 "Pin It")
- published: 26 Feb 2012
- views: 2088
- author: DaveSpencer32
Vimeo results:
Youtube results:
More Videos
Loading...
Open Collage in a new Window
Email the Collage
- Loading...
Loading suggestions ...
- 105.7 Smooth Radio
- 107.1 Rugby FM
- 107.7 The Wolf
- 3M
- A34 road
- A4040 road
- A41 road
- A425 road
- A426 road
- A44 road
- A441 road
- A442 road
- A444 road
- A445 road
- A449 road
- A45 road
- A452 road
- A454 road
- A456 road
- A458 road
- A461 road
- A488 road
- A518 road
- A527 road
- A53 road
- ABP Food Group
- Abrasive
- Adams Childrenswear
- ADAS (company)
- AGCO
- Air compressor
- Aldi
- Allinea
- Alstom
- Alton Towers
- Aluminium foil
- Alvis plc
- Angel Delight
- Ansty, Warwickshire
- AONB
- Areva
- Arley, Warwickshire
- Armitage Shanks
- Armstrong Siddeley
- Arqiva
- Aston
- Aston Martin
- Aston University
- Aston Villa FC
- Atherstone
- ATS Euromaster
- Autobar Group
- Avery Weigh-Tronix
- AWS Electronics
- Axial compressor
- Baddesley Ensor
- Bakewell tart
- Banbury
- Bank of England
- Barlaston
- Barnfields
- Bartley Green
- Baxi
- Bayston Hill
- BBC
- BBC Radio 4
- BBC Radio 5 Live
- BBC Radio Shropshire
- BBC Radio Stoke
- BBC WM
- BDR Thermea
- Beacon (Radio)
- Beer in England
- Berol
- Bescot Stadium
- Bet365
- Bewdley
- Bickenhill
- Binley, Coventry
- Bird's Custard
- Birmingham
- Birmingham City F.C.
- Birmingham Mail
- Birmingham Post
- Birmingham, England
- Black Country
- Black Country Route
- Bladon Jets
- BMW
- Body in white
- Boss Design
- Bostik
- Bournville
- Bridgestone
- Bridgnorth Aluminium
- Brierley Hill
- Bristan
- Britannia Stadium
- British Armed Forces
- British Army
- British cuisine
- British Empire
- British literature
- Britishness
- Brmb
- Bromford
- Bromsgrove
- Bromyard
- Browns Lane plant
- Brunswick Boat Group
- Burntwood
- Burton Albion F.C.
- Burton Mail
- Burton on Trent
- Burton-upon-Trent
- Business Link
- Butter
- Cadbury UK
- Calor
- Cannock
- Cannock Chase
- Capgemini
- Capital Birmingham
- Car air conditioning
- Carillion
- Castle Bromwich
- Celesio
- Centenary Square
- Central Tonight
- Channel 14
- Chef & Brewer
- Chequer Foods
- Churchill China
- Clover (spread)
- Coalbrookdale
- Codemasters
- Commsoft RMS
- Compression fitting
- Concentric (company)
- Conder Structures
- Conex Bänninger
- ConocoPhillips
- Conurbation
- Converteam
- Coombe Fields
- Cotswolds
- County town
- Coventry
- Coventry Airport
- Coventry Cathedral
- Coventry City F.C.
- Coventry University
- Crankcase
- CrossCountry
- Crossmember
- Crown Dependencies
- Crudgington
- Cubbington
- Cutler-Hammer
- Cylinder block
- Dairy Crest
- Dana Corporation
- Danesford
- Daniel Doncaster
- Danish Crown AmbA
- Daw Mill
- Dennis Eagle
- Denso
- Desire Petroleum
- Die (manufacturing)
- Dietary supplement
- Districts of England
- Dollond & Aitchison
- Doncasters
- Donnington, Telford
- Dordon
- Dosthill
- Dudley
- Dudley (borough)
- Dumper
- Dunlop Tyres
- DYMO Corporation
- E.ON UK
- East Midlands
- East of England
- East Staffordshire
- Eaton Corporation
- Eccleshall
- Edgar Street
- Edgbaston
- Education in England
- Education in Wales
- Egbert H. Taylor
- Elections in England
- Elizabeth II
- Elmley Lovett
- Elval
- Emma Bridgewater
- Emscote
- Engine control unit
- England
- English Law
- Enterprise Inns
- Erdington
- Essar Group
- Ettingshall
- European Parliament
- European Union
- Evesham
- Exhall
- Express & Star
- Fayre & Square
- Fire pump
- Flaming Grill
- Ford Transit
- Fordhouses
- Forging
- Fort Dunlop
- Fradley
- Fuel cell vehicle
- Fujitsu
- Gas Street Basin
- Gas turbine
- Gaydon
- GBP
- GCSE
- Geoffrey Dummer
- Geography of Ireland
- Giraffe
- GKN
- GKN Driveline
- Godiva Fire Pumps
- Goodrich Corporation
- Government Office
- Grainger & Worrall
- Gravelly Hill
- Great Britain
- Greater London
- Green belt
- Gross value added
- H. P. Bulmer
- H. Samuel
- Hadley Castle
- Hadley Group
- Haldex (company)
- Halesfield
- Halesowen
- Halfords
- Halfords Autocentre
- Hall Green
- Hamilton Sundstrand
- Hampson Industries
- Hams Hall
- Harlescott
- Hartlebury
- Headlamp
- Healthcare in Wales
- Heart West Midlands
- Heat exchanger
- Hereford
- Hereford United F.C.
- Herefordshire
- Highways Agency
- History of England
- History of Scotland
- History of Wales
- Hitachi Maxell
- Hockley, Birmingham
- Holland & Barrett
- Homeserve
- Hose coupling
- Hot-dip galvanizing
- House of Lords
- Hozelock
- HS Marston
- Hydrogen vehicle
- IBM
- IDEX Corporation
- IMI plc
- Integrated circuit
- Invotec Group
- Ironbridge Gorge
- Ishida (company)
- Isuzu
- J. C. Bamford
- Jaguar Cars
- Jaguar Land Rover
- Jaguar XF
- Jaguar XJ
- Jaguar XK
- JCB Dieselmax
- Jet (brand)
- Jewellery Quarter
- Jewson
- Joma
- Joy Mining Machinery
- Keele University
- Kenilworth
- Kerrang! 105.2
- Kidderminster
- Kidsgrove
- King Edward VI Aston
- Kings Heath
- Kingspan Group
- Koito Industries
- KUKA
- Labour Party (UK)
- Lafarge
- Land Rover
- Land Rover Defender
- Land speed record
- Lander Automotive
- Law and justice
- Lea & Perrins
- Leamington Spa
- Ledbury
- Leek, Staffordshire
- Legrand (company)
- Leominster
- Liberal Democrats
- Liberty Way
- Lichfield
- Lichfield (district)
- Lickhill
- Linpac
- Linton, Bringsty
- Lloyds Pharmacy
- Local transport plan
- London
- London borough
- Longbridge
- Longwave
- Ludlow
- Lye, West Midlands
- M1 motorway
- M40 motorway
- M42 motorway
- M45 motorway
- M5 motorway
- M54 motorway
- M6 motorway
- M6 toll
- M6 Toll
- Machine press
- Makita
- Malvern Hills
- Malvern Link
- Marcegaglia
- Market Drayton
- Marmite
- Marston's Brewery
- Marvel (food)
- Masco
- Massey Ferguson
- McKesson Corporation
- Metropolitan county
- Metsec
- Mettis Aerospace
- MG (car)
- MG Rover Group
- Michelin
- Midlands (England)
- Midlands Today
- Minsterley
- Monkspath
- Morgan Est
- Morgan Motor Company
- Motaquip
- Motivair
- Mr Kipling
- Much Marcle
- Much Wenlock
- Mucklow Hill
- Multihead weigher
- Myton School
- Müller (company)
- National Express
- National Grid plc
- Network Rail
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Newell Rubbermaid
- Newey and Eyre
- Newtown, Birmingham
- NFU Mutual
- NHS West Midlands
- Nikon
- Norgren (company)
- North East England
- North Warwickshire
- North West England
- Northern England
- Northern Ireland
- Norton Canes
- Numark (pharmacy)
- Numerical control
- Nuneaton
- Nuneaton Town F.C.
- Nurse call button
- Ocado
- Offset printing
- Ogihara Corporation
- Oleo International
- Oleo strut
- Olton
- Over Whitacre
- Palethorpes
- Paper Mate
- Park Brewery
- Parker Pen Company
- Peak District
- Pembridge
- Peugeot
- Pipe fitting
- Pirelli Stadium
- Plantsbrook School
- Pneumatics
- Politics of England
- Politics of Scotland
- Politics of Wales
- Pork Farms
- Port Vale F.C.
- Portal England
- Portal Politics
- Potterton (company)
- Pound sterling
- Poundland
- Powdered milk
- Power tool
- Powys
- Premier Foods
- Prologis
- Prostar Stadium
- PSA Peugeot Citroën
- Pub chain
- Punch Taverns
- Pype Hayes
- QinetiQ
- Quango
- Quinton, Birmingham
- RAF Lichfield
- Range Rover
- Rayburn Range
- Redditch
- Regions of England
- Reliant
- Religion in England
- Religion in Scotland
- Religion in Wales
- Rexel
- Ricoh
- Ricoh Arena
- River Severn
- River Wye
- Riversimple
- RoadChef
- Rolls-Royce plc
- Ross-on-Wye
- Rotary vane pump
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Doulton
- Royal Navy
- Rugby (borough)
- Rugby, Warwickshire
- Rugeley
- Rural
- Sainsbury's
- Sandpaper
- Sandwell
- Sandwell (borough)
- Scotland
- Scottish Government
- Scottish Parliament
- Sealine
- Semi-trailer
- Severn Trent
- Shire county
- Shobdon Aerodrome
- Shower
- Shrewsbury
- Shrewsbury Town F.C.
- Shropshire
- Shropshire Council
- Shropshire Hills
- Shropshire Star
- Sideway
- Signal 1
- Sixth form college
- Smethwick
- Soho Foundry
- Solihull
- Solihull (borough)
- Solihull plant
- South East England
- South Shropshire
- South Staffordshire
- South West England
- Southam College
- Spam (food)
- Spirit Pub Company
- Stadco
- Stafford
- Stafford (borough)
- Staffordshire
- Stareton
- Static Systems Group
- Steam turbine
- Steering column
- Steering linkage
- Stoke Aldermoor
- Stoke City FC
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Stourbridge
- Stourport-on-Severn
- Straight-4
- Stratford upon Avon
- Stratford-upon-Avon
- Strip steel
- Stuttgart
- Subaru
- Sumitomo Corporation
- Sunshine 855
- Sunshine Radio (FM)
- Super Output Areas
- Supermarine Spitfire
- Suspension (vehicle)
- Sutton Coldfield
- Switchgear
- Talke
- Tamworth
- Tamworth (borough)
- Tarmac Limited
- Tata Motors
- Telent
- Telford
- Telford and Wrekin
- Tewkesbury
- The Hawthorns
- The Iron Bridge
- The Mailbox
- The Molineux
- The Severn (radio)
- The Wyre
- Thermography
- Thomson Holidays
- ThyssenKrupp
- Tile Hill
- Titanium Metals
- Total S.A.
- Touch FM (Coventry)
- Tourism in England
- Tourism in Scotland
- Tourism in Wales
- Triton Showers
- Truancy
- Tyburn
- Tyseley
- Unimation
- Uniq plc
- Unitary Authority
- United Kingdom
- University college
- Urban area
- Vale Park
- Vax (vacuum)
- VDO (company)
- Vehicle recovery
- Villa Park
- Voestalpine
- Volvo
- Wales
- Walsall
- Walsall (borough)
- Walsall F.C.
- Walsgrave
- Warwick
- Warwick (district)
- Warwickshire
- Warwickshire College
- Washwood Heath
- Wedge Group
- Wedgwood
- Wellman Group
- Welsh Government
- Wergs
- West Bromwich
- West Coast Main Line
- West Midlands county
- West Midlands Police
- Weston's Cider
- Westwood Heath
- Whitley plant
- Whitley, Coventry
- Whitmore Park
- Wikimedia Commons
- Wikipedia Link rot
- Willenhall
- William Shakespeare
- Wolseley UK
- Wolverhampton
- Woodgate, Birmingham
- Worcester
- Worcester News
- Worcestershire
- Worcestershire sauce
- Wychavon
- Wye Valley
- Wyvern (radio)
- Yeast extract
- Zytek
-
A4040 road
The A4040 is the Outer Ring Road in Birmingham, England. It is the route followed by the Birmingham Outer Circle bus route. It was formed mainly of redesignated old roads, unlike Birmingham's inner (A4400) and middle ring road (A4540), which were mostly purpose built.
Places along the route (travelling clockwise from the Northernmost point) include:
Coordinates: 52°28′28″N 1°53′28″W / 52.47431°N 1.89119°W / 52.47431; -1.89119
wn.com/A4040_road -
A41 road
The A41 is a major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although it has now in parts been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford, Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Newport, Whitchurch, Chester and Ellesmere Port.
It follows part of the line of the old Roman road, Akeman Street and the eighteenth century Sparrows Herne turnpike.
With the opening of the M40 extension in 1990 linking with the M42 near Birmingham, much of the route was downgraded in importance - with the sections between Bicester and the M42 near Solihull being renumbered as the A4141, A4177 and B4100.
The route begins near Marble Arch in London, at the junction with Oxford Street (A40). Here, north-bound traffic uses Gloucester Place, the south-bound uses Baker Street. It becomes a dual-carriageway on Finchley Road, through Swiss Cottage, and along Hendon Way, and intersects with the North Circular Road near Brent Cross shopping centre. The road passes through Hendon and after the junction with the A5150, (close to the Metropolitan Police's police college and the RAF Museum), it runs directly next to the M1. The A41 overlaps the A1 at Five Ways Corner with the section known as Watford Way. It passes through Mill Hill, separating with the A1 at Apex Corner roundabout After crossing the M1, near Elstree, it links the M1 at Junction 4, and then meets the A5 at a roundabout (where the A5 becomes the A5183). The A41 continues next to the M1 into Hertfordshire. This section is known as Elton Way, as far as the roundabout with the B462. The next section is dual-carriageway.
wn.com/A41_road -
A425 road
The A425 road is an A road in England, which runs between Daventry in Northamptonshire and Warwick in Warwickshire via Staverton, Lower Shuckburgh and Southam.
