Walsall Wood
| Walsall Wood | |
 View of Walsall Wood from the South |
|
  Walsall Wood Walsall Wood shown within the West Midlands | |
| Population | 12,874 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SK049033 |
| - London | 126 mi (203 km) SE |
| Metropolitan borough | Walsall |
| Metropolitan county | West Midlands |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WALSALL |
| Postcode district | WS8, WS9 |
| Dialling code | 01543 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Aldridge-Brownhills |
| |
Walsall Wood is a settlement located in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, UK, between Aldridge and Brownhills.
History
In the late-18th century and early-19th century, the workers of Walsall Wood were primarily involved in the mining of limestone. In 1864, the population of the settlement expanded as Walsall Wood Colliery was opened,[1] as well as another colliery in nearby Shelfield. The Walsall Wood Colliery purchased the Pelsall Colliery from Pelsall Coal & Iron Co. in 1894.[2] The opening of the Walsall Wood Colliery saw the establishment of the first public services, including a police station and a post office. The mine was closed in 1964 when the supply of accessible coal had been exhausted: In 2010 a memorial pithead designed by Luke Perry was erected to commemorate the village's mining heritage. The pithead is one of a number of additions by artist Luke Perry. The Fisherman located next to the bridge on the high Street. This piece had to be mounted on a three metre plinth to allow it to be seen from the road. Despite the height of the work inspired locals replaced the fish which originally hung from the rod with a golden wellington boot, they then swapped that for an Olympic torch in July 2012. The fish however has now been returned to its rightful and grateful fisherman.
St John's Church in Walsall Wood was constructed in 1837 at a cost of £1,200. The church, with its quadrangular tower, is in the Gothic style, whilst the parsonage house is in the Elizabethan style. The church is constructed out of blue brick with stone dressings and has a capacity of 400.[3]
Local Government
Walsall Wood is part of the Aldridge North and Walsall Wood ward, in the Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, the MP of which is presently Richard Shepherd (Conservative). The area is represented by three Conservative councillors, Keith Sears, Anthony Harris and Mike Flower.
Education
Shire Oak School is located in Walsall Wood and had the seventh best GCSE results in the borough for 2006. Walsall Wood is also home to Castlefort Jnr. School, St Johns Jnr School and Walsall Wood Jnr School.[4]
Sports, recreation and entertainment
Oak Park is a recreation center in Walsall Wood consisting of two swimming pools, an astro-turf football pitch, and other sporting facilities. Walsall Wood F.C. is a football club competing in the Midland Combination Premier Division. They play their home games at their ground located at Oak Park.
Walsall Wood also has a high number of pubs per people, including The Drunken Duck on Walsall Wood High Street with its large Beer Garden at the rear, next door to the long established Barbour shop run by "Mad Trev". Other pubs include The Boatman's Rest, The Anchor, The Royal Exchange and Brickmakers Arms.
There is an on-site KFC restaurant located right next to the parking for the Oak Park facility. Across the road from Oak Park is a Fitness First gym, and several shops including a Tesco Express, a Co-Operative Supermarket opening in 2012 (this had been delayed until Spring 2013), a fish and chip shop, newsagents and more recently an Indian restaurant.
Walsall Wood library is located in the former Neighborhood Office building at the junction of Coppice Road and High Street. There have been talks to move this to Oak Park Leisure Center if planning approval is given for its redevelopment. Further details can be found via the Walsall Council Website or visiting the Leisure Centre itself. The site of the former library building on Lichfield Road is also undergone redevelopment. Plans were passed to turn this into a car showroom that was completed in Mid 2013.
References
- ↑ Association of Consulting Engineers (1987). The Consulting Engineers Who's who & Year Book. Princes Press. p. 206.
- ↑ Newcomen Society (1922). Transactions - Newcomen Society for the Study of the History of Engineering. Newcomen Society. p. 166.
- ↑ Edward Lees Glew (1856). History of the Borough and Foreign of Walsall. J.R. Robinson. pp. 77–78.
- ↑ "Schools in Walsall". BBC. 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
External links
- Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association The Conservative constituency association.