County Borough of Dudley

Dudley
Geography
Status	Municipal borough {1865-1889) County borough (1889-1974)
HQ	Dudley
History
Created	1865
Abolished	1974
Succeeded by	Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
Demography
1911 population	51,079
1931 population	59,583
1961 population	62,965

Dudley was a local government district in the English Midlands from 1865 to 1974.^[1] It was a municipal borough covering the town of Dudley and became a county borough in 1889. Although completely surrounded by Staffordshire, the borough was associated with Worcestershire for non-administrative purposes, forming an exclave of the county until 1966. An expansion of the borough boundaries caused it to be transferred to Staffordshire in 1966. It was abolished in 1974 and now forms part of the West Midlands county.

History

See also: Worcestershire's evolving county boundaries

Dudley had been a municipal borough since 1865. However under the Local Government Act 1888, it became a county borough in 1889. It included the town of Dudley and the villages of Woodside and Netherton.

In 1966, under recommendations of the Local Government Commission for England the county borough was expanded to include former area of the urban districts of Brierley Hill as well as the bulk of Sedgley and approximately half of Coseley. As all of these areas were part of Staffordshire, Dudley was transferred from Worcestershire to the county of Staffordshire.

The part of Tividale which was within Dudley was at this time transferred to the County Borough of Warley, which in turn remained in Worcestershire.

In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 the county borough was abolished and replaced with the present Metropolitan Borough of Dudley which became a part of the metropolitan county of West Midlands, taking in neighbouring Halesowen and Stourbridge.

References

1. ^ Vision of Britain - Dudley MB/CB. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.

Coordinates: 52°30′32″N 2°05′13″W / 52.509°N 2.087°W / 52.509; -2.087