electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
in 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 ...
,
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, 2.5 miles south of
Dudley
Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...
and 2 miles north of
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 20 ...
. Part of the
Black Country
The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...
and in a heavily industrialised area, it has a population of 13,935 at the 2011 census. It is best known for
glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...
and
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
manufacturing, although industry has declined considerably since the 1970s. One of the largest factories in the area was the
Round Oak Steelworks
The Round Oak Steelworks was a steel production plant in Brierley Hill, West Midlands (formerly Staffordshire), England. It was founded in 1857 by Lord Ward, who later became, in 1860, The 1st Earl of Dudley, as an outlet for pig iron made in th ...
, which closed down and was redeveloped in the 1980s to become the
Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Merry Hill (formerly Westfield Merry Hill and The Merry Hill Shopping Centre) is a large shopping complex in Brierley Hill near Dudley, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several subsequent expansion and renovation projects ...
. Brierley Hill was originally in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
.
Since 2008, Brierley Hill has been designated as the Strategic Town Centre of the Dudley Borough.
History
The name Brierley Hill derives from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
words 'brer', meaning the place where the Briar Rose grew; 'leah', meaning a woodland clearing; and 'hill'.
Largely a product of the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, Brierley Hill has a relatively recent history, with the first written records of the town dating back to the 17th century. Originally established as a settlement in the woodland of
Pensnett Chase
Pensnett Chase was a wooded area of land owned by the Lords of Dudley Castle in the parishes of Kingswinford and Dudley (or mainly so). As a chase, it was originally used by them to hunt game in although it was also used as common land by local ...
, it began expanding rapidly following the chase's
enclosure
Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
in 1748, and was first recorded on a map in 1785 after the mapping of the Stourbridge Canal.
Brierley Hill had become heavily industrialized by the beginning of the 19th century, with a number of quarries, collieries, glass works, and iron works emerging. A National School was opened in the town in 1835, and a market area had developed along the High Street.
By the start of the 20th century, the raw material deposits had become depleted, leading to the closure of many of the industries in the area. The decline in manufacturing resulted in an unemployment rate of 25% in Brierley Hill by the early 1980s, with the closure of the
Round Oak Steelworks
The Round Oak Steelworks was a steel production plant in Brierley Hill, West Midlands (formerly Staffordshire), England. It was founded in 1857 by Lord Ward, who later became, in 1860, The 1st Earl of Dudley, as an outlet for pig iron made in th ...
in December 1982 resulting in a further 1,300 redundancies. The steelworks site, along with the adjacent Merry Hill Farm, were subsequently designated as an Enterprise Zone, and were redeveloped to create the
Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Merry Hill (formerly Westfield Merry Hill and The Merry Hill Shopping Centre) is a large shopping complex in Brierley Hill near Dudley, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several subsequent expansion and renovation projects ...
and The Waterfront business park.
In recent years, proposals have been drawn up by the local authority to regenerate Brierley Hill, with the Brierley Hill Regeneration Partnership formed to improve the town over a period of 10 years, by investing in the infrastructure and increasing the number of homes and job opportunities.
Civic history
Originally part of
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, Brierley Hill became an
urban district
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
in 1894 under the
Local Government Act
Local Government Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom, relating to local government.
The Bill for an Act with this short title may have been known ...
. Previously, it had been an urban sanitary authority. The urban district expanded greatly in 1934 after taking in most of the
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 ...
and
Quarry Bank
Quarry Bank is an area in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, covered by the Brierley Hill DY5 postal district. Locally, the name is often pronounced, "Quarry Bonk" (in the Black Country dialect).
History
Originally ...
districts, and made a failed bid to obtain borough status in 1952. It became part of the
Dudley County Borough
The County Borough of Dudley was a local government district in the English Midlands from 1865 to 1974. Originally a municipal borough, it became a county borough in 1889, centred on the main town centre of Dudley, along with the suburbs of Ne ...
in 1966, now the
Dudley Metropolitan Borough
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 Stourb ...
.
