History of Aldridge, Walsall, West Midlands ws9.

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History of Aldridge,
in Walsall, West Midlands, uk.

Short History of Aldridge....with further links and info below

Aldridge is a town in the Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, although historically it was part of the county of Staffordshire.

New transcribed details from Aldridge Parish registers completed in October 2010 The Staffordshire Parish Registers Society has published details of baptisms, burials and marriages registered at the church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldridge, Walsall from 1771 - 1900.

in 1215 the Rev. CM Roberts, BD, Rector of Aldridge, Staffordshire, published a Treatise on the History of Confession until it developed into Auricular Confession which in the Christian Church required confession at least once a year, this was made obligatory. A priest alone could hear confession. An abbess, even of the most important convent of women, had no such right.

Here is an extract from : A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
ALDRIDGE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Walsall, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 4 miles (N. E. by E.) from Walsall; containing, with the chapelry of Great Barr, 2083 inhabitants, of whom 1005 are in the township of Aldridge. This parish, anciently Alrewich, comprises 7752 acres, whereof 480 are common or waste land: in the township of Aldridge are about 2500 acres, all arable, with the exception of 100 of grass and 20 woodland. The soil is principally sandy and gravelly, producing good crops if well manured; much of the surface is elevated, the celebrated Barr Beacon being the highest hill in the inland counties. The neighbourhood affords a kind of red clay, well adapted for the finer sort of flower-pots, tiles, &c.; it is thirty feet deep, and makes, also, superior blue bricks for building, The Blue-tile works of Messrs. G. and J. Brawn were established here in 1825; the excellence of the tiles consists in their lightness, durability, and colour, being similar to slate: about 100 hands are employed in this species of manufacture. The trade is greatly facilitated by the Wyrley and Essington Extension canal, now incorporated with the Birmingham canal, and which passes a short distance west of the village. There is not a running stream in the parish; the Bourne rivulet separates it from Shenstone, and the old London and Chester road passes at the east end. The village is pretty, and contains some good houses: about a mile southward of it is Aldridge Lodge, occupying elevated ground, surrounded with 200 acres, and commanding a panoramic view of the circumjacent country; it is the property of the Rev. Thomas Burrowes Adams, M.A. Druids' Heath and Mill Green, two hamlets in the manor of Aldridge, are also within a mile of the village. The Living is a rectory, with the perpetual curacy of Great Barr annexed, valued in the king's books at Ł8. 1. 3.; patron, Sir E. D. Scott, Bart.: the tithes have been commuted for Ł1300 per annum; and there are 70 acres of glebe, with a good glebe-house situated near the church, near which, also, is the residence of Edward Tongue, Esq. The church was partly rebuilt in 1842, at a cost of Ł728; it has a monument of a Knight Templar, and its square tower is very ancient. There are two free schools, one of them with an endowment of Ł126 per annum, founded in 1718 by the Rev. John Jordan; and the other for girls, of whom six are instructed in consideration of an endowment of Ł12 per annum arising from land left by Mrs. Wheeley. A national and Sunday school is supported by subscription. At the back of the church is a small tumulus.

From: 'Aldingham - Alfreton', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) www.british-history.ac.uk

An Extract from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1894-1895.
Aldridge, a village and a parish in Staffordshire, 3 1/2 miles NE of Walsall, with a station on the M.R., and a post office under Walsall. The collieries of the Aldridge Colliery Company and several other collieries are situated here, and also brick and tile works. Acreage, 2939; population, 2206. A height called Barr- Beacon is said to have been a place of Druidical sacrifices; and a pool called Druid Mere makes an occasional overflow, and was formerly popularly imagined to possess some supernatural quality. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lichfield; net value, Ł378 with residence, in the gift of St John’s College, Cambridge. The church is an ancient stone edifice, rebuilt in 1853; it contains some good monuments.

In 1981, cencus records indicated Aldridge had a population of 26,500.

