Solihull Receives its Charter of Incorporation

A red letter day for students of local government in Solihull as the area celebrates its change from urban district council to municipal borough.

In the long and complex history of local government in Solihull, 11 March 1954 is a landmark day with Princess Margaret visiting to bestow a Charter of Incorporation on the town (the Odeon Cinema in Shirley was pressed into use for the occasion). Solihull could now elect its first mayor but, as this civic film shows, the main interest was the visiting princess; then a press darling thanks to her on-off romance with divorcee Peter Townsend.