Water Orton is a village near the River Tame in the North Warwickshire borough of Warwickshire in England. It is located between Castle Bromwich and Coleshill, and borders east Birmingham.
History
The oldest part of the village is centred around Old Church Road. This is now a conservation area and contains buildings from the 14th and 17th centuries. This is the area that may account for the place name since it is on a high ridge of land overlooking the valley of the River Tame.
Until the 1840s Water Orton was mainly an agricultural village, but this changed with the coming of the railways. The first one was from Birmingham to Derby via Water Orton, Coleshill, Whitacre Heath and Tamworth. Later a junction was constructed and another line was built via Kingsbury to Tamworth. The lines pass through the centre of the village.
The present railway station dates from 1908 and is the second station. There were extensive sidings and much commercial traffic here, especially during and after the Second World War, until the unfortunate activities of Dr Beeching in the 1960s.
An effect of the railway was to increase house building in the village. Commuters could now make the journey to Birmingham's Lawley Street and Curzon Street (later New Street) Railway Stations in a shorter time than by road. This made the village an ideal residential area for Birmingham professionals who wanted to get away from the city and live in the country. The railway also brought the Meat Industry here. There were large stock yards near the sidings and next to the Dog Inn in Marsh Lane. Cattle were offloaded from rail wagons into pens, then driven two miles down the road to butchers' slaughter houses in Castle Bromwich, when meat was provided for nearby villages.
Water Orton today has a small High Street with a variety of shops and take aways, several pubs, a Primary School, two other Churches, Doctor and Dental surgeries, two Parks, a very successful amateur football club (Orton Rangers F.C.) a Cricket Club (Water Orton CC) and a Rugby Club (Old Saltleians RFC). As well as rail services, there is a frequent bus service to Birmingham and Coleshill. Some new housing was built during 2003 and 2004. A carnival is held every summer. A car boot sale is held on Sunday mornings during the summer, just off the road towards Castle Bromwich.
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