Coseley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coseley is a town located mostly within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands. Part of the Black Country, it lies south east of Wolverhampton and north of Dudley.
Coseley railway station is on the West Coast Main Line and is served by London Midland. It is within the Bilston WV14 postal district.
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[edit] History
Coseley was originally a village area in the ancient manor of Sedgley. In 1867, it, with the village areas of Brierley, Woodsetton, and Ettingshall, broke away from the parish of Sedgley and, together, formed Lower Sedgley Local Board District. In 1875, the name was changed to Coseley Local Board District by order of the Council and, in 1895, became Coseley Urban District. At this stage, most of the Coseley area was occupied by industrial and agricultural land.
Coseley Urban District Council built several thousand council houses and flats over a 40-year period from the mid-1920s which changed the face of the area.
1966 saw some of the urban district become part of Dudley County Borough, and since 1974 has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. However, the north of the Brierley area (pron. "Brearley" not to be confused with Brierley Hill), and most of the Ettingshall area were incorporated into Wolverhampton County Borough instead, while a smaller area (the south of the Brierley area) bordering Tipton lies in the present-day Sandwell Metropolitan Borough.
The Coseley Urban District Council Offices were originally located in the town centre (A.K.A. Roseville) but demolished in the late 1960s by decision of the Dudley County Borough General Purposes Committee.
Coseley has been served by a railway station since 1852, although the station didn't move to its current site until 1902. For more than 150 years, the people of Coseley have had a direct rail link to Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
Since 1927, Coseley has also had a direct road link with Birmingham and Wolverhampton. The Birmingham New Road was laid out at this time and on its completion was one of the finest new roads in the area, although it has become plagued with traffic congestion in recent years.
Bean cars opened a factory at Coseley in 1919, with another being in operation at Dudley. The new factory was situated in the south-east of the town near the border with Tipton, and a subsequent second phase of the factory (at the other side of a now-defunct railway line) was actually situated in Tipton. Bean ceased production of passenger cars in 1929, and for the next two years switched to commercial vehicles. After 1931, Bean switched ventures again - this time to making car parts. It was a key supplier for the largest independent British carmaker - British Motor Corporation, British Leyland, Austin Rover, Rover Group and most recently MG Rover - until the business closed due to financial problems in late 2005. Two years after its closure, the bulk of the Bean factory and offices remain, although the section of factory in Tipton was demolished almost immediately and houses were built on the site.
[edit] Sports facilities
In October 2006, a volleyball club was started in Coseley which competes in the West Midlands Volleyball League. Coseley Volleyball Club initially trained and played matches at Dudley Leisure Centre, but from February 25, 2007 moved to its permanent home at Coseley Leisure Centre.
[edit] Neighbourhoods
- Roseville - central area of Coseley which is situated on the main Birmingham New Road (opened in 1927). Local landmarks include Silver Jubilee Park and Coseley Canal Tunnel.
- Hurst Hill - situated in the west of Coseley near the border with Sedgley, contains many housing types of different ages.
- Wallbrook - situated in the east of Coseley near the border with Tipton.
- Highfields Estate - situated in the north of Coseley near the border with Bilston, and was mostly developed between 1920 and 1970.
- Foxyards Estate - a housing estate in the south of Coseley near the border with Dudley that was mostly developed between 1965 and 1968. Includes a primary school that opened in 1971. George Andrews, who scored Walsall FC's winning goal against Newcastle United in a 1975 FA Cup giant-killing feat, lives on the estate.
[edit] Schools
[edit] Current secondary schools in Coseley
[edit] Former secondary schools in Coseley
- Mount Pleasant Senior School - is a secondary school built during the late 19th century. The school closed in July 1974 and the remaining pupils were moved to the Coseley School, but the buildings have been used since 1992 as the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley's records office and archive service.
[edit] Current primary schools in Coseley
- Christchurch Primary School - has one of the oldest school buildings in Dudley Borough, which is still used as a school, dating from the 19th century.
- Foxyards Primary School - situated on the Foxyards Estate, it was built in 1971 to serve the new Foxyards housing estate and its surrounding area. The first head teacher was Joseph Jones. Jones retired in about 1985 to be succeeded by Mr David Cox, the former deputy head of Cotwall End Primary School in Sedgley. Mr Cox was seconded to the local authority in September 1989 for an academic year, during which time Mrs Evans was acting head teacher. Mr Cox finally left in March 1999 to become head of Alder Coppice Primary in Sedgley. Mrs Pam Greenhalgh was acting head of one term before the appointment of Mrs Sandra O'Gorman, who has been at the helm ever since. Foxyards was built as a one-form entry school for pupils aged from 4 to 11 years, and a nursery unit was added in the mid-1980s. Due to a growing demand for places which saw more than 40 pupils in some year groups, it changed from one-form entry to vertical streaming (up to 3 classes in 2 years) in the early 1990s. There are still some mixed age classes in the school, and a new building at the school was opened in 2007 to accommodate growing pupil numbers.
- Hurst Hill Primary School - opened in September 1986 on a new site on Paul Street, it was formed from a merger of St Mary's Primary School and Mount Pleasant Primary School. The school's first head was Mr Harvey, with his deputy Mr Eric Tibble. Mr Tibble became head some years later on Mr Harvey's retirement and was finally succeeded himself by Mrs Joy Powell.
- Wallbrook Primary School - located in Bradley's Lane, in the east of the town near the border with Tipton. There are an estimated 275 pupils aged from 3 to 11 on the school roll. The majority of Wallbrook pupils move to Coseley School on leaving. The school was established in 1954 under headmaster A R Gowland - who was succeeded by L Clarke. The current headmaster is Michael S Ullah.
[edit] Former primary schools in Coseley
- Highfields Primary School - opened in September 1972 as a one-form entry primary school to serve the north-eastern part of Coseley. The last head teacher of the school was Leonard Hazelhurst, appointed in September 2003 to replace Mrs Angela Hambrook. The school closed in July 2006 after Dudley MBC decided that falling numbers on the school roll made it no longer viable, and most of the school's remaining pupils were transferred to Wallbrook Primary School.
- Mount Pleasant Primary School - opened in about 1900 to serve the expanding central area of Coseley, it was located on the corner of Ivyhouse Lane and Mount Pleasant Street. The school closed in July 1986 when it was merged with nearby St Mary's Primary School to form Hurst Hill Primary School. It was demolished four years later and a small development of "starter" houses were built on the site.
- St. Mary's Primary School - was a Church of England school built during the 19th century to serve the expanding Hurst Hill area of Coseley, and was twinned with the local parish church. Located on Clifton Street, it closed in July 1986 when it was merged with nearby Mount Pleasant Primary School to form Hurst Hill Primary School, by which time it was becoming increasingly outdated and in need of repair. The site was soon developed with modern "starter" homes.
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