Halesowen ( ) is a market town 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 Stourb ...

, in the county of

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 ...

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

an exclave of

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

and, from 1844, in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, the town is around from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

city centre, and from

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 ...

town centre. The population of the town, as measured by the

United Kingdom Census 2011 A Census in the United Kingdom, census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Inter ...

, was 58,135. Halesowen is included in the Halesowen and Rowley Regis constituency which is held by the Conservative James Morris.

Geography and administration

Halesowen was a detached part of the county of

but was incorporated into

in 1844 by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act. Since the local government reorganisation of 1974 it has formed a part of 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 ...

and

Conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

, in 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 ...

, which it joined at the same time as neighbouring

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 ...

, which had also been in Worcestershire until that point. Halesowen borders the Birmingham suburbs of Quinton and

Bartley Green Bartley Green is a residential suburban area and electoral ward in Birmingham, England, south west of the city centre. The ward is part of the Birmingham Edgbaston constituency and is represented in parliament by Labour Co-operative MP Preet Gil ...

to the east. To the south is Romsley and Worcestershire, to the north 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 ...

and to the west is Stourbridge. Although predominantly urban or suburban in character, Halesowen borders on

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

land with excellent access to the countryside, for example the

Clent Hills The Clent Hills lie south-west of Birmingham city centre in Clent, Worcestershire, England. The closest towns are Stourbridge and Halesowen, both in the West Midlands conurbation (and also Historic counties of England, historically in Worceste ...

. It has extensive road links including Junction 3 of the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

, which allow easy commuting to Birmingham, other areas of the Black County or nationwide. The centre of Birmingham is approximately 30 minutes away by car and reachable by the number 9 bus. The centre of Halesowen is home to a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

church, a football ground (where non-league

Halesowen Town Halesowen Town Football Club is a football club based in Halesowen, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Grove Recreation Ground. History The club was believed to have been established around 1873, but rec ...

play) and

Halesowen College Halesowen College is a further and higher education college in Whittingham Road, Halesowen, West Midlands. It was established in 1982 as a tertiary college. The college also has a Business Centre about a mile away at Coombswood that opened in Sep ...

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, although some parts of the town are still made up of Victorian and

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

terraced house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

s. The town centre was almost completely rebuilt during the 1960s and 1970s.

Suburbs

In 1974, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council identified six historical suburbs within Halesowen, which they signed accordingly with a series of gateway signs. In addition to the town centre, these are listed below. A separate sign for

Illey Illey is a village near Halesowen (where population details as taken at the 2011 census can be found), in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was cre ...

was added many years later. * Cradley *

Hasbury Hasbury is a suburb of Halesowen in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in West Midlands, England. Its main focal point is the small shopping centre at the Wassell Road/Hagley Road junction, surrounded to the north by municipal housing developmen ...

Hawne Hawne is a residential area approximately one mile from Halesowen town centre in the county of West Midlands, England. It includes Newfield Park Primary School, Earls High School and Halesowen College. There is a mix of private and council hous ...

* Hayley Green * Hill & Cakemore *

Lapal Lapal is a residential area of Halesowen in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England (part of Worcestershire until 1974). It is situated in the east of the town on the border with Birmingham. The Lapal area sits to the East of the Lap ...

Climate

As with the rest of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

and West Midlands, Halesowen experiences a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

with cool summers and mild winters. A weather station provides local climate data for the period 1981–2010. Temperature extremes at Halesowen have ranged from December 13, 1981 up to on July 19, 2022. The coldest daily maximum temperature was on January 12, 1987, and the warmest daily minimum was on July 2, 2009. Records have meteorological variables have been kept since January 1956, in that time the wettest day on record has been June 16, 2016 with a total fall of . In addition, June 2016 is the wettest month of any, with a total fall of . 2014 is the wettest year on record, with a rainfall of ; 2011, with is the driest. The most new snow to accumulate on one day was on February 25, 1981; the snowiest year on record is 1979 with and the least snowy are 2002 and 2019, both with .

History

Halesowen is recorded in the

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 manusc ...

of 1086 as being larger than

. The manor and town was known as ''Hala'' (from the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

word "''halh''", meaning nook or remote valley), until it was given by King Henry II to

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

Prince Dafydd ab Owain and became known as ''Halas Owen''. The parish of Halesowen, which incorporated other

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

later to become independent parishes, was an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the county of

, but grew to become a town and was transferred to the jurisdiction of

by the

Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 61), which came into effect on 20 October 1844, was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which eliminated many outliers or exclaves of counties in England and Wales for civil purposes. ...

