Dudley: Guide

Dudley is a town in the West Midlands (county)|West Midlands, England. The town has a population of List of English cities by population|194,919 (2001 census). Since 1974 it has been the administrative headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. It is the 19th largest settlement in England, measured by Urban Sub-Area, and is the second largest 'town' in the UK.

Dudley, part of the West Midlands (county)|West Midlands conurbation, is located south of Wolverhampton and is the largest town in the Black Country. The town centre is traditionally part of an exclave of Worcestershire entirely surrounded by Staffordshire - which has determined the fact that, in ecclesiastical terms, it has remained part of the Anglican Diocese of Worcester|diocese of Worcester.

Places of interest

The town is home to Dudley Zoo, and the Black Country Living Museum. Visitors to the museum may also take a narrowboat trip from the adjacent canal, through the Dudley Tunnel. The ruined Dudley Castle is within the grounds of the zoo, and there is an extensive woodland|wooded ridge that runs north from the castle.

There are many canals in & around Dudley; popular with walkers, cyclists, fishermen, and narrowboat users. Many of the canalside towpaths have been upgraded for cycling, and some sections are part of the National Cycle Network.

Dudley College also lies in the heart of the town centre.

Transport

Nearest railway stations are all a mile or more from Dudley town centre; Tipton railway station (local trains), Dudley Port railway station (local trains), and Sandwell and Dudley railway station (inter-city trains sometimes stop here).

There was a railway station at Dudley from 1850 but it closed under the Beeching Axe in 1964. It was on the South Staffordshire line. The site of Dudley Station was redeveloped as a Dudley Freightliner Terminal|freightliner terminal which opened in 1967 and was an instant financial success. By the early 1980's it was one of the most profitable freightliner terminals in the country but Freightliner UK wanted to close it in a bid to improve the fortunes of the relatively ineffective Birmingham terminal. Freightliner UK granted the Dudley terminal a reprieve in 1983 but it was finally closed on 26th September 1989. Freight trains continued to pass through the site until 19th March 1993 when the South Staffordshire line between Wednesbury and Brierley Hill was closed completely. It is expected to reopen by 2010 as an extension to the Midland Metro.

History

Dudley has a history dating back to medieval times; a castle has stood in Dudley since the 8th century, the present castle dates from the 13th century, and provided the centre around which the town grew. (see Dudley Castle)

The town industry|industrialised rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries, and its population grew dramatically. Due to its heavy and highly polluting industries it became a central part of the Black Country. The main industries in Dudley included coal and limestone mining. Other industries included iron, steel, engineering, metallurgy, glass cutting, textiles and leatherworking. Most of these industries have declined in recent decades.

Of historical significance, the first Newcomen steam engine was installed at the Conygree coalworks a mile east of Dudley Castle in 1712.

Dudley was mostly made up of farms and factories surrounded by the occasional cottage until the 19th century, when many rows of terraced houses with terrible sanitation were built. These in turn were cleared between the 1920s and 1960s to make way for council owned houses and flats. The Dudley area also consists of many privately owned houses including some late 19th/early 20th century homes which are still standing but have been modernised to keep up with modern sanitation standards.

The first major council housing development was the Priory Estate, near the border of Sedgley, where more than 2,000 houses were built during the 1930s. The Wrens Nest Estate followed soon afterwards. It stands in the shadow of Wrens Nest Hill, where many Silurian fossils can be found including crinoids, corals and trilobites.

In the 1980s the town made the Pismo Clam (Spisula solida) the official town shell.

In 2002 the largest 2002 Dudley earthquake|earthquake to hit the UK in 10 years had its epicenter in Dudley, specifically in the outlying area of Gornal.

Local government

The original County Borough of Dudley (created in 1894) included the town of Dudley and the villages of Woodside and Netherton. In 1966, the county borough was expanded to include the urban district councils of Brierley Hill, Sedgley and Coseley. As all of these areas were part of Staffordshire, Dudley was transferred from Worcestershire to the county of Staffordshire. The part of Tividale which existed within Dudley was at this time transferred into Warley County Borough. Dudley's borough boundaries were further expanded in 1974 to become a metropolitan borough, having taken in the boroughs of Halesowen and Stourbridge (both formerly in Worcestershire). Since then, Dudley has been part of the West Midlands (county)|West Midlands county.

Neighbourhoods

Dudley

Kates Hill
Wren's Nest Estate
Priory Estate
Oakham, Dudley|Oakham
Woodside, Dudley|Woodside
Holly Hall
Russells Hall
Milking Bank

Netherton, West Midlands|Netherton

Darby End
Baptist End
Dudley Wood
Saltwells
Windmill End

Schools

Primary schools

Jessons Church of England Primary School
Priory Primary School
Wrens Nest Primary School
St Edmund's and St John's Church of England Primary School
Kates Hill Primary School
Sledmere Primary School
Russells Hall Primary School
Milking Bank Primary School
Highgate Primary School
Netherton Church of England Primary School
Northfield Road Primary School
Dudley Wood Primary School

Secondary schools

Castle High School (Dudley)|Castle High School
Holly Hall School
Bishop Milner Roman Catholic School
The Hillcrest School

Special schools

Old Park School
The Sutton School
Rosewood School

Defunct schools

The Dudley School
Dudley Boys Grammar School
Dudley Girls High School
Rosland Secondary School
The Blue Coat School
Park Secondary School
St John's Primary School
St Edmund's Primary School
Sycamore Green Primary School
Sir Gilbert Claughton School
Mons Hill School

Famous people

John Bonham - drummer
Sam Allardyce - footballer and football manager
Joe Smith (football manager)|Joe Smith (1890-1971) - former footballer and manager (was manager of Blackpool F.C.|Blackpool at the time of their famous FA Cup Final 1953|1953 FA Cup final victory over Bolton, dubbed the "Matthews Final")
John Badley (surgeon)|John Badley (1783–1870), surgeon of Dudley, Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons|FRCS (original 300 Fellows) Medical pioneer
John Haden Badley (1865–1967) educator, founder (1893) and Headmaster (1893-1935) Bedales School
Ben Black - composer
Billy Dainty - comedian
Duncan Edwards - footballer
Kaleigh Grainger - unicyclist
Lenny Henry - comedian
Sue Lawley - newsreader
Josie Lawrence - comedienne
Jas Mann - musician
Ian Messiter - comedy writer
Norman Pace - comedian
James Whale - film director
Tony Harlow - 'Laughing Cavalier'

Trivia