Bentley, West Midlands

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Bentley
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Bentley
Location within the West Midlands
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Police West Midlands
Fire West Midlands
Ambulance West Midlands
List of places
UK
England
West Midlands
52°35′36″N2°01′17″W / 52.5933°N 2.0215°W / 52.5933; -2.0215

Bentley is an area in the Walsall district, in the county of the West Midlands, England, located around Junction 10 of the M6 Motorway. It is also a rural village of houses towards its eastern sides. It shares borders with the areas of Willenhall, Beechdale, Ashmore Park, Pleck, Darlaston and Alumwell.

Contents

History

Bentley is noted for its involvement in the English Civil War, when in 1651, after the Battle of Worcester, King Charles II took shelter with the Lane Family in Bentley Hall while attempting to escape to exile. Jane Lane famously helped the King escape by disguising him as her servant, and riding with him to Somerset. Bentley Cairn marks the location of Bentley Hall upon the hill. The Cairn has recently undergone improvements, carried out by the Bentley Cairn Restoration Group.

In addition to these improvements, the remains of another manor house near the Cairn were discovered during May 2006, and an archaeological survey will take place by the Bentley Cairn Restoration Group, funded by the Darlaston Local Neighbourhood Partnership, in order to confirm and restore the remains of the house.

Bentley was originally developed between the late 1940s and early 1960s, where new local authority housing was built as part of the post Second World War housing construction boom, when it came within the borders of Darlaston Urban District Council; this now-defunct authority built several hundred homes at the north side of the Walsall to Wolverhampton road. Most of the roads on the estate took their name from Second World War heroes or from members of the British Royal Family. Further development took place from the late 1970s to the early 1980s with construction of the Old Hall estate, a development of several hundred local authority houses and apartments.

Bentley was formerly a township in the parish of Wolverhampton, [1] in 1866 Bentley became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged with Darlaston and Short Heath. [2] In 1931 the parish had a population of 507. [3]

Local points of interest

Bentley is locally well known for its points of interest. They include Bentley Cairn, Emmanuel Church (denomination: Church of England), the ABC park, the lake and the dis-used railway line which runs through Bentley from Walsall and into Willenhall.

More recently Bentley has become well known because of its proximity to the M6 motorway, a multi-screen cinema, casino, and a variety of restaurants.

Public transport

Several bus routes serve Bentley, linking it to Bilston, Darlaston, New Invention, Walsall, Willenhall and Wolverhampton. These services are operated by National Express West Midlands and Diamond Bus.

There was a proposed expansion on West Midlands Metro linking Walsall, Beechdale, Bentley, Willenhall, Wednesfield, New Cross Hospital and Wolverhampton. This has since been ruled out due to "lack of local support" for the move and have shifted focus to reopening train stations in Willenhall and Darlaston [4]

There was a station around half a mile east of Bentley near Bloxwich Lane which served Bentley until its closure in 1898 although the line from Walsall to Wolverhampton continued to be used by freight and goods traffic until 1960s when the section from North Walsall to Willenhall was closed. The station is now under the M6 motorway near junction 10. Although inaccessible, one can make out where the embankment was should they try to pinpoint the location near Bloxwich Lane and the motorway.

Education

Bentley has one Secondary School and several primary schools. These are:

Additionally, Jane Lane Special School is located in Bentley.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walsall</span> Town in the West Midlands, England

Walsall is a market town and administrative centre of the borough of the same name in the West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Birmingham, 7 miles (11 km) east of Wolverhampton and 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Lichfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bilston</span> Market town in the West Midlands, England

Bilston is a market town in the City of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshire, four wards of Wolverhampton City Council now cover the town. These are Bilston South and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston and Ettingshall North and Ettingshall South and Spring Vale, which comprise a part of Bilston and other parts of Wolverhampton. The town had a population 34,639 at the 2021 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willenhall</span> Market town in the West Midlands, England

Willenhall is a market town in the Walsall district, in the county of the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2021 Census of 49,587. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire. It lies upon the River Tame, and is contiguous with both Wolverhampton and parts of South Staffordshire. The M6 motorway at Junction 10 separates it from Walsall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Tame, West Midlands</span> River in the West Midlands of England

The River Tame is a river in the West Midlands of England, and one of the principal tributaries of the River Trent. The Tame is about 95 km (59 mi) long from the source at Oldbury to its confluence with the Trent near Alrewas, but the main river length of the entire catchment, i.e. the Tame and its main tributaries, is about 285 km (177 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Walsall</span> Metropolitan borough in England

The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Darlaston, Pelsall and Willenhall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloxwich</span> Town in West Midlands, England

Bloxwich is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. It is located between the towns of Walsall, Cannock, Willenhall and Brownhills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wednesfield</span> Town in West Midlands, England

Wednesfield is a town and historic village in the City of Wolverhampton, in the county of the West Midlands, England, It is 2 miles (3.2 km) east-northeast of Wolverhampton city centre and about 10 miles (16 km) from Birmingham and is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It was historically within the county of Staffordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darlaston</span> Town in West Midlands, England

Darlaston is an industrial and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. It is located near Bilston, Walsall, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Willenhall and Wolverhampton. It was historically part of Staffordshire.

New Invention is a large estate around three miles (4.8 km) north of the town of Willenhall and four miles (6.4 km) east of the city of Wolverhampton in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. It is halfway between Walsall and Wolverhampton on the busy main A4124 and A462 roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A454 road</span> Road in the West Midlands

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley railway station (West Midlands)</span> Disused railway station in Bentley, West Midlands

Bentley railway station was a railway station built by the Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway in 1872, and was operated by the Midland Railway from 1876 onwards. Situated on Bloxwich Lane, it served the area of Bentley, located between Willenhall and Walsall in the English West Midlands. The station closed in 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darlaston James Bridge railway station</span> Disused railway station in Darlaston, Walsall

Darlaston James Bridge railway station was a station built on the Grand Junction Railway in 1837, serving the James Bridge area east of the town centre of Darlaston, near the junction of Walsall Road and Bentley Mill Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short Heath, Willenhall</span> Human settlement in England

Short Heath is a residential area situated north of the market town of Willenhall, in the Walsall district, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Short Heath is a ward in the Walsall North constituency, and is bordered by the neighbouring wards of Bentley and Darlaston North, Birchills Leamore, Willenhall North, and Willenhall South.

The Lodge Farm estate is located in the area of Short Heath in the town of Willenhall, which is in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walsall Council</span> Local government body in England

Walsall Council, formally Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. The town of Walsall had been a borough from medieval times, which was reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Walsall</span>

The Walsall trolleybus system once served the town of Walsall, then in Staffordshire, but now in West Midlands, England. Opened on 22 July 1931, it gradually replaced the Walsall Corporation Tramways network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darlaston Green</span> Area of Darlaston in West Midlands, England

Darlaston Green is a suburb of Darlaston in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands county of England. It is located to the north of Darlaston town centre and borders the Walsall Canal, the suburb of Bentley, and the town of Willenhall. The area is also within proximity of Junction 10 of the M6 motorway at Walsall and the A454 road/Black County Route. The area is mostly a mix of residential and industrial.

References

  1. ↑ "History of Bentley, in Walsall and Staffordshire". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  2. ↑ "Relationships and changes Bentley CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "Population statistics Bentley CP/Tn through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  4. ↑ "West Midlands Metro extension ruled out for Walsall through lack of demand".
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