Small Heath & Sparkbrook Through Time

This fascinating selection of more than 180 photographs traces some of the many ways in which Small Heath & Sparkbrook have changed and developed over the last century.

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By the turn of the twentieth century Small Heath and Sparkbrook, two adjacent inner city districts of Birmingham, had been transformed from a rural environment to an urban one. Two vibrant shopping areas had evolved surrounded by Victorian properties of working class back-to-backs and middle class terrace housing on the Coventry Road, Small Heath and Stratford Road, Sparkbrook. Birmingham City FC dominates the city end of Small Heath whereas Small Heath Park at the other end also attracts visitors to the only major green space in this area. However the most historical and oldest building, The Farm, can still be found in Sparkbrook. Unlike other inner-city areas no large scale redevelopment has taken place in either district leaving a mixture of modern and as-built properties in both areas.