. Included in the boundaries was the ancient village of Brettle. Halesowen_exclave_of_Shropshire

In the 1220s, Halesowen had a market and fair and, by 1270, it had been granted a charter of liberties by its lord, the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

Abbey of Halesowen. By 1300, it is estimated that the population was around 600. The court rolls for Halesowen survive from 1272 and show that the majority of migrants to Halesowen in the 14th century were women at 75%. Little was done to remove them and many went on to become small retailers in the area. The village is well known by medieval historians for the conflict that took place around this time. In 1279, as the Abbot attempted to increase labour services for his tenants (which had been fixed in 1244), the peasants attempted to plead their case in the King's Court, a privilege forbidden to unfree

villeins A villein, otherwise known as ''cottar'' or ''crofter'', is a serf tied to the land in the feudal system. Villeins had more rights and social status than those in slavery, but were under a number of legal restrictions which differentiated them f ...

. The Abbot thus fined them £10 which was a large sum at the time, and resistance, led by Roger Ketel, heightened. The conflict was snuffed out in 1282 as Ketel and Alice Edrich (the pregnant wife of another prominent rebel) were murdered by thugs hired by the abbey. During the 18th century Halesowen developed rapidly as a result 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 ...

. The manufacture of nails was the staple trade in the town and many mills were used for slitting and iron production. Coal had been mined in the area from at least the reign of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

. Dating to 1893, Coombes Wood was the largest colliery in the town; at its peak in 1919 Halesowen had 130 working mines. During the

French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

Halesowen raised a troop of volunteer cavalry by 1798, which in 1814 became part of the South Shropshire Yeomanry Cavalry. Halesowen became the centre of a poor law union in the 19th century, which later became established as a

rural sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

and later the

Halesowen Rural District 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 fro ...

in 1894. Oldbury was included into the area of Halesowen under an Act of 1829. 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 Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

in 1936. In 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, Halesowen was incorporated into the new

, in the Metropolitan county of the

. Halesowen was once served by a railway line – in reality two lines which met at an end-on junction at the station. The first was a branch of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

from

Old Hill Old Hill is a small village in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, situated around north of Halesowen and south of Dudley. Initially a separate village it is now part of the much larger ...

to Halesowen, opened in 1878, followed in 1883 by a section jointly owned by the Great Western and the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

(though worked mostly by the latter), linking the town with

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connec ...

on the Midland Railway's Birmingham to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

main line, with intermediate stations at

Rubery Rubery is a village in the Bromsgrove District and a suburb of Birmingham in the counties of Worcestershire and West Midlands, England. It is from Birmingham city centre and a similar distance from Bromsgrove. Rubery was built on a sandstone q ...

Hunnington Hunnington is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England, close to the border with West Midlands, and just south of Halesowen. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 552. History It was ...

, and a workmen's halt at

Longbridge Longbridge is an area of Northfield in the south-west of Birmingham, England, located near the border with Worcestershire. Public Transport Longbridge is described as a hub for public transport with a number of bus services run by Kev's Coa ...

serving the car factories (not to be confused with the present Longbridge station). Being largely rural in character, the line failed to attract much traffic and regular passenger services ended between Halesowen and Northfield as far back as 1919, and between Old Hill and Halesowen in 1927, though the workmen's trains continued to serve Longbridge until 1960. The line is now lifted, but the track-bed can be seen close to the town, although there is no sign of the station. The goods shed remained until recently, serving as an industrial unit though it has now been demolished. Whitefriars, Halesowen, Halesowen - 2022-11-07 - Andy Mabbett

Whitefriars, Halesowen, Halesowen - 2022-11-07 - Andy Mabbett

In the 1960s, the town centre underwent vast redevelopment which saw most of the older buildings demolished. The high street was pedestrianised and a shopping precinct (called "The Precinct") was developed, housing many new retail units as well as a new

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

. The centre was refurbished in the late 1980s and placed under cover, being renamed The Cornbow Centre at this time. Trade in the town centre declined between 1985 and 1990 as 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 ...

some away at

Brierley Hill Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, 2.5 miles south of Dudley and 2 miles north of Stourbridge. Part of the Black Country and in a heavily industrialised area, it has a popu ...

was developed, although not as severely as it declined in Stourbridge and in particular

. The only high-profile casualty was the

J Sainsbury 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 ...

supermarket, which closed in 1992 due to the popularity of the store which had opened at Merry Hill three years earlier to succeed the Dudley store – combined with the onset of the recession at the start of the 1990s. A further upgrading of the town centre took place in 2007 and 2008, with part of the Cornbow Centre (including a petrol station and several smaller retail units) being demolished to make way for a new

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 ...

superstore which opened on 24 November 2008. The bus station was also rebuilt. This 18-month £30 million project was completed in December 2008 and the town received a commendation for the work by the Retail Property Organisation.

