Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

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Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

Postby Neville Bastable » Thu Apr 30, 2009 8:07 pm

By environs I mean Amblecote,Wordsley, Kingswinfordand places like that with a common interest in glass wares. Notwithstanding that, this area has a fine history in other manufactures.
An example might be the engineering firm of Foster,Rastrick of Stourbridge who amongst other things pioneered the design and manufacture of steam locomotives. In the 1820's they built the very first locomotive that ran on rails in the United States of America. It was called the Stourbridge Lion They also built at this time a locomotive called the Agenoria which ran on the mineral railway lines at Shutt End Colliery owned by the Earl of Dudley. The Agnoria still exists and is I believe in the Railway Museum at York. More to come..
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Re: Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

Postby Neville Bastable » Sat May 02, 2009 2:23 pm

Continuing the theme of Stourbridge engineering works, near Foster Rastrick was Bradley's Ironworks on the canal and further along the canal was Jones and Attwood Ltd, amongst other things manufacturers and installers of sewage treatment equipment. I worked there for a while in the 1970's.
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Re: Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

Postby Neville Bastable » Mon May 04, 2009 2:42 pm

Much, much further east along this the Stourbridge canal where it passes under Brettell Lane were the chain and anchor works of Samuel Taylor & Sons, one of the largest of its kind in the district, having started life in Cradley Heath but moved to this location because of the proximity of the canal and perhaps more importantly the railway station. They were involved in many prestigious projects including I believe providing equipment for the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and the Canberra.
I visited their Works on business many years ago but I'm not sure now whether they still exist as many such companies have either closed down or been taken over. Parhaps some member from the Brierley Hill area might tell me !
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Re: Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

Postby mallosa » Mon May 04, 2009 7:06 pm

If you would like to have your ancestors photo's included in our Gallery, please send me a pm.

Researching: Evans, Rollason, Henley/Hendley, Brookes, Taylor (Wilson - Birmingham)
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Re: Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

Postby Neville Bastable » Wed May 06, 2009 8:27 pm

Mallosa, Many thanks. So it's now Lloyds ( Brierley Hill). Must enquire about them.
I'll return to Stourbridge I think, but this time away from the canal and nearer the town centre I remember Baylie's Chainworks which were quite extensive, but I cannot remember much more about them.
Back to the canal, between Wordsley and Brockmoor the level was raised by what was known as the Stourbridge Sixteen (locks). At the top where the canal was crossed by the road to Brierley Hill the canal widened (near where the Bottle & Glass pub was years ago, now at the BC Museum I believe) and many years ago I was invited by a colleague to try out his recently acquired motor boat at this spot. Trouble was in mid stream the propellor became clogged up with weed and stopped turning. Imagine the scene, me and my then wife, rookie sailors adrift. I vaguely remember my colleague on the bank waving his arms in the air and shouting instructions, but for the life of me I cannot remember now, how we managed to get out of that bother. Ah happy days !
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Re: Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

Postby Neville Bastable » Thu May 07, 2009 11:05 am

Descending the Stourbridge Sixteen on foot if you don't have a boat makes an interesting towpath walk, finishing up at what was the Stuart Crystal Glassworks with the local landmark the Redhouse Cone standing, I am told 100 feet tall and it's right by the canal. Built at the end of the18th Century it was used for the manufacture of glass I believe until 1936 and is now one of only four such cones left in the country. I haven't been there for some years now but in my view makes a wonderful visitor centre. Not only does it cost nothing to go in, it's open daily and there is I understand an audio tour, glass blowing demonstrations, children's activities, gift shop, tea room and so on.
There were of course many similar firms in the area, but as my own experience was in the engineering industry I will not attempt to embark on the story of the history of glass making. It is of course well documented and no doubt we have all heard of the influence Huguenot immigrants had. Families named Henzey,Tyzack, Tyttery, Hoe etc. I wonder if we have any of their descendants amongst our members!
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Re: Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

