the abbey was dissolved in 1539, to be refounded in 1541 as a church for a dean. It was again dissolved in 1545 and granted to Sir William Paget, Paget began planning to expand the Manor House within the abbey precincts, known to have existed since at least 1514, into a grand mansion. To provide the materials for this project, the old buildings were to be cannibalised. There were major alterations to the house over the three centuries
6.
Conservative Party (UK)
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The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently the party, having won a majority of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election. The partys leader, Theresa May, is serving as Prime Minister. It is the largest party in government with 8,702 councillors. The Conservative Party is one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, the other being its modern rival. The Conservative Partys platform involves support for market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defence, deregulation. In the 1920s, the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives main rivals, Conservative Prime Ministers led governments for 57 years of the twentieth century, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Thatchers tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation, the Conservative Partys domination of British politics throughout the twentieth century has led to them being referred to as one of the most successful political parties in the Western world. The Conservatives are the joint-second largest British party in the European Parliament, with twenty MEPs, the party is a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe Europarty and the International Democrat Union. The party is the second-largest in the Scottish Parliament and the second-largest in the Welsh Assembly, the party is also organised in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The Conservative Party traces its origins to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party and they were known as Independent Whigs, Friends of Mr Pitt, or Pittites. After Pitts death the term Tory came into use and this was an allusion to the Tories, a political grouping that had existed from 1678, but which had no organisational continuity with the Pittite party. From about 1812 on the name Tory was commonly used for the newer party, the term Conservative was suggested as a title for the party by a magazine article by J. Wilson Croker in the Quarterly Review in 1830. The name immediately caught on and was adopted under the aegis of Sir Robert Peel around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the Tamworth Manifesto, the term Conservative Party rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845. In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party, in Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged anti-Home Rule Unionists into one political movement. Its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, and in essence formed the Irish wing of the party until 1922. The Conservatives served with the Liberals in an all-party coalition government during World War I, keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914, especially on the issue of Irish Unionism and the experience of three consecutive election losses
7.
Uttoxeter
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Uttoxeter is a market town in Staffordshire, England. In 2001, the population was 12,023, increasing to 13,089 at the 2011 Census, Uttoxeter lies west of the River Dove in East Staffordshire, near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and Lichfield. Uttoxeters name has had at least 79 spellings since it was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Wotocheshede, some historians point to pre-Roman settlement here and Bronze Age axes have been discovered in the town. Uttoxeter saw the last major royalist surrender of the English Civil War, on 25 August 1648, perhaps the most famous event to have occurred in Uttoxeter is the penance of Samuel Johnson. Johnsons father ran a bookstall on Uttoxeter market, and young Samuel once refused to out on the stall. When Johnson was older, he stood in the rain as a penance for his failure to assist his father. This event is commemorated with the Johnson Memorial, which stands in the Market Place, in the centre and there is also an area of town called Johnson Road. Mary Howitt, the Quaker writer of the poem The Spider, the town influenced some of her poems and novels, as well as fuelling her love of natural history, which also featured in her books. Howitt Crescent, a road in the town, was named after her. The house where she lived is still standing in Balance Street, Thomas Fradgley, Uttoxeters own architect designed the Town Hall, the Johnson Memorial, St. Michaels Church, Stramshall, St. Lawrence Church, Bramshall, St. Marys Church, Uttoxeter, Marchington Church. He was the architect in the improvement of local schools, including Uttoxeter National School, Hanbury Free School, enlarged in 1848. Alton N. S. and Draycott in Hanbury School and it is believed he designed Moorlands, Byrds Lane, Uttoxeter for one of the Bamfords. He married Clara Warner from Bramshall and their only child Thomas died aged 6. Thomas Fradgley died in 1883 aged 83, bunting’s brewery occupied a large area of the centre of the town since the Victorian era. It stopped producing beer in the 1930s after being bought by Parkers Brewery in Burslem, the last remains of the brewery were demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Maltings shopping precinct and car park. The brewery clock was re-furbished and installed on the hall in the 2000s. In 1945, Joseph Cyril Bamford founded J C Bamford Excavators Limited in Uttoxeter, the firm, based in the nearby village of Rocester, is the worlds third-largest construction equipment manufacturer. The firms first vehicle was a trailer made from war-surplus materials
8.
Abbots Bromley
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Abbots Bromley is a village and civil parish within the English county of Staffordshire, England. A notably affluent part of the county, Abbots Bromley was rated the best place to live in the Midlands by the Sunday Times in 2013, the village is a regular entrant and often winner of the Staffordshire Best Kept Village Competition which takes place across the county each year. Organised by the Community Council of Staffordshire there is a best kept village award for a large and small village in each of the countys Districts and Boroughs. Whilst down the years the East Staffordshire district prize has been awarded to Abbots Bromley on a number of occasions the county title continues to elude. Through the competition Abbots Bromley maintains a rivalry with nearby Yoxall. The village is 11.6 miles north of the city of Lichfield and is 6.8 miles south west of Uttoxeter, the nearest railway station is at Rugeley which is 5.8 miles south west of the village. The Blithfield Reservoir is 1.8 miles from the centre of the village, within the parish there are the natural features of Bagots Wood and the largest remaining part of the Needwood Forest. Phil Drabbles Goats Lodge nature reserve is also in the parish, in the census of 2011, Abbots Bromley had a population of 1,799 people living in the civil parish. The village is home to The Richard Clarke First School, run by Staffordshire County Council for pupils aged 4–9, the school is rated as good by OFSTED with outstanding features. The village is also the home of one of the original Woodard Schools, in 2015 the school opened a new International College on the former St Marys site. The development houses sixth form boys on the floors and has been completely refurbished into a University halls of residence style. This substantial investment which is continuing is a sign of the prosperity, from 2016 the school is turning its attention to the former St Annes site where a programme of refurbishment is underway. Nine Parish Councillors, elected four years represent the community. Every year the Council elects a chair and vice chair, the Parish Council is supported by the Parish Clerk. Meetings are usually held in the hall at 19,00 on the last Wednesday of every month. All meetings are open to the public, following the election of new Parish Councillors in May 2015 the council has started the process of developing a Neighbourhood Plan, administered through a sub-group of the Parish Council. Abbots Bromley is part of the Bagots Ward on East Staffordshire Borough Council and is represented by Conservative Borough Councillor Greg Hall, Conservative County Council Leader Councillor Phillip Atkins represents the Parish as it forms part of the Uttoxeter Rural Ward on Staffordshire County Council. The village is part of the constituency of Lichfield and is currently represented by Conservative Michael Fabricant
9.
