Everything about Stourbridge totally explained
Stourbridge is a town within the
Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the
West Midlands of
England.
Historically part of
Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of
glass making, and today includes the suburbs of
Amblecote,
Lye,
Norton,
Oldswinford,
Pedmore,
Wollaston and Wollescote.
The population, as recorded in the
United Kingdom Census 1991, was 54,661. Much of the population is now made up of commuters to
Birmingham and the
Black Country. Stourbridge is included in the
Stourbridge constituency, currently held by the
Labour party through
Lynda Waltho.
The apse and north chancel screen at St Thomas' Church were added by
W. H. William Bidlake.
Geography and administration
Stourbridge is a part of the West Midlands
metropolitan county and
conurbation, in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. Stourbridge is located to the south-west of Birmingham at the edge of the industrial Midlands, roughly between
Kidderminster and
Dudley.
Much of the town consists of
suburban streets, broken by green spaces. Stourbridge borders on
green belt land, and is often close to unspoiled countryside - for example, Stourbridge is closer to
Shropshire than it's to Birmingham city centre. Good examples are
Clent Hills,
Kinver Edge and large areas of
farmland to the south and west. It has been said that you could go west from Stourbridge and not encounter another built-up area until past the border with
Wales, or even further.
The town and surrounding area is at the south western extremity of the
Black Country and the majority of the working-class population retain the region's accent and dialect, although there's a larger middle-class population than nearby towns such as Dudley or Halesowen.
Closest cities, towns and villages
Civic history
For centuries, Stourbridge was in the ancient parish of
Oldswinford,
Worcestershire and was known as Bedcote. Since 1974, it has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley.
Stourbridge takes its name from the
River Stour, which flows through the town and for centuries formed the border between Worcestershire and
Staffordshire. But the border was moved a couple of miles north in 1966, when
Amblecote Urban District (previously in Staffordshire) was incorporated into the Borough of Stourbridge. This arrangement lasted eight years until the ascent of the
Local Government Act 1972 in 1974, when Stourbridge was amalgamated into the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and became part of the wider West Midlands county.
There have been numerous campaigns to re-instate Stourbridge into the
ceremonial county of
Worcestershire (or the previous
Hereford and Worcester) since 1974.
Stourbridge Glass
The town gives its name to local glass production, which has been manufactured since the early 1600s. However, most of the glass industry was actually located in surrounding areas including
Wordsley,
Amblecote and
Oldswinford. The rich natural resources of coal and fireclay for lining furnaces made it the perfect location for the industry. It was probably the presence of fireclay that attracted glassmakers to the area. The canals also facilitated the importing of large amounts of fine sand from Ireland. Stourbridge glass is recognised as amongst the finest in the world. The glass has been used countless times as gifts for royalty and visiting dignitaries. However, the glass industry in the area has been all but destroyed by the effects of
globalisation, with the factories moving abroad where cheaper workers are available.
The
Red House Cone, thought to be the only complete remaining glass cone of its kind, stands on the Stourbridge Canal at
Wordsley. It is the site of the Red House Glass Museum and there are regular demonstrations of "blowing" glass in the traditional way.
Transport
Stourbridge lies on the River Stour and is linked to the
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and the Dudley No. 1 Canal by the
Stourbridge Canal. This places the town on the
Stourport Ring, a popular route with holidaymakers and is navigable by
narrowboat.
Stourbridge Junction, the town's main railway station, is on the former
Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line. Just past the station is the
Stambermill Viaduct over the River Stour and the
A491 road. The railway closed to passengers in 1962 and is now used solely as a freight line. Instead, the line now runs to Birmingham via the stations of the Black Country.
The town is served by the shortest
railway branch line in Europe, the
Stourbridge Town Branch Line, with a shuttle service from nearby Stourbridge Junction on the Birmingham - Kidderminster line to
Stourbridge Town railway station in the town centre. The line formerly continued to an interchange basin with the
Stourbridge Canal. The old Stourbridge Town station, when demolished, was recovered and materials used for buildings at
Tyseley Locomotive Works. Until recently, on Sundays, as part of a pilot scheme, a gas-powered
Parry People Mover operated on the line. This has ceased but may restart when the UK rail franchise for the local train operating company Central Trains expires and is rebid.
The famous
Stourbridge Lion locomotive, was built in Stourbridge at the foundry of Foster, Rastrick and Co. in 1828. It arrived in
New York on
May 13,
1829, becoming the first steam locomotive to run on a commercial line in the
United States. The locomotive is quite famous in the USA, although few people in Stourbridge have heard of it. It is currently on display at the
B&O Railroad Museum Baltimore, Maryland, on loan from the
Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C.. A clock has recently been unveiled in the town to celebrate the engine.
