Editing Wythall (section)

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Bromsgrove, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2009}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| coordinates              = {{coord|52.374|-1.886|display=inline,title}}
| official_name            = Wythall 
| population               = 12,269
| population_ref           = <ref name="pop">[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/westmidlands/admin/bromsgrove/E04010276__wythall/ citypopulation.de: Wythall parish]</ref>
| static_image             = 
| static_image_caption     = 
| shire_district           = [[Bromsgrove (district)|Bromsgrove]]
| shire_county             = [[Worcestershire]]
| region                   = West Midlands
| civil_parish             = Wythall
| constituency_westminster = [[Bromsgrove (UK Parliament constituency)|Bromsgrove]]
| postcode_district        = B47
| postcode_area            = B
| post_town                = Birmingham
| dial_code                = 01564
| os_grid_reference        = 
| london_distance          = 
}}

[[Image:Wythall Institute.jpg|thumb|right|Wythall Institute]]
'''Wythall''' is a large village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[Bromsgrove (district)|Bromsgrove District]], in the northeastern corner of the county of [[Worcestershire]], England. Wythall parish borders [[Solihull]] and [[Birmingham]], and had a population of 12,269 in the UK census of 2021.<ref name="pop"/>

The civil parish was created in 1911 when the remainder of the previous [[King's Norton_and_Northfield_Urban_District#Abolition|King's Norton civil parish]] was absorbed into the then County Borough of Birmingham. 

Wythall village is around 7 miles south of [[Birmingham City Centre]] (a 20-minute train journey from [[Wythall railway station]]) along Alcester Road. There are a number of 19th century buildings on this road including the Wythall Institute (erected 1888/89). The civil parish of Wythall has always included Drake's Cross, [[Hollywood, Worcestershire|Hollywood]] and Headley Heath<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms/images/Census_OldParish_Wythall.jpg|title=Worcestershire County Council Historic Parish Maps: Wythall|format=prior to transfer of [[Hawkesley]] area to Birmingham city|access-date=2012-08-04|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120906081911/http%3A//www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms/images/Census_OldParish_Wythall.jpg|archive-date=2012-09-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wythallchurch.net/?page_id=674 |title=WythallChurch.net|format=Introduction to Parish of Wythall|access-date=2016-03-07}}</ref> and today also includes [[Major's Green]] and the formerly undeveloped Worcestershire part of [[Walker's Heath]]. Wythall village itself is generally the area covered by the parish ward of Grimes Hill and the northeastern portion of the Wythall Heath parish ward, combined population 2,080,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/westmidlands/worcestershire/E63003076__wythall/|title=citypopulation.de: Wythall |access-date=2021-03-04}}</ref> although the Silver Street and Chapel Lane areas are also usually included (the remainder of the Wythall Heath parish ward additionally includes the subsidiary settlements of Inkford and Tanner's Green along with the Kings Norton Golf Course<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bromsgrove.gov.uk/media/776436/Wythall_West_S2.pdf|title=Wythall West ward map|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414181528/https://www.bromsgrove.gov.uk/media/776436/Wythall_West_S2.pdf |archive-date=14 April 2021 }}</ref>). The easternmost section of Wythall village, around the railway station, was traditionally referred to as Grimes Hill.

[[File:St Mary Wythall.jpg|upright|thumb|left|St Mary's Church, now redundant]]
The former [[St Mary's Church, Wythall|St Mary's Anglican church]] has a roof and stair turret added by [[William Bidlake|W.H. Bidlake]].<ref>''The Buildings of England: Worcestershire'', Nikolaus Pevsner, 1968 p338</ref>

There are two primary schools within Wythall parish, the Coppice Primary School in Hollywood and Meadow Green Primary School in Wythall village. There was previously a school in Silver Street from circa 1875 to 1992 which for many years catered for all primary aged school children in Wythall and the surrounding area, until a growing population required more school development. [[Woodrush High School]] in [[Hollywood, Worcestershire|Hollywood]] opened in 1958 for children aged 11 and over, and Shawhurst Infants School (next door to Woodrush) opened around 1967, leaving what was by now called Silvermead School as a junior school. Meadow Green School opened in the early 1960s to give additional junior and infant provision. During 1991-92 an extension was built on Shawhurst Infants School, and its development became the Coppice Primary School. The Silvermead site was then closed, although many of its buildings have been converted into homes as Silvermead Court. The Coppice Primary School became an Academy in December 2011 and since 2012 is the largest primary school in the area with a three form entry.

The local secondary school, [[Woodrush High School]], has an Astroturf and playing fields backing on to the Coppice Primary School.

Until 2002 a private school, Innisfree House, existed in Station Road. Its original purpose was the education of the children of officers of the [[RAF]] station (see below), and in the years post-World War II was attended by the young [[Bruce Chatwin]] whose parents were living on a [[smallholding]] at [[Umberslade]] some 3 miles away.

From 1939 to 1959 Wythall was home to a [[Royal Air Force]] station, initially housing a [[barrage balloon]] facility, and latterly, 1952–57, a Joint Services School of Applied Linguistics, training men from the [[Royal Navy|RN]] and RAF in Russian military terminology and the use of radios for [[Signals Intelligence]] purposes; additionally, Chinese, Czech, German and Polish were taught to small numbers of RAF men. Part of the site is now occupied by the [[The Transport Museum, Wythall|Transport Museum]], Chapel Lane, which has a collection of historic [[bus]]es and [[battery electric vehicle]]s.

A sawmill, currently named Davies Timber Ltd., has been in operation for over 100 years and was steam powered at some point in its history, {{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} with maps from 1838 also showing a brickyard opposite the site.

Hourly [[West Midlands Trains|West Midlands Railway]] services are run between [[Stratford-upon-Avon|Stratford-Upon-Avon]] and [[Kidderminster]], through [[Wythall railway station|Wythall Station]] and [[Earlswood railway station (West Midlands)|Earlswood]], and hourly to and from [[Worcester Foregate Street railway station|Worcester Foregate Street]] terminating at [[Whitlocks End railway station|Whitlocks End Station]], one stop short of Wythall. The village is linked to [[Redditch]] and [[Kings Heath]] by [[Diamond West Midlands|Diamond Bus]] service 150 and hourly Landflight service A4 to [[Solihull]], both operating Mon-Sat.