Sedgley
| Sedgley | |
| Staffordshire | |
|---|---|
 The Clifton public house and 'Bull Ring' | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SO918936 |
| Location: | 52°32’24"N, 2°7’23"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 11,923 (2001) |
| Post town: | Dudley |
| Postcode: | DY3 |
| Dialling code: | 01902 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dudley |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Dudley North |
Sedgley is a town in Staffordshire, within the Black Country and contiguous with the neighbouring towns of the Black Country conurbation. It is situated along the A459 road between Wolverhampton and Dudley, at the very edge of the conurbation, with farmland lying alongside its western streets.
Sedgley was formerly the seat of an ancient manor comprising several smaller villages, including Gornal, Gospel End, Woodsetton, Ettingshall, Coseley, and Brierley (now called Bradley).
History
The place name Sedgley was first mentioned in a 985 charter from King Æthelred to Lady Wulfrun, when describing the border of the lands granted of Wolverhampton.[1] The original Old English name was “Secg's leah”, in which Secg may be a personal name or the word for a gentleman or warrior. Therefore, the name is "Secg's glade".[2]
Sedgley is listed in the Domesday Book.
In 1926, much of Sedgley was handed to Dudley Council to allow the development of the Priory and Wrens Nest Estates, where new council housing was built to rehouse families from the slum clearances in central Dudley. More land was transferred in the 1950s for the construction of the Old Park Farm estate.
Sedgley expanded rapidly during the early part of the 20th century, in response to the development of the nearby Baggeridge Colliery. After the colliery closed in 1968[3] it was bought by Seisdon Rural District Council, and later, in 1970, was granted country park status. On 12 January 1981, full reclamation of the land commenced.[4]
Many pre-1900 buildings in Sedgley survive to this day. They include Queen Victoria Primary School (1897), All Saints' Church (1805)[5] and the early 19th century Court House, now used as a public house.[6]
Ancient Manor of Sedgley
The ancient Manor of Sedgley consisted of nine villages; Sedgley, Gospel End, Cotwall End, Upper Gornal, Lower Gornal, Woodsetton, Coseley, Ettingshall and Brierley.[7]
The Gornal villages are generally not considered part of modern-day Sedgley, having developed to a goodly size themselves, nor is the bulk of the village of Woodsetton. Gospel End is of a very different character, having retained its rural setting, escaping as yet th growth of the conurbation whose edge is threateningly close by.
All Saints' Church
All Saints' Church is a parish church which is situated in the town centre. The first All Saints' Church was built during the 12th century but the current structure was completed in 1805 and has a capacity to seat more than 1,300 people. The organ which was fitted in the church on its completion had originally been in Westminster Abbey. The church is located on the corner of Vicar Street and Dean Street, with the modern vicarage and church hall on the opposite side of Vicar Street.
At the time, it was the only parish church in the large but relatively lightly populated parish of Sedgley, but the parish was later divided into five ecclesiastical parishes: Sedgley, Lower Gornal, Upper Gornal, Ettingshall and Coseley. Each of these newly created parishes had their own church.
Neighbourhoods
Bull Ring
The central area of Sedgley, so named because it was originally the site of bull baiting before the sport was declared illegal in 1835. All signs of the actual ring were destroyed in about 1930 on the construction of a traffic island, but the traffic island is still known as the "Bull Ring".
The Bull Ring site has been occupied by a traffic island since about 1950. It is surrounded by a few public houses. The Court House, built in the early 19th century, was once the town's magistrates' court. These law courts were relocated to a building at the nearby police station until the town's courts were declared redundant in 1988. The Court House is still open, having been part of the Mr Q's pub chain, however it is now independently owned. The Red Lion is approximately the same age as the Court House, and was once the village prison. It is still connected to the Court House by a passageway, though this has long fallen into disuse. The Clifton was opened in 1937 as Sedgley's first cinema, and remained open until 1978, when it closed and was converted into a bingo hall before being taken over by a pub chain and converted into a public house in 1998.
Presto opened a large supermarket on High Holborn in the town centre in 1987, on the site of a former filling station – with a former public car park being incorporated into the supermarket. A year later it was rebranded Safeway, and since 2004 has been owned by Midcounties Co-Operative.
