- Oldswinford
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The name Oldswinford is now used for a small area of Stourbridge, close to the parish church.
History
Originally, it was an extensive ancient parish, covering the whole of the former Municipal Borough of Stourbridge, except Pedmore. This included Wollaston, Lye, and Norton (which were part of the same manor), but Stourbridge and Amblecote, while in the parish, were separate manors.
Amblecote was formerly in Staffordshire, but the rest of the parish (south of the River Stour) was in Worcestershire. Both Stourbridge and Amblecote were formerly administered separately from the rest of Oldswinford. The Parish Church of Oldswinford is St Mary's Church.
The name was sometimes formerly written Old Swinford. This spelling is used for Old Swinford Hospital, a voluntary-aided school with boarding houses, founded and endowed by the ironmaster, Thomas Foley. The parish name and that of Kingswinford derive from a swine ford, perhaps on the crossing of the Stour that also gave rise to the name Stourbridge. The road crossing there was the main road between the Saxon burhs of Worcester and Stafford.[1] However (conceivably), it was a crossing of the minor brook that runs east of the church and under Brook Road, Oldswinford.
Today, there are numerous pre-1900 buildings remaining in Oldswinford. The area has also been heavily developed with upmarket private housing since the 1920s.
See also
- Brierley & Hagley A.F.C. formerly Oldswinford Football Club
- Oldswinford CC Oldswinford Cricket Club
References
- ^ P. W. King, 'Some roads out of North Worcestershire', Transactions of Worcestershire Archaeological Society 3rd series, 20 (2006), 88.
Categories:- Areas of Dudley
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