Governance
Brierley Hill is part of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
county in England. The Brierley Hill
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
is currently represented by three
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
councillors on the borough council; Rachel Harris, Zafar Islam, and Margaret Wilson.
On a national level, the ward forms part of the Dudley South constituency, with the
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
MP Mike Wood currently elected.
Places of interest
The
Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Merry Hill (formerly Westfield Merry Hill and The Merry Hill Shopping Centre) is a large shopping complex in Brierley Hill near Dudley, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several subsequent expansion and renovation projects ...
is located immediately east of Brierley Hill. One of the largest shopping centres in the UK, it was built between 1985 and 1989 on the grounds of Merry Hill Farm, the last working urban farm in the West Midlands.
Round Oak Steelworks
The Round Oak Steelworks was a steel production plant in Brierley Hill, West Midlands (formerly Staffordshire), England. It was founded in 1857 by Lord Ward, who later became, in 1860, The 1st Earl of Dudley, as an outlet for pig iron made in th ...
was built in 1857 on land overlooking the site of what is now the Merry Hill Centre, and employed up to 3,000 people at its peak, but that figure had fallen to just over 1,200 by the time it closed in December 1982. The adjacent Waterfront office complex was built on the former steelworks site, being developed between 1989 and 1995, although since the onset of the
recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
in the late 2000s around half of its office units have become empty, with an application for government-funded Enterprise Zone status rejected. The original T.H. Baker store was on the High Street, central to the town since 1888. The store closed in July 2018. The
West Bromwich Building Society
West Bromwich Permanent Building Society was formed in 1849 and remained a very local society for over a 100 years, only adding a few local branches in the 1930s.
The appointment of Frank Dilkes as managing director in 1965 led to substantial re ...
had intended to relocate to the Waterfront from its previous base in
West Bromwich
West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...
in 2012, although the plan was later shelved.
Brierley Hill Civic Hall, situated on Bank Street in the town centre, hosted several of Slade's first gigs during the early 1970s, although none of the members were actually from Brierley Hill.
Geography
Brockmoor
Brockmoor is situated to the immediate north of the town centre. On the border with
Wordsley
Wordsley is a suburban area of Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England. It is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and falls into the Stourbridge (DY8) postcode and address area, being just north of the River Stour. Wordsley is part of the ...
was the Bottle and Glass Inn, erected on the bank of the
Dudley Canal
The Dudley Canal is a canal passing through Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The canal is part of the English and Welsh connected network of navigable inland waterways, and in particular forms part of the popular Stourport Ring narrowboat ...
in about 1800 as The Bush. It remained here until 1980, when it was transferred to the
Black Country Living Museum
The Black Country Living Museum (formerly the Black Country Museum) is an open-air museum of rebuilt historic buildings in Dudley, West Midlands, England.
It is also home to Brockmoor Primary School, which has existed at its current site in Belle Isle since 1994. The original school was built in the late 19th century, as an infant school for 5–7 year olds and a junior school for 7–11 year olds; it became a first school for 5–8 year olds and a middle school for 8–12 year olds in September 1972. However, the two schools merged in September 1989 to form Brockmoor Primary School and a year later the age range was altered to 5–11.
Pensnett
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 ...
is situated more than a mile north of the town centre and borders the townships of
Sedgley
Sedgley is a town in the north of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England.
Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, Sedgley is on the A459 road between Wolverhampt ...
,
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 ...
and
Dudley
Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...
.
Pensnett and
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 ...
feature
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
,
Premier Inn
Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...
Co-op Food
Co-op Food is a brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group in the United Kingdom.
Prior to reintroducing the brand in 2016, the group used " The Co-operative" branding, which is still used by a number of consumers' co- ...
(formerly
Somerfield
Somerfield (; originally Gateway) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company also previously owned the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores. The company was taken over by the Co-operative ...
Tesco Express
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
,
Greggs
Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as bakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on t ...
, and
Sainsbury's Local
Sainsbury's Local (a trading name of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd) is a chain of 770 convenience shops operated by the UK's second largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's.
