| Greensforge | |
|---|---|
  Greensforge Location within Staffordshire | |
| OS grid reference | SO861888 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Kingswinford, Dudley |
| Postcode district | DY6 |
| Police | Staffordshire |
| Fire | Staffordshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Greensforge is a scattered hamlet on the boundary of Kinver and Swindon parishes, in South Staffordshire, England. It is noted for its Roman associations and its industrial heritage.
The hamlet takes its name from a finery forge established there in the early 17th century: Mr Green's Forge. This was typical of early industrial development all along the Smestow Brook, in which bloomeries, foundries and forges used local water supplies and charcoal.
The hamlet was not the earliest settlement in the area. The name Greensforge is also used for a group of Romans forts lying on the west of the brook, partly in Ashwood. The remains of one fort, extending to 2.3 hectares, are visible as a low banked enclosure on either side of Mile Flat, just east of the canal locks and wharf. This dates from period 60-80 AD. It was identified at least as early as the 18th century and numerous finds of pottery and other objects were made before it was excavated in 1929. The other, earlier, 1.8 hectare site was detected only because of air photography, but subsequently confirmed by archaeological excavation. This is a Claudian structure, dating from the earliest days of the Roman occupation. It was built to utilise the defensive possibilities of the Smestow Brook and its tributary the Dawley Brook, which today feeds into the canal through the marina at Ashwood. [1] There are also the remains of several Roman marching camps in the immediate area.
The eponymous forge replaced a decayed mill on the Smestow Brook. Greensforge formed part of a strip of meadows along the Smestow Brook, which were assart lands of Kinver Forest, i.e. lands cleared by medieval settlers. It was let to servants of Lord Dudley and may have been used by Dud Dudley. The forge was converted to a blade mill for sharpening scythes and other edged tools in the 1680s. This was rebuilt as a corn mill in the 19th century. This has recently (in 2008) been converted into flats. [2]
Around 1770, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, planned by James Brindley, was driven through Greensforge and it was opened in May 1772. A brick bridge was constructed, with wharf and locks. These remain, now overshadowing the river and mill, which lie a little to their west.
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is 46 miles (74 km) long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywood Junction by Great Haywood.
The River Churnet is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove.
Castlefield is an inner city conservation area in Manchester, North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, Quay Street, Deansgate and Chester Road. It was the site of the Roman era fort of Mamucium or Mancunium which gave its name to Manchester. It was the terminus of the Bridgewater Canal, the world's first industrial canal, built in 1764; the oldest canal warehouse opened in 1779. The world's first passenger railway terminated here in 1830, at Liverpool Road railway station and the first railway warehouse opened here in 1831.
The Stour 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.
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of the West Midlands county, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south. It contains notable settlements such as Codsall, Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Penkridge, Brewood, Coven, Essington, Huntington, Weston-under-Lizard, Bilbrook, Wombourne, Himley, Perton and Featherstone. Codsall is the main administrative centre of South Staffordshire District. Many of the villages form both commuter and residential areas for the nearby towns of Cannock, Stafford and Telford. As well as the wider West Midlands County.
Ashwood is a small area of Staffordshire, England.
Wombourne is a large village and civil parish located in the district of South Staffordshire, in the county of Staffordshire, 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Wolverhampton and just outside the county and conurbation of the West Midlands.
Kinver is a large village in the District of South Staffordshire in Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. The nearest towns are Stourbridge, West Midlands, Kidderminster in Worcestershire and Bridgnorth, Shropshire. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal passes through, running close to the course of the meandering River Stour. According to the 2011 census Kinver ward had a population of 7,225.
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.
Stourton is a hamlet in Staffordshire, England a few miles to the northwest of Stourbridge. There is a fair amount of dispute over the pronunciation, being pronounced 'stower-ton', 'stir-ton' or 'store-ton' by different people from the area. The nearest sizeable villages are Wollaston and Kinver, the nearest hamlets are Prestwood and Dunsley. It lies on the River Stour. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and Stourbridge Canal meet at Stourton Junction, which places Stourton on the Stourport Ring, a navigable waterway popular with narrowboat holidaymakers.
Swindon is a village and civil parish located in the West Midlands. The nearest major town is Dudley, approximately five miles eastwards. It stands today that Swindon is in fact actually in Wombourne and used to be where less wealthy people would live.
Trysull is a rural village in the county of Staffordshire, England approximately five miles south-west of Wolverhampton. With the adjacent village of Seisdon, it forms the civil parish of Trysull and Seisdon, within the South Staffordshire non-metropolitan district. Until 1974 it formed part of Seisdon Rural District. The 2011 census recorded a usually resident population for the parish of Trysull & Seisdon of 1,150 persons in 455 households.
The Smestow Brook, sometimes called the River Smestow, is a small river that plays an important part in the drainage of Wolverhampton, South Staffordshire, and parts of Dudley in the United Kingdom, and has contributed to the industrial development of the Black Country. It is the most important tributary of the River Stour, Worcestershire and part of the River Severn catchment.
The Bratch is an area of Wombourne in South Staffordshire, England, noted for its industrial heritage and more recently as a way station for walkers, riders and cyclists. Formerly, it was a small, separate hamlet, and became fully absorbed into Wombourne only in the 20th century. Population details for the 2011 census can be found under Wombourne.
The Wom Brook is a stream in South Staffordshire, England. It flows through the large village of Wombourne, and has played an important part in its industrial history. It is an important tributary of the River Smestow and part of the Severn catchment.
The Pensnett Canal, also called Lord Ward's Canal was a private 1.25 miles (2 km) long canal near Brierley Hill, West Midlands, England, which opened in 1840 and served the industrial enterprises of Lord Dudley's Estate. The engineer was Mathew Frost. Since its closure to navigation in 1950, much of it has been lost by overbuilding, but a small section at its junction with the Dudley Canal was restored in 1995, and the section through Brierley Hill remains in water, although it is polluted and not navigable.
Prestwood is a hamlet now in the parish of Kinver, but in the Kingswinford until the creation of Brierley Hill Urban District in the 1930s.
Kinver Forest was a Royal Forest, mainly in Staffordshire.
John Bradley & Co was a company established in 1800 by John Bradley at Stourbridge in the West Midlands area of England. The company developed into a large industrial concern with furnaces, ironworks and mines. Under James Foster, John Bradley's half brother, it was instrumental in bringing the first commercial steam locomotive into the Midlands area in 1829. The firm stayed under family control until the early years of the 20th century when first the mining (1913) and then the ironworks (1919) were sold off. Part of the business continued to trade under the name John Bradley & Co. (Stourbridge) Ltd until after the Second World War.
The Earl of Dudley’s Railway or Pensnett Railway, was a 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge railway that developed from a single 3-mile (4.8 km) line opened in 1829 to, at its maximum extent, a 40-mile (64 km) long network around the Earl of Dudley’s Iron Works at Round Oak near Brierley Hill.
Media related to Greensforge at Wikimedia Commons