Kinver Edge

Kinver Edge
Kinver Edge
	Kinver as seen from Holy Austin Rock Houses
Highest point
Elevation	164 m (538 ft)
Listing	None
Coordinates	52°27′00″N2°14′34″W / 52.4501°N 2.2427°W
Geography
	Kinver Edge Location in Staffordshire
Location	Staffordshire, England
OS grid	SO829824
Topo map	OS Landranger 102

Last updated December 27, 2024

Kinver Edge is a high heath and woodland escarpment just west of Kinver, about four miles west of Stourbridge, and four miles north of Kidderminster, and is on the border between Worcestershire and Staffordshire, England. It is now owned by the National Trust.

History

Kinver Edge is a remnant of the Mercian forest, although much planting dates from post-1945. There are two Iron Age hillforts on Kinver Edge; the larger one, Kinver Edge Hillfort, is at the northern end, while the other is at the southern end, on a promontory known as Drakelow Hill.

The area has been a popular local tourist destination since Edwardian times, when an electric tramway, the Kinver Light Railway, connected Kinver to the Birmingham tram system.

The National Trust was given 198 acres of Kinver Edge in 1917 by the children of Thomas Grosvenor Lee, a Birmingham solicitor born in Kinver, in memory of Lee and his wife. The Trust acquired a further 85 acres between 1964 and 1980.^[1] In 2014 Worcestershire Council Cabinet approved the transfer of Kingsford Forest Park (also known as Kingsford Country Park) to the National Trust.^[2] The Forest Park, which covered approximately 200 acres (0.81 km²), lay entirely in Worcestershire where it adjoined the southern end of the Edge. The transfer had been completed by 2018, with 'Kingsford Forest Park' signs being replaced by 'National Trust Kinver Edge' signs. The total area covered by Kinver Edge now amounts to approximately 600 acres.^{[note 1]}

Rock Houses

Kinver Edge is home to the last troglodyte dwellings occupied in England, with a set of complete cave-houses excavated into the local sandstone.^[3] One of the rocks, "Holy Austin", was a hermitage until the Reformation. The Holy Austin rock houses were inhabited until the 1960s. They are now owned by the National Trust and are open for tour. One house has been restored to a Victorian appearance, and the Martindale Caves show what life was like in the 1930s. The cottage gardens and an orchard are being replanted and restored.

Other cave dwellings found on Kinver Edge include:

Nanny's Rock, a large cavern with five compartments which was apparently never converted into a house. For many years it was known as 'Meg-o-Fox-Hole'; the parish register records the death on 8 June 1617 of one 'Margaret of the fox earth' who may have lived there.^[4]
Vale's Rock, also known as Crow's Rock, later turned into a house on two levels. It was also inhabited until the 1960s but due to its dangerous condition has since been fenced off to prevent public access.^[5]

Geography

Kinver Edge is situated to the east of the Severn Valley, and is in the South Staffordshire/Wyre Forest Districts. It is situated in green belt land, and is at the very edge of the urban metropolitan West Midlands. Kinver Edge rises to 164 metres (538 ft) above sea level at the summit, and provides views to the Clent Hills, Shatterford Hill, Dudley, Wenlock Edge, Malvern Hills and the Shropshire Hills.

The Edge is a sandstone ridge topped with Bunter pebbles, and is subject to erosion.

Flora and fauna

Kinver Edge contains two areas of heathland, the larger near the top of the escarpment in the north and the smaller in the former Forest Park to the south. The broadleaf woodland in the north includes birch, oak and sweet chestnut trees, while the former Forest Park is largely made up of coniferous plantation woodlands. As of 2020^[update] the National Trust is proposing to restore a further 47.9 acres of heathland in the former Forest Park over the next 10 years.^[6]

The heathland on Kinver Edge is inhabited by wildlife, including the adder, common lizard, and heathland birds such as the skylark. Common buzzard, Eurasian jay, great spotted woodpecker, and many other bird species are present in the woods, as are the badger and red fox.

From time to time longhorn cattle are allowed to graze on the heathland areas.

Contemporary uses

The primary economic activity is tourism and estate management. The Staffordshire Way long-distance footpath passes over the summit, while the North Worcestershire Path runs through the former Forest Park, which is also used for mountain biking.

