Birmingham Heritage Week – Balsall Heath Local History Society

Celebrating Balsall Heath in Changing Times as Tour ends

Over ten days of Birmingham Heritage Week over 300 People visited and participated in our events, activities as part of ‘Balsall Heath in Changing Times‘ local tour.

Featuring the photographic archive of Mick Turner, community oral histories, poetry, art, and history trails exploring Balsall Heath through the eyes of those who live it. For our final event we were joined by Mick Turner himself and Liz Berry, who read her ‘Psalm’ to the Women of Balsall Heath. Actor and local film maker Haqi Ali also premiered his film about Community Theatre, recalling the days when he began as an actor, through interviews conducted during the last year.

Balsall Heath’s story is one of dramatic transformation and social change. Within living memory, we’ve seen bomb sites used as playgrounds well into the 1970s, mass demolition and redevelopment, and the arrival of different communities that reshaped our streets.

Touring Exhibition & Venue Highlights

Every event was unique, with workshops, guided trails, and activities. Angela Blackwood led a guided heritage tour of SS John and Martin Catholic Church while Val Hart led tours of Moseley Road, where this year we installed history panels. Muhmood Tahir led a landscape sketching workshop and we have collated poetry in addition to the fabulous photos and stories, adding to our heritage, better representing our lived experience.

The events were part of Birmingham Heritage Week, as well as National Heritage Open Days (Everyday Lives theme). We were proud to represent the stories of Balsall Heath to local as well as a wider national audience.

Changing Times in Photos

Mick Turner receives award from Patrick Baird

Exhibition finding images — Mick Turner receives award from Patrick Baird

Work continues…

There is still some work building on our online resources and a couple of people we’re still keen to interview. Our History Panels have been hugely popular and we are looking to create more to build our history trail across Balsall Heath.

We need your stories!

Do you have a story to contribute, or maybe a location you think we should honour with a history panel, and add to our hostiry trail? Balsall Heath doesn’t stand still and we will keep working to find those untold stories and well as celebrate our ever changing Balsall Heath!

Bringing History to Life in Changing times

For Birmingham Heritage Week we’re thrilled to confirm a multi-venue touring FREE exhibition, ‘In Changing Times‘ by Balsall Heath Local History Society. Featuring the photographic archive of Mick Turner, community oral histories, poetry, art, and history trails exploring Balsall Heath through the eyes of those who live it.

Touring Exhibition & Venue Highlights

Six local hubs across Balsall Heath will host unique events, workshops, guided trails, and activities:

SS. John & Martin Catholic Church. Guided heritage tour exploring the building’s architectural and community legacy.
Moseley Road Heritage Trail. Guided walking tour with local Historian Val Hart
The Old Print Works & Creation Climbing Centre. Pop-up archival displays, film and art.
St. Paul’s Venture, special event (September 20th). An intimate afternoon with acclaimed poet Liz Berry, featuring poetry readings, film screenings, and shared local memories.

Find out more

Inspired by our Past

Local artist Muhmood Tahir, inspired by archive images and Mick Turner’s photography painted his Balsall Heath. Meet the artist, sketch and paint alongside him – bring your contemporary visual perspective on our Balsall Heath – all free, including materials, at Second Saturday, 12th September.

Mick Turner Archive of photographic images is a vast collection of images, thousands of which were published in the Balsall Heathan from 1960 to 1990. We used these images as a starting point to understand Balsall Heath through the eyes of people who have lived there.

Join our Trail or make your own!

The best way to see Balsall Heath is to be there! Join our FREE history tours during Heritage Week on 12th, 15th and 18th September – book on eventbrite.

Explore Balsall Heath for yourself and find our nine history panels across Balsall Heath, discover local stories where you stand, or map out your own self-guided Heritage Trail:

Union Flag leads the Carnival Procession 1979

Fireman checks out History Interpretation Panel — Union Flag leads the Carnival Procession 1979

For our Heritage Week Grand Finale, joining us with Liz Berry for poetry, film created by Haqi Ali, as well as our fantastic exhibition:

Memories of Balsall Heath with Liz Berry

POSTPONED due to hot weather! We had intended to invite everyone to join us at St. Paul’s Venture Hall for an intimate event dedicated to the living history, stories and memories of Balsall Heath (we’ll confirm a new date soon!)

A live performance by Liz Berry, award winning poet, of her new poem
An interveiw with Liz Berry
A showing of film clips of Balsall heath from the 1960s to 1980s assembled by The Media Archive of Central England
Display of Balsall Heath Carnival from 1977 onwards

Book Your Ticket on eventbrite NOW

A Live Reading & Interview with Poet Liz Berry

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome the award-winning West Midlands poet Liz Berry for a live reading of her stunning new poem, “Psalm”, and interview with Val Hart.

Liz’s work has been described by The Guardian as a “sooty soaring hymn to her native West Midlands.” An award-winning poet and author of the critically acclaimed collections Black Country (Chatto, 2014); The Republic of Motherhood (Chatto, 2018); The Dereliction (Hercules Editions, 2021) a collaboration with artist Tom Hicks; and most recently The Home Child (Chatto, 2023), a novel in verse.

Liz shares a deep, personal connection with Balsall Heath. Published in May 2026 and featured in the Times Literary Supplement, her new poem “Psalm” is a deeply evocative, secular hymn that celebrates community, resilience, and womanhood. True to her remarkable ability to transfigure working-class landscapes into something sacred, “Psalm” anchors itself right here in Balsall Heath.

Following the reading, Liz will join us for a brief interview to discuss the inspiration behind the poem and her lifelong project of mapping the emotional geography of the West Midlands.

Film Clips & Archives: An Earlier Balsall Heath

Step back in time with us as we screen a selection of rare film clips capturing Balsall Heath from decades past. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see how our streets used to look, spot familiar corners, compare and contract Balsall Heath past and present.

Balsall Heath Carnival

Do you remember the floats, the music, and the crowds of the classic Balsall Heath Carnivals? We will have special archive displays set up around the hall dedicated to the history of the Carnival. Come browse the photographs, share your own memories, and celebrate the enduring joy of our community coming together.

Event Details:

What: Memories of Balsall Heath (A Balsall Heath Community Festival Special Event)
When: To be Confirmed
Where: St. Paul’s Venture Hall, Balsall Heath
Featuring: A live reading and interview with Liz Berry, local heritage film screenings, and historical Carnival displays.

Whether you have lived in Balsall Heath your entire life or are new to the area, this evening is a celebration of your history. Let’s celebrate the extraordinary story of the place we call home.

Tickets cost £4 – book on our eventbrite.