Landmarks

In the eastern part of Halesowen is Leasowes Park, which is considered to be one of the first natural

landscape gardens The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

in England. The 18th century poet

William Shenstone William Shenstone (18 November 171411 February 1763) was an English poet and one of the earliest practitioners of landscape gardening through the development of his estate, ''The Leasowes''. Biography Son of Thomas Shenstone and Anne Penn, d ...

designed the garden, beginning works in 1743 and continuing until his death in 1763, transforming existing farmland he had inherited after his parents' death. Today, the parkland is Grade One Listed, as it is of national importance. The local theatre and a Wetherspoon's public house are both named after William Shenstone as are at least two roads in the locality. The Parish Church of St John the Baptist was founded by

Roger de Montgomery Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...

and stands on the site of an even earlier Anglo-Saxon church. Several extensions have been made including the outer south aisle which was added in 1883 by

John Oldrid Scott John Oldrid Scott (17 July 1841 – 30 May 1913) was a British architect. Biography He was the son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott) and his wife Caroline (née Oldrid). His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gil ...

although there is still much evidence of the original Norman work. A

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

cross stands in the churchyard, having previously stood in Great Cornbow until it was blown down by a gale in 1908. Nearby are the ruins of

Halesowen Abbey Halesowen Abbey was a Premonstratensian abbey in Halesowen, England of which only ruins remain. Founded by Peter des Roches with a grant of land from John of England, King John, the abbey's official year of inauguration was 1218. It acquired two ...

, founded in 1215 by

Peter des Roches Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) ( Latinised as ''Peter de Rupibus'' ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III. He was not an Englishman, but rather a native of the Tourain ...

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

. The Dissolution of the Monasteries saw the Abbey pass into private hands in 1538. The Abbey was the subject of an archaeological evaluation by Birmingham Archaeology and is now owned and managed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. Most of the town centre was rebuilt in the 1960s to create a modern shopping area that incorporated a new library as well as many supermarkets and shops centred around the Cornbow Centre. This was refurbished in the late 1980s to create a covered shopping area. In 2007–08, Halesowen underwent a £30 million regeneration of part of its town centre, which has included the construction of a new

supermarket located in the Cornbow Centre, together with a new

multi-storey car park A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...

, a rebuilt bus station and improvements to the road layout.

Economy

The principal industry of Halesowen was traditionally

nail Nail or Nails may refer to: In biology * Nail (anatomy), toughened protective protein-keratin (known as alpha-keratin, also found in hair) at the end of an animal digit, such as fingernail * Nail (beak), a plate of hard horny tissue at the tip ...

making, an industry that was performed on a small scale individually in the backyards of a large number of nail makers. Halesowen also had, along with most other areas of the Black Country, a large number of above and underground 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.

Sandvik Sandvik AB is a Swedish multinational engineering company specializing in metal cutting, digital and additive manufacturing, mining and construction, stainless and special steel alloys, and industrial heating. The company was founded in Sweden ...

's UK headquarters are located here as well as Somers Forge, mFortune, SomersTotalKare and the Mucklow Group. Communicourt are the leading providers of Non-registered Intermediaries to the criminal and family courts and its headquarters are in Halesowen.

Transport

Transport in the town is overseen by

Transport for West Midlands Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services in the West Midlands metropolitan county in England. It is an executive body of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), with bus franch ...

, the county's transport authority. Halesowen, as mentioned above, is no longer served by a railway station. It is however served by a fairly comprehensive bus network, and is on the Hagley Road Bus Corridor from

(route 9), the

(route 002,13, 17 and X10) and

(route 14). Service 4H operates from Hayley Green to

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 ...

via

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

and

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, ...

Halesowen Bus Station Halesowen bus station is a bus station in the town of Halesowen in the West Midlands conurbation in England. It is owned and managed by Transport for West Midlands. The station is located on Queensway in front of the Cornbow Centre, which house ...

is located on Queensway, next to the Asda supermarket and

Job Centre Plus Jobcentre Plus ( cy, Canolfan byd Gwaith; gd, Ionad Obrach is Eile) is a brand used by the Department for Work and Pensions in the United Kingdom. From 2002 to 2011, Jobcentre Plus was an executive agency which reported directly to the Minis ...

