William Dargue - A History of Birmingham Places & Placenames . . .  from A to Y

Allens Cross

B31 - Grid reference SP011795

Use the grid reference on the Ordnance Survey website - Get-a-map.

First record 1631

The first written record of this Northfield name dates from 1631. Although its origin is unknown, it almost certainly derives from a family name. Although the term cross could mean simply 'crossroads', a deed of 1631 implies the existence of an actual cross here. The fields of Allens Cross Farm on Hoggs Lane and its neighbours were built over during the 1930s as part of extensive housing developments which were then known as the Allens Cross Estate.

An Anglican church, St Bartholomew's was opened in 1938 south-west of the junction of Allens Farm Road and Hoggs Lane close to the site of Allens Cross Farm. It was built in a red-brick romanesque style typical of the time. The church building was subject to an arson attack in 1998, declared redundant in 2003 and demolished in 2006. Church services now take place at Hollymoor Old Chapel, Manor Park Grove, the former chapel of Hollymoor mental hospital. The church hall on the orginal site is still in use.

William Dargue 02.09.2008

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For 19th-century Ordnance Survey maps of Birmingham go to British History Online - Maps.

Map below reproduced from Andrew Rowbottom’s website of Old Ordnance Survey maps Popular Edition, Birmingham 1921. See Acknowledgements for a link to that website.