High Arcal Estate
Situated to the south of the town centre. It was developed in phases on part of a public open space between 1992 and 1996, and consists of around 300 Housing Association houses, flats and bungalows. Three-bedroom houses are the most frequent type of property in the area. Some residents on the estate are tenants of their homes, while others have shared ownership or full ownership. High Arcal is the largest post-1970s housing development in Sedgley.
Cotwall End
Cotwall End is situated around the rural Cotwall End Valley, and is one of the nine historic villages of the Sedgley manor.[8]
A few pre-1900 buildings still exist, but the face of the area has changed dramatically since the Second World War by the construction of mostly upmarket detached houses in Cotwall End Road and Catholic Lane. Cotwall End Primary School has served the area since 1962, by which time most of the current surrounding houses had been built. There is also a nature reserve which was previously owned by Dudley MBC and had free admission, but has since been sold to a private landowner and admission fees now have to be paid.
One of the few surviving buildings from the historic village of Cotwall End is Spout House Farm, which was built in the 18th century and remained in use for some 200 years, finally being abandoned during the 1970s. The farm house and buildings fell into disrepair over the next two decades but were restored in 2001 and converted into apartments.[9]
A nature reserve was opened in the area by Dudley council in 1969, and for 30 years entry was free until the council introduced entry charges.
Brownswall Estate
Situated to the north of Cotwall End Valley, this private housing estate was developed by Coseley-based builders Joseph Webb in the mid to late 1950s, consisting of semi-detached and detached houses and bungalows with either two or three bedrooms. It is also served by a recreation ground which includes a large football pitch and at one stage also a playground. The estate also features shops with flats above them.
Northway
Situated north of Cotwall End towards the border with Wolverhampton. The development began in the 1950s on land to the north of Gospel End Road, gathered pace in the 1960s and was completed in the 1970s (by which time some 1,000 houses had been built) to join up with Wolverhampton Road.
Adjoining the estate is Sedgley Hall Park, built in the grounds of Sedgley Hall, a 15th-century house which was demolished in 1966.
The centre of the Northway Estate has a shopping area, medical centre, supermarket and public house.
Sedgley Beacon
Beacon Hill, one of several hills named Beacon Hill. It rises to 778 feet above sea level; one of the highest points in the Black Country. It is well known for fossils.[10] The hill was once the site where beacons were lit to warn local people of invaders. Sedgley Beacon Hill provides views across the Black Country, Cannock Chase and Birmingham to the east, and to the Wrekin, Clee Hills and Malvern Hills to the west, and on very clear days it is possible to see the hills of North Staffordshire and Derbyshire, as well as the Cambrian Mountains beyond.[11] It is also possible to see another Beacon hill; Barr Beacon, some 15 miles away.
A council housing estate was built at the foot of Sedgley Beacon in the interwar years and is named the Beacon Estate.
Outside links
References
- ↑ "985 Charter". Anglo-saxons.net. http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=get&type=charter&id=860. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
- ↑ David Horovitz – The Place-Names of Staffordshire (2006)
- ↑ "The Closing Of Baggeridge Colliery". We Were There. Black Country Society. http://www.blackcountrysociety.co.uk/articles/baggeridge2.htm. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
- ↑ "HISTORY OF… BAGGERIDGE COUNTRY PARK" (PDF). South Staffordshire Council. http://www.sstaffs.gov.uk/PDF/History%20of%20Baggeridge2.pdf. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
- ↑ William White. "Church History". History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire. GENUKI. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/STS/Sedgley/index.html#ChurchHistory. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
- ↑ "The Courthouse". UK Attraction. http://www.ukattraction.com/heart-of-england/the-courthouse.htm. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ "A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEDGLEY". Sedgley Manor. http://www.sedgleymanor.com/historical/a_brief_history.html. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
- ↑ Ciarán Ryan (17 August 2006). "Sedgley Beacon Tower". BBC Black Country. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/content/articles/2005/06/13/sedgley_beacon_tower_feature.shtml. Retrieved 18 June 2008.