Netherton, West Midlands

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Netherton is a town in the West Midlands within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. It lies around 1.5 miles (2.5 km) south of the town of Dudley and 1.5 miles north of Cradley Heath. Netherton means 'lower farm' in Old English (the corresponding 'upper farm' may have been the original settlement in present-day Dudley)^[1].

Contents 1 History 2 Notable Buildings 3 Schools and Education 4 Parks and Recreation 5 Transport 6 Localities 7 Industry 8 Miscellaneous 9 References

[edit] History

For most of its history, Netherton was a small village centred around the point where a brook crossed the Baptist End Road, near the boundary of the former hunting park of Pensnett Chase^[2]. Netherton is shown in Joseph Browne's 1682 map of Staffordshire, although like its larger neighbour Dudley, it lay in a small 'island' of Worcestershire completely surrounded by Staffordshire ^[3]. The first mention of a Netherton nailor, an occupation that became very important locally in later years, is dated 1559 ^[4]. In 1684 King Charles II of England granted a charter to Netherton allowing the village to hold an annual market fair ^[4]. Following the Enclosure Acts of the late 18th Century, allowing building in Pensnett Chase, the present town centre took shape further up the hill than its original site.^[5]. Netherton expanded rapidly in the industrial age and the thick seams of coal underlying the region were extensively mined. Blast furnaces were constructed in Netherton for steel making and the area became home to many industries including chain and anchor making, nail making, brick making, enamelling, and the construction of boilers.

In 1844 Netherton became an ecclesiastical parish. It was made an Electoral Ward in 1865.

[edit] Notable Buildings

Netherton's parish church, St Andrew's, consecrated in 1830, is situated on Netherton Hill at the highest point in Netherton. It was originally just a chapel-at-ease to St Thomas's of Dudley, only becoming Netherton's parish church in 1844^[6]. Its most notable public building is probably the Victorian-era Netherton Arts Centre and Library at the top of Northfield Road. A fire station and a number of police houses were constructed at the same time on an adjacent site. These buildings are being transformed for commercial and community use.^[7]

Another local landmark is a pub on the A459 Dudley-Halesowen Road called the Old Swan. It has been known as Ma Pardoe's since the interwar years, as its long-term landlady was Doris Clare Pardoe (born 1899) who owned it until her death in 1984, when she was 85 years old. It is one of only a handful of pubs in the West Midlands that still brews beer on its own premises^[8].

[edit] Schools and Education

The first school in Netherton was a Church of England establishment built in 1836 at the corner of Halesowen Road and Church Road^[6]. The school was rebuilt in 1907 following problems with subsidence and has now been converted into a furniture shop.

The town has a postwar comprehensive school, Hillcrest School and Community College, which was one of the worst secondary schools in the West Midlands during the 1990s but has improved dramatically under the management of new principal Maureen Brennan. She became Dame Maureen Brennan DBE in 2005 for her outstanding efforts which saw Hillcrest School become one of the most successful schools in the borough just five years after an OFSTED report had slammed its weak management and placed it in special measures. In 2002, it was mentioned in parliament for its substantial turn-around. Other schools in Netherton include Netherton CE Primary School on Highbridge Road and Northfield Road Primary School on Northfield Road.

Netherton is also home to Saltwells Education Development Centre, the Dudley EDC which was Saltwells Secondary School until 1986.

[edit] Parks and Recreation

Saltwells Nature Reserve stands on the Netherton - Brierley Hill border, next to Netherton Reservoir. It takes its name from Saltwells Wood, now just part of the reserve, named for its saline springs where people came to bathe in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.^[5] Doulton's Claypit, a Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, lies within the reserve.^[9]

Netherton Park is located near the town centre and was laid out in about 1900 on an area that had once been colliery waste. Another old industrial area that has been reclaimed for public recreation is the Bumble Hole Local Nature Reserve ^[10]. This region lies to the east of the town adjacent to the boundary with the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell.

Netherton Cricket Club, situated on Highbridge Road, celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2006 ^[11] .

[edit] Transport

With the exception of the occasional canal boat, transport in Netherton today is exclusively by road. The major road link for the town is the A459 running from Dudley to Halesowen. This route was once a turnpike road, the Netherton toll gate being situated near to the junction with Swan Street ^[3].

The Dudley No. 2 Canal runs through Netherton, linking the Dudley No. 1 canal at Parkhead Junction with the south entrance of the Netherton Tunnel. When first constructed in 1798 it ran as far as Selly Oak where it connected with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.

Netherton has had no rail service since the 1960s when the line, sometimes called the Bumble Hole Line, which linked the town with Dudley and Old Hill was taken out of service. The line had stops at Baptist End ^[12], Windmill End and Darby End. A small branch line from Baptist End led to Withymoor Goods Station. There were once many industrial rail lines running through the Netherton area but these have been long closed.

[edit] Localities

To the north of the town centre lies the locality of Baptist End. A Baptist Church was built here in 1654 (probably near the junction of Baptist End Road with Swan Street) and it is thought that the locality was so named because of its association with Baptist activities. The church itself was destroyed during riots in 1715 and a new church was built on the nearby Cinder Bank.^[13]

Other localities in Netherton include Darby End which may have been named after the nailmakers from Derbyshire who settled there ^[14], Windmill End, Primrose Hill, Dudley Wood and Mushroom Green.

[edit] Industry

Mining in the Netherton area has taken place since at least the 1300s ^[5] whilst nailmaking has been recorded since the 16th century ^[4]. One of the earliest manufacturing firms established in Netherton was Samuel Lewis & Co Ltd which was set up in 1750 ^[4]. Other notable firms were: Danks, which made boilers; John Barnsley and Co., specialists in cranes and hoists; and Glazebrook's, which had furnaces for iron-making ^[6]. Once located in Netherton, was a firm of chainmakers called N. Hingley & Sons, which was famous for making the anchors for the Titanic ocean liner.^[15] The main anchor for this ship weighed fifteen and a half tons and, on completion, was hauled from the factory to the rail head at Dudley Port by 20 shire horses. ^[16] A sculpture of an anchor stands at the junction of Castleton Street and Halesowen Road commemorating the local anchor and chain industry. ^[17]

[edit] Miscellaneous

Netherton was the birthplace of spring-jumping champion Joe Darby, born in 1861. A statue showing the athlete in a crouched position, about to leap, stands on the junction of the Halesowen Road and Church Road.^[18]

Two old landmarks of Netherton can now be viewed only in the Black Country Living Museum. These include Harold Emile Doo's chemist shop ^[19] and Providence Church ^[20].

Netherton Resevoir stands approximately one mile to the south-west of the town centre, and is a popular resort for speedboat enthusiasts as well as scuba divers. A tragedy occured at the resevoir when the body of Nigel Attwood, a missing 29-year-old local man, was found in the water one month after he was reporting missing. [1]

[edit] References