Boney Hay is situated to the north east of the town of

Burntwood Burntwood is a former mining town and civil parish in the Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England, approximately west of Lichfield and north east of Brownhills. The town had a population of 26,049 and forms part of Lichfield district. ...

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 ...

, and is most northern area of the town. The area forms one part of one of the largest urbanised parishes in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is one of the five dominions of Burntwood. They are

Chase Terrace Chase Terrace is an area in the town of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. Chase Terrace began as a mining village in the 1860s with mines at the south side of Cannock Road. By 1884 Chase Terrace had gained a population of nearly 2,000. By 19 ...

Chasetown Chasetown is a village in the town of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. It is split between the civil parishes of Burntwood and Hammerwich. History Chasetown developed in the mid 19th century as a coal mining village. At first the village wa ...

, Holly Grove, Boney Hay and Burntwood. Geographically, by common consensus it is agreed Boney Hay falls no further East than Ogley Hay Road, no further west than Rugeley Road, No further South than Rycroft Shopping precinct/Slade Avenue/ Redwood Park, and no further north than The Chorley Road end of

Gentleshaw Common Gentleshaw Common is an area of common land situated in Gentleshaw on the northern side of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest as it is an area of globally rare lowland heathland. The common play ...

. Boney Hay's name is reputed to date back to

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

times when a couple of returning veterans of

The Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh C ...

in 1812, likened the crop of wheat growing in the fields there, before current housing, as matching that at

Quatre Bras Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles-Namur road south of Genappe ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, where

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Skirmishers hid to snipe at

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

's troops. Hence the name Boney's Hay, as it was called by locals. Subsequently losing the 's' from Boney's to become Boney over time. The area has one School, Boney Hay Primary School, two public houses, The Ring 'O' Bells & The Forrester’s Tavern. A working man’s club, Boney Hay WMC and several shops, including the Dehal Costcutters on the corner of Chorley Road, North Street. In the mid 1980s the Dehal Superstore as it was to become, was subject to a race hate campaign against the prospective new

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n owners Mick & Mo who bought out the much loved Woodhouse family. Most notably a NF logo was sprayed on the North Street wall of the shop which remained for some years. One resident of the area was charged with defacement of property. Some of the houses in Boney Hay date back to the late 1800s most notably some situated on Oak Lane / Birch Terrace as visible from the name placards. Some famous past or present residents of Boney Hay include the finder of the Staffordshire Hoard, Terry Herbert. Broadway Actress Eliza Clement, Trombonist Vidney Uquart. Ex Cycling Brothers Jon Bridgewater & Matty Bridgewater and bare-knuckle gypsy fighter Gareth ‘Gaz’ Kelly

References

{{reflist Burntwood