The origins of Harborne, Birmingham are buried deep in history.
An entry in the Domesday Book of 1086 provides the earliest mention of a settlement:
Horeborne. There is land for one plough. Robert holds it.
Smethwick. There is land for two ploughs and Tipton five ploughs.
William holds it.
In these lands or hamlets, there are in the demesne seven ploughs and sixty villeins,
and twenty-two borderers with twenty-five ploughs.
Amongst them all there are fifty-two acres [210,000 m²] of meadow and a mill.
The spelling of Harborne has appeared with several variations through the centuries, and the derivation of the place name has often been disputed. One of the more probable suggestions is 'boundary brook', although 'high brow' and 'dirty brook' are also possibilities
Harborne's most notable resident was the poet Auden - the present day swimming baths stand on the site of his former house.
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