| Wednesbury | |
|---|---|
 Wednesbury High Street | |
  Wednesbury Location within theWest Midlands | |
| Population | 20,313 (2021 Census BUA Profile) |
| OS grid reference | SO9895 |
| • London | 125.9m |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WEDNESBURY |
| Postcode district | WS10 |
| Dialling code | 0121 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Wednesbury (/ˈwɛnzbəri/[1]locally[ˈwɛnzbriː]) is amarket town in theSandwell district, in the county of theWest Midlands, England; it was historically inStaffordshire. It is located near the source of theRiver Tame and is part of theBlack Country. Wednesbury is situated 5 miles (8km) south-east ofWolverhampton, 3 miles (4.4km) south-west ofWalsall and 7 miles (11.8km) north-west ofBirmingham. At the2021 Census, the town's built-up area had a population of 20,313.[2]
The substantial remains of a large ditch excavated in St Mary's Road in 2008, following the contours of the hill and predating theEarly Medieval period, has been interpreted as part of a hilltop enclosure and possibly theIron Agehillfort long suspected on the site.[3] The first authenticated spelling of the name was Wodensbyri, written in an endorsement on the back of the copy of the will of Wulfric Spot, dated 1004. Wednesbury ("Woden's borough")[4] is one of a number of places in England to benamed after the pre-Christian deity Woden, the leader of the Old English pantheon.
During the Anglo-Saxon period there are believed to have been two battles fought in Wednesbury, in 592 and 715. According to TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle there was "a great slaughter" in 592 and "Ceawlin was driven out".Ceawlin was a king ofWessex and the secondBretwalda, or overlord of all Britain. The 715 battle was betweenMercia (of which Wednesbury was part) and the kingdom of Wessex. Both sides allegedly claimed to have won the battle, although it is believed that the victory inclined to Wessex.[5]
Wednesbury was fortified byÆthelflæd (Ethelfleda), daughter ofAlfred the Great and known as the Lady of Mercia. She erected five fortifications to defend against the Danes atBridgnorth,Tamworth,Stafford andWarwick, with Wednesbury in the centre. Wednesbury's fort would probably have been an extension of an older fortification and made of a stone foundation with a wooden stockade above. Earthwork ramparts and water filled ditches would probably have added to its strength.[5] A plaque on the gardens between Ethelfleda Terrace and St Bartholomew's church states that the gardens there – created in the 1950s – used stone from thegraff, or fighting platform, of the old fort. Exploration of the gardens reveals several dressed stones, which appear to be those referred to on the plaque.[6]
In 1086, theDomesday Book describes Wednesbury (Wadnesberie) as being a thriving rural community encompassingBloxwich andShelfield (now part ofWalsall). During theMiddle Ages the town was a rural village, with each family farming a strip of land with nearby heath being used for grazing. The town was held by the king until the reign ofHenry II, when it passed to the Heronville family.
Medieval Wednesbury was very small, and its inhabitants would appear to have been farmers and farm workers. In 1315, coal pits were first recorded, which led to an increase in the number of jobs. Nail making was also in progress during these times.William Paget was born in Wednesbury in 1505, the son of a nail maker. He became Secretary of State, aKnight of the Garter and an Ambassador. He was one of executors of thewill of Henry VIII.
It was historically when inStaffordshire a part of the Hundred ofOfflow.
In the 17th century Wednesbury pottery – "Wedgbury ware" – was being sold as far away asWorcester, while white clay from Monway Field was used to make tobacco pipes.
By the 18th century the main occupations were coal mining[7] and nail making. With the introduction of the firstturnpike road in 1727 and the development of canals and later the railways came a big increase in population.[7] In 1769 the firstBirmingham Canal was cut to link Wednesbury's coalfields to the Birmingham industries. The canal banks were soon full of factories.
In 1743, the Wesleys and their newMethodist movement were severely tested.[8] Early in the year,John andCharles Wesley preached in the open air on the Tump.[9] They were warmly received and made welcome by the vicar. Soon afterwards another preacher came and was rude about the current state of theAnglican clergy. This angered the vicar, and the magistrates published a notice ordering that any further preachers were to be brought to them. When Wesley next came his supporters were still there but a crowd of others heckled him and threw stones. Later the crowd came to his lodgings and took him to the magistrates, but they declined to have anything to do with Wesley or the crowd. The crowd ill-treated Wesley and nearly killed him but he remained calm. Eventually they came to their senses and returned him to his hosts.
Soon afterward, the vicar asked his congregation to pledge not to associate with Methodists, and some who refused to pledge had their windows smashed. Others who hosted Methodist meetings had the contents of their houses destroyed. This terrible episode came to an end in December when the vicar died. After that mainstream Anglican and Methodist relations were generally cordial. Methodism grew strongly and Wesley visited often, almost until his death.[10][11]Francis Asbury,Richard Whatcoat and theEarl of Dartmouth are among those who attended Methodist meetings, all to have a profound effect on the United States.[12]
Wednesbury was incorporated as amunicipal borough, with its headquarters atWednesbury Town Hall, in 1886,[13][14] the district contained only thecivil parish of Wednesbury, on 1 April 1966 the district was abolished and merged with theCounty Borough of West Bromwich and theCounty Borough of Walsall.[15][16] The parish was also abolished on 1 April 1966 and merged with West Bromwich and Walsall.[17] In 1961 the parish had a population of 34,511.[18]
In 1887,Brunswick Park was opened to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.
