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|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length | 12 mi (19 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| South end | Lydiate Ash 52°22′44″N2°02′50″W / 52.3788°N 2.0473°W |
 M5 J4 A38  A456  A4036  A458  A451  A461  A449 | |
| North end | Wall Heath 52°30′30″N2°10′20″W / 52.5083°N 2.1721°W |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Primary destinations | Stourbridge |
| Road network | |
The A491 is an A road in Zone 4 of the Great Britain numbering scheme.
The road north of Oldswinford forms part of an ancient road, probably of Anglo-Saxon origin, joining the burhs of Worcester and Stafford. The crossing of the River Stour was probably the swine-ford that gave rise to the placenames Kingswinford and Oldswinford, and later to the name Stourbridge. [1]
The road from Wordsley Green to the Market House in Stourbidge and so to Bromsgrove was turnpiked in 1753. The same act also dealt with several other roads from that Market House, as well as the road from Birmingham through Halesowen and Hagley to Blakedown Pool, but that was managed by separate trustees from 1773. [2] Its continuation north of Wordsley Green, through Wolverhampton, and Stafford to Stone, much of it now part of A449 road was turnpiked by the Wolverhampton Turnpike Act of 1760. [3]
In the original 1922 road numberings, A491 was assigned to the Shrewsbury, Welshpool, Mallwyd and Cemmaes Road route, now part of the A458 and A470. The route between Wall Heath and Bromsgrove was assigned the A449 number. [4]
Starting at junction 4 of the M5, the road heads West on a single carriageway alignment, meeting the B4091 at a roundabout, then becoming a dual carriageway. There are local accesses for the villages of Belbroughton, Clent, Romsley and Holy Cross. Following a roundabout in Hagley the A491 is concurrent with the A456 for a short period before heading north towards Stourbridge. At Pedmore the A4036 leaves at a roundabout towards Dudley. The former northern section of the A450 (now B4187) from Worcester joins from the left. The A491 then continues to join the Stourbridge ring road. The one-way ring road forms part of the A491 and is concurrent with the A458 and forms the starting point of the A451 to Kidderminster.
The original route of the A491 resumes on the northern side of the Stourbridge ring road. This final section is entirely single carriageway, apart from a short distance between the staggered junction with the A461, in an urban environment causing major delays. The road passes through Amblecote, Wordsley and Kingswinford, passing numerous traffic light controlled junctions including those with the A4101 and B4175, before terminating on the A449 at a roundabout just north of Wall Heath.
The A41 is a trunk road between London and Birkenhead, England. Now in parts replaced by motorways, it passes through or near Watford, Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Bicester, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Newport, Whitchurch, Chester and Ellesmere Port.
The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol Road and Gloucester Road, is a major A-class trunk road in England.
The Stour(, rhymes with "flour") is a river flowing through the counties of Worcestershire, the West Midlands and Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England. The Stour is a major tributary of the River Severn, and it is about 25 miles (40 km) in length. It has played a considerable part in the economic history of the region.
Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 2011 UK census recorded the town's population as 63,298.
Kingswinford is a town of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands, situated 5 miles (8.0 km) west-southwest of central Dudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census.
Amblecote is an urban village and one of the most affluent areas in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. It lies immediately north of the historic town of Stourbridge bordering Wollaston ,Audnam and Quarry Bank, extending about one and a half miles from it, and is on the southwestern edge of the West Midlands conurbation. Historically, Amblecote was in the parish of Oldswinford, but unlike the rest of the parish it was in Staffordshire, and as such was administered separately.
Known as the Hagley Road in Birmingham, the A456 is a main road in England running between Central Birmingham and Woofferton, Shropshire, south of Ludlow. Some sections of the route, for example Edgbaston near Bearwood, are also the route of the Elan Aqueduct which carries Birmingham's water supply from the Elan Valley.
The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire.
Hagley railway station serves the English village of Hagley, Worcestershire. Off peak trains call three times an hour in each direction, running to or through Kidderminster westwards and through Stourbridge and Birmingham Snow Hill eastwards. Additional trains also call during the morning and evening rush hours. A half hourly service runs in the late evenings and an hourly service on Sundays. Customer Information Screens are installed on either platform. Since the 2017 change of franchise, services are run by West Midlands Trains.
The A4150 Wolverhampton Inner Ring Road is a ring road that encircles the city centre of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England. The circumference of the road is around 2.1 miles (3.4 km). Technically, the route is listed as an "Inner Ring Road", although only a tiny section of the "Outer Ring Road" was ever constructed with only one of the two designed carriageways built. A second carriageway was built in 2017 along a short stretch between Patshull Avenue and Stafford Road. The section of outer ring road is called Wobaston Road and classified as U119.
Wordsley is a suburban area of Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England. It is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and falls into the Stourbridge (DY8) postcode and address area, being just north of the River Stour. Wordsley is part of the Dudley South Parliamentary constituency. It is bordered by open countryside to the west, Kingswinford to the North, Brierley Hill to the East and Stourbridge to the South.
At 316 metres (1,037 ft) above sea level, Walton Hill is the highest point in the range of hills in northern Worcestershire known as the Clent Hills. It is the highest point for 21 miles (34 km) in all directions, and as such commands an excellent panorama. Its neighbours include Clent Hill, Wychbury Hill, Calcot Hill, and Romsley Hill.
Belbroughton is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,380. It is about six miles north of Bromsgrove, six miles east of Kidderminster and four miles south of Stourbridge. The village of Clent is nearby. The village is served by bus service 318 (Bromsgrove-Stourbridge) operared by Kev's Cars and Coaches.
Hagley is a large village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is on the boundary of the West Midlands and Worcestershire counties between the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and Kidderminster. Its estimated population was 7,162 in 2019.
The name Oldswinford is now used for a small area of Stourbridge, close to the parish church.
Wall Heath is a suburban village in the Dudley Metropolitan Borough in the West Midlands of England. It is located on the A449 road, approximately 1.5 miles northwest of Kingswinford, 5 miles west of Dudley Town Centre and 9 miles north of Kidderminster. It forms part of the West Midlands-South Staffordshire border.
Bell End is a village in the English county of Worcestershire. It is situated approximately 2 miles (3 km) south-east of Hagley on the A491, north of Bromsgrove and close to Kidderminster, Stourbridge and Halesowen. It lies in the local government District of Bromsgrove.
The A448 is a main road in England running between Studley in Warwickshire and Kidderminster in Worcestershire.
Halfshire was one of the hundreds in the English county of Worcestershire. As three of the five hundreds in the county were jurisdictions exempt from the authority of the sheriff, the hundred was considered to be half what was subject to his jurisdiction, whence the name.
There was great distress in the Lye and the districts around Stourbridge in 1834 and numbers of men were employed in lowering the cutting in the sandstone rock
Media related to A491 road (England) at Wikimedia Commons
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