Walsall Wood

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Walsall Wood
Walsall Wood Panorama.jpg
View of Walsall Wood from the South
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Walsall Wood
Location within the West Midlands
Population13,207 (2011 Census.Ward Aldridge North and Walsall Wood) [1]
OS grid reference SK049033
•  London 126 mi (203 km) SE
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town WALSALL
Postcode district WS8, WS9
Dialling code 01543
Police West Midlands
Fire West Midlands
Ambulance West Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
West Midlands
52°37′40″N1°55′48″W / 52.627660°N 1.9301°W / 52.627660; -1.9301

Walsall Wood is a suburb split between both Brownhills and Aldridge in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England.

Contents

History

In the late-18th century and early-19th century, the workers of Walsall Wood were primarily involved in the mining of limestone. In 1864, the population of the settlement expanded as Walsall Wood Colliery was opened, [2] as well as another colliery in nearby Shelfield. The Walsall Wood Colliery purchased the Pelsall Colliery from Pelsall Coal & Iron Co. in 1894. [3] The opening of the Walsall Wood Colliery saw the establishment of the first public services, including a police station and a post office. The mine was closed in 1964 when the supply of accessible coal had been exhausted: In 2010 a memorial pithead designed by Luke Perry was erected to commemorate the historic village's mining heritage. The pithead is one of a number of additions by artist Luke Perry. The Fisherman located next to the bridge on the high Street. This piece had to be mounted on a three-metre plinth to allow it to be seen from the road. Despite the height of the work inspired locals replaced the fish which originally hung from the rod with a golden wellington boot, they then swapped that for the Olympic rings in July 2012.

St John's Church in Walsall Wood was constructed in 1837 at a cost of £1,200. The church, with its quadrangular tower, is in the Gothic style, whilst the parsonage house is in the Elizabethan style. The church is constructed out of blue brick with stone dressings and has a capacity of 400. [4] The current minister-in-charge is Reverend David Paul Simon Babbington. [5]

Local government

Walsall Wood is part of the Aldridge North and Walsall Wood ward, in the Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, the MP of which is presently Wendy Morton, taking over from Richard Shepherd (Conservative). The area is represented by three Conservative councillors, Karl Brookhouse, Russell Bird and James Powell.

2011 census information

The population in 2011 was 13,207 a 2.5% increase from 2001. 48.9% of the population being Male and 51.1% Female. 42.3 years old is the mean average age of a resident in the area.

Ethnicity Breakdown: White (British) – 93.6% (12,362) White (Other) – 1.5% (195) Mixed – 1.7% (224) Asian – 2.1% (283) Black – 0.8% (105) Other – 0.3% (38)

Unemployment for the area was 4.7%. The borough of Walsall 6.8%.

Education

Shire Oak School is located in Walsall Wood with 96% of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C grade GCSEs in 2013. Walsall Wood is also home to Castlefort Junior School, St Johns Junior School and Walsall Wood Junior School. [6]

Sport

Walsall Wood F.C. is a football club competing in the Midland Football League 1st Division at level 10, they play their home games at their ground located at Oak Park.

Walsall Wood was also home to Formula 1 team Ensign Racing from 1973 to 1980 being based opposite Castlefort Primary School. Their best result being a 4th place in the 1981 Brazilian GP They later relocated to Burntwood until 1982.

Recreation and entertainment

Oak Park is a recreation centre located in Lichfield Road in Walsall Wood, which opened in 1974. This centre consists of two swimming pools, an astro-turf football pitch, bowls lawn (mostly flooded), BMX & Skate Park (mostly unused) along with other sporting facilities. The centre moved to Coppice Road in Walsall Wood in 2016. The Lichfield Road centre was demolished in 2017.

Walsall Wood also has a high number of pubs, including The Drunken Duck on Walsall Wood High Street, The Boatman's Rest also on the High Street, The Royal Exchange and Brickmakers Arms.

There is an on-site KFC restaurant located right next to the parking for the Oak Park facility. Across the road from Oak Park is a Fitness First gym, a Co-Operative Supermarket opened in Spring 2013, a chip shop, and an Indian restaurant. Walsall wood is also the home of Brother Barber Walsall, located on salters road, streets corner.

Walsall Wood Library is located in the former Neighbourhood Office building at the junction of Coppice Road and High Street. There have been talks to move this to the Redeveloped Oak Park Leisure Centre. Planning approval has been granted for its redevelopment and work is due to begin early 2015 for re-opening later the same year. (Plans accepted were the plans submitted in 14 July). Further details can be found via the Walsall Council Website or visiting the Leisure Centre itself. The site of the former library building on Lichfield Road has also undergone redevelopment. A purpose built car showroom was completed in Summer 2013.

Transport

Walsall Wood is served by four bus routes which are:

There is also Diamond Bus service 35 from Walsall to Lichfield via Aldridge which runs at the top end of Walsall Wood near Streets Corner.

Service X35 was previously numbered 991 and was once part of a much longer route, 901. This "Timesaver" branded route, operated by West Midlands Travel, started in 1986 and ran the same route as the current X35 but then continued to Birmingham via Sutton Coldfield. The service was split a few years later into the 991 and 901. The 991 ran every 90 minutes while the 901 was later withdrawn from serving Lichfield.

