Palfrey is a neighbourhood in the

Metropolitan Borough of Walsall The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Darlaston, Pelsal ...

, in the West Midlands. It covers 3.68

sq km The square kilometre (square kilometer in American spelling; symbol: km2) is a multiple of the square metre, the SI unit of area or surface area. In the SI unit of area (m2), 1 km2 is equal to 1M(m2). 1 km2 is equal to: * 1,000,000 squar ...

, which accounts for 3.5% of the area of the Walsall borough.

Etymology

The word

palfrey A palfrey is a type of horse that was highly valued as a Horses in the Middle Ages, riding horse in the Middle Ages. It was a lighter-weight horse, usually a smooth horse gait, gaited one that could ambling, amble, suitable for riding over long ...

refers to a small riding horse which is particularly suitable for women. It is possible that Palfrey's name originated from the keeping of such horses on the land which has since become Palfrey.

Crime

From January to December 2018, Palfrey had a crime rate of 86.3 per 1000 people, and a serious acquisitive crime rate of 19.6 per 1000 people. Both rates were lower than the average in the Walsall borough. 'Violence without injury' was the most prolific type of crime in 2018.

Economy

In the 2019 ''

Index of Multiple Deprivation Index (: indexes or indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on the Halo Array in the ...

'' (IMD) Palfrey was ranked 2,773 out of 32,844 in England, where 1 was the most deprived and 32,844 the least. This is broken down further by income; employment; education, skills; health; barriers to housing and services; the living environment; and crime (England). In the 2011 census, 64.9% of working age people in Palfrey ward were economically active (compared to the 76.8% national average) and 26.5% had no formal qualifications (compared to the 15.0% national average).

Education

The schools in the ward include: Palfrey Infants and Junior, Fullbrook Nursery,

Joseph Leckie Academy Converter Academy Joseph Leckie Academy is a secondary academy school in The Delves area of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is situated to the south of Walsall centre, near to the Bescot Stadium, home of Walsall F.C. History Until ...

, Whitehall Junior and Infants, and Delves Junior and Infants.

Population

In the Palfrey ward there are 5407 households, with 29.4% owning with a mortgage or loan and 24.1% being socially rented, as of the 2011 census.

Notable features

Palfrey Park is a significant local landmark, and is one of

Walsall Council Walsall Council, formally Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. The town of Walsall had been a borough from medieval times, which was reformed on nu ...

’s flagship green spaces. It was the first park in the borough to secure a national Green Flag Award, winning the accolade in 2007 and again in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The park is located within walking distance of Palfrey Town Centre and its Broadway West entrance is located off Broadway West ( A4148 Walsall ring road). The park has a simple reverse L–shaped layout and is an intimate open space of approximately 6.48

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s ranging from a formal historical layout in the north dominated by the reconstructed historical bandstand and Palfrey horse sculpture, created in stainless steel by the sculptor

John McKenna John McKenna (; 3 January 1855 – 22 March 1936) was an Irish businessman, professional rugby player, and the first manager of the Liverpool Football Club which has since gone on to become the most successful football club in England. Ear ...

ARBS, to the play and sports facilities at the centre core of the park, large amenity grass area to the south and informal nature conservation area in the south west corner of the park. Palfrey is home to Walsall's main mosques: Abu Bakr, Al Farooq and Aisha, Shah Jalal Mosques, Jalalia Sunni Jami Masjid, and Masjid E Usman. Walsall has a significant Muslim population. In the 2011 census 8.2% of residents viewed themselves as Muslim, above the UK average of 4.4%.

References

{{reflist Walsall Populated places in the West Midlands (county)