Barnt Green is a fairly large village south of Birmingham, in Central England (UK). It is situated to the immediate south of the Longbridge motor car factory. It is set in the foothills of the 'Lickey Hills', a country park donated to Birmingham City Council by George Cadbury (the local chocolate maker). There are many large residences, but one of the largest is now a restaurant and wine bar. 'Barnt Green Inn' is a constructed name as it was formerly a residence of the Earls of Plymouth and Queen Victoria is known to have stayed overnight at the fine old building. There is a tale that a tunnel was dug, connecting the Manor with one of the other fine old Manors on the near hill. Many are sceptical of such ridiculous claims. Badgers are known to roam freely around Barnt Green's roads and by-ways; in the spring the blue bells come out in the woods on the hillside. Barnt Green has a vibrant shopping street, an excellent Chinese restaurant, a sports club, a sailing club, a cricket club and a decrepid old park.
The village is divided roughly into two residential zones, one affluent and largely middle class, the other very affluent and predominently professional and entrepreneural, divided roughly by the railway which passes through the village. The railway was built in the early 1840s after the Earl of Plymouth sold the land to the railway company. This particular section of railway line remains of historical note for its proximity to the Lickey Incline, once the world's steepest rail incline. The 'tuppenny' half of the village developed around the 'Victoria' Pub, originally built as a temperance house around the time of the railway. Most of the village services such as the shops and the telephone exchange are present in this valley area below the railway line. The other half of the village is present on a higher elevation above the railway line, and some of the finer houses outdate the 'lower' village. Centred around 'Twatling Road' this was the original heart of the village, before the railway was put through.
