Bradley, West Midlands

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Map sources for Bradley at grid reference SO959952

Bradley was originally a village in the Manor of Sedgley, England. It is unexpectedly pronounced as "Brade-ley". Nowadays it is situated in the Bilston East ward of Wolverhampton City Council.

From 1894 to 1966 it was part of Coseley Urban District Council until being transferred into the Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough as a suburb of Bilston. Bradley sprung up during the 19th century with several factories and farms surrounded by mostly terraced houses in which the factory and farm workers lived. But almost all of Bradley had been redeveloped by the early 1970s, the majority of homes in the area were council-owned.

The Bradley Arm of the Birmingham Canal Navigations winds round the north of the village. This was originally part of the main line of the canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, planned by James Brindley and built between 1768 and 1772. This map from about 1888 shows Bradley, the canal and many coal mine shafts and iron works.

[edit] People

Goalkeeper Bert Williams was born in Bradley on 31st January 1922. He began his career at Walsall FC before a move to Wolves in 1945 after the war. He made his debut at the same time as Johnny Hancocks against Arsenal, a game Wolves won 6-1. In his first season Wolves finished in third place in Division 1. He won an FA Cup medal with Wolves in 1949. He also played for England in the 1950 World Cup. Playing against Italy in a friendly he earned the nickname "The Cat" from the Italian press for his outstanding ability. He won a league champions medal with Wolves in the 1953-54 season. In 1957 he retired from football and went on to open a sports shop in Bilston.

Bradley was for several years the home, and the place of death, of John Wilkinson (industrialist)

Bradley is the birthplace and lifelong home of Dennis Turner, Baron Bilston. He is a life peer in the House of Lords and former Member of Parliament