Kates Hill

Kates Hill is a residential area in Dudley, West Midlands, England.

Kates Hill was the scene of chaos in 1648 when parliamenterians used it as their base in the Civil War against King Charles I. As a result, many roads in the area are named in honour of parliamentary figures from that era and afterwards; these include Oliver Cromwell (Oliver Close and Cromwell Street) and Robert Peel (Peel Street).

Kates Hill was not developed as a residential area until the 1830s, when houses were built to accommodate people moving to the Black Country in hope of landing jobs in the ever-growing number of factories that were springing up in the region at this time. In 1840, St John's Parish Church was laid out and an adjoining church school was built soon afterwards.

As recently as 1920, Kates Hill was surrounded by a substantial amount of farmland. This rural scene was quickly swept away during the interwar years, as hundreds of council houses were built in the Highfield Road and Bunns Lane areas to accommodate families who were being rehoused following town centre slum clearences. The late interwar and early postwar years also saw most of Kates Hill's 19th century housing stock - and its numerous pubs - demolished, and much of the land was left undeveloped until the 1970s. At this time, many old streets in the area were swept away, re-routed or turned into cul-de-sacs as the area was developed with council-owned houses, flats and bungalows.

Many of the newer properties on Kates Hill - notably blocks of four flats with two houses adjoining - are unique to the area, having been designed by an architect who received an award for designing the area's new homes. They are concentrated around the Peel Street area of Kates Hill, and a network of alleyways runs among the flats. This was initially a popular idea, as planners hoped to re-create the old-fashioned sense of community that had existed on Kates Hill up to the 1930s. But this proved to be unsuccessful as the alleyways were popular for drug addicts, muggers, thieves, joyriders and vandals.

Kates Hill Primary School on Peel Street was completely rebuilt in 1972, while St John's Primary School moved to new buildings in Hillcrest Road on its merger with St Edmund's Primary School at around the same time. But the old St John's school buildings are still standing and have since been used by several different businesses, the current occupants being a recruitment agency.

Rosland Secondary School was opened on Kates Hill during the 1930s, and it merged with the Blue Coat School in 1970; with the Blue Coat School existing entirely within the Rosland buildings after 1981. It closed in 1989 on a merger with The Dudley School, which saw the formation of Castle High School in the town centre. The Rosland buildings are still in existence, some occupied by St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School and others by St Thomas's Community Network local community group.

Kates Hill has changed dramatically in the last 80 years, yet still retains many pre-1900 buildings; these include St John's Church and St John's School (though now in use as offices), as well as many late 19th century houses situated around St John's Road.

Kates Hill is now one of the most deprived parts of the Dudley borough. Crime (in particular drug dealing, vandalism and "yob culture" is rife and house prices are among the lowest in the borough.

There is a significant ethnic minority population of Commonwealth immigrants around Kates Hill, particularly Pakistani Muslims concentrated around St John's Road. Racial tension in the area has been high for years, culiminating in a clash between white and Asian youths in September 1991. This riot resulted in several injuries as well as damage to a string of properties, though the carnage was nothing on the scale of the inner-city riots that had plagued many other similar areas a few years earlier.

The above may be true in some aspects but community spirit is strong on Kates Hill and cannot be shown anymore strongly than in the campaign to save St John's Church which has drawn membership from all age groups and faith groups. The graveyard houses the famous Tipton Slasher and internationally known education leader and artist Marion Richardson. Website www.savestjohnschurch.zoomshare.com

Local historian John Stenson (born 1934) has written several books about Kates Hill and the surrounding communities. The image below is from one of Stenson's books, and shows an area of Kates Hill that was demolished in the late 1930s.