History
Perry Barr was originally two separate entities, both mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'Pirio' and 'Barre'. Pirio is recorded as having an estimated population of 35 and Barre with an estimated population of 25. William FitzAnsculf is recorded as being the tenant in chief of both manors, and Drogo as the tenant. It is thought that the two manors may have been combined in the Early Middle Ages.
In 1874 Perry Barr established its own institute based on the model of the Birmingham and Midland Institute. In 1878, Henry Irving became the president of the Perry Barr Institute and addressed members of the institute on March 6, 1878. His speech was reprinted in the March 13 release of Theatre and also reprinted onto pamphlets by the institute's members and sold for a sixpence to fund the construction of a new building for the institute.
Perry Barr was an urban district in Staffordshire from 1894 until 1928 when it was incorporated into Birmingham, and thus also Warwickshire (this included an area which is now considered part of Great Barr). It then became part of the West Midlands in 1974 when Birmingham became a metropolitan borough in the county.
In the 1920s, Oscar Deutsch opened his first ever Odeon cinema here. The original cinema is now a conference venue, having also been a bingo hall. The 1920s Perry Barr Stadium on the Aldridge Road hosts greyhound racing and the Birmingham Brummies speedway team. It has a 500 seat capacity, and was refurbished in 2004. It is the former home of the Birchfield Harriers, whose badge, in Art Deco style, bas relief it still carries. The Harriers now operate from nearby Alexander Stadium.
Birchfield Community Library was opened in 1874 as the "Perry Barr Institute". It was converted into a Carnegie-funded library in September 1897. In early 2007, this library was demolished, due to its dilapidated condition. A new building is to be commissioned. Another library in the area is Tower Hill Library.
Aston Technical College (later North Birmingham Technical College) moved to a new site in Perry Barr in the late 1960s, and was incorporated into the creation of Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University) in 1971. Two of the college's buildings exist as part of the university's City North Campus.
There is a mall-style shopping centre in the district known as "One Stop" Shopping Centre. This was built in the early 1990s, replacing a previous, 1960s, shopping centre. To facilitate the 1990s construction, a length of the River Tame was diverted and canalised.
The site of the former Perry Hall is now Perry Hall Park. Perry Park hosted the Birmingham Carnival in 2005.
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