Great Bridge is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell. It is situated in Tipton, near the border of

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, ...

, and it is within the

metropolitan county The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...

of 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 ...

Origins and history

The place name, ''Great Bridge'' comes from

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 ...

'grēot' (grit or gravelly - meaning a stream with a gravelly bed), with the later addition of 'Bridge' - when a bridge was first built over the stream. There are several watercourses in

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 ...

with the name 'Greet', all from this origin. The stream is thought to be the Oldbury arm of the River Tame, known to the early English in this area as 'grēot' ( Greets Green also gets its name from the watercourse). For most of the 20th century Great Bridge was the home of numerous factories (including an ice cream factory opened by Italian immigrant Giuseppe Bonaccorsi) and foundries. However, by the end of the 1990s most of the factories had long since been closed and been demolished. These include Ratcliff's on Eagle Lane, which closed in 1989, and John Thompson's on Horseley Road, which closed in 1991. It has been home to a historic market place for several centuries. It boasts 2 markets, a recently relocated purpose-built outdoor market managed by the local council, as well as an indoor market which is in poor condition. It was opened by the performer Larry Grayson.

Modern day

Many new housing developments have sprung up in Great Bridge since the early 1990s, mostly on the sites of old factories. A 24-hour two-storey Asda superstore opened in May 1998. The surrounding shopping area is notable for the large number of fast food restaurants including

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 ...

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

(both of which sprung up in the mid-1990s), numerous fish and chip shops and curry houses, along with numerous off-licences along the high street. A smaller supermarket in the old village was opened in December 1986 and occupied by Kwik Save until the retailer went into liquidation in 2007. Wilko took the building over in May 2008. In recent years, Lidl and B & M have opened branches in the town.

Recreation

The Sheepwash Urban Park (now Sheepwash Nature Reserve) lies within the Great Bridge Area. It is a local beauty spot where fishing can be carried out and wild birds such as herons, ducks, swans and Canada geese can be seen. It is encircled by a path which both walkers and cyclists use.

World War II bombings

In the early hours of 17 May 1941, an air raid by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

destroyed the Tipton Tavern house on the corner of New Road and Horseley Road, killing six people; two brothers aged three and seven years, a 36-year-old male air raid warden, a middle aged married couple and a 42-year-old woman. New Road Methodist Church was also destroyed in the same attack and a number of nearby houses were damaged.

Transport

There were two railway stations (

Great Bridge North railway station Great Bridge North railway station was a station on the South Staffordshire Line that served the village of Great Bridge and town of Tipton in Staffordshire, England. History The station was built in 1850 and was initially served by the Sout ...

and Great Bridge South railway station) in the Great Bridge area, but both stations were closed in the 1960s due to the

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 ...

. Great Bridge South Station was situated on the line between Great Bridge and West Bromwich, which was dismantled during the 1970s. Great Bridge North Station was situated on the South Staffordshire Line between

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 ...

and Stourbridge, which closed to passengers in the 1960s but remained open for goods trains until the Walsall - Round Oak section was closed in 1993. It is set to re-open during the 2020s as an extension to the Midland Metro. The main island in the centre of Great Bridge is decorated with two lions that came from the old showroom of Roman mosaic that was located on the nearby Burnt Tree Island. Great Bridge already has direct bus links with Tipton, Dudley, and

(via the 74 number bus that runs from Dudley and onto Birmingham) and also has direct bus links to Wednesbury. Since 1995, Great Bridge has been served by the

Black Country Spine Road The Black Country New Road (or Black Country Spine Road) is a major road which runs through the West Midlands of England. The route was first planned during the 1980s, as a trunk road to link the planned Black Country Route at Bilston with J ...

which gives a quick dual carriageway route to Bilston and Wednesbury in one direction and

as well as the M5 motorway in the other. This opened up several square miles of previously inaccessible land for industrial and commercial use, bringing jobs to Great Bridge in the aftermath of the 1970s and 1980s de-industrialisation. The Walsall Canal and River Thame both pass through the eastern side of the town. A pedestrian footpath crossing them links the town centre to the Asda site.

References