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On the evening of 31 January 1916, Wednesbury was hit by one of the first wave of GermanZeppelins aimed at Britain during theFirst World War. Joseph Smith and his three children were killed in their house in the King Street area. His wife survived, having left the house to investigate the cause of a loud noise at a nearby factory, caused by the first bombs falling.[19]
The firstcouncil houses in Wednesbury were built in the early 1920s, but progress was slow compared to nearby towns includingTipton andWest Bromwich. By 1930, a mere 206 families had been rehoused from slums. However, the building of council houses quickened at the start of the 1930s; the 1,000th council house was occupied before the end of 1931. By 1935, some 1,250 older houses had been demolished or earmarked for demolition. By 1944 there were more than 3,000 council properties; by 1959, more than 5,000. The largest development in Wednesbury was theHateley Heath estate in the late 1940s and early 1950s, which straddled the border of Wednesbury and West Bromwich.[20]
In 1947, the Corporation granted a licence for the operation of a cinema, on the condition that no children under 15 were to be admitted on Sundays. The cinema operator challenged this decision in court, claiming that the imposition of the condition was outside the corporation's powers. The court used this case to establish a general test for overturning the decision of a public body in this type of case, which is now known as "Wednesbury unreasonableness".[21]
The borough of Wednesbury ceased to exist in 1966. Much of its area was absorbed into West Bromwich and small parts went into the County Borough ofWalsall. The Wednesbury section of Hateley Heath was absorbed into West Bromwich, and Wednesbury gained the Friar Park estate from West Bromwich.[22] The Dangerfield Lane estate (developed during the interwar and early postwar years) was absorbed into Darlaston, which was now part of an expanded Walsall borough. In 1974 West Bromwich amalgamated withWarley (i.e. Oldbury, Rowley Regis and Smethwick) to form the present-day borough ofSandwell.[23] Wednesbury has the postcodeWS10, shared withDarlaston in the borough of Walsall.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Wednesbury's traditional industry declined and unemployment rose, but since 1990 new developments such as a new light industrial estate, a retail park and the pedestrian-only Union Street have given a new look to the town. The traditional market is still a feature of the bustling centre, and the streets around Market Place are now a protectedconservation area.
In the late 1980s, land near junction 9 of the M6 motorway was designated as the location for a retail development. Swedish furniture retailerIkea was the first to move in; its superstore opened in January 1991. In the 1990s the retail park grew to include several more large units, but most of these were empty by 2009 due to the recession. However, most of the units were occupied again by 2012 and the retail is home to numerous retailers. The retail park was expanded in 2017 with the construction of more retail units and 'eateries', and the car park was remodelled to create more parking spaces.[24]
Wednesbury was the scene of two major tragedies during the second half of the 20th century. On 21 December 1977, four siblings aged between 4 and 12 years died in a house fire in School Road, Friar Park, at the height of the national firefighters strike. The house was demolished soon afterwards, leaving a gap in a terrace of council houses.[25] On 24 September 1984, four pupils and a teacher from Stuart Bathurst RC High School were killed when their minibus was struck by a roll of steel which fell from the back of a lorry, on Wood Green Road close to the park keepers house.[26]
For well over 100 years, Wednesbury was dominated by the hugePatent Shaft steel works, which opened during the 19th century and closed in 1980. The factory was demolished in 1983, and within a decade had been developed for light industry and services. The iron gates of the factory still exist and are mounted on the traffic island at Holyhead Road and Dudley Street.
In 2003,Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery stagedStuck in Wednesbury,[27] the first show in a public gallery of theStuckism international art movement.[28]
The archives for Wednesbury Borough are held atSandwell Community History and Archives Service inSmethwick.
Wednesbury was first connected to the rail network in the mid-19th century, and has been served by heavy and light rail for all but six years since then.
TheSouth Staffordshire Line betweenWalsall andStourbridge served Wednesbury until 1993. Passenger services were withdrawn after Wednesbury railway station closed in 1964 under theBeeching Axe,[29] but a steel terminal soon opened on the site and did not close until December 1992, with the railway closing on 19 March 1993 after serving the town for some 150 years.
Until 1972, the town was served by the formerGreat Western Railway line betweenBirmingham andWolverhampton atWednesbury Central station. Passenger trains were withdrawn at this time, with Wednesbury-Birmingham section of the line through West Bromwich closing. The Bilston-Wolverhampton section survived for another decade before closing over the winter of 1982/83. The final section between Wednesbury and Bilston, serving a scrapyard at Bilston, remained open until 30 August 1992, before the line was closed to allow for the creation of the Midland Metro, which opened in May 1999.
