414:, only enclosed in 1832. With the coming of the railway line in 1852, and the consequent agricultural and industrial development, Blakedown eventually became larger than its companion, Churchill. The stream running to the south of it as an affluent to Churchill's Wannerton Brook had been dammed to make a roadside pool as early as 1367. Formerly known as Blakedown Pool, it was later named Swan Pool. More dams were built higher up to form Springbrook Pool (now Ladies Pool), and Wheatmill Pool, eventually called Forge Pool when the agricultural mill there was redeveloped for industrial use. Even after the mills and forges were demolished, workers came from Lancashire and Cumberland for two months each year to cut the willows surrounding them for
31:
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survives, as does the contemporary
Churchill corn mill beside Wannerton Brook. Along the village street there are two survivals from the end of the 18th century, Castle Ash and Jack's Cottage (which now adjoins the Post Office). Rose Cottage, near the Belbroughton Road, dates from 1820 but has since been combined with the former blacksmith's round the corner. Beyond the blacksmith on Belbroughton Road (which continued to be called by its old name of The Common for decades) there were the narrow plots of Victorian cottage developments, each with their peaked porch. On the other side of the road were the cottages built for foundry workers in the 1830s at the top of Forge Lane.
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included Samuel
Bradley's Spring Brook Forge, which in its heyday had a workforce of 150. The forge began as a glassworks, before diversifying to the manufacture of axles, and was demolished in 1917. The other establishment was the Blakedown Foundry, on the site of which Mill Cottage was built after 1920. Further along was a smaller foundry which later became a saw mill.
560:. Above the Kidderminster Road, Harborough Hill House was built in 1925; the much larger and more secluded Wannerton House dates from 1924 and is accessed by a private drive leading off Churchill Lane. And along New Wood Lane is a newly restored Art Deco house, known as Blakedown Rough when it was first built in 1934.
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the poet. Damming produced a chain of pools below the house, curving round to Broome Mill, which was disused by the 1880s. Following shortly on the enclosure of
Harborough Common in 1832, Harborough Farm was built on the other side of the main road, with two farm cottages further along the hillside.
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Many of the village shops that used to serve this clientele have now closed, although a post office and general store remain, along with some other small businesses. One business that disappeared in 2000 was the formerly renowned
Blakedown Nursery, where the new Gladstone apple variety was identified
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At the opposite end of the village, beyond the parish boundary, there was once a half-timbered cottage on the slope, with the village smithy on the other side of the main road, both of which were demolished in the early 20th century. Springbrook House, dating from the turn of the 18th century, still
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lords of the manor at the time. In 1865 two Sunday morning services were held to accommodate the growing population and in the following year a rooftop wooden bell-tower was added (later renewed in 1915 at the same time as a new aisle and vestry were built). A school associated with the church was
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There are horse-riding stables along the
Belbroughton Road and the village also has some excellent sports facilities. These include a golf club which was originally a 9-hole course, now extended to 18 holes; a tennis club; and football and cricket pitches. The snooker club that was established in
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in 1753, and a toll house was built above
Blakedown Pool at the junction with the Belbroughton Road. A milestone from this era with an 1807 metal plate still exists on the first bend coming into the village from Kidderminster. The toll house income dwindled with the coming of the railway and the
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serving the road through
Blakedown: the Swan Inn, dating from 1760, and the Old House at Home. The latter started as a cottage taproom in the 1830s, eventually growing to absorb two neighbouring cottages. The confluence of streams at the foot of the village provided power for ironworks. These
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building was eventually replaced with a shop. One source of financial loss was Samuel
Bradley, the owner of Spring Brook Forge, who made a short cut from Forge Lane to the station in order to avoid paying dues on his goods. Planted with trees, it is still known as The Avenue.
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opened a station at the edge of the village in 1853 on land made available by the Squire of
Harborough Hall. Originally it was named Churchill, then Churchill and Blakedown following the amalgamation of the two parishes. Now it is known simply as
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in 1868. The recent building development on the nursery site was named
Gladstone Place in its honour. However, the greater part of the modern village was built on the other side of the railway line in the years following World War 2.
483:. In the station yard there still remain the single storey cottages built at the time for railway workers. The original viaduct over the wide valley of Wannerton Brook was built on wooden trestles. In 1885 what was by then the
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first housed in a tin hut in the churchyard, replaced in 1885 with a brick building which now functions as a nursery school. The new primary school occupies modern buildings on a site adjacent to the churchyard.
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Settlement of the area along the Kidderminster road came slowly. The timber-framed Harborough Hall was built in 1635 for William and Anne Penn on land that had belonged to the family since the reign of
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replaced it with a parallel blue brick viaduct, although the red brick abutments of the old structure can still be seen on either side of the valley. The station was situated on Mill Lane, where
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495:. After that became redundant, it was acquired by the Churchill and Blakedown Historical Society for their headquarters and in 2016 was shifted across the road to a site adjoining the station.
