Oldbury is a small village and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the United Kingd ...

, in the

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

district, in the ceremonial county of

, England. It is situated approximately south of the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

of Bridgnorth. In 1951 the parish had a population of 283. On 1 April 1967 the civil parish of Oldbury (covering 817

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s) was abolished and merged with Bridgnorth. The village remains separated from the town however and has a distinct character. The village is linked to the town by the modern

B4363 road B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme In Great Britain, there is a numbering scheme used to Categorization, classify and identify all roads. Each ...

, though the original route linking the two settlements is now cut in half by the Bridgnorth by-pass (the

A458 road The A458 is a route on the UK highway network that runs from Mallwyd, near Machynlleth, in Wales, merging with the A456 Hagley Road and the Quinton Expressway on the outskirts of Birmingham, in England. On the way it passes through Welshpool ...

). However, as there is a footbridge crossing the A458 it is still possible for pedestrians and cyclists to follow the old route, which goes up Manor Farm Lane, splits to the right down the hill towards the by-pass, and continues on the Bridgnorth side down Oldbury Wells towards Hollybush Road. The Mercian Way (National Cycle Route 45) follows part of this route, from Manor Farm Lane, over the bypass and then through Oldbury Wells. Oldbury also contains an old

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, which features beautiful stained-glass windows depicting

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

scenes, with a west window, dedicated in 1919 as a parish

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

memorial depicting

St Alban Saint Alban (; ) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at an earl ...

and

St Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hungary), he converted ...

and accompanied by a wooden board listing 13 men who died serving in that war. From the church there is an old raised pathway across fields towards Bridgnorth, now rarely walked upon though still visible, known traditionally as the "Coffin Way".

Coffin A coffin or casket is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, for burial, entombment or cremation. Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets, particularly in American English. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" a ...

s were brought from Bridgnorth by mourners, as at one time they could be buried at St Nicholas's for free whereas there was a fee in Bridgnorth churchyards. The village lies on a notable hillside, which slopes down from Henley Lodge (at 102m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

) towards the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

, which flows to the east of the village, with the lower parts of the settlement at approximately 60m. The village is quite spread out, with a number of small

country lane A country lane is a narrow road in the countryside. In North America and Australia, the term "lane" also may refer to rear access roads which act as a secondary vehicular network in cities and towns. Some towns and cities in Ireland and the Unit ...

s and

paddock A paddock is a small enclosure for horses. In the United Kingdom, this term also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1. Description The most common design provides an area for exercise and is ofte ...

s within the general boundaries. Between Oldbury and the River Severn is the

Severn Valley Railway The Severn Valley Railway is a standard gauge, standard-gauge heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The single-track line runs from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, calling at four intermediate stations and three request stop ...

. Aircraft designer

John Dudley North John Dudley North (1893–11 January 1968), CBE, HonFRAeS, MIMechE, was Chairman and Managing Director of Boulton Paul Aircraft. Born at 18 Kinver Road North, Peak Hill, Sydenham, London in 1893 and educated at Bedford School, North became Chie ...

settled at Oldbury where he died in 1968. Oldbury Wells lies within the Bridgnorth by-pass and is now effectively part of the town (). It has one of the town's two secondary schools,

Oldbury Wells School Oldbury Wells School is a coeducational secondary school located in Bridgnorth, England. having 800 pupils, 122 of whom are in the Year 13. The school's motto is "Aspire, Enjoy, Achieve." History The buildings in which Oldbury Wells School i ...

References

External links

Bridgnorth Team Ministry website
St Nicholas Church, Oldbury {{authority control Villages in Shropshire Former civil parishes in Shropshire Bridgnorth

See also

References

External links