Ashwood is a small area of Staffordshire, England. It is situated in the

South Staffordshire South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of the West Midlands county, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south. It contains notable settlement ...

district, approximately two miles west of the

West Midlands conurbation The West Midlands conurbation is the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the towns of Sutton Coldfield, Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge and Halesowen in the English West Midland ...

and the

Metropolitan Borough of Dudley The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stour ...

. Population details for the 2011 census can be found under

Kinver Kinver is a large village in the District of South Staffordshire in Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the ...

. There are a small number of predominantly older scattered houses in it, as well as marina off the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. There is no nucleated village. More built-up nearby areas include

Kingswinford Kingswinford is a town of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands, situated west-southwest of central Dudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census. The current economic focus ...

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

and

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

. The nearest public amenities are approximately one mile away in

Wall Heath Wall Heath is a suburban village in the Dudley Metropolitan Borough in the West Midlands of England. It is located on the A449 road, approximately 1.5 miles northwest of Kingswinford (of which it is considered a suburb), 5 miles west of Dudley ...

village. Wooded Pool near Ashwood, Staffordshire

History

Ashwood was formerly an area of medieval woodland and later heathland, bounded by the

Smestow Brook The Smestow Brook, sometimes called the River Smestow, is a small river that plays an important part in the drainage of Wolverhampton, South Staffordshire, and parts of Dudley in the United Kingdom, and has contributed to the industrial developm ...

, the River Stour, and cultivated lands in Kingswinford. It was one of the medieval hays (enclosures) of Kinver Forest. It was managed by a bailiff, who had a small farm at

Prestwood Prestwood is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about two miles west of Great Missenden and six miles north of High Wycombe. History Early history and creation of parish The village name is Anglo Sax ...

by the service of keeping the hay. The hay stretched north to

and east into what is now part of the built up area of Kingswinford and Wordsley.

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

records it as the manor of Haswic, which was waste on account of the forest. Previously there had been a village in a manor belonging to the priests of

. This may in turn have succeeded a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

settlement, occupying the site of

Greensforge Greensforge is a scattered hamlet on the boundary of Kinver and Swindon parishes, in South Staffordshire, England. It is noted for its Roman associations and its industrial heritage. Etymology The hamlet takes its name from a finery forge estab ...

Roman fort. The heath was inclosed mainly as three open fields in the 1680s, on the basis of long leases granted to the commoners, and again by

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

(Parliamentary inclosure) when the leases expired in the 1780s. The whole of Ashwood was then part of Kingswinford parish, but the rural part of it was transferred to Kinver parish in the 1930s, when the rest of Kingswinford was transferred to Brierley Hill Urban District. The marina occupies the site of Flatheridge pool. It was made as a canal basin, where coal brought down a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

from

Pensnett Pensnett is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, south-west of central Dudley. Pensnett has been a part of Dudley since 1966, when the Brierley Hill Urban District, of which it was a part, was absorbed into the ...

could be loaded into canal barges.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Staffordshire