Related Research Articles

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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.

Wollaston is a village on the outskirts of Stourbridge, in the south of the Dudley district, in the county of the West Midlands, England. It is located one mile west of Stourbridge town centre.

Wordsley is a suburban village near Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England. It is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and is north of the River Stour. Wordsley is part of the Kingswinford and South Staffordshire Parliamentary constituency as of 2024. It is bordered by open Staffordshire countryside to the west, Kingswinford to the north, Brierley Hill to the east and Stourbridge to the south.

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Stourton is a hamlet in South Staffordshire, England 2.5 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.

The Stourport Ring is a connected series of canals forming a circuit, or canal ring, around Worcestershire, The Black Country and Birmingham in The Midlands, England. The ring is formed from the River Severn, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, the Stourbridge Canal, the Dudley Canals, the Birmingham Canal Navigations and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.

Kingsford is a large hamlet in Worcestershire, England.

The North Worcestershire Path is a waymarked long-distance trail within the historic county of Worcestershire in England. It runs 37 miles (60 km) from Bewdley to Major's Green, Birmingham.

Highgate Common is a Staffordshire Wildlife Trust reserve containing a mix of heathland and woodland. It is about 116 hectares or 286 acres in size. The common is a popular leisure destination and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, located in Southern Staffordshire, England.

Kingsford Country Park, officially Kingsford Forest Park, was in Worcestershire, England, U.K. and managed by Worcestershire County Council. It adjoined Kinver Edge, Staffordshire, a National Trust property, to which it was connected by multiple paths. Part of the country park was formerly known as Blakeshall Common.

Drakelow is a hamlet in Worcestershire, England. It is one of the ancient townships of the manor of Wolverley, whose extent was similar to that of the modern civil parish of Wolverley & Cookley. It is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Wolverley and the same distance southwest of Blakeshall.

References

↑ Greenslade, M. W. (1990). A History of Kinver and Enville (being an extract from The Victoria County History of Staffordshire Vol XX). Staffordshire Libraries, Arts and Archives. p. 128. ISBN 0-903363-46-1.
↑ "Agenda item - Call-in: Transfer of Kingsford Forest Park to the National Trust". 12 November 2014.
↑ Cook, Allen (25 December 2024). "The rock houses of England's last cave people". BBC News. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
↑ Bills, D. M.; Griffiths, E. & W. R. (1979). Kinver Rock Houses. Elda Publications. pp. 14–15. ISBN 0-9506253-0-2.
↑ Bills, D. M.; Griffiths, E. & W. R. (1979). Kinver Rock Houses. Elda Publications. p. 17. ISBN 0-9506253-0-2.
↑ Proposals displayed on National Trust noticeboards at the Edge, February 2020

Notes

↑ Subsequent to the incorporation of the Forest Park, National Trust notices displayed in 2019 requesting that dogs be kept on leads during the breeding season for heathland birds stated "This request only applies to around 100 acres of the approximately 600 acres of Kinver Edge".

External links

Summit of Kinver Edge
Holy Austin Rock Houses
Unrestored rock houses

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[1] Greenslade, M. W. (1990). A History of Kinver and Enville (being an extract from The Victoria County History of Staffordshire Vol XX). Staffordshire Libraries, Arts and Archives. p. 128. ISBN 0-903363-46-1.

[2] "Agenda item - Call-in: Transfer of Kingsford Forest Park to the National Trust". 12 November 2014.

[4] Cook, Allen (25 December 2024). "The rock houses of England's last cave people". BBC News. Retrieved 26 December 2024.

[5] Bills, D. M.; Griffiths, E. & W. R. (1979). Kinver Rock Houses. Elda Publications. pp. 14–15. ISBN 0-9506253-0-2.

[6] Bills, D. M.; Griffiths, E. & W. R. (1979). Kinver Rock Houses. Elda Publications. p. 17. ISBN 0-9506253-0-2.

[7] Proposals displayed on National Trust noticeboards at the Edge, February 2020

[3] Subsequent to the incorporation of the Forest Park, National Trust notices displayed in 2019 requesting that dogs be kept on leads during the breeding season for heathland birds stated "This request only applies to around 100 acres of the approximately 600 acres of Kinver Edge".

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