Beechdale, originally named Gypsy Lane Estate, is a
housing estate
A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision (land), subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to count ...
in
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
, in the county of the
West Midlands, England, that was developed predominantly during the 1950s and 1960s.
Education
Beechdale Infant School for 5-7 year olds opened on the estate in 1955 in Remington Road, followed by the 7-11 junior school in 1959. These schools later merged to form a single primary school and remained open until July 2006, being demolished in early 2007.
Hatherton Lane Primary School (which originally opened to infants in 1956 and juniors in 1960) is now the only primary school in the area.
Just to the north of the estate is
Bloxwich Academy, which opened as Frank F. Harrison Community School in 1965.
Sport
Beechdale Football Club, the local football team, play and train on a football pitch within the estate. The team has had considerable success in recent years within its division. There are also popular pool, snooker and darts teams on the estate.
Notable people
Noddy Holder
Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician, songwriter and actor. He was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the English rock band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s.
Known for his disti ...
, the lead singer of
Slade
Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...
, grew up on the estate after moving there as a child from
Caldmore
Caldmore ( ) is a suburb of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is a historic village formerly in Staffordshire.
History
The settlement of Caldmore grew up around an important road junction, the shape of which defined an open space of ro ...
; his parents were among the estate's original residents in the 1950s. Another famous former resident of the estate are
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Perform ...
of
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...
and
Martin Degville
Martin Degville (born 27 January 1961Strong, Martin C. (1999) ''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 564-5) is the lead vocalist and co-songwriter of the British new wave band Sigue Sigue Sputnik, which had a worldwide h ...
of
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Sigue Sigue Sputnik were a British new wave band formed in 1982 by former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band have had three UK top-40 hit singles, including " Love Missile F1-11" and " 21st Century Boy".
The band's music, image and in ...
Author of the Alternative History Series Age of the Navigator, Montgomery Harris is also from the estate. His roots are reflected in the series' main character Dale Beechman. .
Public transport
Trolleybuses once ran into the estate when it was originally called Gypsy Lane Estate. Currently all public transport services are provided by bus and operated by
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is bus operator in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. It is a subsidiary of Mobico Group (formerly National Express Group) and is the largest bus operator in the region, as well as one of ...
.
These include services 70 and 70A linking the estate to Bloxwich and Walsall.
References
{{Authority control
Walsall
Bloxwich