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and the arrival of the railway, it developed both agriculturally and industrially during the 19th century. Due to its transport links, it now serves mainly as a
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frontage houses an indoor performance space known as Theatre 282. Outside is a new bowling green completed in 2016 and below it a recreation area.
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By 1860 there were enough inhabitants in the village for the church of St James the Great to be built to a design by Gothic revivalist
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Among the 20th century houses in the area, Knoll Hill along the Belbroughton road is notable for having been the former home of the
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with an ornamental bell-turret at the gable end. The sandstone for the church was quarried from the grounds of
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The main street in 1917 at the Belbroughton turn; the telegraph office on the left is now the post office
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supplying the West Midlands. Another road linking Kidderminster to Birmingham was made a
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Buildings of England series (Alan Brooks and Nicolaus Pevsner),
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as Honorary President. The 1920s Parish Hall with its modest
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1904 has former World Billiard Champion and local resident
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At 2011 Census, Churchill and Blakedown Neighbourhood Plan
391:, the Blakedown (earlier Bleak Down) area formed part of
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ran just east of Blakedown and later developed into a
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Churchill and Blakedown Neighbourhood Plan 2016-2026
349:lying along the A456 in the north of the county of
1122:List of civil parishes in the Wyre Forest district
579:, compiled by Frederick William Young (1875-1966)
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929:
662:, Hagley Historical & Field Society 1993
410:Much of Blakedown was originally an area of
609:, Hagley Historical and Field Society, 2003
573:, Wyre Forest District Council 10 July 2012
476:Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
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603:, Parishes: Hagley, British History Online
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454:In ancient times the Roman road between
395:Parish; originally it belonged to Clent
656:Watermill Sites in North Worcestershire
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601:: Volume 3 (London, 1913), pp. 130-136
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779:A History of the County of Worcester
599:A History of the County of Worcester
532:. At first it consisted of a simple
399:and later to the lower division of
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711:Churchill & Blakedown History
571:Parish of Churchill and Blakedown
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884:, Art Deco Magpie 2017, pp.68-9
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673:Churchill & Blakedown News
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594:, Wyre Forest District Council
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588:, Yale University Press, 2007
577:Blakedown Church History Book
569:Adopted Local Heritage List,
361:for the neighbouring town of
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754:Adopted Local Heritage List
87:OS grid reference
18:Human settlement in England
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1143:Villages in Worcestershire
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882:Streamline Worcestershire
481:Blakedown railway station
383:History of Worcestershire
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859:0bituary, 10 August 2015
733:Blakedown Church History
637:Blakedown Church History
544:, the residence of the
121:Churchill and Blakedown
108:108 miles (174 km)
822:Adopted Local Heritage
789:Adopted Local Heritage
700:Blakedown Parish Rooms
646:Adopted Local Heritage
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365:and for the cities of
325:52.403571°N 2.178555°W
261:Hereford and Worcester
218:Postcode district
764:Kidderminster Shuttle
671:”What’s in a name?”,
607:Walk Around Blakedown
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491:were operated from a
485:Great Western Railway
387:From the time of the
353:, England. Following
946:Wyre Forest district
832:Buildings of England
530:George Edmund Street
489:level crossing gates
425:There are still two
347:Wyre Forest District
345:is a village in the
330:52.403571; -2.178555
198:Sovereign state
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1021:Chaddesley Corbett
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230:Dialling code
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894:Photo online
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554:show jumping
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1101:Upper Arley
1086:Shatterford
1061:Pound Green
687:Mike Pitt,
542:Hagley Hall
460:Greensforge
412:common land
328: /
249:West Mercia
138:Wyre Forest
81:1,604
1066:Ribbesford
1006:Bliss Gate
1001:Blakeshall
870:Right Move
843:Photo on
614:References
506:Edward III
493:signal box
381:See also:
367:Birmingham
355:enclosures
313:52°24′13″N
78:Population
1106:Wolverley
1081:Shenstone
1056:Kingsford
1031:Clows Top
1026:Churchill
996:Blakedown
810:Photo on
798:Photo on
742:Photo on
721:Photo on
556:champion
546:Lyttelton
499:Buildings
456:Droitwich
405:Churchill
401:Halfshire
371:Worcester
359:dormitory
343:Blakedown
316:2°10′43″W
268:Ambulance
208:Post town
60:Blakedown
24:Blakedown
1137:Category
1016:Caunsall
979:Villages
845:Geograph
812:Geograph
800:Geograph
744:Geograph
723:Geograph
660:pp.33-35
468:turnpike
444:Art Deco
130:District
94:SO879784
1096:Tanwood
1076:Rushock
1046:Franche
1041:Drayton
1036:Cookley
960:Bewdley
538:chancel
464:saltway
416:withies
397:Hundred
377:History
297:England
190:England
184:Country
102:•
1011:Broome
393:Hagley
244:Police
166:Region
104:London
1091:Stone
953:Towns
420:clogs
234:01562
1071:Rock
536:and
534:nave
474:The
458:and
418:and
369:and
256:Fire
223:DY10
1139::
766:,
675:,
658:,
373:.
292:UK
937:e
930:t
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