Postby Neville Bastable » Sat May 09, 2009 11:06 am

I would like us now to travel by foot or boat to what I suppose we can call the top of the Stourbridge Canal at Delph Road which marks the division between the Stourbridge Canal to the south and the Dudley Canal to the north. This area was called the Black Delph in the 18th Century because of the proliferation of collieries in the vicinity, now of course all gone.
At the beginning if the Dudley Canal are the Nine Locks, a name that has survived since the 1850's I think, when the flight was rebuilt as the eight locks we see today. When I was young you could still see remains of the original locks in places. I don't know whether that's still the case today. The top and bottom locks were still the originals. Delph Road crosses the canal below ithe locks and the first the first place you see is the Bell public house where I once had a quite agreeable meal as I recall. Delph Road used to be described as the "real ale riviera" due to the number and variety of pubs along its length as it runs parallel with the canal. It may no longer deserve that description of course as sadly pubs seem to be disappearing all over the place. One that hasn't I shouldn't think would be towards the top where we find the Vine, called locally the Bull and Bladder for some reason which incorporates Batham's Brewery and where great singing (or so we thought) could be enjoyed with the aid of a pianist on a Saturday evening. Could be all different now if course. It's not far from the Merry Hill shopping centre if any member finds themselves there and is inclined to go and have a look round.
Again, ah happy days!
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Re: Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

Postby Neville Bastable » Tue May 12, 2009 4:02 pm

There are myriads of stories in the history of canals both in the building and operating of them. One such is here at the Delph Locks, or at least all along from here right down to the Stourbridge Sixteen all three miles or so of it when in the earky 1900's it suddenly completely emptied itself, no doubt leaving any boats on that stretch at the time completely high and dry. Three miles seems a long way but of course it was because of the circuitous route those early canals took following the natural level or "contour" of the land over which it travelled. The problem was about half a mile down fom the Delph. The canal had caved in. subsidence having been caused apparently by a fireclay pit underneath being too close to the surface at that point. The cascade of water apparently caused much damage locally before it finally drained away. Interestingly I understand the exposed canal bed was found to be covered with new fire bricks ( the local product) which had presumably been thrown overboard if a bottom of a boat was scraping the canal bed, thus of course agravating the situation and making it even more difficult for the next boat that came along.
Not that there's much to see now but for anyone interested the spot was I suppose about 150 yards south of the Brettell Lane canal bridge. If you have a copy of the Alan Godfrey map entitled Brierley Hill (West) 1901 so much the better.
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Re: Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

Postby Neville Bastable » Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:53 am

I cannot leave the Delph without mentioning the "Nine Locks Miracle" when in 1869 the Nine Locks coal mine flooded and trapped 13 miners. There were of course a number of mining disasters and boiler explosions in earlier days but this is the one that is so amazing because apart from one man they were all brought to the surface but only when after 5 days of trying, a rescue party had finally reached the miners.
Apparently all this time they had survived in an air pocket. The man who didn't survive had apparently left the spot in an attempt to find a way out. The miners saved were listed as:-
John Handley,Thomas Hickman, Benjamin Higgs, John Holden, Thomas Hunt, Stephen Page, Zachariah Pearson, Joseph Pearson, James Sankey, Joseph Skidmore, Timothy Taylor and Thomas Timmins.
Any descendants of these brave men amongst our members ?
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Re: Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and environs

Postby oldun » Tue Jul 29, 2014 8:32 am

My Uncle Shadey (Shadrack) Westwood and my cousin Goff(Godfrey) Westwood, both worked in the glassworks of Stevens and Williams in North Street, Brierley Hill when they left school at 14. Both worked there all of their lives. Uncle Shade only had time off to help with winning the War to end all Wars WW1. When he came out he married my Aunty Vi Randle . He'd cry out in his sleep, 'oh the poor buggers, they're only kids'. This was regarding the German 'soldiers' who probably weren't a lot older than themselves, but were sent into battle. Uncle Shade had shrapnel in him that stayed with him all of his life. He would take cold tea to work at 6am until 2pm and in the early days the knocker up would wake him for work. The knocker up, had a long pole and he'd tap on the window. His cheeks were quite 'baggy' and sunken from blowing glass. On youtube you can see a film called 'the Crystal Makers' ]showing him and Goff amongst others at Stevens and Williams working in the glass cone. Uncle Shade pre marriage lived in the 'foad' call Virgins End, next to the Baptist Church in South Street and they were a big family. When he married my Aunty Vi they lived with her parents in South Street, just a few houses down on the opposite side. It was a nine roomed house so there was plenty of room. He'd written to her when he was in the trenches as he didn't know anyone else and romance blossomed. There was a drive next to their house which led up to a big house know as 'Mullets' and on the other side of the drive were small houses and in the one on the end lived a family called Mallen. It was slightly raised with a wall you could lean on from the house yard and watch people walk by or throw a handful of soil on the chaps as they walked by chomping on their chips. My mother was a tomboy.


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