The town of Harborne has appeared with several variations to its name throughout the centuries and the origin of its name has often been disputed. It has been documented that the earliest written mention of Harborne is an entry in the Domesday Book of 1086.
Prior to the Victorian period, Harborne was a small country village in a remote part of Staffordshire. The town then developed into a bustling suburb, to which it still manages to retain some of the charm of a village community. The southern half of Harborne at the time, voted to became part of Birmingham in 1891 and transferred into Warwickshire and then subsequently the West Midlands at a later date.
Harborne’s most famous industry, the Chad Valley Company, is probably Britain’s best known toy manufacturer. The company was based in the area for eighty years.
The very well know Harborne Walkway started out life as Harborne railway station. The station opened on the 10th August 1874 and subsequently closed to passengers in 1934, with freight traffic closures following in 1963. Harborne Walkway is a two-mile nature walk and cycling route from Harborne to Ladywood and the canal can be followed either to Birmingham or Wolverhampton.