A steam tram service opened toDudley, also servingTipton, on 21 January 1884. The line was electrified in 1907 but discontinued in March 1930 on its replacement by Midland Red buses.[30]
The town's current bus station was opened in the autumn of 2004 on the site of its predecessor.
Second in importance to Wednesbury manor house was Oakeswell Hall, built c. 1421 by William Byng. The property descended to the family of Jennyns. By 1662 the house was known as Okeswell or Hopkins New Hall Place (it being adjacent to the Hopkins family's New Hall Fields). Richard Parkes, a Quaker ironmaster, bought it in 1707 and moved in the following year. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries it was a farmhouse. Between 1825 and 1962 it had several different owners, including Joseph Smith (the first town clerk) who greatly restored it. In 1962 it was demolished.[31]
Dr Walter Chancellor Garman (1860–1923), ageneral practitioner, and his wife, Margaret Frances Magill[32][33] lived at Oakeswell Hall.[34] Their children included theGarman sisters who were associated with the Bloomsbury group. There were nine children, seven sisters and two brothers:Mary (1898), Sylvia (1899),Kathleen (1901), Douglas (1903), Rosalind (1904), Helen (1906), Mavin (1907), Ruth (1909) andLorna (1911).
At the 2021 census, Wednesbury's built-up area population was recorded as having a population of 20,313. Of the findings, the ethnicity and religious composition of the wards separately were:
| : Wednesbury: 2021 Census[35] | |||||||||||||
| Ethnic group | Population | % | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 15,594 | 76.7% | |||||||||||
| Asian or Asian British | 3,109 | 15.3% | |||||||||||
| Black or Black British | 713 | 3.5% | |||||||||||
| Mixed | 591 | 2.9% | |||||||||||
| Other Ethnic Group | 229 | 1.1% | |||||||||||
| Arab | 82 | 0.3% | |||||||||||
| Total | 20,313 | 100% | |||||||||||
The religious composition of the built-up area at the 2021 Census was recorded as:
| Wednesbury: Religion: 2021 Census | |||||||||||||
| Religious | Population | % | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian | 9,657 | 50.1% | |||||||||||
| Irreligious | 6,389 | 33.1% | |||||||||||
| Muslim | 2,008 | 10.4% | |||||||||||
| Sikh | 673 | 3.5% | |||||||||||
| Hindu | 424 | 2.2% | |||||||||||
| Other religion | 80 | 0.4% | |||||||||||
| Buddhist | 52 | 0.3% | |||||||||||
| Jewish | 1 | 0.1% | |||||||||||
| Total | 20,313 | 100% | |||||||||||
Wednesbury is onThomas Telford's London toHolyhead road, built in the early 19th century. The section between Wednesbury andMoxley was widened in 1997 to form a dual carriageway, completing theBlack Country Spine Road that had been in development since 1995 when the route between Wednesbury and West Bromwich had opened, along with a one-mile route to the north of Moxley linking with theBlack Country Route. The original plan was for a completely new route between Wednesbury and Moxley, but this was abandoned as part of cost-cutting measures, as were the planned grade-separated junctions, which were abandoned in favour of conventional roundabouts.
The bus station, rebuilt in 2004, is in the town centre near the swimming baths. It facilitates links toWolverhampton,West Bromwich,Walsall andDudley, where connections can be made to theMerry Hill Shopping Centre.
Since 1999, Wednesbury has been served by theWest Midlands Metro light rail tram system, with stops atGreat Western Street andWednesbury Parkway. It runs from Wolverhampton to Birmingham; the maintenance depot is also here.
Wednesbury's rail links are set to improve further with the completion of a new Metro tram line running toBrierley Hill, viaTipton andDudley, making use of the disused South Staffordshire Line. Originally planned to open in 2023, the project was put back due to lack of funds and is now being built in two parts with part one (to Dudley) now expected to open in 2025. The completion of the extension depends upon funds being available.[36]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC West Midlands andITV Central. Television signals are received from theSutton Coldfield TV transmitter.[37]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio WM,Heart West Midlands,Smooth West Midlands,Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire,Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands,Greatest Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire and Black Country Radio, a community based station.[38]
The town is served by the local newspapers,Wednesbury Herald andExpress & Star.[39]
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A ballad about cock-fighting in the town called "Wedgebury Cocking" or "Wednesbury Cocking" became well known in the 19th century.[45] It begins:
At Wednesbury there was a cocking,
A match between Newton and Skrogging;
The colliers and nailers left work,
And all to Spittles' went jogging
To see this noble sport.
Many noted men there resorted,
And though they'd but little money,
Yet that they freely sported.
These gardens occupy the site of the graff or fighting platform of the stronghold built by Ethelfleda, princess of Mercia, daughter of King Alfred the Great, about A.D.916 when she fortified Wednesbury against the Danes.
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