Aldridge historically was an industrial town with coal mines and lime kilns. After the Second World War it became a dormitory town or suburb of Birmingham, to accomodate the growing population.

In 2004 to the present, Aldridge's MP is Richard Shepherd (Conservative), the MP for Aldridge-Brownhills.

Aldridge became an urban district in Staffordshire in 1894. Other villages within the district included Pelsall, Walsall Wood, Clayhanger and Streetly.

This merged with Brownhills in 1966 to form Aldridge-Brownhills, and then became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in 1974.

Aldridge has a variety of schools, which includes St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Technology College, St Mary of the Angels Catholic School, Aldridge Science College, Cooper & Jordan Primary school, Whetstone Primary School, and Leighswood Primary School.

Aldridge has a growing number of factories, located on Redhouse industrial estate, and West Gate, making up the 1000 registered businesses in Aldridge including many smaller sole traders and work from home companies. Noteable Factories include the large Ibstock brick works and the GKN Driveshafts factory.

Aldridge has a small central shopping area called 'The Parade' that contains most of the shops in the town. Well-known shops here include WH Smiths, Iceland supermarket, and Boots The Chemist. There are also a number of independent shops and a large Morrisons supermarket just outside the town centre on the Aldridge bypass. The Home Bargains chain owned by TJ Morris Ltd. have recently opened a store in Aldridge.

There are a number of pubs and bars in the area around Aldridge,

The Elms - Anchor Road

The Whitehouse (owned by the Sizzling Pub co)- Walsall Road.

The Lazyhill Pub - Walsall Wood Road.

The Cedar Tree Pub - Walsall Wood Road

The Bowman - Redhouse Lane

The Brickmakers Arms - Salters Road (Walsall Wood)

The Plough and Harrow - Chester Road

The Old Irish Harp - Chester Road

Aldridge The Tavern - Paddock Lane Aldridge

Aldridge is served by a good local bus service. Buses to Walsall are very frequent, namely the 366, 367, 368, 355, and there are half hourly buses to Sutton Coldfield [the 366] - which used to run all the way from Walsall, via Aldridge and Sutton Coldfield to Birmingham Airport. There are also two buses that run in to Birmingham City Centre from Aldridge, the 156 and the 997.

In recent times, there has been talk of re-opening the railway that runs through aldridge as a passenger line, which is still operating as a goods line. In the late 90's / early 2000's, plans were drawn up for a modern station to be built on the site of the old one, which closed in 1966. The site of the old station lies behind the new medical center, at the bottom of Portland Road - part of the platform can still be seen. Should the station be re-opened, it would offer services to Birmingham via Sutton Coldfield, or the short journey in to Walsall. Despite the plans that have been drawn up, nothing has happened yet and most predictions would suggest a new station will be built by around 2017.

Aldridge has a Cricket Club, located up the green, behind St Mary's Church, and the Masonic Hall.

Victoria Cross holder "Captain Charles "Gus" George BONNER" Read more about George Bonner here

A wartime story about Aldridge, with acknowledgment to:
'WW2 People's War is an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar'

I recall being in Stafford walking along the road past the hospital with my mother one day when the sky was filled with aircraft towing gliders. You saw the odd glider at Aldridge from time to time but these were large military gliders. The whole of the time we walked from the town centre to Tillington Street, where uncle Joe lived, the 'planes and gliders kept coming over and looking back this must have been the time of the allied invasion of Europe in June 1944 - D-day. I can still see my grandfather cleaning his rifle, issued as part of his Home Guard duties, and I have his Defence Medal issued by Lieut-Col Cowan, Secretary of the Staffs TA Association to him, Pte E Sleath, after the war.

Some weekends the home guard (of modern 'Dad's Army' fame) would train in the local streets - jumping in and out of local gardens as they exercised. Very often they would make their way down Paddock Lane into Dumblederry Lane and over the canal bridge to fight a mock battle either side of the canal. Local children would follow knowing that any explosive thrown into the canal would stun the fish and bring them floating to the top.