At Southam it links with the A426 as well as the A423.
Coordinates: 52°15′14″N 1°25′15″W / 52.25397°N 1.42084°W / 52.25397; -1.42084
wn.com/A425_road -
A426 road
The A426 road is a road in England which runs from the city of Leicester to the market town of Southam in Warwickshire via the towns of Lutterworth and Rugby.
Until the M1 motorway was completed in the 1960s this route formed the main route between Rugby and Leicester, now much quieter as all but local traffic uses the motorway. However, the local traffic has expanded as Magna Park, the warehouse capital of the east midlands, has grown in Lutterworth. Broughton Astley, a couple of miles north-west-ish of Dunton Bassett (half way between Blaby and Lutterworth) is also infested with lorries that gum up the traffic flow en route to Magna Park, the M1 motorway or the M6 Motorway. At rush hours the road can become congested and reduced to less than 40 mph, particularly when agricultural tractors-and-trailers crawl along it. The 13 miles from Blaby to Rugby can take 40 minutes between 8.00 am and 9.00.
The A426 crosses the route of the former A45 in Dunchurch, this would have formed one of the main routes between the Midlands and South East. Dunchurch is now bypassed to the South by the M45 motorway, and the A426 no longer meets the A45
wn.com/A426_road -
A44 road
The A44 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales.
The original (1923) route of the A44 was Chipping Norton to Aberystwyth. No changes were made to the route of the A44 in the early years. After the Second World War, the section between Rhayader and Llangurig was renumbered A470, as part of the creation of a through route between South and North Wales. The A44 was extended to Oxford in the 1990s, replacing part of the A34 when the M40 motorway was completed.
In 2004 a bypass was constructed around Wyre Piddle. As a result, the A44 was rerouted down the A4538 between Evesham and Worcester and therefore no longer goes down Pershore High Street. The old route is now known as the B4084.
The road begins at a roundabout junction with the A40 road on the northern outskirts of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It has a grade separated junction with the A34 road (leading to the M40 motorway and Winchester). From here, the road runs northwest, and has a 2-mile (3.2 km) section of dual-carriageway close to the village of Kidlington before reaching the town of Woodstock, home to Blenheim Palace. The road then reaches the main market street in Chipping Norton before entering the Cotswolds. The road here has many hills and turns, and is single-carriageway with some tight bends, with not much opportunity for overtaking.
wn.com/A44_road -
A441 road
A441 is an A-road in England which runs from central Birmingham to Cookhill, Worcestershire.
Once one of the main routes between Evesham, Redditch and Birmingham, the A441 has now largely been superseded by A435 which has been upgraded to the East. Redditch was designated a new town in 1964, with this came major realignments of the major routes, including the A441, rebuilt to dual carriageway standard through the town. When the M42 was built in 1982, a link road was built from the A441 at Hopwood to a new junction East of Alvechurch. This later formed part of the Alvechurch bypass when completed in the 1990s. The final section of the road between Cookhill and Dunnington was downgraded in 1995.
The A441 starts on the Middleway in Birmingham as a non primary route, running largely parallel to the A38. It passes the suburbs of Selly Park, Stirchley, Cotteridge, Kings Norton and West Heath before leaving the West Midlands and entering Worcestershire. The village of Alvechurch is now bypassed to the East, connecting with the M42 at junction 2. Upon entering Redditch the A441 follows new town dual carriageway roads built in the early-to-mid 1970s including a short concurrence with the A448 where it gains primary status. Heading Southwards out of Redditch the former road is rejoined and it passes through the village of Astwood Bank before finally terminating at a staggered junction with the A422 South of Cookhill, just short of the Warwickshire border.
wn.com/A441_road -
A442 road
The A442 is a main road which passes through the counties of Worcestershire and Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England.
From Droitwich in Worcestershire it runs towards Kidderminster where it meets the A449 from Worcester. This section of road used to be the B4192 until the late 1970s when it was upgraded to A road status.
At Kidderminster, it starts again and then runs north-north-west into Shropshire, via Bridgnorth and Telford (where it crosses the M54 motorway). Through Telford it is known as Queensway, and the Eastern Primary (EP). It ends where it meets the A53 just outside the village of Hodnet. Before the A53 bypass around the village was built, the A442 continued through Hodnet and joined the A41 near Darliston, south of Whitchurch. This section of road however has now been downgraded: most of it is declassified, but part has been reclassifed as part of B5065. However Googlemaps.com is currently still mistakenly listing the now declassified route as still being the A442.
wn.com/A442_road -
A444 road
The A444, also known as the Stivichall Interchange is a primary road running between Baginton and Burton upon Trent in England, usually referred to as the "A treble four".
Starting on the Stivichall A45/A46 Interchange, it heads to the A4114 road, then heads onto the B4110 road to get to the A4600 Sky Blue Way in Coventry, then it heads north on a dual carriageway road, crossing the M6 at junction 3. It bypasses Bedworth to the west and heads into Nuneaton passing the George Elliot Hospital. The road continues into Nuneaton Town Centre and is notoriously bad for traffic during busy periods. The road then heads away from Nuneaton, through Weddington and crossing the A5 Watling Street.
Becoming a rural single carriageway road passing through Leicestershire countryside passed the site of the Battle of Bosworth. It meets the end of the M42 south of Measham, eventually descending into Burton upon Trent to terminate on the A511.
Between the late 1980s and mid 1990s, a dual carriageway road was constructed in phases connecting Coventry, Sky Blue Way and Nuneaton to provide a more direct link between Coventry city centre and the M6 motorway. The town of Bedworth had already been by-passed during the 1970s and this followed a continuation of this route, the first phase opening in 1989 and the final in 1995.
wn.com/A444_road -
A445 road
The A445 road is a road in Warwickshire, England. It runs between the town of Warwick and the A45, also passing through the north of Leamington Spa. The road provides the major link between Leamington/Warwick and north-east Warwickshire, including Rugby and the M45/M1 motorways. The M45/M1 provided the major route to London until the early 1990s but have now been superseded by the M40, which passes to the south of the Leamington/Warwick conurbation.
The A445 begins in central Warwick at a junction with the A425 as Smith Street, and the first part of it is single carriageway. It then merges into the A429 very briefly before heading towards Leamington. It forms the main road from Warwick to Leamington, crossing into the latter town at the Portobello Bridge over the River Avon near that river's junction with the River Leam. Just east of the bridge the A445 has a junction with the B4099 with the B route heading into central Leamington and the A445 skirting the north of the town.
Following a short multiplexed section with the A452 in the Lillington area of Leamington the A445 has a junction with the B4453. It turns north for a short distance until reaching the edge of Leamington. It returns to its ruling north-easterly direction through the village of New Cubbington and then heads out into open countryside. It only passes through two more villages, Bubbenhall and the small settlement of Stretton-on-Dunsmore, where it meets the A423. A short distance after this junction the A445 ends at its junction with the A45. This junction was formerly notorious as an accident blackspot but it has been considerably reprofiled and made safer. From there, the eastbound A45 leads to the A4071 into Rugby and also the M45/M1 to Northampton, London and the South East England.
wn.com/A445_road -
A449 road
The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire.
The southern section of the road, between Ross on Wye and Newport forms part of the trunk route from the English Midlands to South Wales, avoiding the Severn Bridge
The A449 starts on the M4 at the Coldra Interchange (J24) in Newport and is dual carriageway all the way to Raglan. The section from the A40 junction at Raglan to the A472 junction at Usk, known as the New Midlands Road, was one of the first sections to be dualled, opening on 16 October 1970. Between Raglan and Ross-on-Wye the A449 is concurrent with the A40.
The road becomes quite twisty on departing Ross-on-Wye, but straightens out a little before arriving at Ledbury. The road turns northwards upon crossing into Worcestershire at Little Malvern and skirts the eastern slopes of the Malvern Hills through the town of Great Malvern. It then crosses Worcester's ring road, the A4440, at a roundabout near Powick.
wn.com/A449_road -
A45 road
The A45 is a major road in England. It runs east from Birmingham past the National Exhibition Centre and the M42, then bypasses Coventry and Rugby, where it briefly merges with the M45 until it continues to Daventry. It then heads to Northampton and Wellingborough before running north of Rushden and Higham Ferrers and terminating at its junction with the A14 road near Thrapston.
Prior to the construction of the M6 motorway it was the main route from the Midlands to Ipswich and to the Haven ports. When the A1-M1 link road section of the current A14 opened in 1994 most of the A45 to the east of Cambridge was re-designated as the A14 and some sections to the west were downgraded to B-roads.
The original (1923) route of the A45 was Birmingham to Ipswich. The road was extended to Felixstowe in 1935, replacing the A139. Initially, the A45 passed through Ipswich to Felixstowe; when the Orwell bridge was opened in 1982, the road was diverted to pass over the new bridge.
A bypass for the village of Eltisley was built in 1972, along with a bypass on the B1040 road. The 3-mile (4.8 km) £8 million St Neots Bypass opened in December 1985 on what was then the A45. When the M6-to-Felixstowe route was moved and upgraded to become the A14, this bypass became redesignated part of the less important Cambridge-Coventry A428.
wn.com/A45_road -
A452 road
The A452 is a road in England, which runs from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire to Brownhills in Staffordshire. It is the major link to the M6 motorway for both Leamington and Warwick in addition to serving as Leamington's link to the M40 motorway and to Coventry.
Between Brownhills and Kenilworth it follows the line of the ancient drover's road called the Welsh Road, which probably has pre-Roman origins.
The A452 starts south of Leamington Spa with two separate spurs running to junctions 13 (southbound) and 14 (northbound) of the M40 motorway. These meet and the road heads into Leamington along Europa Way, a road newly created at the same time as the M40 extension in that area. The road into Leamington is signed as a primary route but most maps show it as non-primary. After running up the western edge of the town centre, the road crosses the A425 and then heads north. Just before Kenilworth, the A452 crosses the A46, the major dual carriageway linking the M40 to Coventry. The A452/A46 is thus the principal route between Leamington and Coventry.
wn.com/A452_road -
A454 road
The A454 is a major road in England. Starting from Bridgnorth, Shropshire, it runs eastwards, crossing a narrow part of Staffordshire, to Wolverhampton, West Midlands. It then by-passes Willenhall where it becomes the eastern section of "The Black Country Route" before meeting the M6 motorway at Junction 10 on its way to Walsall. It then runs through Aldridge and the Staffordshire village of Little Aston before heading south-east to Four Oaks, to the north of Sutton Coldfield.
Re-numbering has taken place along the route since the 1970s. First, The Keyway was opened to the south of Willenhall town centre and became part of the A454, as did Bilston Lane - previously the A463.
In the 1980s, the final stub of the route into Bridgnorth was declassified when a by-pass (part of the A458) was opened around the south of the town.
Then, in 1995, the Black Country Route was completed between Bilston and Junction 10 of the M6. The final section of this route (which began as the A463) was numbered the A454, which led to Wolverhampton Road West on the Willenhall-Walsall border being downgraded to a B-road, as had happened to the rest of the original A454 through Willenhall when The Keyway was opened some 20 years previously.
wn.com/A454_road -
A456 road
The A456 is a main road in England running between Central Birmingham and Woofferton, Shropshire, south of Ludlow.
Much of the road is almost certainly medieval in origin. However, the road was laid out, essentially in its present form (except where there are modern bypasses) by a series of 18th century turnpike trusts.
From Birmingham to Blakedown section was the responsibility of one trust established in 1753 to improve roads from the market house in Stourbridge. Blakedown was then part of Hagley, giving rise to the name for it of 'Hagley Road'.
The section from Blakedown to Bewdley Bridge represents two of the eight roads from the market house in Kidderminster that were maintained by a trust established in 1759. The turnpike road passed through Halesowen, following what is now A458 road and B4183 to Hayley Green. Halesowen was bypassed around the south of the town in the 1950s due to rising traffic levels and the growth of the town, and Manor Lane became part of A456. Then in the 1970s the Quinton Expressway was opened to connect with M5 motorway junction 3, when the northern section of M5 was opened in the 1970s.
wn.com/A456_road -
A458 road
The A458 is a route on the UK highway network that runs from Mallwyd, near Machynlleth, in Wales, to Halesowen, near Stourbridge, in England. On the way it passes through Welshpool, Shrewsbury, Much Wenlock, Bridgnorth and Stourbridge.
The road was one of several from "Welch Gate and Cotton Hill" (sic) turnpiked on 1758. Between Buttington and Halfway House the original course of the road was abandoned after it was disturnpiked in 1837. It was replaced by a new road built along the foot of Moelygolfa (hill), built in 1801. This Turnpike Trust ended in 1877.
This road is likely to be Anglo-Saxon in origin, as it links the burhs of Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury. It was used by the army of Henry I, which cleared trees near it on Wenlock Edge to make the road safe.[citation needed] The road was turnpiked in 1752, the trust being solely concerned with this road. It remained a turnpike until 1875.
The Bridgnorth bypass, opened in 1985, was classified as A458, taking the main road around the south of the town, previously it ran through Low Town, but ran along low ground at the foot of the hillside up to the town centre.
wn.com/A458_road -
A461 road
The A461 is a main road in Great Britain that links Lichfield in Staffordshire, with Stourbridge, West Midlands, passing through Walsall & Dudley.
The route was altered in November 1995 on the completion of the Black Country Spine Road. It was swallowed up into the A41 at Great Bridge and re-emerged 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north at Wednesbury before continuing the remainder of the route unchanged. The "old" section of the A461 became part of the B4517 (New Road) and the A4037 (Leabrook Road), while a section of it (Toll End Road) became unclassified, along with the section of Leabrook Road which became a no-through road to motor vehicles (and was renamed Leabrook Road North) after a diversion was opened.
In October 1999 the route underwent another alteration, this time around Dudley. It was diverted along the new southern bypass, which opened on 15 October, 12 years after it was first planned.
