Changes

==History==

==History==

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 earliest known documentary record of Birmingham is from the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, in which it is known as ''Bermingeham''. Tradition holds that the early settlement - at the time of Domesday, a small manor with a value of 20 shillings - was located on the River Lea at Deritend. This view, however, has largely been discredited due to a lack of archeological evidence.  

 

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.

 

==Transportation==

==Transportation==

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. 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]]. Traffic for the north-east is served by the [[M42 motorway]], which spurs from the [[M5 motorway]] at Catshill, Worcestershire (10 miles to the SW) which runs for 166 miles between the Black Country and Exeter, Devon, linking the Midlands and the [[West Country]].

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. 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]]. Traffic for the north-east is served by the [[M42 motorway]], which spurs from the [[M5 motorway]] at Catshill, Worcestershire (10 miles to the SW) which runs for 166 miles between the Black Country and Exeter, Devon, linking the Midlands and the [[West Country]].