During the war all iron railings were removed for the iron and steel and aluminium pots and pans were collected for air frames. Everyone had to carry an identity card and had a ration book. There was a gun battery on Barr Beacon Hill and Aldridge airfield was in use with fighters, spitfires and hurricanes, and bombers, Lancaster and Lincoln, in evidence. There were regular flights of two winged aircraft (known as biplanes) used to train pilots. At the start of the war the road to Pool Green took a detour against some open ground on the left while the land in front of the council houses on the right had a row of oak trees. During the war the road was aligned as it is today, straight, using German prisoners of war. These spoke good English and their base was the air raid shelter at the end of Tynings Lane. Here they would brew their strong black tea and eat tins of corned beef and hunks of bread - better rations than we had. They were all very friendly and one later married a Satchwell daughter. I have no idea where the prisoners were kept at night. After the war many German prisoners decided to stay in this country rather than return to their own country.

After the war, in 1947, I heard and saw my first jet engine. It was mounted on a flat truck on the railway and was being used to clear the track in the cutting on the Sutton Goldfield side of the railway bridge. All the aircraft in the Aldridge area during the war had piston driven engines, English and German alike. When petrol did become available, after the war, that supplied to essential services, tractors and transport vehicles, was dyed red in an attempt to prevent its illegal use by private motorists.

(This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from Wyre Forest Volunteer Bureau on behalf of Paul Bailey and has been added to this site with his permission. Mr Bailey fully understand the site's terms and conditions.)

Aldridge Local History Society have been successful for many years with over 145 members and have a large regular meeting place at Aldridge Parish Church.
A brand new ALHS website has also been launched publishing meetings and inviting new members or those who just want to attend any event that takes thier interest.
see the new Aldridge Local History Society website here

History of Aldridge Rail Station

This web site and all images, video clips and text contained therein are the work of Andrew Doherty
Aldridge rail Station

History of Walsall Wood Station

This is the work of Andrew Doherty, and contains photographs and text specific to Walsall Wood
Walsall Wood Station

Aldridge local History by Walsall Council

Walsall Local History Centre, the Archives Service and Local Studies Library for Walsall Metropolitan Borough. Part of Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council.
Walsall History Centre

Aldridge & Brownhills History Website

This is the work of Robert Webster, Brownhills History with a good selection of information about Aldridge.
Aldridge & Brownhills site

St Mary's Church
This is the work of Phil Burton who describes the bells in St Mary's Church and a little history of when and how they were made plus an insight into his world as a bell ringer !Bells of St Mary's Church

Aldridge between 1801 and 2001
This website link gives statisctical information over a comprehensive range of subjects, which makes facinating reading ! Vision of Britain

Aldridge Home Guard
This site tells, mainly through the words of its members, the story of the 32nd (Aldridge) Battalion, South Staffordshire Home Guard which from May 1940 until December 1944 defended that small corner of central England which includes Aldridge, Barr Beacon, Brownhills, Little Aston, Pelsall, Pheasey, Rushall, Shelfield, Streetly, Walsall Wood and neighbouring areas. Note, they have some photographs which sadly have few names identified and perhaps you can help !Aldridge Home Guard site

Honours and Awards

Honours and Awards provide a full and comprehensive service covering all aspects of military medal restoration and memorabilia display framing, at affordable prices and includes:

Replacement of ribbons

Cleaning

Mounting Swing Style

Mounting Court Style

Replacement of lost medals

Engraving

Regimental Ties supplied

Angela and Tony Kirk offer a personal service. They have a deep respect for all military and historical matters.
Honours & Awards

Sue Lote
This is site gives a selection of historical details about Aldridge, written by Sue Lote.
Sue Lote website

Genuki
This site gives a selection of historical details about Aldridge.Genuki

Aldridge Airfield
Information which includes a few lines regarding Aldridge Airport written by Mark Hobley
Aldridge Airport

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