The old section of A461 became an extension of the A4101 (Stourbridge Road and Queen's Cross), while the Trindle Road section was incorporated into the B4171 and King Street became unclassified; a section of it was converted into a bus lane in 2000 while one section of the dual carriageway was incorporated into Flood Street (an unclassified road).
wn.com/A461_road -
A488 road
The A488 is a route on the British highway network that runs from Penybont, near Llandrindod Wells, in Wales, to Shrewsbury, Shropshire, in England. Near Shrewsbury the A488 has a junction (a large roundabout) with the A5 trunk road. The route is very rural.
In Clun the A488 crosses the ancient Clun Bridge and this, together with other sections of the route such as at Pontesbury, mean that larger vehicles regularly get stuck and cause significant damage. This problem has in recent years got worse with the advent of satellite navigation, which does not route around the trouble spots for lorry/coach drivers.
Media related to A488 road (Great Britain) at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 52°28′43″N 3°00′13″W / 52.47855°N 3.00356°W / 52.47855; -3.00356
wn.com/A488_road -
A518 road
The A518 is a road in the United Kingdom which runs from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire to Telford, Shropshire via Stafford and Newport. Between Uttoxeter and Stafford it is a single carriageway, with a staggered junction with the dual carriageway A51. Entering Stafford from the east, it passes through the campus of Staffordshire University before hitting a roundabout with the A513, which at this point is named 'Beaconside'. It then heads into Stafford as 'Weston Road', passing around the town centre and heading out under the M6 motorway towards Telford.
Coordinates: 52°48′03″N 2°07′42″W / 52.80089°N 2.12828°W / 52.80089; -2.12828
wn.com/A518_road -
A53 road
The A53 is a primary route in northern England, that runs from Buxton in Derbyshire to Shrewsbury in Shropshire.
The A53 begins in the centre of Buxton off the A6 road, before meeting the A515 road at a roundabout. Out of the town, it has a junction with the A54 road (to Congleton) before continuing in a south-westerly direction. It crosses the border into the county of Staffordshire, and after leaving the Peak District travels through the town of Leek. It meets the A523 road (to Macclesfield) and the A520 road (to Stone). It crosses the Caldon Canal and travels through the Stoke-on-Trent conurbation, including Hanley and Newcastle-under-Lyme, where it meets a number of major routes such as the A50 road (to Derby), the A500 road and the A525 road (to Whitchurch). It crosses the M6 motorway and goes through the village of Ashley. It crosses the border into Shropshire, and bypasses the town of Market Drayton, and passes the Müller factory. It meets the A41 road (to Wolverhampton) at a roundabout, then meets the A442 road (to Telford). It goes through the village of Shawbury, before it terminates at its junction with the A49 road, 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Shrewsbury town centre at Battlefield.
wn.com/A53_road -
Aston
Aston is a town within the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.
Aston was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as "Estone", having a mill, a priest and therefore probably a church, woodland and ploughland. The Church of SS Peter & Paul, Aston was built in medieval times to replace an earlier church. The body of the church was rebuilt by J. A. Chatwin during the period 1879 to 1890; the 15th century tower and spire, which was partly rebuilt in 1776, being the only survivors of the medieval building. The ancient parish of Aston (known as Aston juxta Birmingham) was large. It was separated from the parish of Birmingham by AB Row, which currently exists in the Eastside of the city at just 50 yards in length. It was partly included in the borough of Birmingham in 1838, and a further part, Saltley was added in 1891.
Old buildings which became popular within Aston included the Aston Hippodrome and the Bartons Arms public house. Gospel Hall on Park Lane was opened in 1892 and demolished in the 1970s to be rebuilt at the top of Park Lane in 1979. The original hall had a seating capacity of 73. Another meeting place was the Ellen Knox Memorial Hall which was next door to the Midland Vinegar Brewery. The brewery was owned by the Midland Brewery Company was built around 1877. It was located on Upper Thomas Street. The brewery was a three storey brick building with rounded corners and semi-circular windows. The roof was slated. Other industry that was located in Aston include the Premier Motor Works which produced cars during the early 20th century. The works were situated at the junction of Aston Road and Dartmouth Street. On Miller Street was a tramcar depot which had a storage capacity of 104 tramcars. It opened in 1904.
wn.com/Aston -
Atherstone
Coordinates: 52°34′43″N 1°32′46″W / 52.5787°N 1.5462°W / 52.5787; -1.5462
Atherstone is a town in Warwickshire, England. The town is located near the northernmost tip of Warwickshire, close to the border with Staffordshire and Leicestershire and is the administrative headquarters of the borough of North Warwickshire.
Atherstone has a long history dating back to Roman times. An important defended Roman settlement named Manduessedum existed at Mancetter near the site of modern day Atherstone, and the Roman road, the Watling Street (now known as the A5) ran through the town. It is believed by some historians that the rebel Queen of the Britons, Boudica was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street by the Romans in her final battle near Manduessedum.
The Domesday Book of 1086, records that Atherstone was held by Countess Godiva.
The ancient St. Mary’s Chapel in Atherstone dates from the early 12th century when the monks of Bec made a donation of 12 acres (4.9 ha) to a house of friars and hermits, later referred to as “Austin friars”. According to Nichols the chapel was granted to Henry Cartwright in 1542, then left abandoned and neglected until 1692 when Samuel Bracebridge settled a yearly sum for the parson of Mancetter to preach there every other Sunday in the winter season
wn.com/Atherstone -
Baddesley Ensor
Coordinates: 52°34′N 1°36′W / 52.57°N 1.6°W / 52.57; -01.60
Baddesley Ensor is a village and civil parish in the district of North Warwickshire in Warwickshire, England, about three miles west of Atherstone. It runs into to the village of Grendon, which forms a parish itself.
There were mining activities in the area for centuries before the two main shafts, which formed Baddesley Colliery, were sunk in 1850. Although called Baddesley Colliery it was actually just over the border in Baxterley. From then on until 1989 when the pit closed most Baddesley men worked in some capacity at the mine. The worst disaster at the mine occurred on 2 May 1882. There was a fire followed by an explosion and 23 men lost their lives in attempting to rescue 9 nightshift workers trapped by the fire. A memorial to all the men who worked in the mines, in the form of a pit head winding wheel was erected on the common on the site of the old Maypole pit. Since the closure of the mine the village is now mainly residential.
wn.com/Baddesley_Ensor -
Banbury
Coordinates: 52°03′40″N 1°20′10″W / 52.061°N 1.336°W / 52.061; -1.336
Banbury (
/ˈbænbəri/) is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is 64 miles (103 km) northwest of London, 38 miles (61 km) southeast of Birmingham, 27 miles (43 km) south of Coventry and 21 miles (34 km) north northwest of the county town of Oxford. The urban area, including surrounding parishes, had a population of 43,867 at the 2001 census, though this figure has increased in recent years to approximately 45,000.
The Member of Parliament for Banbury is Tony Baldry.
Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area, which is predominantly rural. Banbury's main industries are car components, electrical goods, plastics, food processing, and printing. Banbury is home to the world's largest coffee-processing facility (Kraft Foods), built in 1964. The town is famed for Banbury cakes – similar to Eccles cakes but oval in shape. Since July 2000 Banbury has hosted a unique gathering of traditional mock animals, from around the UK, at the annual Banbury Hobby Horse Festival.
wn.com/Banbury -
Barlaston
Coordinates: 52°56′45″N 2°09′30″W / 52.9457°N 2.1583°W / 52.9457; -2.1583
Barlaston is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is roughly halfway between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the small town of Stone. According to the 2001 census the population of the parish was 2,659.
The old parish church of Saint John is sited on the edge of the Wedgwood estate. It was built to the design of C. Lynam in 1886-8, retaining the west tower from the original medieval building, with the subsequent addition of a vestry in 1969. In 1981 the building had to be closed owing to mining subsidence and a temporary building next to the church took its place until the new church was built on Green Lane.
Wedgwood moved their pottery manufacturing business from Etruria, Staffordshire to a large modern factory in a new village in the north of the parish. The factory was planned in 1936 and built in 1938-40 to the designs of Keith Murray who was also a designer of Wedgwood pottery. The factory has a tourist visitor centre and has its own car-parks and a bus station. Wedgwood railway station was opened for the factory in 1940 but closed in 2004. Nearby is Barlaston Hall c1756 by Sir Robert Taylor (architect) and at one time a Wedgwood family home.
wn.com/Barlaston -
Barnfields
Coordinates: 53°05′N 2°02′W / 53.09°N 2.04°W / 53.09; -02.04
Barnfields is a village in Staffordshire, England.
wn.com/Barnfields -
Bartley Green
Coordinates: 52°26′N 1°59′W / 52.43°N 1.98°W / 52.43; -01.98
Bartley Green is a residential suburban area and electoral ward to the south west of Birmingham city centre, England. The ward is part of the Edgbaston constituency which has been under Labour rule for almost ten years. It is located in the metropolitan county of the West Midlands and was in the historic county of Warwickshire. Located to the east is the Weoley ward, to the south is Frankley and to the west is the county of Worcestershire. To the north is Woodgate Valley Country Park.
The ward is served by Bartley Green Library, which opened in 1905, on Adams Hill. Another library is available in the Newman University College.
Bartley Green was first noted in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Berchelai. This means either the birch tree wood or the clearing in the birch trees (from the Old English "beorc leah"). Bartley Green was in the possession of the manor of Weoley. Bartley Green was again mentioned in 1657, however, this time it was under its current name. Most of the land occupied by Bartley Reservoir was in the parish of Northfield, Birmingham, originally in Worcestershire. It was transferred to Warwickshire when Northfield became part of Birmingham in November 1911.
wn.com/Bartley_Green -
Bayston Hill
Coordinates: 52°40′22″N 2°45′55″W / 52.6727°N 2.7654°W / 52.6727; -2.7654
Bayston Hill is a large village and civil parish in central Shropshire, England. It is 3 miles (5 km) south of the county town Shrewsbury and located on the main A49 road, the Shrewsbury to Hereford road.
Occupied continuously since before the Middle Ages the village is now home to over 5,000 residents and mainly serves as a dormitory village for nearby Shrewsbury. It has the largest population for a village in Shropshire and the 10th highest population of any Shropshire locality. The village has a larger than average retired population in comparison to many similar Shropshire villages, but lower than the national average. Bayston Hill has three public houses, two churches and one primary school called Oakmeadow.
The adjacent and popular Lyth Hill Country Park stands above the village.
The village was recorded in the Domesday Book and there is remaining evidence of both an ancient British Iron Age hillfort and a Roman settlement located on the village's high grounds. In the Middle Ages the heavily wooded Bayston Hill and Condover area was established as a Royal hunting forest. A busy rope works complete with its own windmill built in 1835, existed on Lyth Hill in the 19th century; supplying the many mines, farms and barge owners across the district. A church was built alongside the village glebelands in 1843 to serve the local miners, quarrymen and railway navvies.
wn.com/Bayston_Hill -
BBC Radio Shropshire
Coordinates: 52°43′47″N 2°44′36″W / 52.729758°N 2.743418°W / 52.729758; -2.743418
BBC Radio Shropshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Shropshire. Launched on 23 April 1985 it broadcasts from its studios in Shrewsbury on 96 (for central and north Shropshire), 90 (from Hazler Hill in Church Stretton), 95 (in Ludlow), 104.1 (in Clun) FM and DAB (digital radio). The radio service also has secondary broadcast premises in nearby Telford.
The 96FM signal from The Wrekin is the strongest, and can be heard from outside the county, especially along the M5 and M6 near Birmingham, as well as into Staffordshire. It can also be received reliably in Wrexham and as a result, throughout North East Wales. The other transmitters have a much weaker signal only heard up to about 6 miles (10 km) away at most.[citation needed] The Wrekin transmitter also broadcasts the commercial station Beacon FM on 103.1FM, Digital One, the MXR West Midlands 12A multiplex and BBC National DAB. The transmitters also have television, and Ludlow has national radio frequencies. DAB signals started on 31 January 2001 from the NOW Digital Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury and Telford 11B multiplex. This also has BBC WM and comes from the Wrekin and Turners Hill (near Rowley Regis).
wn.com/BBC_Radio_Shropshire -
Bescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium, also known as the Banks's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989-90 by GMI Construction with a reported build cost of £4.5m. The stadium was opened in 1990 by Stanley Matthews, replacing the club's previous ground, Fellows Park, which was located a quarter of a mile away.
The stadium currently has an all-seater capacity of 11,300, with the extended Floors-2-Go Stand, being the home end. It has extensive conferencing and educational facilities.
The first game was played on 25 August 1990, the opening day of the 1990-91 Football League Fourth Division campaign. 5,219 spectators watched Walsall draw 2-2 with Torquay United, with the stadium's first goal being an own goal scored by Walsall defender Matt Bryant after 65 seconds. The first goal scored for Walsall at the stadium was from Stuart Rimmer.
Originally both ends of the ground were standing areas, and the capacity of the ground was around 9,400. One end was filled with seats later in the 1990s. Following an extension to the Floors-2-Go Stand (formerly known as the Gilbert Alsop Stand), during the 2002-03 season, it is now an all-seater stadium, with a capacity of 11,300.
wn.com/Bescot_Stadium -
Bewdley
Coordinates: 52°22′31″N 2°18′58″W / 52.37524°N 2.31624°W / 52.37524; -2.31624
Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England, along the Severn Valley a few miles to the west of Kidderminster. It lies on the River Severn, and at the time of the 2001 census had a population of 9,178.
The main part of Bewdley town is situated on the western bank of the River Severn, including the main street — Load Street — whose name derives from lode, an old word for ferry. Load Street is notable for its width: this is because it once also served as the town's market place. Most of Bewdley's shops and amenities are situated along Load Street, at the top of which lies St Anne's Church, built between 1745 and 1748 by Thomas Woodward of Chipping Campden.
