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Lifford
Lifford is in the Kings Norton ward in south-west Birmingham, four miles from the city centre. The surrounding areas are Brandwood, Cotteridge, Stirchley, Druids Heath, the Three Estates and Kings Norton Village.
Lifford is named after a local landowner, James Hewitt, who became the 1st Viscount Lifford when he was appointed Chancellor of Ireland in 1781.
Lifford was a rural backwater until the Birmingham and Worcester Canal and the Stratford Canal were cut through the area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The Lifford Reservoir was created to compensate mill owners on the River Rea for water loss and the canals, which met at Kings Norton Junction, created an industrial corridor that expanded after the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway opened in 1840 and the Midland Railway in 1875.
Lifford remains a largely industrial zone centred on these transport routes.
Car Torched Outside
House on Baldwin Road
A parked car was torched outside a house on Baldwin Road at around
10.15pm on Sunday 10 April
(News Headlines 12/04/11).
Fire & Firefighting in Lifford
A canal boat caught fire and sank at its mooring on Lifford Lane at approximately 6am on Sunday 13/03/11; nobody was injured (News Archive 15/03/11).
Demographics, Politics and Housing in Lifford
This website contains information about demographics, politics and housing in the Kings Norton ward including Lifford.
The Birmingham and Worcester Canal is joined by the Birmingham and Stratford Canal at Kings Norton Junction in Lifford.
Kings Norton Junction has a double-gated guillotine stop lock, a balancing reservoir and a listed tollhouse and roving bridge.
The Lifford Lane Stop Lock is by Lifford Lane bridge on the Birmingham and Stratford Canal, roughly 200 metre east of Kings Norton Junction.
The lock consists of a pound between two guillotine gates which are raised or lowered by an overhead winch. It was installed in 1815 in order to prevent the drainage of valuable water from the Birmingham and Stratford Canal into the Birmingham and Worcester Canal. The gates have been permanently open since 1948.
Kings Norton Roving Bridge
Kings Norton Junction possesses a roving bridge (1800) with a broad elliptical brick arch and stone-coped parapets.
The bridge enabled the barge horses to cross from one towpath to another.
Links: Canals Birmingham and Worcester Canal
Kings Norton Toll House
Kings Norton Junction has a red-brick two-storey tollhouse (1802) with stone dressings. The main entrance, which faces the Birmingham and Worcester Canal, features a Doric column entablature.
A replica of a freight notice (1793) is attached to the tollhouse wall. It states that lime will be charged at one halfpenny per ton per mile and finished goods at one penny and three farthings per ton per mile.
Links: Canals Birmingham and Worcester Canal
Lifford Reservoir
There is a balancing reservoir at Kings Norton Canal Junction.
Lifford Reservoir was dug by the Birmingham and Worcester Canal Company in 1815. It compensated Lifford Mill, powered by the River Rea, for the lost water that drained into the canal.
The reservoir, which is on the River Rea Cycle Route, is stocked with eels, pike, perch, roach, tench, carp and bream. Fishing is permitted, but a fee may be charged outside the spring close season.
208 Psychology
208 Psychology is a psychiatric unit on Monyhull Hall Road which is operated by the Birmingham & Solihull NHS Mental Health Trust
208 Monyhull Hall Road B30 3QJ - 0121 678 3400 - Map
Psychiatric Healthcare in Brum
Imperial Court
Imperial Court at Kings Norton Business Centre on Pershore Road South is a psychiatric unit operated by the Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust.
Pershore Road South B30 3ES - 0121 301 1470 - Map
Psychiatric Healthcare in Brum
Lifford is a heavily industrialised area at the junctions of the Cross City Railway and Camp Hill Freight Line and the Birmingham and Worcester Canal and Birmingham and Stratford Canal.
ADI Systems
ADI designs and installs automotive systems at the Kings Norton Business Centre on Melchett Road. Its workforce is estimated at around 140.
1 Melchett Road B30 3HG 0121 451 2255 Map
Factories in Brum ADI Systems Website
Hoerbiger
Hoerbiger makes compressor valves on the Pershore Road; it has an estimated workforce of around 85; Hoerbiger is a Swiss multinational headquartered in Zug.
1649 Pershore Road B30 3DR 0121 433 3636 Map
Factories in Brum Hoerbiger Website
Metalrax
Metalrax manufactures specialist steel products; this company is headquartered on Ardath Road where it employs an estimated workforce of around 70.
Ardath Road B38 9PN 0845 030 3300 Map
Factories in Brum Metalrax Group
Speciality Minerals
Speciality Minerals manufactures calcium carbonate on Lifford Lane; this company employs an estimated workforce of around 70; it is owned by Minerals Technologies which is headquartered in New York.
Lifford Lane B30 3JW 0121 252 4500 Map
Factories in Brum Minerals Technologies Website
Trulife Healthcare
Trulife makes prosthetic and orthopaedic devices at the Kings Norton Business Centre on Sovereign Road; this factory has an estimated workforce of around 160; Trulife is a multinational based in Dublin.
Sovereign Road B30 3HN 0121 451 3016 Map
Factories in Brum Trulife Website
Wharfside Leisure Complex in Lifford
The Wharfside Leisure Complex is a regenerated former industrial site off Lifford Lane that overlooks the Birmingham and Worcester Canal.
It contains the Roadhouse live music venue and the Tumble Jungle adventure playground. The Formula 1 Karting Centre is on the adjoining Avery Dell Industrial Estate.
Lifford Lane B30 3DZ Map
Formula 1 Karting
Formula 1 Karting on the Avery Dell Industrial Estate is an indoor kart centre that runs 40mph karts on a 600 metre circuit with a 100 metre back straight.
Avery Dell Industrial Estate B30 3DZ 08444 141 141
MapFamily Fun in Brum Formula 1 Karting Website
Tumble Jungle
Tumble Jungle is an indoor adventure play centre located at the Wharfside Leisure Complex.
Lifford Lane B30 3DZ 0121 248 0600 Map
Family Fun in Brum Tumble Jungle Website
Roadhouse
The Roadhouse bar at the Wharfside Leisure Complex is a live venue with a capacity of 260 that holds nightly music gigs.
Lifford Lane B30 3DY 0121 459 5660 Map
Pubs in Birmingham Roadhouse Website
The following bus routes run through Lifford: 35
Kings Norton Railway Junction
Kings Norton Railway Junction joins the Camp Hill freight line to the Cross-City railway; the junction is around 250 metres east of Kings Norton Railway Station.
Lifford Curve
From Kings Norton Junction, trains travelling on the cross-city line towards Birmingham negotiate a sharp bend known as the Lifford Curve as the track changes direction from eastwards to northwards.
Links: Cross City Railway
Lifford Lane Viaduct
From Kings Norton Junction, trains travelling on the Camp Hill Freight Line towards Bordesley will cross a viaduct at Lifford Lane, the former site of Lifford Railway Station.
Lifford Station closed in 1941 when passenger services were terminated on the Camp Hill Line.
Links: Camp Hill Railway
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