| − | Birmingham was a small village at the time of the [[Doomsday Book]]. Then Birmingham was in the area that is now the Bull Ring in the City Centre. Birmingham grew over the centuries, most dramatically from the mid-18th century onwards during the industrial revolution. [[Matthew Boulton]] was important as an industrialist who helped develop Birmingham. | + | Birmingham was a small village at the time of the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086. Then Birmingham was in the area that is now the Bull Ring in the City Centre. Birmingham grew over the centuries, most dramatically from the mid-18th century onwards during the industrial revolution. [[Matthew Boulton]] was important as an industrialist who helped develop Birmingham. |
| | + | The main motorway in the Birmingham area is the [[M6 motorway]] which links the city with [[Staffordshire]] (and Shropshire via the M54) and the [[North West of England]] to the north-west. To the south-east, it links Birmingham with [[Coventry]] and via the Catthorpe junction some 30 miles away, the M1 motorway (for Northampton and London) and the A14 (for East Anglia). Traffic for central Birmingham is served from the M6 by the A38(M). Traffic to London is also served by the M40, a 90-mile long route which links Denham, [[Buckinghamshire]] (near the M25 London Orbital) to Tanworth-in-Arden (12 miles south-east of central Birmingham) via [[Oxfordshire]]. |