Beyond the church, High Street leads off to the south towards Stourport along the B4194, a road known locally as "the switchback" because of its many undulations. Unlike in many English towns, High Street is so called not because of its importance, but because of its geographical position 'high' above the river. A sandy slope locally known as Bewdley Beach, located on the northern Severn side, is used by local residents as a leisure area. There are several pubs, cafes, and restaurants along the riverside.
wn.com/Bewdley -
Bickenhill
Coordinates: 52°26′20″N 1°43′30″W / 52.439°N 1.725°W / 52.439; -1.725
Bickenhill is a village, civil parish and ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England, on the fringes of the West Midlands conurbation.
The manor of Bickenhill was held by Edward the Confessor, by Alward, and then by Turchil. It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The descendants of Turchil, the Arden family, settled in the area and adopted the surname 'de Bickenhill,' though spelt differently. The name developed into de Bickenhill in the 13th century. In 1295, Alice de Langley gave herself the title Lady of Bickenhill. A manor then developed in Bickenhill and by the 15th century, there were two manors. It is believed that both manors shared rights by the end of the century. The manors were no longer existing by the end of the 16th century.
The parish was rural in the 19th century but began to develop in the early 20th century into a populous area.
Many changes to the area were made during the nineteenth century. Solihull parish received a detached part of Bickenhill parish, known as Lyndon Quarter, in 1874. The area had been known as Lyndon or Ulverley, after the Ulverlie family who were the original land-owners in the area. When they constructed a new town at a nearby crossroads, which was to become Solihull, old Ulverley became the Old Town, later corrupted to Olton. Though Elmdon parish lay between Olton and Bickenhill proper, the area was administratively Bickenhill until transfer to Solihull, and finally independence with the building of St. Margaret's parish church. The area had been rapidly suburbanising because of the opening of a railway station at Olton, which allowed those who worked in Birmingham to live there and commute. It soon became a suburb of Birmingham. Marston Green, in the north of the parish proper and now the other side of the airport, suburbanised similarly due to having its own station.
wn.com/Bickenhill -
Birmingham
Birmingham (
i/ˈbɜrmɪŋəm/ BUR-ming-əm, locally /ˈbɜrmɪŋɡəm/ BUR-ming-gəm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 (2010 estimate), and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a population of 2,284,093 (2001 census). Birmingham's metropolitan area is also the United Kingdom's second most populous with a population of 3,683,000.
A medium-sized market town during the medieval period, Birmingham grew to international prominence in the 18th century at the heart of the Midlands Enlightenment and subsequent Industrial Revolution, which saw the town at the forefront of worldwide developments in science, technology and economic organisation, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society. By 1791 it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly-skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation and provided a diverse and resilient economic base for industrial prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. Its resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of broad-based political radicalism, that under leaders from Thomas Attwood to Joseph Chamberlain was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy.
wn.com/Birmingham -
Black Country
Coordinates: 52°32′N 2°2′W / 52.533°N 2.033°W / 52.533; -2.033
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation. The South Staffordshire coal mines, the coal coking operations, and the iron foundries and steel mills that used the local coal to fire their furnaces, produced a level of air pollution that had few equals anywhere in the world.
The Black Country is relatively recent as a concept and identity, the expression deriving from the 1840s. It is popularly believed that the area got its name because of pollution from these heavy industries that covered the area in black soot. There is an anecdote (of dubious authenticity) about Queen Victoria ordering the blinds lowered on her carriage as the royal train passed through[citation needed]. However, historians[who?] suggest that it is more likely that the name existed even before the Industrial Revolution; outcroppings of black coal scarred the surface of the local heath, and the presence of coal so near the surface rendered the local soil very black.
wn.com/Black_Country -
Bournville
Coordinates: 52°25′48″N 1°56′08″W / 52.4299°N 1.9355°W / 52.4299; -1.9355
Bournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts. Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has claimed that it is "one of the nicest places to live in Britain".
Originally the area that was to become Bournville consisted of a few scattered farmsteads and cottages, linked by winding country lanes, with the only visual highlight being the Georgian built Bournbrook Hall.
The bluebell glades of Stocks Wood were said to be a relic of the Forest of Arden and there are Roman remains nearby.
Having taken over their father John Cadbury's expanding business in 1861, the Quakers George and Richard Cadbury needed to move their cocoa and chocolate factory from Bridge Street in central Birmingham to a greenfield site to allow for expansion.
wn.com/Bournville -
Brierley Hill
Coordinates: 52°28′46″N 2°07′28″W / 52.4795°N 2.1245°W / 52.4795; -2.1245
Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is one of the larger Black Country towns with a population of 9,631 and is heavily industrialised, best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined considerably since the 1970s. One of the largest factories in the area was the Round Oak Steelworks which closed down and redeveloped to become the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. Brierley Hill was originally in Staffordshire, but was transferred to the West Midlands metropolitan county upon its creation in 1974.
The name Brierley Hill was formed from three Anglo-Saxon or Old English words; 'brier' meaning the place where the Briar Rose (Rosa rubiginosa) grew, 'leah' or 'ley' meaning a woodland clearing and 'Hill'. The name Merry Hill is derived from the word 'gemeare' which means the boundary, indicating that it was on the boundary of the parish of Kingswinford.
wn.com/Brierley_Hill -
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 33,700,000 km2 (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (and then, following union between England and Scotland in 1707, Great Britain) the dominant colonial power in North America and India. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after a war of independence deprived Britain of some of its oldest and most populous colonies.
wn.com/British_Empire -
Bromford
Coordinates: 52°30′25″N 1°49′54″W / 52.5069°N 1.8316°W / 52.5069; -1.8316
Bromford is an industrial area of Birmingham, situated between Ward End, Alum Rock, Hodge Hill, Washwood Heath, Shard End, Stechford and Erdington.
In Old English, "Bromford" means "broom ford", signifying abundance of broom shrubs (or similar hard-wearing plants) and a location to cross the River Tame.
In the United Kingdom Census of 1841 the area was named as "Bromfield", however the exact location is uncertain.
Bromford has historically been associated with two main features – the river crossing (a bridge in the area was first documented in 1317) and a mill. Bromford Mill, serving nearby Erdington, was first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 and was a corn mill. At around 1600, it was converted to an iron mill – the last of Birmingham's mills to do so. In the Ordnance Survey map of 1864, the mill was annotated as Bromyard Forge; its use had changed from iron milling to paper milling and finally to wire drawing and steel rolling at approximately 1850. The production of steel continued in the surrounding area until the late 20th century.
wn.com/Bromford -
Bromsgrove
Coordinates: 52°20′07″N 2°03′28″W / 52.3353°N 2.0579°W / 52.3353; -2.0579
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about 16 miles (26 km) north east of Worcester and 13 miles (21 km) south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area) with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.
Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century as Bremesgraf. Later in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 909 A.D. Bromsgrove is mentioned as Bremesburh. Then in the Domesday Book Bromsgrove is referenced as Bremesgrave. The Breme part of the place name is almost certainly[citation needed] a Saxon personal name.
In the Anglo-Saxon times, Bromsgrove had a woodland economy[citation needed] consisting of hunting, maintenance of haies and pig farming. At the time of Edward the Confessor, the manor of Bromsgrove is known to have been held by Earl Edwin. After the conquest, Bromsgrove was held by the King. Among the manor’s possessions were 13 salt pans at Droitwich, with three workers, producing 300 mits. The King had the right to sell the salt from his pans before any other salt in the town.
wn.com/Bromsgrove -
Bromyard
Coordinates: 52°11′27″N 2°30′24″W / 52.1908°N 2.5068°W / 52.1908; -2.5068
Bromyard is a town in northeast Herefordshire, England with a population in 2010 of approximately 4,500. It lies near to the county border with Worcestershire on the A44 between Leominster and Worcester. Bromyard has a number of traditional half-timbered buildings, including some of the pubs, and the parish church dates back to Norman times. Bromyard was founded about 1100 by the bishops of Hereford who had a manor and minster there in Anglo-Saxon times. It was for many years a market town and is still a centre for growing hops apples and pears, and soft fruit..
During World War I, Bromyard was the site of an internment camp, where the Irish nationalist future Lord Mayor of Cork and hunger striker Terence MacSwiney was both interned and married.[citation needed] In World War Two, Westminster School was temporarily relocated to Buckenhill, on the outskirts of the town.
The town is twinned with Athis-de-l'Orne, Normandy.
wn.com/Bromyard -
Browns Lane plant
Browns Lane in Coventry, England was originally built as a World War II shadow factory run by the Daimler Motor Company. In 1951 it was leased by Jaguar Cars and remained the company's home until 2005. It was the site of all Jaguar production until 1998, when production of the Jaguar S-Type commenced at Castle Bromwich, as well as the firm's corporate headquarters and the home of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust. Although the site runs the length of Browns Lane, its proper entrance is now on Coundon Wedge Drive.
Jaguar's production at Browns Lane waned over the years, as new models ranges were assigned to Castle Bromwich Assembly in Birmingham and Halewood Body & Assembly in Halewood, although the core Jaguar XJ and XK ranges remained on the site until they moved to Castle Bromwich in 2005. Subsequently, the Browns Lane site housed just the headquarters and museum as well as 500 staff responsible for wood veneering for Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Land Rover. Although the headquarters has now moved to the Whitley plant, Whitley, Coventry, the Wood Shop, Museum and Pilot Build Workshop are still on site at Browns Lane. Australian property firm Macquarie Goodman announced its purchase of Browns Lane in 2007.
wn.com/Browns_Lane_plant -
Burntwood
Coordinates: 52°40′59″N 1°55′12″W / 52.6831°N 1.9200°W / 52.6831; -1.9200
Burntwood is a town in Staffordshire, England, lying in the Cannock Chase area approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of Lichfield. The town had a population of 25,674 at the time of the 2001 census and forms part of Lichfield district. The town forms one of the largest urbanised parishes in England. Samuel Johnson opened an academy in nearby Edial in 1736. The town is home to the smallest park in the UK, Prince's park, which is located next to Christ Church on the junction of Farewell Lane and Church Road. The town expanded in the nineteenth century around the coal mining industry.
Areas of Burntwood are Boney Hay, Chase Terrace, Chasetown, Gorstey Lea and Burntwood Green. Nearby places are Brownhills, Cannock, Cannock Wood, Norton Canes, Gentleshaw, Hammerwich and Lichfield.
In September 2009 it was announced that a Burntwood man, Terry Herbert, had discovered a hoard of Saxon treasure with a metal detector in a field in the adjoining village of Hammerwich. Known as the Staffordshire Hoard, it is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold yet found.
wn.com/Burntwood -
Cannock
Coordinates: 52°41′17″N 2°01′44″W / 52.688°N 2.029°W / 52.688; -2.029
Cannock is the most populous of three towns in the district of Cannock Chase in the central southern part of the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England.
Cannock lies to the north of the West Midlands conurbation on the M6, A34 and A5 roads, and to the south of Cannock Chase, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Cannock is served by a railway station on the Chase Line.
Cannock had a 2010 mid-year estimated population of 27,883 (from the estimated headcounts of its four district council electoral wards). The Cannock South ward includes the civil parish of Bridgtown, but the rest of Cannock is unparished.
Cannock is part of Cannock Chase District's largest built-up area. The area is covered by nine district council electoral wards and part of another ward whose estimated population in 2001 was 60,814.
Cannock is also part of a wider built-up area which includes parts of South Staffordshire District. This is the Cannock/Great Wyrley Urban Area which had a population of 83,797.
wn.com/Cannock -
Cannock Chase
Cannock Chase (grid reference SK000165) is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Chase gives its name to the Cannock Chase local government district.
Cannock Chase is located between Cannock, Lichfield, Rugeley and Stafford. It comprises a mixture of natural deciduous woodland, coniferous plantations, open heathland and the remains of early industry, such as coal mining. The landscape owes much to the underlying Triassic bunter formations. Cannock Chase was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on 16 September 1958 and is the smallest area so designated in mainland Britain, covering 68 km2 (26 sq mi). Much of the area is also designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Despite being relatively small in area, the chase provides a remarkable range of landscape and wildlife, including a herd of around 800 fallow deer and a number of rare and endangered birds, not least migrant Nightjars. A feeding station at the Marquis Drive Visitors' Centre, sponsored by the West Midland Bird Club, attracts many species, including Brambling, Yellowhammer and Bullfinch. Efforts are[when?] underway to increase the amount of heathland on the chase, reintroducing shrubs such as heather in some areas where bracken and birch forest have crowded out most other plants. The local flora also includes several species of Vaccinium, including the eponymous Cannock Chase Berry (Vaccinium ×intermedium Ruthe). In January 2009, an outbreak of Sudden Oak Death disease (Phytophthora ramorum) was discovered on the chase, at Brocton Coppice. Various restrictions were put in place in an attempt to prevent its spread.
wn.com/Cannock_Chase -
Castle Bromwich
Coordinates: 52°30′18″N 1°47′08″W / 52.5050°N 1.7856°W / 52.5050; -1.7856
Castle Bromwich is a suburb situated within the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east, North Warwickshire to the east and north east; also Shard End to the south west, Castle Vale, Erdington and Minworth to the north and Hodge Hill to the west - all areas of the City of Birmingham. It constitutes a civil parish which had a population of 11,857 according to the 2001 census.
It was a civil parish within the Meriden Rural District of Warwickshire until the Local Government Act 1972 came into force in 1974, when it became part of Solihull.
In 1861, the population was 613. This rose to just over 1,000 in the 1920s, when half of the original parish was ceded to the City of Birmingham for the construction of overspill estates. This caused a drop to 678 (almost the 1861 level). Post Second World War estate building in Castle Bromwich increased the population to 4,356 in 1951, 9,205 in 1961 and 15,941 in 1971. The parish was then split into two, resulting in the lower 2001 figures.
wn.com/Castle_Bromwich -
Centenary Square
Centenary Square is a public square on Broad Street in central Birmingham, England, named in 1989 in celebration of the centenary of Birmingham achieving city status in 1889.
The area was purchased in the early 20th century by the council for the creation of a grand civic scheme to include new council offices, mayor's residence, public library and concert hall. The scheme was abandoned after the arrival of World War II with only half of the planned Baskerville House having been built.
The square is a work of art in itself, with paving, railings and lamps designed by artist Tess Jaray. Work on the square cost £3.4 million.