. Most services are operated by

National Express West Midlands National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, as well as limited routes outside of the general area of Birmingham, su ...

and Diamond Bus. Halesowen is considered one of the largest towns in the United Kingdom without a railway station.The nearest railway stations are Rowley Regis, Stourbridge Junction,

and

Education

There are currently 15 primary schools, 3 secondary schools and a further education college situated within the district of Halesowen. Newfield Park Primary School primary school located in Halesowen, was built during the 1960s to serve the expanding local area of

. In 1972, when still a borough in its own right, Halesowen Council abolished the traditional infant and junior schools and replaced them with first schools for ages 5 to 9 and middle schools for the 9 to 13 age group, but this system was abolished in 1982 and reverted to the previous infant schools for 5 to 7 year olds and junior schools for ages 7 to 11. It was one of the first instances of

three-tier education Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types as they progress through the education system. Terminology In a three-tier local educa ...

being abolished in favour of a return to traditional age ranges, though most areas which adopted the system have since reverted to the traditional age ranges. The rest of the

consisted of 5–8 first and 8–12 middle schools (barring

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 ...

, which had both retained the traditional 5–7 infant and 7–11 junior schools) until following the suit of Halesowen and reverting to the traditional ranges in 1990.

Primary schools

* Caslon Primary School * Colley Lane Primary School * Cradley Church of England Primary School * Halesowen Church of England Primary School * Hasbury Church of England Primary School * Howley Grange Primary School * Huntingtree Primary School * Hurst Green Primary School * Lapal Primary School * Lutley Primary School * Manor Way Primary School * Newfield Park Primary School * Olive Hill Primary School * Our Lady and St. Kenelm Roman Catholic Primary School * Tenterfields Primary School

Special needs school

* Halesbury Special School

Secondary schools

* Windsor High School * Leasowes High School * Earls High School

Further education

* Windsor High School Sixth Form

Defunct schools

Richmond Boys School and Walton Girls School were merged in September 1983 to form Windsor High School, a mixed 11-16 comprehensive school based at an expanded Richmond site, while the Walton site was annexed into Halesowen College until it was sold off for a housing development 18 years later.

Media

Halesowen is served by local editions of two regional evening papers, the Birmingham-based '' Evening Mail'' and the Wolverhampton-based ''

Express & Star The ''Express & Star'' is a regional evening newspaper in Britain. Founded in 1889, it is based in Wolverhampton, England, and covers the West Midlands county and Staffordshire. Currently edited by Martin Wright, the ''Express & Star'' publish ...

''. There are two local free weekly newspapers delivered to every household in Halesowen, ''The

Halesowen News The Halesowen News is a local free newspaper serving the 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 Wor ...

'' and ''The

Halesowen Chronicle The Halesowen Chronicle is a free local newspaper which serves the Halesowen area of the West Midlands in England. It is published by Midland News Association Midland News Association (also known as MNA Media) is Britain’s largest indepen ...

''. The Halesowen area is served by the following local and regional radio stations: *

BBC WM BBC Radio WM is the BBC's local radio station serving the West Midlands. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Mailbox in Birmingham. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 236,000 lis ...

: local FM station broadcasting local news, sport and music from the BBC studios at the Mailbox in Birmingham * Free Radio West Midlands: local FM commercial CHR music station for Birmingham and the Black Country and Shropshire broadcast from studios in Birmingham and Manchester *

Heart West Midlands Heart West Midlands is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the West Midlands from studios in Birmingham. History Heart began broadcasting to the West Midlands on Tuesday 6 Septe ...

: regional FM commercial Hot AC music station broadcast from studios in Birmingham and London * Smooth Radio West Midlands: regional FM adult contemporary commercial music station broadcast from studios in Birmingham and London *

Capital Midlands Capital Midlands is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Birmingham, parts of the Black Country and the East Midlands from studios at Brindleyplace in Birmingham City Centre. ...

: local FM commercial contemporary hit music station for Birmingham broadcast from studios in Birmingham and London * Black Country Radio: local FM community station broadcast from studios in Stourbridge *

Greatest Hits West Midlands Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the West Midlands. The station forms ...

: regional FM station broadcasting music from across the decades from studios in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and London *

Radio XL Radio XL is an Asian radio station to broadcast to the West Midlands from Birmingham, England. Radio XL reach is to a potential Asian audience of over 250,000 people in the 15+ age group. The station is available throughout the West Midlands o ...

: regional AM Asian station broadcast from studios in Birmingham *

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British Asian radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially British Asians between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has ...