Birmingham City Council
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Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. The council headquarters are based at the Council House in the city centre, the council is responsible for running nearly all local services, with the exception of those run by joint boards. The provision of services has in recent years been devolved to several council constituencies. Sixteen Aldermen and 48 Councillors were elected and the Borough was divided into 13 wards, William Scholefield became the first Mayor and William Redfern was appointed as Town Clerk. It was not until 14 January 1889 that another Charter conferred the rank of City on Birmingham, on 9 November 1891, the districts of Balsall Heath, Harborne, Saltley and Little Bromwich were absorbed into the City. The dignity of a Lord Mayor was conferred in 1896 and Sir James Smith Kt was appointed as the Citys first Lord Mayor on 3 June 1896. Such was the expansion involved that the Council Chamber, originally designed to accommodate 80 members, had to be modified to seat the representatives of the new wards, further additions occurred on 1 April 1928 and 1 April 1931. By 1972, there were 39 Wards each represented by an Alderman and 3 Councillors, on 1 July 1986, the title was changed to Birmingham City Council. Part of Bromsgrove District known as Frankley and Kitwell Estates were added to the City on 1 April 1995, a review of the Ward boundaries on 10 June 2004 resulted in an increase from 39 Wards to 40 Wards. The first woman elected to the council, on 1 November 1911, was Ellen Pinsent and she represented the Edgbaston Ward as a Liberal Unionist. She had earlier been co-opted as a member of the councils Education Committee and she stood down from the council in October 1913 upon appointment as Commissioner for the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency. Pinsents time on the council overlapped with that of Margaret Frances Pugh, birminghams third woman councillor, Clara Martineau, was elected on 14 October 1913 in the Edgbaston ward, and served until 1932, when she died, aged 57. Her father was former Mayor Sir Thomas Martineau, Lord Mayor Ernest Martineau was her brother, mary E. Cottrell became the first female Labour councillor in February 1917, when she was elected unopposed to the Selly Oak ward. The first female Lord Mayor, Marjorie Brown, held the post from 1973 to 1974, Theresa Stewart became the first female leader in October 1993, until 1999, and Lin Homer the first chief executive, was in post from 2002 until 2005. The council was run by a Labour administration between 1984 and 2004, with Sir Dick Knowles as Council Leader from 1984 to 1993, followed in turn by Theresa Stewart, and Sir Albert Bore. They lost overall control in 2003 but continued to run the council as a minority administration for the following year, at the election of 10 June 2004, the 121 seats were divided between the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. The Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups then formed a governing coalition, in 2005, Richard Mawrey QC ruled invalid Birmingham City Council elections in two wards, Aston and Bordesley Green, held the year before, and required re-votes. He blamed most of the fraud on absentee ballot manipulation
10.
Redditch
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Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately 15 miles south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 84,300 in 2011, in the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry. At one point 90% of the needles were manufactured in the town. In the 1960s it became a model for new town planning. It is known locally by the nickname The Ditch, the first recorded mention of Redditch is in 1348, the year of the outbreak of the Black Death. Redditch was designated a new town on 10 April 1964, housing developments such as Church Hill, Matchborough, Winyates, Lodge Park and Woodrow were created to accommodate a large overspill from the industrially expanding Birmingham. Redditch was built as a flagship town using new methods and new town planning, all the roads were banked to reduce noise to the new housing estates. By the 21st century needle-making and other industries had been replaced by modern light industry and services. The automotive retailer Halfords and engineering giant GKN both have their headquarters in Redditch, manufacturer of precious metal contacts Samuel Taylor Ltd has manufacturing plants within the town. Following the redevelopment of the flagship Kingfisher Shopping Centre in 2002 Redditch is undergoing an economic, the town is home to several historical sites. The parliamentary constituency of Redditch is represented by Karen Lumley of the Conservatives, Redditch has a Borough Council with councillors elected from the Wards of Redditch. Redditch is in Worcestershire, just south of the West Midlands urban area and it is 15 miles north of Evesham on the A435, which skirts it to the east. The main access routes are the A441 via junction 2 of the M42 Motorway, the A435 from junction 3 of the M42, the Roman Road known as Icknield Street is prominent, running north to south through the eastern side of the town. Redditch has a climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom. The Borough of Redditch is divided into several districts, to the east of the town are New Town Districts built in the 1970s and 1980s. To the west of the Borough are older Former Village Districts that dominate the south, the M42 motorway is a short drive away and it is linked by dual carriageways and A-class roads to surrounding towns such as Bromsgrove and Evesham. There are regular bus services to Studley, Bromsgrove, Catshill, the Cross-City Line provides a regular train service via Birmingham New Street to Lichfield Trent Valley. Redditch railway station, the terminus of the line, was first opened as the terminus of the Redditch Railway on 19 September 1859