The square was the centrepiece of the millennium celebrations for the city with singer, Cliff Richard lighting a beacon known as The Flame of Hope, which stood between Baskerville House and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Problems with funding resulted in the flame regularly being turned off, and it was eventually removed.
The Library of Birmingham is currently being built between Baskerville House and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Mecanoo won the design competition in August 2008, and work began to prepare the land for building work in November 2009 before planning permission was granted. Final planning permission was granted in November/December 2009 and work began in January 2010. A large section of Centenary Square is now therefore shut off to the public whilst building work takes place. The Spirit and Enterprise Fountain has since been removed.
wn.com/Centenary_Square -
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides of the valley. As it contained far fewer impurities than normal coal, the iron it produced was of a superior quality. Along with many other industrial developments that were going on in other parts of the country, this discovery was a major factor in the growing industrialisation of Britain, which was to become known as the Industrial Revolution. Today, Coalbrookdale is home to the Ironbridge Institute, a partnership between the University of Birmingham and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust offering postgraduate and professional development courses in heritage.
Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Madeley and the adjacent Little Wenlock belonged to Much Wenlock Priory. At the Dissolution there was a bloomsmithy called "Caldebroke Smithy". The manor passed about 1572 to John Brooke, who developed coal mining in his manor on a substantial scale. His son Sir Basil Brooke was a significant industrialist, and invested in ironworks elsewhere. It is probable that he also had ironworks at Coalbrookdale, but evidence is lacking. He also acquired an interest in the patent for the cementation process of making steel in about 1615. Though forced to surrender the patent in 1619, he continued making iron and steel until his estate was sequestrated during the Civil War, but the works continued in use.
wn.com/Coalbrookdale -
Coombe Fields
Coombe Fields is a civil parish in Warwickshire, England. The parish has no village, but contains Coombe Abbey, after which it is named, and a few isolated houses. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 114.
Coordinates: 52°25′N 1°24′W / 52.42°N 1.40°W / 52.42; -1.40
wn.com/Coombe_Fields -
Coventry
Coventry (i/ˈkɒvəntri/) is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although Stoke-on-Trent, Leicester and Nottingham have larger urban areas. The population of Coventry had risen to 315,800 as of 2010, according to the Office of National Statistics.
Historically within Warwickshire, Coventry is situated 95 miles (153 km) northwest of central London and 19 miles (31 km) east-southeast of Birmingham, and is further from the coast than any other city in Britain. Although harbouring a population of almost a third of a million inhabitants, Coventry is not amongst the English Core Cities Group due to its proximity to Birmingham.
Coventry was the world's first twin city when it formed a twinning relationship with the Russian city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) during World War II. The relationship developed through ordinary people in Coventry who wanted to show their support for the Soviet Red Army during the Battle of Stalingrad. The city is now also twinned with Dresden, Lidice and 23 other cities around the world.
wn.com/Coventry -
Coventry Airport
Coventry Airport (IATA: CVT, ICAO: EGBE) is located 3 NM (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) south southeast of Coventry city centre, in the village of Baginton, Warwickshire, England, and about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) outside Coventry boundaries. The airport is owned by Patriot Aviation Group, and has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P902) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee, Coventry Airport Limited.
First opened in 1936 as Baginton Aerodrome, Coventry Airport has been used for general aviation, flight training, and commercial freight and passenger flights, as well as being a World War II fighter base. In 1994-5, it became a focus for animal rights campaigners who protested at the export of live animals from the airport as freight. In 1982, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass with a crowd of around 350,000 on his only UK visit. From 2004-8, Thomsonfly operated scheduled jet passenger flights from temporary hub facilities at Coventry. A controversial plan to build permanent passenger terminal facilities was rejected by the High Court in 2007. Following financial problems, the airport was briefly closed in 2009, before re-opening as a commercial airport in 2010.
wn.com/Coventry_Airport -
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current (9th) bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth.
The city has had three cathedrals. The first was St. Mary's, a monastic building, only a few ruins of which remain. The second was St Michael's, a 14th century Gothic church later designated Cathedral, that remains a ruined shell after its bombing during the Second World War. The third is the new St Michael's Cathedral, built after the destruction of the former and a celebration of 20th century architecture.
The Chapter comprises the Dean, three Canons and various other lay and ordained members:
The Revd Canon Anthony Darby was previously Canon Theologian; however, he has now retired.
The first cathedral in Coventry was St. Mary's Priory and Cathedral, which held such status from a date between 1095 and 1102, when Bishop Robert de Limesey moved the Bishop's see from Lichfield to Coventry, until 1539 when it fell victim to King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. Prior to 1095, it had been a small Benedictine monastery (endowed by Earl Leofric and Lady Godiva in 1043), but shortly after this time rebuilding began and by the middle of the 13th century it was a cathedral of 425 feet in length and included many large outbuildings. Leofric was probably buried within the original Saxon church in Coventry. However, records suggest that Godiva was buried at Evesham Abbey, alongside her father confessor, Prior Aefic.
wn.com/Coventry_Cathedral -
Crown Dependencies
The Crown Dependencies are self-governing possessions of the British Crown, as opposed to overseas territories of the United Kingdom. They comprise the Channel Island Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.
Being independently administered jurisdictions, none forms part of the United Kingdom nor of the European Union.
"The Crown" is defined differently in each Crown Dependency. In Jersey, statements in the 21st century of the constitutional position by the Law Officers of the Crown define it as the "Crown in right of Jersey", with all Crown land in the Bailiwick of Jersey belonging to the Crown in right of Jersey and not to the Crown Estate of the United Kingdom. Legislation of the Isle of Man defines the "Crown in right of the Isle of Man" as being separate from the "Crown in right of the United Kingdom". In Guernsey, legislation refers to the "Crown in right of the Bailiwick", and the Law Officers of the Crown of Guernsey submitted that "The Crown in this context ordinarily means the Crown in right of the république of the Bailiwick of Guernsey" and that this comprises "the collective governmental and civic institutions, established by and under the authority of the Monarch, for the governance of these Islands, including the States of Guernsey and legislatures in the other Islands, the Royal Court and other courts, the Lieutenant Governor, Parish authorities, and the Crown acting in and through the Privy Council." This constitutional concept is also worded as the "Crown in right of the Bailiwick of Guernsey".
wn.com/Crown_Dependencies -
Crudgington
Coordinates: 52°45′N 2°33′W / 52.75°N 2.55°W / 52.75; -02.55
Crudgington is a village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is situated in the civil parish of Waters Upton, a village to the north, and is 7 miles north-west of Telford. Nearby is the confluence of the rivers Tern and Strine; the village lies at an elevation of 55 metres (180 ft).
Crudgington is mentioned in the Domesday Book, where it is called Crugetone. Its lord was Robert Butler, under Earl Roger, who had 1½ hides of land under cultivation, one plough and three serfs. Also living there were nine villagers, two smallholders and a freeman with three ploughs. There were four fisheries here and it provided a payment of £4 and 1000 eels.
By 1269, the village had passed into the hands of Shrewsbury Abbey. In 1285, it is recorded as part of the manor of Slepe.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the village became part of the Lilleshall estate and their landlords, who later became the Dukes of Sutherland were responsible for building several of the houses in the village, including Leasowes Farm (dated 1817) and Tern Farm.
wn.com/Crudgington -
Cubbington
Coordinates: 52°18′43″N 1°29′53″W / 52.312°N 1.498°W / 52.312; -1.498
Cubbington is a village and civil parish with a population of 4,034 (2001 census) adjoining the north-eastern outskirts of Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. Welsh Road, running through the village crossroads, may have been an old sheep drovers' route connecting London and Wales.[citation needed] Since the 1950s when the village expanded there have been two parts to the village: Cubbington proper which was the old village core, and New Cubbington which is to the west, although both are referred to as Cubbington. Topographically the highest point of the village sits about 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level while its lowest is about 60 metres (200 ft). For many years the electorate for Cubbington was represented in government by the Member of Parliament for Warwick and Leamington but for the 2010 UK Elections it moved to the new Kenilworth & Southam constituency.
There are two possible origins for the name of Cubbington based on its earlier names. The first is Cobynton, meaning "town of the descendants of Coba". The second is from the name used for a period of time after the Domesday Book of 1086, Cumbynton. Cumbe was a medieval word signifying that a settlement was in a low or deep hollow. The fact that the village lies in a shallow valley supports the second theory.
wn.com/Cubbington -
Danesford
Coordinates: 52°31′N 2°24′W / 52.52°N 2.4°W / 52.52; -02.40
Danesford is a small settlement in Shropshire, England. It is on the A442 road and is to the southeast of the town of Bridgnorth. Unbelievably this area has a population of -20.
wn.com/Danesford -
Daw Mill
Daw Mill is a coal mine located near the village of Arley (nr Coventry) in the English county of Warwickshire. The mine is Britain's biggest coal producer, mining a five-metre thick section of the Warwickshire Coalfield (known as the Warwickshire Thick) in the north of the county. It is owned and operated by UK Coal and currently employs 680 people.
The shafts that serve Daw Mill Colliery were first sunk between 1956 and 1959 and 1969 and 1971 respectively. The mine is a natural extension of the former colliery at Kingsbury and Dexter Colliery in Hurley, both of which have since closed. In 1983 an inclined tunnel linking underground workings with the surface was completed. Known as a drift, this enabled Daw Mill to increase its production capacity as it removed the often time consuming process of winding coal up the shafts.
Daw Mill is the last surviving mine in a county that once had 20 operating collieries. In 2008 the mine excavated record 3.25 million tons of coal beating a 13-year-old record for annual output set at Selby, North Yorkshire.
wn.com/Daw_Mill -
Dordon
Coordinates: 52°36′05″N 1°36′52″W / 52.6013°N 1.6145°W / 52.6013; -1.6145
Dordon is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England and close to the border with Staffordshire. The village is located on the A5 and is adjacent to Polesworth. Other nearby places include Grendon, Wood End, Baddesley Ensor, Atherstone, Nuneaton and Tamworth. In 2001 the population for the parish of Dordon was 3,225.
Dordon was just a row of Houses until the Opening of Birch Coppice mine and it has grown since then. There was a big growth in the village in 1920 and Dordon became a civil parish in its own right on 01 Apr 1948, The biggest growth came in 1960 when the village more than tripled in size. The mine closed in 1987.
According to the 2001 Census the population for the Dordon ward and civil parish was 3,225. Over 97% of people (3,133) describe themselves as White British with only 112 people from an ethnic minority.
The village has its own parish called Dordon civil parish.
wn.com/Dordon -
Dosthill
Coordinates: 52°35′53″N 1°41′02″W / 52.598°N 1.684°W / 52.598; -1.684
Dosthill is an area of Tamworth, Staffordshire, 2.5 miles south of the town centre, and close to the River Tame. The area is mostly residential, centring around Dosthill High Street, with local employment on the adjoining Tame Valley Industrial Estate. The High Street includes a public house called ‘The Fox’ and Dosthill Primary School (photo) which dates back to 1887.
Dosthill is a small ancient hamlet and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It has slowly grown in size up until recent decades, when a large number of housing developments have been constructed. The area will continue to grow in size in the near future, with many more planning proposals in the pipeline and the area becoming more desirable to young families.
Originally most of the buildings in the area were agricultural. In the late 18th and 19th centuries the village was developed with the building of a number of farms and cottages. By the 20th century Dosthill had been transformed into a coalmining and brick making village.
wn.com/Dosthill -
Dudley
Coordinates: 52°30′43″N 2°05′45″W / 52.5119°N 2.0957°W / 52.5119; -2.0957
Dudley (i/ˈdʌdli/ DUD-lee) is a large town in the West Midlands county of England, and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. At the 2001 census (according to the Office of National Statistics), the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the one of the largest settlements in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without its own university.
Dudley is part of the West Midlands conurbation, and is located south of the city of Wolverhampton. It is the largest town in the Black Country region of England, and for many years the town (but not the castle, which was classed as part of Staffordshire) formed part of an exclave of the county of Worcestershire. Despite the more recent changes in county borders, the town still remains part of the Anglican Diocese of Worcester.
Dudley unsuccessfully bid to receive city status in 2012, losing out to Chelmsford, Perth and St. Asaph.
wn.com/Dudley -
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire.
A looser definition of the East Midlands might also include the City of Peterborough (once part of Northamptonshire, but now Cambridgeshire), and North Lincolnshire.[citation needed]
The highest point in the region is Kinder Scout in the Peak District, at 2,088 ft (636 m). The centre of the East Midlands area lies roughly between Bingham and Bottesford. The geographical centre of England lies in Higham on the Hill in west Leicestershire, close to the boundary between the East and West Midlands. 88% of the land is rural, although agriculture accounts for less than three percent of the region's jobs. All of the coastline within the region falls within Lincolnshire.
The region is home to large quantities of limestone, and the East Midlands Oil Province. Charnwood Forest is noted for its abundant levels of volcanic rock, estimated to be approximately 600 million years old.
wn.com/East_Midlands -
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.
Its population as of the 2001 census was 5,388,140.[citation needed] The area is mostly low-lying, and the highest place is the top of the Dunstable Downs at 243 m (797 ft).[citation needed]Norwich, Peterborough, Luton and Southend-on-Sea are the region's most populous urban areas. The southern part of the region lies in the London commuter belt.
The area is one of the flattest in the UK. Cambridgeshire is part of The Fens. The lowest point in the UK is Holme Fen, which is 3 metres below sea level.
Before the creation of the East of England region there had been a smaller standard statistical region of East Anglia which did not include Essex, Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire. They had previously been included in the South East region. The East of England civil defence region shared the boundaries of the current region.
wn.com/East_of_England -
East Staffordshire
East Staffordshire is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire in England. It has two main towns, Burton upon Trent, famous for its breweries, and Uttoxeter, for its racecourse.
Villages in the area include Abbots Bromley, Tutbury, Barton-under-Needwood, Rolleston on Dove, Hanbury, Kingstone, Marchington, Mayfield and The Heath.
The borough was formed on April 1, 1974 by the merger of the former county borough of Burton upon Trent with Uttoxeter Urban District, Tutbury Rural District and Uttoxeter Rural District.
The main roads through the Borough are the A38 through Burton upon Trent and the A50 near Uttoxeter.