History
In 1998, Sainsbury's piloted its first Local shop in Hammersmith. ...
. An
Aldi
Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
store opened in 2017 on Dudley Road in a former
Focus
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film
*''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore
* ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
.
Withymoor Village
Withymoor Village lies to the south of the town centre towards the border with
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 20 ...
, and was mostly developed in the 1970s and 1980s, following open cast
coalmining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...
. A
Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales.
Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
store is at the centre of the village.
Chapel Street Estate
Chapel Street Estate was developed during the 1960s with predominantly multi storey flats on the site of a Victorian residential area.
Quarry Bank
Quarry Bank
Quarry Bank is an area in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, covered by the Brierley Hill DY5 postal district. Locally, the name is often pronounced, "Quarry Bonk" (in the Black Country dialect).
History
Originally ...
is situated to the south-east of the town centre and leads to the border with Cradley Heath and Stourbridge .
Hawbush Estate
Hawbush Estate stands one mile to the west of the town centre and was developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Transport
Brierley Hill is situated along the main A461 road between
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 20 ...
and
Dudley
Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...
, with other roads providing connections to neighbouring locations. A bypass now diverts the road on a new alignment behind the
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
store rather than through the town centre. It is also served by numerous bus services, with a bus station situated at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre, and several bus stops along the main High Street. Buses from Brierley Hill and Merry Hill provide links to central Dudley,
Halesowen
Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England.
Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...
, Stourbridge,
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
, West Bromwich, 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 "Wulfrunian ...
, among others.
From 1850 to 1962, Brierley Hill was served by a railway station for passengers on the
Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) was a railway company in England. It built a line from Wolvercot JunctionThe nearby settlement is spelt ''Wolvercote'' and a later station on the LNWR Bicester line follows that spelling. ...
Beeching Axe
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
came into effect in 1964. The section of line from Stourbridge to Brierley Hill is still in use for goods trains, with a railway steel terminal opening in 1986, but the line northbound to Dudley has been closed since 1993. Currently, the nearest passenger railway station is
Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Rowley Regis area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England approximately north-west of Halesowen, south of Dudley and west of central Birmingham. Cradley Heath is often confused with the ...
, over a mile south-east of the town.
Under current plans, an under construction extension to the
West Midlands Metro
The West Midlands Metro (originally named Midland Metro) is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. Opened on 30 May 1999, it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmin ...
will see the railway line north of Brierley Hill re-opened, with light rail services providing a link to the existing Metro line in
Wednesbury
Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...
and
Dudley
Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...
to the north and
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 20 ...
to the south. Though there is some speculation as to where in Brierley Hill the metro will route, with two suggested options. Number one being that the metro follows the disused South Staffs line. Number two being that the line diverts at Canal Street in Woodside and travels through The Waterfront and then through the Merry Hill Centre before travelling along Brierley Hill High Street, which under current plans may mean that the High Street is pedestrianised.
Public services
West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.
The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, W ...
have their main Dudley area station in Brierley Hill, situated on the corner of Bank Street, next to the Civic Hall. The police station was originally built in the 1960s as the future local council offices, but the plan was scrapped when Brierley Hill became a part of the Dudley Borough.
There is also a fire station located on the Dudley Road, with fire and rescue services provided by the
West Midlands Fire Service
West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is the fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of West Midlands, England. The service is the second largest in England, after London Fire Brigade. The service has 38 fire stations, with a blended ...
.
Education
The town currently has 10 primary schools and one secondary school.
Thorns Community College
Thorns Collegiate Academy is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school located in Brierley Hill, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England.
Background
It serves the southern half of Brierley Hill around Withymoor Village and Qu ...
and
The Crestwood School
The Crestwood School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status in Kingswinford, West Midlands, England. It is an 11-18 comprehensive school with over 900 students.
History Early years
The school was started during the 1930s as B ...
are now the town's only secondary schools due to the closure of
Pensnett High School
Pensnett High School was a secondary school located in the Pensnett area of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the West Midlands of England. There were around 150 pupils aged 14–16 on the school roll before closure.
