Wollaston is a village on the outskirts of Stourbridge in the English West Midlands. It is located in the south of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, one mile from Stourbridge town centre.

History

Until 1974 when the West Midlands Metropolitan County was created, Wollaston was in Worcestershire.

Wollaston Hall

Wollaston Hall was a 17th-century mansion which stood in the village until 1924. It was later disassembled and shipped to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, although nobody has been able to determine what happened to it after that. Panelling and a fireplace from the Hall are now in the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, which bears a striking resemblance to the original Hall.

Birthplace of steam locomotive

The Stourbridge Lion, built in Wollaston, was the first steam locomotive to run on a commercial line in the United States. Built by Foster, Rastrick and Company in Wollaston, the Stourbridge Lion's historic first run took place on 8 August 1829. The locomotive is now on view at the B&O Railroad museum, Baltimore MD, on loan from the Smithsonian Institution, Washington. The foundry in Lowndes Road where the Stourbridge Lion was built, was under threat of demolition until work started in 2013/2014 to form the multimillion-pound Lion Health Centre

Wollaston Illuminations

The "Wollaston Illuminations" in Leonard Road were an annual Christmas lights display which attracted people from all over 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 ...

to raise money for a chosen charity. Johnny Briggs, who played Mike Baldwin in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

and who lived in Stourbridge, switched on the lights several times over the years. In 2006, residents of Leonard Road decided to cancel the illuminations as a protest to food and drink vendors 'cashing in' on the fundraising event.

Present

Wollaston's main is thoroughfare is Bridgnorth Road, which is home to a few pubs, restaurants and shops. The Unicorn Inn is a

Bathams Bathams is a brewery in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, England established in 1877 in a former slaughterhouse. The brewery is described by the CAMRA ''Good Beer Guide'' as "A classic Black country small brewery". It produces three cask conditioned ...

pub which was built in 1859. In 2014, Lion Health medical centre opened in the renovated former foundry of Foster, Rastrick and Company, a Grade II listed building. The next phase of regeneration on the foundry site will create parkland next to

Stourbridge Canal The Stourbridge Canal is a canal in the West Midlands of England. It links the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (at Stourton Junction, affording access to traffic from the River Severn) with the Dudley Canal, and hence, via the Birmingha ...

with a "heritage and community hub" named Riverside House.

Education

Wollaston has two primary schools –''
The Ridge Primary School
an
St James's C of E Primary
– and one secondary, Ridgewood High School.

Transport

The

skirts around the village linking the

Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywoo ...

with the Dudley No 1 Canal, this places Wollaston on the

Stourport Ring The Stourport Ring is a connected series of canals forming a circuit, or canal ring, around Worcestershire, The Black Country and Birmingham in The Midlands, England. The ring is formed from the River Severn, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire ...

. The nearest train station is Stourbridge Town, and buses from Stourbridge run through the village. The Stourbridge to Bridgnorth A458 road runs through the village. Between 1901 and 1930, Wollaston was served by an electric tramway, the

Kinver Light Railway The Kinver Light Railway operated a passenger and freight tramway service between Amblecote and Kinver, in South Staffordshire, between 1901 and 1930. History The Kinver Light Railway was a subsidiary of British Electric Traction. They acquire ...

. The main bus services are National Express West Midlands service 7 and 8 which connects Wollaston to Stourbridge, Dudley and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. The 8 service continues to Wolverhampton but it is quicker to change on to service 16 at Stourbridge Interchange.

Notable residents

* Frank Short, British printmaker and teacher of printmaking was born in Wollaston. *

Norman Whiting Norman Harry Whiting (2 October 1920 – 23 February 2014) was an English first-class cricketer who played 59 matches for Worcestershire County Cricket Club, Worcestershire in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was born in Wollaston, West Midlan ...

, English first-class cricketer was born in Wollaston. *

Don Kenyon Donald Kenyon (15 May 1924 – 12 November 1996) was an English first-class cricketer, who played in eight Tests for England from 1951 to 1955. He captained Worcestershire between 1959 and 1967. Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "A polish ...

, English first-class cricketer lived most of his adult life in Wollaston. * Jan Pearson, actress known for her roles in ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

'' and ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'', was born and raised in Wollaston.

References

{{Reflist

External links

History of Wollaston Group

History of Wollaston Discussion Forum
Not working (Dec 2018)
Edsel Ford's House

Areas of Dudley Stourbridge Conservation areas in England