There are two railway stations in the Borough, Burton-on-Trent on the Cross Country Route and Uttoxeter on the Crewe to Derby Line, There is also a station serving Tutbury also on the Crewe to Derby Line called Tutbury and Hatton which is in the South Derbyshire district.
Coordinates: 52°48′29″N 1°38′45″W / 52.8080°N 1.6457°W / 52.8080; -1.6457
wn.com/East_Staffordshire -
Eccleshall
Coordinates: 52°51′32″N 2°15′04″W / 52.859°N 2.251°W / 52.859; -2.251
Eccleshall is a town in Staffordshire, England. It is located seven miles north west of Stafford, and six miles west of Stone. Eccleshall is twinned with Sancerre in France.
According to the Domesday book, Eccleshall in 1086 was no more than a small village of about one hundred inhabitants and a few fragments of stone at the base of the tower of the present Parish Church of Holy Trinity suggest that a stone church was in existence about this time and the base of the 10th century cross still stands outside the church. The oldest part of the church, the pillars and arches of the nave were begun in 1180 while the remainder of the church was completed during the 13th century, with a fine clerestory being added in the 15th century.
Eccleshall briefly played a part in the War of the Roses, when the castle was used as a base for the Lancastrian Queen Margaret of Anjou and her troops before and after her defeat at the battle of Blore Heath in 1459.
wn.com/Eccleshall -
Edgbaston
Coordinates: 52°27′29″N 1°55′09″W / 52.45805°N 1.919048°W / 52.45805; -1.919048
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton.
Edgbaston traditionally has a reputation for being one of the most upmarket and affluent parts of Birmingham or "where the trees begin". In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family who refused to allow factories or warehouses to be built in Edgbaston, thus making it attractive for the middle class. However, while the central and southern parts of the suburb remain ostensibly affluent[citation needed], there are some areas that are less so, with a high proportion of multi-occupancy rented private housing, as well as council-owned accommodation. Edgbaston is also home to the University of Birmingham, established as Birmingham Medical School in 1825.
wn.com/Edgbaston -
England
Englandi/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.
wn.com/England -
Erdington
Coordinates: 52°31′25″N 1°50′16″W / 52.523611°N 1.837778°W / 52.523611; -1.837778
Erdington is a suburb 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Birmingham city centre, England and bordering Sutton Coldfield. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The formal council constituency the smaller ward of Erdington, and the wards of Tyburn (formerly Kingsbury), Stockland Green and Kingstanding, although most of both Kingstanding and Tyburn wards and some of Stockland Green lie outside the historical boundaries of Erdington.
Erdington had its own manor house, Erdington Hall, which was protected on three sides by a double moat on the fourth by the River Tame. It had developed from a small fortified homestead constructed by an Anglo-Saxon named Eardwulf in the area of Bromford. Demolished in the 17th century, it stood on a hill at the junction of what is now Wheelwright Road and Tyburn Road. The double moat was drained in the 18th century by Sir Charles Holte. Up until 1912 stood another building which was demolished for the construction of the Tyburn Road, though a small section did remain until World War I.
wn.com/Erdington -
Ettingshall
Ettingshall is an area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, and is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council.
Ettingshall was mentioned as an ancient manor in the Domesday Book of 1086. The surrounding areas of Priestfield, Parkfield, Lanesfield and Millfields are believed to have been property of the manor.
From the 18th century onwards, Ettingshall became heavily industrialised as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Until April 1979, an area of wasteland on the southside of Millfields Road was the location of the Bilston Steelworks and old Bilston quarries. Ettingshall Road was the location for Cables and Instruments, Dixon's Wallcoverings and Tools and Machines. Spring Road is the location of Tarmac Limited and John Thompson Limited. Ettingshall was the location for the manufacture of the 240 ton boiler drum with a length of 122 feet in 1965. This was the heaviest load carried by British Rail. It was transported to Eggborough in Yorkshire.
It is situated 1.25 miles to the south-east of the city centre and centred around the A4039 and A4126 roads. It is situated on the western edge of the former Borough of Bilston and began as an expansion of the Sedgley village of Ettingshall in the Victorian era, becoming part of the new Coseley urban district council in 1897.
wn.com/Ettingshall -
European Parliament
The European Parliament (abbreviated as Europarl or the EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU). Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council) and the European Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. The Parliament is currently composed of 754 Members of the European Parliament, who represent the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375 million eligible voters in 2009).
It has been directly elected every five years by universal suffrage since 1979. However, turnout at European Parliament elections has fallen consecutively at each election since that date, and has been under 50% since 1999. Turnout in 2009 stood at 43% of all European voters, ranging from 90% in Luxembourg and Belgium (where compulsory voting is used) to 20% in Slovakia. Turnout was under 50% in 18 out of 27 member states.
wn.com/European_Parliament -
Evesham
Coordinates: 52°05′N 1°57′W / 52.09°N 1.95°W / 52.09; -1.95
Evesham is a market town and a civil parish in the Local Authority District of Wychavon in the county of Worcestershire, England with a population of 22,000. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. Evesham lies within the Vale of Evesham, an area comprising the flood plain of the River Avon, which was once a major centre for market gardening. The town centre, situated within a meander of the river, is regularly subject to severe flooding. In 2007 the floods were the most severe in recorded history.
The town was founded around an early 8th century abbey, which was once one of the largest in Europe. The abbey was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, with only Abbot Lichfield's Bell Tower remaining. During the 13th century, one of the two main battles of England's Second Barons' War took place near the town, marking the victory of Prince Edward who later became King Edward I.
wn.com/Evesham -
Exhall
Coordinates: 52°28′N 1°29′W / 52.47°N 1.48°W / 52.47; -01.48
Exhall is a suburban settlement in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England.
Exhall is an area south of Bedworth located 4.3 miles (7 km) north-north-east of Coventry and 3.8 miles (6.1 km) south of Nuneaton. It is bounded (approximately) by a disused mineral railway (that used to serve Newdigate Colliery) to the north, the Coventry–Nuneaton railway line to the east, Pickards Way (B4113 spur) and the M6 to the south, and Church Lane/Bowling Green Lane and the River Sowe to the west. The area makes up the eastern part of the ecclesiastical parish of Exhall St Giles. However, the parish church of St Giles is located on the north-eastern edge of nearby Ash Green (which forms the western part of the parish).
The River Sowe and the Coventry Canal are the principal waterways in the area.
Historically, the parish of Exhall (which extends from Black Bank in Bedworth to the north of Holbrooks in Coventry) had no clear centre, instead being composed of a number of hamlets, such as Black Bank, Hayes Green, Exhall Hall Green, Wagon Overthrow, Little Bayton, Ash Green, Neal's Green and Newland.
wn.com/Exhall -
Fordhouses
Fordhouses is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north of the city centre, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, within the Bushbury North ward of Wolverhampton City Council. It is the most northerly part of the city alongside Pendeford, adjacent to the M54 motorway.
The place name 'Fordhouses' refers to the houses situated alongside the Wolverhampton to Stafford road next to where the road crosses the Wobaston Brook. In 14th century subsidy rolls, folk living here were described as being 'atte forde'. This is the earliest known reference to people living in this area, though the nearby Wobaston place name is said by toponymists to derive from 'Wibaldes tun' - likely the early English / Anglo-Saxon 'Wigbeald', with 'tun' meaning homestead or farmstead - so the name would literally mean the farmstead of Wigbeald.
Today, Fordhouses stretches over a large area, as far south as Oxley, as far west as Pendeford, as far north as junction 2 of the M54 at Coven Heath and as far east as Bushbury. It encompassess several smaller areas, such as Wobaston, Snapes Green, the Harrowby estate & Lesscroft. The area is a mix of housing and industrial, with many rows of industrial units in the north-east along the Wobaston and Stafford Roads, such as HS Marston Aerospace & Spectre UK Ltd, with housing taking up much of the rest of the area.
wn.com/Fordhouses -
Fradley
Fradley is a village and civil parish in Lichfield District, Staffordshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) north-east of the City of Lichfield and 1 mile south-west of Alrewas. Until 1 April 2009 it had been part of the larger parish of Alrewas and Fradley. The parish council is a joint one with Streethay. Following the completion of the Stirling Centre near Fradley South in 2009, comprising retail units, offices and food outlets, Fradley was formally re-categorised as a 'key rural settlement'.
Fradley has its own village hall which was completed in the early 2000s and planning permission for an additional community hall on land adjacent. The village church, St. Stephen's Church, was built in 1861 on the corner of Church Lane and Old Hall Lane. A Victorian schoolhouse, which had stood beside the church since 1875, was demolished in 2008 to make room for modern classrooms at St. Stephen's Primary School.
Fradley is close to the A38 road (which became a dual-carriageway in 1958) and is served by bus services to Lichfield, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham and Burton upon Trent. A railway line passes close to the eastern side of the village but no station exists in Fradley, the nearest passenger station is now Lichfield Trent Valley railway station serving the West Coast Main Line, the London-Crewe line and acting as the terminus for the Cross-City Line. From 1849 until 1965, Alrewas railway station on the South Staffordshire Line was the closest passenger station to Fradley but was closed on 18 January 1965 by the British Railways Board.
wn.com/Fradley -
Gas Street Basin
Gas Street Basin (grid reference SP062866) is a canal basin in the centre of Birmingham, England, where the Worcester and Birmingham Canal meets the BCN Main Line. It is located on Gas Street, off Broad Street, and between the Mailbox and Brindleyplace canal-side developments.
The Birmingham Canal, completed in 1773, terminated at Old Wharf beyond Bridge Street. When the Worcester and Birmingham Company started their canal at a point later known as Gas Street Basin the Birmingham Canal Navigations Company (BCN) insisted on a physical barrier to prevent the Worcester and Birmingham Canal from benefiting from their water. The Worcester Bar, a 7 ft. 3 in. wide straight barrier 84 yards long was built perpendicular to the run of the two canals. Cargoes had to be laboriously manhandled between boats on either side.
The Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened between Birmingham and Selly Oak on 30 October 1795 but took until 1815 to complete to Worcester, at which time, after much lobbying by iron and coal masters and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal Company, an Act of Parliament was passed to open up the bar and the bar lock was built. There were toll offices either side of the bar lock and tolls were collected by each company from boats using the canals. The Worcester Bar still exists, with boats moored to both sides of it. It is connected to Gas Street via a footbridge reconstructed to a design by Horseley Ironworks of the 19th century.
wn.com/Gas_Street_Basin -
Gaydon
Coordinates: 52°11′N 1°28′W / 52.18°N 1.46°W / 52.18; -1.46
Gaydon is a parish and village in Warwickshire, England, close to Leamington Spa. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 376.
The village is at the junction of the B4100 (former A41) and B4451 roads, a mile from Junction 12 of the M40 motorway, and is two miles north-east of Kineton.
Close by, on the site of former RAF V bomber base of RAF Gaydon, is the Jaguar Land Rover Gaydon Centre, one of the Jaguar Land Rover engineering centres (another being at the Whitley plant in Coventry) and the headquarters of Land Rover. Alongside is the Heritage Motor Centre, home to the largest collection of historic British cars in the world, charting the history of the British car industry from the turn of the 20th century to the present day. Adjacent to the site is the headquarters of Aston Martin.
A disused military base near Gaydon is also home to special vaults housing the highly flammable nitrate film elements of the British Film Institute's BFI National Archive, the world's largest archive of film and television.
wn.com/Gaydon -
Gravelly Hill
Gravelly Hill is an area of Birmingham, England.
It is best known for its motorway junction, the Gravelly Hill Interchange, popularly known as Spaghetti Junction, which provides the intersection between the A38(M) Aston Expressway from the centre of Birmingham to the M6 motorway. The complex junction also supports local roads joining the two motorways. The design of the intersection was also made more than usually complex by the presence of two railway lines including a high speed electrified railway and the existence of three canals including a turning basin, and a river.
Gravelly Hill is approximately 4 miles north-east of Birmingham city centre. To the north-west is Perry Barr and to the north-east are Stockland Green, Erdington and Sutton Coldfield. Aston is to the west and Washwood Heath lies to the south. The housing in the area is mostly Victorian and pre-war with some recent developments of modern apartments. Housing in the area is popular with students (particularly those attending Aston University) given its good transport links to the main campus.
wn.com/Gravelly_Hill -
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain (Welsh: Prydain Fawr, Scottish Gaelic: Breatainn Mhòr, Cornish: Breten Veur) is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, the largest European island, and the largest of the British Isles. With a population of about 60.0 million people in mid-2009, it is the third most populous island in the world, after Java and Honshū. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands and islets. The island of Ireland lies to its west. Politically, Great Britain may also refer to the island itself together with a number of surrounding islands which comprise the territory of England, Scotland and Wales.
All of the island is territory of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and most of the United Kingdom's territory is in Great Britain. Most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island of Great Britain, as are their respective capital cities: London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff.
wn.com/Great_Britain -
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London and the 32 London boroughs. This territory has the same boundaries as the London Government Office Region and the London European Parliament constituency. The region has by far the highest GVA per capita in the United Kingdom. It covers 1,572 km2 (607 sq mi) and had a 2009 mid-year estimated population of 7,753,600. The term Greater London was in use before 1965 to refer to a variously defined area, larger than the County of London and often similar to the Metropolitan Police District.
In addition to its administrative and statistical functions, Greater London (excluding the City of London) is one of the 48 ceremonial counties of England, and is under the Greater London Lieutenancy.
Instead of forming a single political unit, London is divided into the small, interior City of London and the much wider Greater London. This arrangement has come about because as the area of London grew and absorbed neighbouring settlements, a series of administrative reforms did not fully amalgamate the City of London with the metropolitan area, and its unique political structure was retained. Outside the limited boundaries of the old city, a variety of arrangements governed the wider area since 1855, culminating with the creation of the Greater London administrative area in 1965.
wn.com/Greater_London -
Halesowen
Coordinates: 52°27′01″N 2°03′03″W / 52.450164°N 2.050935°W / 52.450164; -2.050935
Halesowen ( /heɪlzˈoʊ.ɨn/) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England. After the construction of the M5 motorway a part of Halesowen's Lapal suburb, Carters Lane to the east of the M5 and the roads which culminate on it, were separated from the rest of it and thus fell within Birmingham City Council's boundary. It is now included in the city's Woodgate ward but retains Halesowen as its post town and the B62 postcode.
