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Northfield
was originally an an Anglo Saxon settlement in
what was known as North Worcestershire. The Domesday
Book describes Northfield as having a priest,
seven villains, sixteen borders, six cottars,
two serfs and a bondswoman. It was orginally called
Nordfeld and did have its own church. Northfield
was a farming village and Birmingham was expanding
outwards. The turnpike road which is now the Bristol
Road, started bringing increasing traffic to Northfield
which helped sustain the few mills, farms and
nail making industry of this lightly populated
area.
The Birmingham to Gloucester railway line opened
in 1870 and was to change forever the rural aspect
of Northfield. Industry and people followed. The
Cadbury brothers arrived en-masse at nearby Bournville
providing new jobs and opportunities. Austin set
up his factory in Northfield and car production
began. Kalamazoo has been here since 1908.
Northfield today is a busy suburb of Birmingham.
The Bristol road serves as a busy route in and
out of the city. It actually passes right through
the high street of Northfield. There is a shopping
centre and a wide variety of well known high street
names have shops in Northfield.
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