The town is served by National Route 54 of the
National Cycle Network.
Education
Stourbridge is home to two colleges - the prestigious
King Edward VI College founded in 1552 and
Stourbridge College of Further Education. In addition, there's a
sixth form for both genders at
Old Swinford Hospital founded in 1667 by Thomas Foley.
Stourbridge boasts a number of secondary schools including
Redhill School,
Old Swinford Hospital School,
Pedmore Technology College (previously known as The Grange School) and
Ridgewood School as well as
Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School (includes: kindergarten, plus classes 1 to 11).
Culture
Sport
Stourbridge Football Club and
Stourbridge Cricket Club both share the War Memorial Athletic Ground in Amblecote, and
Stourbridge Rugby Club play at Stourton Park in nearby
Stourton.
Music
During the 1980s and the early 1990s, four Stourbridge bands,
Diamond Head;
The Wonder Stuff;
Pop Will Eat Itself and
Ned's Atomic Dustbin, all enjoyed chart success. Other notable musicians include
Clint Mansell.
Recently a new artist named
Andy Richards has emerged, reaching number 1 on the daddyfreshmusic download chart for 6 weeks, and is planning to release an album for 2008.
In March 2007, the
indie rock band
Midas went to #3 on the UK
Indie chart and #59 on the
UK Singles Chart with their release "
Don't Dance". This was tainted by the fact that they'd sold mobile phones with a link to buy the single already saved on the card. This was deemed illegal and their chart place removed.
Media
From the 1860s until the late 1960s, the area was covered by the
County Express newspaper. Archives are now on microfilm in Stourbridge Library. Today, Stourbridge is covered by the
Stourbridge News, the
Express & Star and to a lesser extent the
Stourbridge Chronicle.
The Stourbridge area is served by commercial and
BBC Radio stations broadcasting from
Wolverhampton, Birmingham as well as from within Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Shropshire.
Stourbridge FM was established in March 2001 to campaign for a commercial radio station broadcasting to and from the Stourbridge area.
Stourbridge FM Radio Ltd carried out three experimental 'trial' broadcasts in November 2001, May 2002 and January 2003 from studios in the centre of the town and was sponsored by
Stourbridge College. The station received a great deal of support from listeners and business people alike within the community, including numerous letters of support and a petition. By February 2004,
Stourbridge FM had disbanded due to official information that there were no immediate plans for a small-scale commercial radio licence in the Stourbridge area, nor would the up-and-coming commercial radio licence in Kidderminster receive an area extension. The volunteer force of Stourbridge-FM established a new steering group known as the
Stourbridge Radio Group to apply for a non-profit making community radio licence for the area.
The group won a community radio licence in September 2005, to be called
The 'Bridge. Test transmissions began on 102.5 FM on
December 4 2007, and the full programming launched on
January 1 2008 at 10.25am.
Places of interest
Famous residents
Johnny Briggs, actor
William Henry Bury, murderer and Jack the Ripper suspect
Frank Foley, the relatively little-known "British Schindler" retired and eventually died in Stourbridge. A memorial is in Mary Stevens Park.
Samuel Johnson lived and worked in Stourbridge for a time
Screech Louder, drummer in indie band The Long Blondes
Dan O'Hagan, BBC Match of the Day football commentator
Nicholas Michaels,Theoretical Particle Physiscist
Robert Plant, singer with Led Zeppelin. Attended King Edward VI Grammar School, Stourbridge
Danielle Saxon Reeves, classical banjo and guitarist; director of the Midlands Fretted Orchestra
Nigel Reo-Coker, Aston Villa player
alex, he introduced the raccoune and the englsh language to the area in 1777
Debra Shipley MP
Lynda Waltho MP
Brett Westwood, radio presenter and author
Clement Lindley Wragge, meteorologist
Matt Rowland, Apprentice participant, attended Stourbridge College in 1989.
Ashley Young, Aston Villa player
In popular culture
Stourbridge appears in two great works of poetry from the 20th century: Finnegans Wake by James Joyce and The Cantos of Ezra Pound.
- James Joyce Finnegans Wake, part 1, Episode 6. Page 184
- Ezra Pound, Canto LXVI, line 30, Page 380.
Joyce's interest in Stourbridge is self evident from the passage quoted above and Stourbridge found its way into Pound's The Cantos via John Adams the second President of the United States, whose diary entry from 1786 Pound translated into his own epic poem.
"Or take Golf", said Mr. Carmody, side-stepping and attacking from another angle. "The only good golf-course in Worcestershire at present is at Stourbridge." from chapter 5 of 'Money for Nothing' by P. G. Wodehouse, published in 1928.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Stourbridge'.
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