The population, as measured by the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,273. Halesowen is included in the Halesowen and Rowley Regis constituency which is held by the Conservative James Morris.
Halesowen was a detached part of the county of Shropshire but was incorporated into Worcestershire in 1844 by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act. Since the local government reorganisation of 1974 it has formed a part of the West Midlands Metropolitan County and Conurbation, in the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, which it joined at the same time as neighbouring Stourbridge.
wn.com/Halesowen -
Hall Green
Coordinates: 52°26′02″N 1°50′20″W / 52.434°N 1.839°W / 52.434; -1.839
Not to be confused with Hall Green, Wolverhampton or Hall Green, Sandwell
Hall Green is an area and ward in south Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Historically it was part of the county of Worcestershire.
Hall Green is part of the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham, Hall Green, which also includes the wards of Moseley and Kings Heath, Sparkbrook and Springfield; the current Member of Parliament for the constituency is Roger Godsiff, of the Labour Party. Hall Green ward is currently represented by two Liberal Democrat councillors on Birmingham City Council; Paula Smith and Michael Wilkes, who is also the current Lord Mayor of Birmingham. Sam Burden is Hall Greens first elected Labour Councillor in the 2011 May elections.
The 2001 Population Census found that there were 25,921 people living in Hall Green with a population density of 4,867 people per km², this compares with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. The percentage of population represented by whites is 74.6% and ethnic minorities being 25.4% respectively.
wn.com/Hall_Green -
Hams Hall
Hams Hall is a place near Lea Marston in North Warwickshire, England, named after the former Hams Hall manor house. A Power station at Hams Hall were constructed and operated in the late 1920s, with a further two power stations began generating electricity in the 1940s and 1950s. By 1993 all three power stations had been closed and demolished and a industrial estate Hams Hall Distribution Park was built. An intermodal rail terminal Hams Hall Rail Freight Terminal also operates at the site.
The Hams Hall Estate and what is modern day Saltley was owned by the Adderley family for over 262 years. The name of the estate was derived from the fact that the land lay in a great hook (ham) of the River Tame.
As Birmingham and the Black Country developed, the estate faced two problems: loss of land to the west, and lack of water from the river due to industrial pollution. Thus after Robert Rawlinson's report on the condition of Birmingham in 1848 suggesting the need for public park, Charles Adderley, 1st Baron Norton donated 8 acres (0.032 km2) of land to create Adderley Park, which he managed privately from 1855 to 1864. He also donated land for the construction of St. Saviour's Church, St. Peter's College and the reformatory on the Fordrough, later called Norton Boys' Home. In 1879 Lord Norton sold Whitacre Lodge to the city for the construction of the 80 acres (0.32 km2) Shustoke Reservoir, the largest single source of water for Birmingham until the Elan/Claerwen scheme was completed.
wn.com/Hams_Hall -
Harlescott
Coordinates: 52°44′11″N 2°43′21″W / 52.7365°N 2.722627°W / 52.7365; -2.722627
Harlescott is a suburb of the town of Shrewsbury, county town of Shropshire. It is one of the most industrial parts of the town, and is the 5th most deprived ward in non-metropolitan Shropshire[citation needed] Neighbouring suburbs include Sundorne to the east and Ditherington to the south. Note that many locals, particularly those born before about 1985, use the term "Harlescott" to refer to a wider area than the council ward, including much of what is officially "Sundorne" (to the east of Whitchurch and Battlefield Roads) and also much of the Heathgates and Mount Pleasant areas (sometimes called "Heath Farm").
Shrewsbury's livestock market was at Harlescott (between 1956 and 2006[citation needed] - it is now at a new site out-of-town at Battlefield). The site has been redeveloped with a Tesco supermarket. Next door there is a Park and Ride car park. Every Sunday, when there are no Park and Ride buses, an open air market is held at this site. There are four bank branches nearby on Harlescott Lane. There are currently plans to expand the Tesco, including new units to accommodate the banks.
wn.com/Harlescott -
Hartlebury
Coordinates: 52°20′00″N 2°14′00″W / 52.333333°N 2.233333°W / 52.333333; -2.233333
Hartlebury is a village in Worcestershire, England. It is a few miles south of Kidderminster and is in Wychavon district. The village registered a population of 2,549 in the Census 2001.
The railway station is about half a mile to the east of the village.
Hartlebury Castle was built in the mid-13th century as a fortified manor house. Until 2007 it was the residence of the Bishop of Worcester, with two-thirds of the building leased out to Worcestershire County Council as the Worcestershire County Museum. Hartlebury Castle is a Grade I listed building. It is about a mile to the west of the village and half a mile to the west of the church.
Hartlebury was formerly the location of Queen Elizabeth I Grammar School. Records of the school date back to a mention in the Domesday Book of William the Conqueror in 1066, but apart from that, other early accounts date back to 1400, centuries before Eton, Harrow and Rugby were founded. The school was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1557. Originally a private boys school, it was taken over by the State, and was closed when it was merged in 1977 with King Charles I Grammar School, Kidderminster, and The Kidderminster Girls High School to form King Charles I School. The historic old school was sold off to become a private residence. The magnificent new building, with its commanding views over the countryside, was narrowly rescued from demolition by the Old Boys Association.
wn.com/Hartlebury -
Heart West Midlands
Heart West Midlands is a radio station forming part of the Heart Network, with a regional license to broadcast to the West Midlands. It is aimed primarily at people aged 25 – 44, which makes the station just about enter the Hot AC format.
Heart began broadcasting on the 6 September 1994, as 100.7 Heart FM being the UK's third Independent Regional Radio station, five days after Century Radio and Jazz FM North West. The first song to be played on 100.7 Heart fm was "Something Got Me Started", by Simply Red. Its original format of "soft adult contemporary" music included artists such as Lionel Richie, Simply Red and Tina Turner. Reflecting this, its early slogan described the station as being "100.7 degrees cooler".
Its programming format was modified in 1996, a year after Chrysalis launched Heart 106.2 in London. The new format saw the "soft" AC music replaced with a generally more neutral Hot AC music playlist. This saw radio audience listening figures grow to equal that of local rival BRMB, which was for a long time undisputed number one commercial radio in the West Midlands. New disc-jockeys were brought in from other stations; Daryl Denham arrived in 2000 from Hallam FM's breakfast show in a high-profile move. Ian Danter and Carlos also arrived from BRMB.
wn.com/Heart_West_Midlands -
Hereford
Coordinates: 52°03′23″N 2°42′58″W / 52.0565°N 2.7160°W / 52.0565; -2.7160
Herefordi/ˈhɛrɨfərd/ is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately 16 miles (26 km) east of the border with Wales, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Worcester, and 23 miles (37 km) northwest of Gloucester. With a population of 55,800 people, it is the largest settlement in the county.
The name "Hereford" is said to come from the Anglo Saxon "here", an army or formation of soldiers, and the "ford", a place for crossing a river. If this is the origin it suggests that Hereford was a place where a body of armed men forded or crossed the Wye. The Welsh name for Hereford is Henffordd, meaning "old road", and probably refers to the Roman Road and Roman settlement at nearby Stretton Sugwas.
An early town charter from 1189 granted by Richard I of England describes it as "Hereford in Wales". Hereford has been recognised as a city since time immemorial, with the status being reconfirmed as recently as October 2000.
wn.com/Hereford -
Herefordshire
Herefordshire ( /ˈhɛrɨfərdʃər/; abbreviated Herefs.) is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG11) and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the County of Herefordshire. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh preserved counties of Gwent to the south-west and Powys to the west. Hereford is a cathedral city and is the county town; with a population of approximately 55,800 inhabitants it is also the largest settlement.
The county is one of the most rural and sparsely populated in England, with a population density of 82/km² (212/sq mi). The land use is predominantly agricultural and the county is well known for its fruit and cider production, and the Hereford cattle breed.
From 1974 to 1998, Herefordshire was part of the former non-metropolitan county of Hereford and Worcester.
wn.com/Herefordshire -
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster.
The House of Lords is independent from, and complements the work of, the House of Commons – they share responsibility for making laws and checking government action. Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons and members of the Lords may also take on roles as Government Ministers.
Unlike the House of Commons, most new members of the House of Lords are appointed. Membership of the House of Lords is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. There are currently 26 Lords Spiritual, who sit in the Lords by virtue of their ecclesiastical role in the established Church of England. The Lords Temporal make up the rest of the membership; of these, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
Membership was once a right of birth to hereditary peers but, following a series of reforms, only 92 members (as of 1 July 2011 (2011 -07-01)[update]) sitting by virtue of a hereditary peerage remain. The number of members is not fixed; as of 1 April 2012 (2012 -04-01)[update] the House of Lords has 786 members (plus 21 who are on leave of absence or otherwise disqualified from sitting), as against the fixed 650-seat membership of the House of Commons.
wn.com/House_of_Lords -
Ironbridge Gorge
The Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge formed by the River Severn in Shropshire, England.
Originally called the Severn Gorge, the gorge now takes its name from its famous Iron Bridge, the first iron bridge of its kind in the world, and a monument to the industry that began there. The bridge was built in 1779 to link the industrial town of Broseley with the smaller mining town of Madeley and the growing industrial centre of Coalbrookdale.
There are two reasons the site was so useful to the early industrialists. The raw materials, coal, iron ore, limestone and clay, for the manufacture of iron, tiles and porcelain are exposed or easily mined in the gorge. The deep and wide river allowed easy transport of products to the sea.
The gorge carries the River Severn south towards the Bristol Channel. It was formed during the last ice age when the output from the previously north flowing river became trapped in a lake (Lake Lapworth) created when the Irish Sea ice sheet dammed the river. The level of the lake rose until it was able to flow over the hills to the south. This flow eroded a path through the hills forming the gorge and permanently diverting the Severn southwards.
wn.com/Ironbridge_Gorge -
Jewellery Quarter
Coordinates: 52°29′20″N 1°54′36″W / 52.489°N 1.910°W / 52.489; -1.910
The Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham, England. Situated in the south of the Hockley area of the city centre, there is a population of around 3,000 people in a 1.07-square-kilometre (264-acre) area.
The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses involved in the jewellery trade, which produce 40% of all the jewellery made in the UK. It is also home to the world's largest Assay Office, which hallmarks around 12 million items a year. Historically the Jewellery Quarter has been the birthplace of many pioneering advancements in industrial technology. At its peak in the early 1900s the Jewellery Quarter employed over 30,000 people, however due to foreign competition and lack of demand, the industry declined throughout the 20th century. The area is now being transformed into an urban village and hub for creative businesses, whilst maintaining its urban fabric. Its historical importance has led to numerous conservation schemes and it is an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
wn.com/Jewellery_Quarter -
Kenilworth
Coordinates: 52°20′28″N 1°33′58″W / 52.341°N 1.566°W / 52.341; -1.566
Kenilworth is a town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England, about 5.5 miles (9 km) southwest of Coventry, 4 miles (6 km) north of Warwick and 90 miles (140 km) northwest of London. The town is on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the River Avon about 2 miles (3 km) east of the centre of the town. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 22,582.
Kenilworth is notable for the extensive ruins of Kenilworth Castle. Other local sights include the ruins of Kenilworth Abbey in Abbey Fields park, St Nicholas' parish church and Kenilworth Clock.
A settlement existed at Kenilworth by the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, which records it as Chinewrde.
Geoffrey de Clinton (d. 1134) initiated the building of an Augustinian priory in 1122, at the same time as he initiated the building of Kenilworth Castle.[citation needed] The priory was raised to the rank of abbey in 1450 and suppressed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. Thereafter the abbey grounds next to the castle, were made common land in exchange for common land that Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester used to enlarge the castle. Only a few walls and a storage barn of the original abbey survive.
wn.com/Kenilworth -
Kidderminster
Coordinates: 52°23′19″N 2°14′56″W / 52.3885°N 2.2490°W / 52.3885; -2.2490
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town. The town is twinned with Husum, Germany.
The land around Kidderminster may have been first populated by the Husmerae, an Anglo-Saxon tribe first mentioned in the Ismere Diploma, a document in which Ethelbald of Mercia granted a "parcel of land of ten hides" to Cynebehrt. This became the settlement of Stour-in-Usmere, which was later the subject of a territorial dispute settled by Offa of Mercia in 781, where he restored certain rights to Bishop Heathored. This allowed for the creation of a monastery or minstre in the area, and the earliest written form of the name Kidderminster (Chedeminstre) was not seen until it appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was a large manor held by William I with 16 outlying settlements (Bristitune, Fastochesfeld, Franche, Habberley, Hurcott, Mitton, Oldington, Ribbesford, Sudwale, Sutton, Teulesberge, Trimpley, Wannerton and Wribbenhall). Various spellings were in use – Kedeleministre or Kideministre (in the 12th and 13th centuries), Kidereministre (13th–15th centuries) – until the name of the town was settled as Kidderminster by the 16th century. Between 1156 and 1162 Henry II granted the manor to his steward, Manasser Biset, and as the settlement grew a fair (1228) and later a market (1240) were established there. In a visit to the town sometime around 1540, King's Antiquary John Leland noted that Kidderminster "standeth most by clothing". King Charles I granted the Borough of Kidderminster a Charter in 1636.
wn.com/Kidderminster -
Kidsgrove
Coordinates: 53°05′15″N 2°14′52″W / 53.0874°N 2.2478°W / 53.0874; -2.2478
Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, near the border with Cheshire. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area in North Staffordshire, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 24,112 (2001 census). Most of the town is in the Kidgsrove ward, whilst the western part is in Ravenscliffe.
From the 18th century, Kidsgrove grew around coal mining, although the pits have now closed. Clough Hall Mansion in the town, now demolished, was a local theme park. Modern Kidsgrove is a commuter town, which has seen house prices rise quite sharply in the first decade of the 21st century.[citation needed] Many people now work in the larger cities such as Manchester and Birmingham.
