Chapel Lane area
It is bounded on one side by Merrions Wood and the other by the Great Barr Hall estate. St. Margarets church and vicarage are here.
It is bounded on one side by Merrions Wood and the other by the Great Barr Hall estate. St. Margarets church and vicarage are here.
Community Hub
Funding for the Great Barr Community Hub in Chapel Lane has been obtained from the Big Lottery Fund Community Buildings Programme. £327,100 was awarded in April 2009. The land for the new Hub was obtained in 2003. 20th Walsall Group Scout members have been raising money for six years and collected more than £140,000.
The Community Hub will provide a base fo the Scout Group and provide a range of community activities including antenatal sessions, drama groups, youth club and adult education.
The 20th Walsall Scout Group was set up in 1956 and used the Great Barr vicarage coach house, known as The Barn. It was demolished in 2004 due to safety problems.
Great Barr Memorial Hall
Great Barr Memorial Hall stands on the corner of Birmingham Road and Chapel Lane.
Twenty-two club
| The Twenty-two club was situated in Chapel Lane opposite the old vicarage. It is still outlined on council maps even though the buildings have gone. |
The Twenty-two club was a youth club founded by Jim Parkes in 1960. Later this became a mobile youth club based in a renovated ambulance 709DRE.
Jim Parkes MBE JP was born in 1936 and lived in a small cottage by Red House park. In the 1950s to early 70s he was involved in youth leadership and from the 70s to retiring in 2001 was involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and Outward Bound Trust.
His fundraising involved charity stunts and has raised around £6 million pounds. You can find out more about Jim Parkes life in his book Adventures of an Urban Explorer