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| Kingswinford | |
|---|---|
 The Cross public house, Kingswinford | |
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  Kingswinford Location within theWest Midlands | |
| Population | 25,191 (2011 wards) |
| • London | 111 miles (179 km) from London City Centre |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | KINGSWINFORD |
| Postcode district | DY6 |
| Dialling code | 01384 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
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Kingswinford is a town of theMetropolitan Borough of Dudley in the EnglishWest Midlands, situated 5 miles (8 km) west-southwest of centralDudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census.[1][2]
The current economic focus of Kingswinford is education and housing for commuters. Positioned at the far western edge of theWest Midlands Urban Area it borders on a rural area extending past theRiver Severn; but its position at the edge of theBlack Country and its long standing in the area means it has had significant industrial influence in the past. This is illustrated by the influence in creating local workhouses,[3] which shows a population of 15,000 plus in the 1831 census.
Kingswinford hashistorically been in Staffordshire. The larger Kingswinford manor mentioned in theDomesday Book of 1086 was located in thehundred ofSeisdon in Staffordshire,[4] with exclaves inOldswinford in the ancient hundred of Clent in Worcestershire.[5] Rural manors perpetuated noncontiguous holdings to allow diverse agriculture production and decrease risk of catastrophic crop failure due to natural disasters. The name Kingswinford relates to a ford for the King's swine (Kingswin(e)ford) –Latin Swinford Regis. The ancient parish of Kingswinford spannedWordsley,Brierley Hill andQuarry Bank.
The parishes of Kingswinford andAmblecote formed the Kingswinfordrural district in 1894, and gave its name to theKingswinford Parliament constituency from 1885 until 1950. However, Amblecote became its ownurban district in 1898, leaving Kingswinford one of a minority of single-parish rural districts in England. Kingswinford rural district was added to theBrierley Hill Urban District in 1934,[6] which became part of theCounty Borough of Dudley in 1966, now the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley.[7] However, the rural part of the parish was removed toKinver in 1933, becoming part ofSeisdon Rural District in 1966 and since 1974 part ofSouth Staffordshire. In 1951 the parish had a population of 27,757.[8] On 1 April 1966 the parish was abolished and merged with Dudley,Stourbridge,Himley and Kinver, part also went to formWarley.[9]
Recent house building, commencing in the 1950s and 1960s, has largely destroyed the original rural character of Kingswinford, the result being the complete absorption of the former village into the adjoining urban area.
Until its closure in 2012, Kingswinford was home to food retailerJulian Graves'head office and distribution centre.
Kingswinford is a part of the West Midlandsmetropolitan county,West Midlands conurbation, and the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. It is situated on the extreme western edge of the conurbation, and to the north, east and south lie other suburban areas of theBlack Country. However, the border to the west isgreen belt, which stretches for many miles throughStaffordshire, Shropshire, beyond theSevern Valley and intoWales.
The Kingswinford DY6 postal district covers the entirety of Kingswinford and its suburban village ofWall Heath, as well as nearby rural areas such as Hinksford andAshwood.
Destinations from Kingswinford | |
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Broadfield House Glass Museum, on Compton Drive, was housed in aGrade II listed building set in its own grounds, and formed part of the historic Stourbridge Glass Quarter. It had a notable collection of British glass, much of it made locally, from historic 18th-century pieces to contemporary works from Britain's leading glass artists. Plans to retain the collection at Broadfield House were shattered and the museum eventually closed in September 2015, to make way for a new glass museum in nearby Wordsley.[10]
Near Kingswinford isHolbeche House, a small country house which has now been turned into anursing home although as of August 2023 is boarded up. It was here in 1605 that most of the men who had attempted to blow up Parliament withGuy Fawkes were cornered, and a bloody gunfight ensued, resulting in the deaths of at least four of theconspirators, including their leaderRobert Catesby. Bullet holes can still be seen in the house's walls, but it is not open to the public.Many of the streets of the Charterfields housing development, built during the 1970s, adopted the names of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, such as Catesby Drive (Robert Catesby), Digby Road (SirEverard Digby), Keyes Drive (Robert Keyes), Tresham Road (Francis Tresham), Ambrose Crescent (Ambrose Rokewood), Monteagle Drive (Lord Monteagle – William Parker) and Rokewood Close (Ambrose Rokewood).