: national digital Asian station available on AM in the West Midlands

Sport and leisure

Halesowen has a rugby union club called Old Halesonians and a hockey club also named Old Halesonians.

Halesowen Town F.C. Halesowen Town Football Club is a football club based in Halesowen, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Grove Recreation Ground. History The club was believed to have been established around 1873, but rec ...

are the town's non-league football club and play their home matches at The Grove on Old Hawne Lane. The first team transferred from the

Southern League Division One Central The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...

to the

Northern Premier League Division One Midlands The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

for the 2021/2022 season.

Halesowen Cricket Club Halesowen Cricket Club is an English cricket club in Halesowen, West Midlands that has four senior Saturday cricket sides. Their 1st currently play in the Birmingham and District Premier League. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th XI's play in the Wor ...

are based at Seth Somers Park just off the A456 Manor Way. The club operates four teams competing in the Birmingham and District Premier League and the Worcestershire County League. The Manor Abbey Sports Ground on Manor Way is the home of Halesowen Athletics & Cycling Club. Facilities include a 400 metres outdoor cycling velodrome and a four lane 350 metres athletics track. The grounds also include a weights room, indoor training room and clubhouse. Halesowen Tennis Club is also based at the Manor Abbey Sports Ground with four floodlit, artificial clay courts available for use by members. Halesowen Leisure Centre on Pool Road includes a swimming pool and gym and is used by a number of local clubs, including Halesowen Swimming Club, Halesowen Triathlon Club and Cobra Running and Triathlon Club.

Notable residents

Alexander of Hales Alexander of Hales (also Halensis, Alensis, Halesius, Alesius ; 21 August 1245), also called ''Doctor Irrefragibilis'' (by Pope Alexander IV in the ''Bull De Fontibus Paradisi'') and ''Theologorum Monarcha'', was a Franciscan friar, theologian a ...

, English scholastic theologian and writer * Thomas Attwood (1783–1856), British economist and campaigner for electoral reform *

Chris Crudelli Chris Crudelli is a martial artist, television presenter and author. He is best known as the host of BBC television programmes about the martial arts of far eastern countries, '' Mind, Body & Kick Ass Moves'', '' Kick Ass Miracles'', and '' Kic ...

, television presenter * Sir Benjamin Hingley, 1st Baronet, Liberal MP * Tommy Mundon, comedian *

Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinton, ...

, television actor and presenter *

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

, rock singer *

Morgan Rogers Morgan Elliot Rogers (born 26 July 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays for Blackpool, on loan from Manchester City. He plays as a midfielder or forward. Club career West Bromwich Albion Born in Halesowen, Rogers joined Wes ...

, professional footballer *

Lee Sharpe Lee Stuart Sharpe (born 27 May 1971) is an English professional golfer, former professional footballer, sports television pundit and reality television personality. As a player was predominantly a left winger from 1988 to 2004, he notably play ...

, professional and international footballer *

, poet and landscape gardener *

Frank Skinner Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), professionally known as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...

, comedian and television presenter * Julian Smith, saxophonist *

Les Smith Keith Leslie Smith is a former British keyboardist, once in the bands Anathema (1996, 2001–2011) and Cradle of Filth (1998–2000). Biography He was born in 1967 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. Smith undertook session work on keyboar ...

, professional footballer * Walter Somers, ironmaster *

Philip Tibbetts Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philip ...

, HM March Pursuivant Extraordinary - The

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All A ...

(2021-) *

Glenn Tipton Glenn Raymond Tipton (born 25 October 1947) is an English guitarist. Often noted for his complex playing style and classically influenced solos, he is best known as one of the lead guitarists for heavy metal band Judas Priest. Early life and ...

, guitarist of Judas Priest *

Jordanne Whiley Jordanne Joyce Whiley MBE (born 11 June 1992) is a British retired wheelchair tennis player. Aged 14, she became Britain's youngest ever national women's singles champion in wheelchair tennis. She has osteogenesis imperfecta as does her father, ...

, wheelchair tennis player *

Rex Williams Desmond Rex Williams (born 20 July 1933) is a retired English professional snooker and billiards player. He was the second player to make an official maximum break, achieving this in an exhibition match in December 1965. Williams won the Worl ...

, billiards player *

Francis Brett Young Francis Brett Young (29 June 1884 – 28 March 1954) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, composer, doctor and soldier. Life Francis Brett Young was born in Halesowen, Worcestershire. He received his early education at Iona, a pri ...

, novelist and poet

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in the West Midlands (county) Areas of Dudley Unparished areas in the West Midlands (county)