Wren's Nest
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Wren's Nest is a council housing estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is located to the north west of Dudley town centre.
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[edit] History
The Wren's Nest Estate was mostly built during the 1930s to relocate people from town centre slum clearences.
[edit] Decline
The Wren's Nest Estate has had a turbulent history. The Washington pub on Wren's Nest Road was notorious for pub brawls and underage drinkers. Other forms of crime, including anti-social behaviour, burglary and joyriding, helped push the area into a seemingly irreversible decline. The Washington was eventually demolished in 2006.
In 1985, several residents of the Wrens Nest estate gave interviews to the Dudley News and complained about the condition of their homes, all of which were fewer than 50 years old. Some properties were plagued with damp to such an extent that tenants had resorted to sleeping downstairs due to the appalling condition of upstairs bedrooms. Many people on the estate were hoping for their homes to be demolished.
[edit] Regeneration
The estate has been significantly improved due to regeneration in the 1990s. Over ten million pounds of new Government money, via the Single Regeneration Budget, was invested into the area. This saw the introduction of extended youth worker activities at the Meadow Road Youth Centre, education programmes delivered by Wren's Nest Local Action Centre, community capacity initiatives managed by the Council's Housing Department, green enviroinmental improvements by Groundwork Black Country (including a vineyard at the rear of Meadow Road), the creation of local newspapers and social enterprises via Co-operation Black Country. However, the most significant improvement was to the Council owned properties, which received new boundary walls, driveways, double glazing, and major heating and insulation works. Several blocks of 1950s council flats in the area were demolished as part of the regeneration. One set was converted into business units and named Turner House, after a local campaigner for change, Jack Turner, who died in 1996.
[edit] Education
A primary school was built on the estate shortly after the houses were constructed, and the local secondary school was opened in 1966 to replace the decaying Wolverhampton Street School in the town centre. The new school, Mons Hill, was initially very popular, having state of the art facilities in comparison to other secondary modern schools in the area. But it soon developed a reputation as one of the most troubled secondary schools in Dudley and became extremely unpopular with people living beyond the estate's borders. Falling numbers on the school roll towards the end of the 1980s made it no longer viable, and it was closed in July 1990 to be converted into an annexe of Dudley College. Most 11 to 16 years olds on the estate now attend Castle High School in the town centre, although a few others do attend schools like Coseley, Dormston and High Arcal.
[edit] Notable residents
[edit] Sam Allardyce
The most famous person from the Wren's Nest estate is Sam Allardyce, currently manager of Bolton Wanderers Football Club, who was born on the estate in 1954.
[edit] Tony Harlow
On 26 May 1986, a 23-year-old man called Tony Harlow ran riot on the estate and shot at the properties of four men who had threatened to rape his wife and kill his two children. Harlow was arrested within days and dubbed the 'Laughing Cavalier' by the local press, owing to his droopy moustache and wild hair. He was found guilty on four counts of using a firearm with intent to endanger life and sentenced to life imprisonment at Stafford Crown Court on 19 December 1986. Some 20 years on, he is still behind bars but has absconded on no less than three occasions.
[edit] National Nature Reserve
The Wren's Nest National Nature Reserve is located adjacent to the estate. It is world famous for its perfectly preserved fossils[1].
