the area was originally known as berwood, from the saxon 'bearu' meaning 'the woods'. historically the area was a boggy and wooded area, and development only started when edward darcy began cutting down the trees in the 17th century and the birmingham and fazeley canal was built in the 18th century. in the 20th century, the land became the site for the first aeroplane take-off in birmingham which led to a long aviation history being associated with the area. castle bromwich aerodrome was established on the site and operated from 1914 to 1960, being a major airfield in both world wars and also having industrial importance as the testing facility for locally manufactured airplanes and the location for the british industries fair.