Halesowen

The population, as measured by the 2001 Census, was 57,918. Halesowen is included in the Halesowen and Rowley Regis constituency and is currently held by the Labour party through Sylvia Heal

1 Geography
2 History
3 Industry
4 Neighbourhoods
5 Education
6 Newspapers
7 Radio
8 Leisure
9 Famous people
10 References
11 External links

[edit] Geography

Halesowen is a part of the West Midlands metropolitan county and conurbation, in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. Halesowen is located to the south-west of Birmingham at the edge of the industrial midlands. Although predominantly urban or suburban in character, Halesowen borders on green belt land, with excellent access to the countryside, for example the Clent Hills. It has extensive road links including junction 3 of the M5 motorway, which allow easy commuting to Birmingham, other areas of the Black County or nationwide.

The centre of Halesowen is home to a Norman church, a football ground (where non-league Halesowen Town F.C. play) and a College of Further Education which was founded in 1939.

Most of the housing stock in Halesowen is privately owned and was built in the 30 years which followed the end of the Second World War, although some parts of the town are still made up of Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses. The town centre was almost completely rebuilt during the 1960s, to its detriment in the eyes of many residents.

[edit] History

Halesowen was recorded in the Domesday Book as larger than Birmingham. Until the thirteenth century it was known as Halas, until it was gifted by Henry II to Welsh prince David ap Owen and became known as Halas-Owen; in modern times it has always been called Halesowen. The parish of Halesowen, which incorporated other townships later to become independent parishes, was an exclave of the county of Shropshire, but grew to become a town and was transferred to the jurisdiction of Worcestershire by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844. Included in the boundaries was the ancient village of Brettle.

Halesowen became the centre of a poor law union in the 19th century, which later became established as a rural sanitary district and later the Halesowen Rural District in 1894. With increasing urbanisation of the area, in the early 20th century, it became the Halesowen Urban District in 1925, and obtained a grant of charter to become a municipal borough in 1936.

In the eastern part of Halesowen is Leasowes Park which was originally a garden owned by the eighteenth century poet William Shenstone. The local theatre and a Wetherspoon's pub are both named after him. Nearby are the ruins of Halesowen Abbey.

The outer south aisle of St John the Baptist Church was added in 1883 byJohn Oldrid Scott.^[1]

In 1973, under the Local Government Act 1972, it was incorporated into the new Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the metropolitan county of West Midlands.

[edit] Industry

The principal industry of Halesowen was traditionally nailmaking, an industry that was performed on a small scale individually in the backyards of a large number of nailmakers. Halesowen also had, along with most other areas of the Black Country, a large number of above and under ground coal mines. In more recent years the arrival of a junction of the motorway network allowed Halesowen to attract a number of large organisations to the town.

Somers Forge industries is the premier industry in Halesowen.

[edit] Neighbourhoods

Lapal
Hawne
Cradley
Tanhouse
Hasbury
Squirrels Estate
Hayley Green
Olive Hill
Hurst Green

[edit] Education

[edit] Secondary Schools

[edit] Primary Schools

Halesowen Church of England Primary School
Olive Hill Primary School
Howley Grange Primary School
Lapal Primary School - According to a 2002 OFSTED inspection report, Lapal is an above-average sized primary school which enrolls approximately 300 students annually. The student-teacher ratio is 28.3:1. [1]A 2004 study by the BBC found that the school ranked well above average in the studies of English, Math, and Science in comparison to its Local Education Authority and the nation as a whole. [2] The school ranked in the 98% percentile for Science. [3],[4]

Lutley Primary School
Newfield Park Primary School
Colley Lane Primary School
Caslon Primary School
Hurst Green Primary School
Huntingtree Primary School
Manor Way Primary School
Newfield Park Primary School
Tenterfields Primary School
Our Lady and St. Kenelms

[edit] Higher Education

Halesowen College of Further Education

[edit] Former Schools

Hawne County Primary School
Holt Farm Primary School
Walton Girls School
Greenhill Middle School

[edit] Newspapers

Halesowen is served by local editions of two regional evening papers, the Birmingham based Evening Mail and the Wolverhampton based Express & Star. There are two weekly local newspapers, the Halesowen News and the Halesowen Chronicle.

[edit] Radio

The Halesowen area is served by commercial and BBC radio stations broadcasting from Wolverhampton, Birmingham as well as from within Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Shropshire.

[edit] Leisure

Halesowen has a football team, non-league Halesowen Town F.C., as well as cricket and golf clubs. Halesowen is home to two Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Good Beer Guide listed pubs, the Hawne Tavern and the Waggon and Horses, both of which have won the local CAMRA branch pub of the year accolade in 2005 and 2006 respectively. The Waggon and Horses has further won the West Midlands County Pub of the Year award for 2006, beating pubs from the Black Country, Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry. The Somer's Sports and Social Club is likewise Good Beer Guide listed and has regularly won the title of CAMRA Club of the Year.

[edit] Famous people

Thomas Attwood, British economist and campaigner for electoral reform, was born at Hawne House, Halesowen on 6th October 1783
Robert Plant, of the Led Zeppelin's, was born in West Bromwich but brought up in Halesowen.
Lee Sharpe, Manchester United and England footballer
William Shenstone, Poet and landscape gardener
Frank Skinner, Comedian and television presenter taught at Halesowen College.
Francis Brett Young, Novelist and poet

[edit] References

^ The Buildings of England: Worcestershire, Nikolaus Pevsner, 1968 Penguin. p180

[edit] External links

Halesowen Abbey
Halesowen College of Further Education
Halesowen News (Local Newspaper)
River StourLiivie93 12:09, 18 November 2006 (UTC)liivie{| align="center" id="toc" cellspacing="0"

|-bgcolor=#ccccff |align="left" width="50"| |align="center"|Settlements on the River Stour between the Clent Hills and River Severn |align="right" width="30"|edit |- align="center" | colspan="3" | Romsley | Halesowen | Cradley Heath | Lye | Stourbridge | Stourton | Kinver | Caunsall | Cookley | Wolverley| Kidderminster | Wilden | Stourport | Horsefair |- |}

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Category: Towns in the West Midlands

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