Selly Oak was formerly known as Escelie. The name Selly is derived from variants of “scelf-lei” or shelf-meadow, that is pasture land on a shelf or terrace of land, probably the glacial deposits formed after the creation and later dispersal of Lake Harrison during the Quaternary period.
The Oak element of the name Selly Oak comes from a prominent Oak tree that formerly stood at the crossroads of the Bristol Road and Oak Tree Lane/Harborne Lane.
The tree was felled in May 1909 amid fears about its safety, due to damage to its roots caused by the building of the nearby houses.
(Information and Image: Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selly_Oak)