History
Originally known ...
.
Brierley Hill runs a system of 5–7 infant, 7–11 junior and 11–16 secondary schools, in accordance with the rest of the Dudley borough and the majority of schools in other areas.
However (along with Dudley, Sedgley and Coseley) it ran a system of 5–8 first, 8–12 middle and 12–16 secondary schools from 1972 until 1990, before reverting to the traditional age ranges.
Primary schools
* Brierley Hill Primary School
* Brockmoor Primary School
* Crestwood Park Primary School
* Mount Pleasant Primary School
* Quarry Bank Primary School
* St Mark's Primary School
* St Mary's RC Primary School
* Bromley-Pensnett Primary School
* Thorns Primary School
* Withymoor Primary School
* Peters Hill Primary School
* Thorns Primary School is a primary school located in Brierley Hill,
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
The school serves the
Quarry Bank
Quarry Bank is an area in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, covered by the Brierley Hill DY5 postal district. Locally, the name is often pronounced, "Quarry Bonk" (in the Black Country dialect).
History
Originally ...
area which is situated approximately one mile south of the town centre, and there are currently around 175 pupils aged 5–11 on the roll. The current head teacher is Mr David Priestley.
Secondary schools
*
Thorns Collegiate Academy
Thorns Collegiate Academy is a coeducational secondary school located in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, England.
Background
It serves the southern half of Brierley Hill around Withymoor Village and Quarry Bank. The school is a specialist Arts ...
*
Pensnett High School
Pensnett High School was a secondary school located in the Pensnett area of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the West Midlands of England. There were around 150 pupils aged 14–16 on the school roll before closure.
History
Originally known ...
, closed in July 2010, stayed open until July 2012 as a learning centre for the oldest two age groups in the school, but is now closed permanently and has been demolished apart from a special school, Pens Meadow School, which occupies part of the site.
Religion
The first religious building in Brierley Hill was St. Michael's Chapel, which was constructed in 1765 by public subscription. It became a parish church in 1842, covering the areas of Brockmoor, Delph, and Quarry Bank. In 1872, construction commenced on St. Mary's Catholic Church. Designed by
E. W. Pugin
Edward Welby Pugin (11 March 1834 – 5 June 1875) was an English architect, the eldest son of architect Augustus Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton and part of the Pugin & Pugin family of church architects. His father was ...
, it was completed in 1873 and upon completion, consisted of a nave, sanctuary, aisle and side chapel. There are also Methodist and Baptist churches in the town.
There is also a Chinese
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
temple located in Brierley Hill, to cater for the Buddhist community of the Dudley Borough.Brierley Hill War Memorial sits outside St. Michael's.
Notable residents
*
John Corbett
John Joseph Corbett Jr. (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer. On television, he is best known for his roles as Chris Stevens on ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City'' (2000–2003), ...
(1817-1901), industrialist, was born in the town.
*
Anthony Clarke Booth
Anthony Clarke Booth (21 April 1846 – 8 December 1899) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Born ...
VC (1846–1899), recipient of the Victoria Cross for service during the Zulu War, died in Brierley Hill.
* Don Richardson (1930-2007), the man who developed the
Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Merry Hill (formerly Westfield Merry Hill and The Merry Hill Shopping Centre) is a large shopping complex in Brierley Hill near Dudley, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several subsequent expansion and renovation projects ...
, was born in the town, just streets away from the land that he developed for mass commercialisation more than 50 years later.
* Trevor Smith (1936-2003), former professional footballer for
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
&
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflects ...
*
Danny Batth
Daniel Tanveer Batth (born 21 September 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Sunderland.
Batth began his career with his local side Wolverhampton Wanderers, joining their youth academy as a teenager. In orde ...
(1990- ), professional footballer for
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
See also
*
Royal Brierley
Royal Brierley is a fine cut glass ("cut crystal" for marketing purposes) brand, owned by Dartington Crystal
Dartington Crystal is a British manufacturer of crystal glassware, based in the town of Torrington in North Devon, England. The com ...