Walsall Wood railway station was opened in 1884, the station served the residents of Walsall Wood until 1930 when the passenger services were withdrawn although the odd DMU service would see passenger activity at the closed station. The line continued to serve as a goods line until the closure of the line in 1962. The line through the station was considered to be more of a colliery traffic route then a passenger service. The station is occupied by a park and houses now occupy the trackbed. Although some track is still preserved as either a footpath or agriculture.

Related Research Articles

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

Walsall is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Birmingham, 7 miles (11 km) east of Wolverhampton and 9 miles (14 km) from Lichfield.

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

Aldridge is an industrial town in the Walsall borough, West Midlands, England. It is historically a village that was part of Staffordshire until 1974. The town is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Brownhills, 5 miles (8 km) from Walsall, 6 miles (9.7 km) from Sutton Coldfield and 7 miles (11 km) from Lichfield. The town is also the second-largest town in the Walsall Borough.

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

Brownhills is a town and former administrative centre in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. A few miles south of Cannock Chase and close to the large Chasewater reservoir, it is 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Walsall, a similar distance southwest of Lichfield and 13 miles (20.9 km) miles north-northwest of Birmingham. It is part of the Aldridge-Brownhills parliamentary constituency and neighbours the large suburban villages of Pelsall and Walsall Wood. It lies within the boundaries of the historic county of Staffordshire.

<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.

Streetly is an area in the county of West Midlands, England which lies around 7 miles (11 km) to the north of Birmingham City Centre. It is uniquely located within the borders of Birmingham, Lichfield and Walsall district authorities, and is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It is adjacent to, New Oscott, Great Barr, Four Oaks, Little Aston and Aldridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldridge-Brownhills (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

Aldridge-Brownhills is a constituency in the West Midlands, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Wendy Morton, a Conservative.

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">Pelsall</span> Human settlement in England

Pelsall is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. Forming part of the borough's border with Staffordshire, Pelsall is located 4 miles north of Walsall, midway between the towns of Bloxwich and Brownhills and 4 miles northwest of Aldridge. The southern edge of Cannock Chase is 6 miles to the north. Pelsall is also 8 miles southwest of Lichfield and 8 miles northeast of Wolverhampton.

The South Staffordshire line is a partially mothballed and active former mainline that connects Burton-upon-Trent to Lichfield in Staffordshire and formerly then to the West Midlands towns of Walsall, Wednesbury, Dudley and Stourbridge. However, Dudley and Stourbridge were already joined to the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway's (OW&WR) line just north of Dudley Station. It in essence, continued to Stourbridge along with Wednesbury and Walsall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rushall, West Midlands</span> Suburban Village in Walsall, West Midlands, England

Rushall is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is centred on the main road between Walsall and Lichfield. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book but has mostly developed since the 1920s. Rushall was historically a part of the county of Staffordshire before it was incorporated with much of the old Aldridge-Brownhills Urban District into the modern-day Walsall district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norton Canes</span> Human settlement in England

Norton Canes is an industrial village, civil parish and ward of Cannock Chase District, in Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutton Park line</span>

The Sutton Park line is a freight-only railway line running from Walsall to Castle Bromwich and Water Orton in the West Midlands, England. It is an important and strategic route, as it enables most freight trains to avoid congestion at Birmingham New Street station. It gets its name as it runs through Sutton Park at Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.

The Midland Railway branches around Walsall were built to give the Midland Railway independent access to Wolverhampton, and to a colliery district at Brownhills. The Midland Railway had a stake in the South Staffordshire Railway giving it access to Walsall, and the Walsall and Wolverhampton Railway (W&WR) was opened in 1872. At first the W&WR was independent and neutral, but it was acquired by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), and then sold by that company to the Midland Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelfield</span> Human settlement in England

Shelfield is a suburb of Aldridge and Pelsall in the borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is conjoined by the nearby suburbs of Walsall Wood and Rushall. The name Shelfield derives from the Anglo Saxon Skelfeld for sloping ground or field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clayhanger, West Midlands</span> Human settlement in England

Clayhanger is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. The village is situated between Pelsall, Walsall Wood and Brownhills. The village has only one road running through it from Pelsall/Brownhills to Walsall Wood. The village has no other through roads and is predominantly residential.

Walsall Wood railway station was a station on the Midland Railway in England. It was opened in 1884, closed in March 1930 for passenger use although the odd DMU would serve the station from Birmingham New Street and Walsall.

The Walsall Silver Thread Tapestries are a set of eleven artworks, in the form of tapestries, designed by the artist Hunt Emerson in conjunction with the various communities of Walsall, England and hand stitched by local people there during 2016. They depict the people, places, history and wildlife of the towns and districts that, since 1974, have formed the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.

Norton Junction was a railway junction and goods yard that served multiple coal lines and mineral lines to and from the local collieries and other industrial-related businesses, most notably Pelsall Steelworks and Walsall Wood Colliery.

References

  1. ↑ "Walsall Ward population 2011" . Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  2. ↑ Association of Consulting Engineers (1987). The Consulting Engineers Who's who & Year Book. Princes Press. p. 206.
  3. ↑ Newcomen Society (1922). Transactions – Newcomen Society for the Study of the History of Engineering. Newcomen Society. p. 166.
  4. ↑ Edward Lees Glew (1856). History of the Borough and Foreign of Walsall. J.R. Robinson. pp. 77–78.
  5. ↑ "Diocese of Lichfield - News - March 2019". www.lichfield.anglican.org. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019.
  6. ↑ "Schools in Walsall". BBC. 11 January 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  7. ↑ "Search National Express West Midlands".
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