Dorridge is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands (county), England.

The village of Dorridge did not exist as a community until the mid-19th century, though it is mentioned as far back as 1400 in the Westminster Muniments which recorded a place called 'Derrech' - a clearing in the wood frequented by animals.

Along this road, the Four Ashes (after which the recently developed estate was named) became a landmark – records show the trees being present in 1662 and marking the Parish boundary.

The link with London was revived in the 1990s as part of the privatisation of British Rail, initially with a single track running south of Banbury.

Dual track working was reinstated and today in spite of being a village, Dorridge is still one of the stops on the express service.

The development of Dorridge is strongly linked to the Muntz family, who lived in nearby Umberslade Hall.

Through industrial wealth, founded on a brass-making process for creating Muntz Metal, a form of brass used in shipbuilding, the family acquired a considerable estate in the area.

The records of the early years show that it was a successful enterprise, surprising those who visited that they achieved so much improvement in the behaviour of the patients.

The construction of this was something of a national event: representatives of 100 Masonic Lodges marched from Knowle Station to take part in the laying of the foundation stone, which was set in place using the same mallet used by King Charles the Second to lay the foundation stone of Saint Paul's Cathedral in London.

The asylum was funded mainly by the local Counties of the Midlands, but George Fredrick Muntz sponsored competition with a prize of £100 for the best design.

It is perhaps telling that in 1867 it was renamed to be the 'Midland Counties Middleclass Idiots Asylum' and although subsidised, families typically had to pay an annual fee to have their children placed there.

Over the years, each period has then added buildings of its style — Avenue Road, for example, has classic Art Deco houses with rounded metal-framed windows.

Buildings in the 1960s, though of limited architectural merit, were built with large gardens; many owners have since imposed character on these houses.

The secondary education is mainly provided by Arden School in nearby Knowle, which now also has a sixth form centre.

When coming to Dorridge today, a visitor would be surprised to know that there was significant activity in the area over the last hundred years.

In Poplar Road, between the Station and the level crossing at Bentley Heath, a significant goods yard existed.

In 2008, Sainsbury's revealed that they had purchased a long lease to redevelop the Forest Court shopping centre and also owned part of the Station Approach Conservation Area which they intend to refurbish.

[5][6] An independent local group was formed in 2010 as a focus of opposition to any redevelopment of Forest Court which, it is argued, would be inappropriate in scale for the existing village centre.

After some changes to the plans approval was given by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, and in the summer of 2013 Sainsbury's submitted an application to amend some details of the scheme.

There are a number of notable residents who live here or very nearby, Jasper Carrott, The Office actress Lucy Davis, Sir Adrian Cadbury, Karren Brady former managing director of Birmingham City F.C, Steve Bruce, former manager of Birmingham City F.C, former England International Lee Hendrie, alongside many other professional footballers and Musicians Bev Bevan, Harry Sutcliffe and Russell Leetch.

Originally, the Catholic population had no formal meeting place but met in Cross Close, a house in Arden Drive.

In later years, due to ill-health, he had a microphone system installed and linked to Umberslade Hall so he could hear the services.

Whilst primarily a friendship organisation, it supports local charities, with the two main events it runs being Dorridge Day and the Christmas sleigh, visiting nearly every street in the area every December.

[1] Nearby there are the historic buildings of Packwood House and Baddesley Clinton now in the care of the National Trust, and the Grand Union Canal is in walking distance with both the Heron's Nest and Black Boy pubs being accessible.

The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal also links in and is notable for a large flight of locks that descend into nearby Lapworth from Birmingham.