Located in the heart of Kingswinford on the corner of Moss Grove and the High Street lies The Cross Inn. The building was Grade II listed in the 1970s.[citation needed] First recorded in the 1750 parish map, it was owned in the early 19th century by Diana Briscoe of Summerhill House.[citation needed] The pub was purchased from a previous owner byWetherspoons in 2019.[citation needed]
There is an area at the end of Kingswinford which has been known as Townsend dating back to 19th century maps of the area. It was centred on Townsend House, the family seat of the Badley family from the 17th until the early 20th century. TheGeorgian house was demolished in the 1950s to build a shopping precinct. John Badley of Townsend (1678–1768) was an ancestor ofJohn Badley,F.R.C.S. andJohn Haden Badley thecentenarian educator and founder ofBedales School.
Theparish church of St. Mary[1] dates back to the 11th century, although much of the main body of the building is from the 17th century. It contains a notableNorman carving ofSt. Michael slaying thedragon. The church is also home to a well-regarded two manual Nicholson and Lordpipe organ. It remained the church of the huge parish of Kingswinford until it was closed because of mining activities in 1831, when a new parish church was built, Holy Trinity Church inWordsley. It reopened in 1846, initially as achapel of ease, before regainingparochial status (with a smaller parish). It is the parish church for the Kingswinford Team ofAnglican churches. The building is now aGrade II listed building.[11] The churchyard containsCommonwealth war graves of four service personnel ofWorld War I and six ofWorld War II.[12]
In addition to the parish church, Kingswinford is also home to several churches of other denominations, including:
Kingswinford is well served by buses that connect it toDudley,Stourbridge,Wolverhampton,Merry Hill andBrierley Hill. There has never been an official rail connection in Kingswinford, but there were halts on the now-disusedWombourne Branch Line. The nearest stations were theGornal Halt,Himley, andPensnett Halt. It was linked by rail to Oxley, and the colliery at Baggeridge.[14]
The halts and stations closed to passengers in 1932, and the entire line from Wolverhampton to Kingswinford was closed to freight traffic in the 1960s, although the stub near Pensnett Halt served the nearbyPensnett Trading Estate until 1994, when the entire stub to Kingswinford Junction was closed. Portions of the track remain in situ, however, as well as the platforms as far as Pensnett Halt. Gornal Halt has since been replaced by residential development, and Himley station now forms part of theSouth Staffordshire Railway Walk.
Today, the nearest active railway stations are in Wolverhampton and Stourbridge. When theWest Midlands Metro extension fromWednesbury to Brierley Hill is completed, its nearest stops to Kingswinford will be Brierley Hill and Merry Hill.
In 2019, PMOL announced plans to reopen the South Staffordshire Line from Stourbridge to Merry Hill with the possibility of reopening the Wombourne Branch Line to Pensnett, a mile away. Plans had previously been forestalled by the discovery of an ancient ant colony in the area designated for development.
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC West Midlands andITV Central. Television signals are received from either theWrekin[15] orSutton Coldfield TV transmitters.[16]
Local radio stations are covered by:
The town is served by these local newspapers:
Kingswinford serves 5–11 year olds with eight primary schools, one of which is a special school.[18]
Bromley Hills, The Brier School and secondary school, The Crestwood School, sit together on a site located on Bromley Lane, Kingswinford. They are part of a project that involves a standard Primary School and a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school, and a secondary school, which work closely with each other. The area known as Campus 21 has benefitted from investment including the building of The Brier School (SEN 5–19) and a new sports hall.[20]
The area has three major secondary schools:
Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley, owned the manor of Kingswinford and was largely responsible for developing the mining industry in the area.[23]
George Saxby Penfold was Rector of Kingswinford from December 1831 until his death in 1846, but held other livings as well.[24]
William Robertson Coe, insurance, railroad and business executive, emigrated to the US.
Frederick Augustus Coe, Iron works manager
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