The engineer James Brindley cut the first Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal near the town; Thomas Telford cut the second. Kidsgrove also marks the southern extremity of the Macclesfield Canal. There is a legend regarding a headless ghost that is said to haunt the Harecastle Tunnel. The ghost is said to be that of a young woman who was murdered inside the tunnel. She is referred to as the "Kidsgrove Boggart".
wn.com/Kidsgrove -
Kings Heath
Coordinates: 52°25′53″N 1°53′39″W / 52.43143°N 1.89406°W / 52.43143; -1.89406
Kings Heath (historically, and still occasionally King's Heath) is a suburb of Birmingham, England, five miles south of the city centre. It is the next suburb south from Moseley on the A435, Alcester road.
Kings Heath came into being as a village in the 18th century with the improvements to the Alcester to Birmingham road acting as a catalyst for new houses and farms. Prior to this the area was largely uninhabited wasteland run by the Royal Borough of Kings Norton.
On 28 July 2005, Kings Heath was hit by a major (by English standards) tornado which damaged several shops on High Street and All Saints' Church. The tornado then went on to damage many houses in Balsall Heath. There were no fatalities.
High Street has also suffered from flash floods on occasions, sometimes up to a foot of water in depth, although recently installed underground reservoirs at the junction of Station Road and High Street aim to combat this problem.
wn.com/Kings_Heath -
KUKA
KUKA is a leading German producer of industrial robots for a variety of industries - from automotive and fabricated metals to food and plastics. The KUKA Robotics Corporation has over 20 subsidiaries worldwide, including: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India and almost all European countries.
The company name, KUKA, is an acronym for Keller und Knappich Augsburg, and at the same time is the registered trademark found on the industrial robots and other products they produce. The company was founded in 1898 and in 1995 was split into KUKA Robotics Corporation and KUKA Schweißanlagen GmbH (now KUKA Systems GmbH). The company headquarters are located in Augsburg, Germany. The company belongs to the publicly traded KUKA AG (earlier IWKA Group).
In 1973 KUKA created the world's first industrial robot with six electromechanically driven axes, known as FAMULUS. Today the company’s 4 and 6 axis robots range from 3 kg to 1300 kg payloads, and 350 mm to 3700 mm reach, SCARAs, palletizers, gantry and articulated robots, all controlled from a common PC based controller platform.
wn.com/KUKA -
Ledbury
Coordinates: 52°02′02″N 2°25′25″W / 52.0339°N 2.4235°W / 52.0339; -2.4235
Ledbury is a town in Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and south of the Malvern Hills.
Today, Ledbury is a thriving market town in rural England. The town has a large number of timber framed buildings, in particular along Church Lane and High Street. One of Ledbury's most outstanding buildings is the Market House, built in 1617, located in the centre of the town. Other notable buildings in the area include the parish church, the Painted Room (containing sixteenth century frescoes), the St Katherine's Hospital site, founded c1231, is a rare surviving example of a hospital complex, (with hall, chapel, The Master's House, almshouses and a timber-framed barn), and Eastnor Castle.
Ledbury is an ancient borough, dating back to around 690AD. In the Domesday Book it was recorded as Liedeberge, and returned members to Parliament in the reign of Edward I. Ledbury probably takes its name from the River Leadon, on which it stands. The Old English berg (hill) has been added to the river name. The Feathers at Ledbury was a famous 16th century drover's inn.
wn.com/Ledbury -
Leominster
Coordinates: 52°13′42″N 2°44′19″W / 52.2282°N 2.7385°W / 52.2282; -2.7385
Leominster (i/ˈlɛmstər/ LEM-stər) (Welsh: Llanllieni) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, and is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater, approximately 12 miles (19 km) north of the city of Hereford and 11 miles (18 km) south of Ludlow, at grid reference SO496590. With a population of approximately 11,000 people,. It is the largest of the five towns in the county that surround the City of Hereford.
From 1974 to 1996, Leominster served as the administrative centre for the former local government district of Leominster District.
The town takes its name from a minster, that is a community of clergy in the district of Lene or Leon, probably in turn from an Old Welsh root lei to flow. Contrary to certain reports, the name has nothing to do with Leofric, an 11th-century Earl of Mercia (most famous for being the miserly husband of Lady Godiva). The Welsh name for Leominster, still used today on the Welsh side of the nearby border, is Llanllieni.
wn.com/Leominster -
Liberty Way
Liberty Way is a multi-use sports stadium in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, which is owned by Nuneaton Town F.C. but is also used by Nuneaton R.F.C., which rents the stadium from the football club. Liberty Way has been used by the rugby club since the 1990s; however, it was a mere pitch with a perimeter fence and nothing like the facilities of the current complex.
Nuneaton Borough moved into the stadium prior to the start of the 2007/08 season, and their first match at the stadium was played on Tuesday 17 July 2007, when local rivals Coventry City visited for a 2–2 draw. The first ever goal at the stadium was scored by a Brazilian trialist playing for Coventry, whilst the first Boro player to score was defender Gavin Cowan. However Nuneaton Borough went bust, and a new club Nuneaton Town were formed in 2009.
The stadium is not yet fully completed, however, it has reached the standard required to host Blue Square North football. Inside the stadium it consists of the Ian Neale Stand which can hold 1,800 supporters, the Away Stand, which can hold 1,000 visiting supporters, and the Rugby Club Terrace which will be the only uncovered part of the stadium once the seated Main Stand has been built.
wn.com/Liberty_Way -
Lichfield
Coordinates: 52°41′01″N 1°49′36″W / 52.6835°N 1.82653°W / 52.6835; -1.82653
Lichfield ( /ˈlɪtʃfiːld/) is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly 25 km (16 mi) north of Birmingham. In 2008, its population was estimated at 30,583 and the wider Lichfield district at 97,900.
Notable for its three-spired medieval cathedral, Lichfield was the birthplace of Samuel Johnson, the writer of the first authoritative Dictionary of the English Language. The city's recorded history began when St Chad arrived to establish his Bishopric in 669 CE and the settlement grew as the ecclesiastical centre of the Kingdom of Mercia. In 2009 the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork, was found 5.9 km (3.7 mi) south west of Lichfield.
The development of the city was consolidated in the 12th century under Bishop Clinton who fortified the Cathedral Close, and also laid out the town with the ladder-shaped street pattern that survives to this day. Lichfield's heyday was in the 18th century when it developed into a thriving coaching city. This was a period of great intellectual activity, the city being the home of many famous people including Samuel Johnson, David Garrick, Erasmus Darwin and Anna Seward, and prompted Johnson's remark that Lichfield was "a city of philosophers".
wn.com/Lichfield -
London
Londoni/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.
wn.com/London -
Longbridge
Coordinates: 52°23′42″N 1°58′44″W / 52.395°N 1.979°W / 52.395; -1.979
Longbridge is an area of Birmingham, England. For local government purposes it is a ward within the district of Northfield.
Since 1905, the area has been dominated by the Longbridge plant, which produced Austin, Nash Metropolitan, Morris, British Leyland, and most recently MG Rover cars. The factory became dormant, and some parts of the older sections of the site were demolished after MG Rover fell into administration in April 2005. The company, renamed MG Motor (owned by MG Rover's would-be partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) resumed full MG TF sports car production at the factory in August 2008 and In late 2010 started final assembly of the MG6.
To the immediate south-west lie the Lickey Hills, a favourite recreation spot for the people of southern Birmingham. From the south-east the railway line from Barnt Green divides Longbridge off from the Bittell Reservoirs: Longbridge railway station on the Cross-City Line stands opposite the Longbridge plant, near the Bristol Road (A38). The Austin Sports and Social Club is one of the many social clubs in the area.
wn.com/Longbridge -
Ludlow
Coordinates: 52°22′05″N 2°43′03″W / 52.3681°N 2.7176°W / 52.3681; -2.7176
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. Located along the A49 road about 12 miles north of Leominster, it lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of 350 acres (142 ha) and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place. From there the streets of the medieval walled town slope downward to the River Teme, and northward toward the River Corve. The town is in a sheltered spot beneath the Clee Hills which are clearly visible from the town. With a population of around 10,000, Ludlow is the largest town in South Shropshire and home to the southern area committee of Shropshire Council.
Ludlow has nearly 500 listed buildings. They include some fine examples of medieval and Tudor-style half-timbered buildings including the Feathers Hotel. The parish church, St Laurence Church, is the largest in the county.
wn.com/Ludlow -
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom; the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the Preston Bypass, which later became part of the M6.
The motorway is 193 miles (311 km) long and was constructed in four phases. Most of the motorway was opened between 1959 and 1968 but the southern end was extended in 1977 and the northern end was extended in 1999. It forms part of the unsigned European route E13.
The first motorways (autostrades) were built in Italy on the order of Benito Mussolini in the 1920s, with other countries subsequently following, notably Germany with the first 'autobahn' in 1931 and then developed by the Nazis under Adolf Hitler. There had been plans since before the Second World War for a motorway network in the United Kingdom. Lord Montagu formed a company to build a 'motorway like road' from London to Birmingham in 1923, however it was a further 26 years before the Special Roads Act 1949 was passed which allowed for the construction of roads limited to a limited vehicle classifications and the 1950s when the country's first motorways were given the government go-ahead. The first section of motorway was the Preston Bypass in Lancashire, which opened in 1958 (now part of the M6 motorway). The M1 was Britain's first full-length motorway and opened in 1959.
wn.com/M1_motorway -
M45 motorway
The M45 is a motorway in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, England and is 7.9 miles (12.7 km) long. It runs from junction 17 of the M1 motorway south east of Rugby and ends with a junction with the A45 road southwest of Rugby. It has one of the lowest traffic volumes of the United Kingdom motorway system.
Built in 1959 when the M1 (as part of a link from London to Birmingham) went as far as Junction 18, the M45 was designed to dissipate some of the motorway traffic before the M1 terminated. Its equivalent at the southern end of the M1 is the former M10, which was downgraded on 1 May 2009 to become part of the A414.
As the signposted route to Birmingham in the 1960s it was one of the busiest roads in Britain, with motorists having to make the final 30 miles (48 km) or so of the journey along the predominantly dual carriageway A45.
In 1972, the opening of the M6 provided a much faster route through to the West Midlands from London. Most traffic diverted to this route, leaving the M45 with only a fraction of its previous traffic.
wn.com/M45_motorway -
Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are a range of hills in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit of the hills affords a panorama of the Severn valley with the hills of Herefordshire and the Welsh mountains, parts of thirteen counties, the Bristol Channel, and the cathedrals of Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford.
They are known for their spring water - initially made famous by the region's many holy wells, and later through the development of the 19th century spa town of Great Malvern, a process which culminated in the production of the modern bottled drinking water.
The Malvern Hills have been designated as a Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest by Natural England and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty by the Countryside Agency.
Management of the hills is the responsibility of the Malvern Hills Conservators.
The name Malvern probably comes from the ancient British language meaning 'Bare-Hill', the nearest modern equivalent being the Welsh moelfryn (bald hill). It has been known as Malferna (11th century), Malverne (12th century), and Much Malvern (16–17th century).
wn.com/Malvern_Hills -
Malvern Link
Coordinates: 52°07′32″N 2°18′58″W / 52.12553°N 2.3161°W / 52.12553; -2.3161
Malvern Link is an area of Malvern, Worcestershire, England to the north and east of Great Malvern. The centres of Malvern Link and Great Malvern are separated by Malvern Link Common, an area of open land that is statutorily protected by the Malvern Hills Conservators. In 1900 Malvern Link Urban District, which had been formed only five years earlier, merged with Great Malvern to become Malvern Town.
The main urban area is to the north of the Worcester Road and the Link Common that marks a sharply defined boundary on the south of the settlement between the railway station and the area's western limit at Newtown Road in Link Top. The urban development takes a gentle transition through the neighbourhoods of Upper Howsell and Lower Howsell to the farms and communities of Leigh Sinton in the north and Newland and Madresfield in the west. To the south along the main axis of Pickersleigh Road, an unbroken built up area merges seamlessly into Barnards Green, a suburb of the former independent town of Great Malvern.
wn.com/Malvern_Link -
Market Drayton
Coordinates: 52°54′16″N 2°29′05″W / 52.9044°N 2.4848°W / 52.9044; -2.4848
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" (c. 1868) and earlier simply as "Drayton" (c. 1695). Market Drayton is on the Shropshire Union Canal and on Regional Cycle Route 75. The A53 road by-passes the town. The counties of Staffordshire and Cheshire are both close by.
In 1965, sausage maker Palethorpe's built a new factory employing 400 people in the town. Purchased by Northern Foods in 1990, the company was merged with Bowyers of Trowbridge, Wiltshire and Pork Farms of Nottingham to form Pork Farms Bowyers. The sausage brand was sold in 2001 to Kerry Group, but the factory remains open to this day as the town's largest employer. It produces various meat based and chilled food products, under both the Pork Farms brand and for third parties, including Asda.
Müller Dairies have a factory making yogurts. The town is also the home of Tern Press, a highly respected and collectible small press publisher of poetry. Image on Food also makes local gingerbread.
wn.com/Market_Drayton -
Minsterley
Minsterley is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is home to a large dairy operated by Uniq foods.
The dairy currently employs nearly 500 people. Village amenities includes, a primary school, a public house ('The Crown and Sceptre'- one of the oldest buildings in the village), a petrol station/supermarket (operated by Co-operative), post office, florist, and fish and chip shop. The Parish Hall is one of the largest village halls in Shropshire and is the venue for the annual Eisteddfod which held its 40th anniversary in 2002. The area adjacent to the 'Crown and Sceptre' public house was where the annual Hiring Fair was held in the late 19th Century. Young people, of work age, would be hired by local landowners for the year in return for an agreed sum of money to be paid at the following year's fair.
East from Minsterley along the A488, is the larger village of Pontesbury and the hill range, the Stiperstones. The Rea Brook flows nearby and the smaller Minsterley Brook flows through the centre of the village.
wn.com/Minsterley -
Monkspath
Monkspath is a housing estate and community in Solihull, England, south-east of Shirley (and served by Junction 4 of the M42 motorway). Monkspath is in the Blythe ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull.
The estate is served by a small shopping centre located on Farmhouse Way (off Shelly Crescent). The centre contains two small Co-op supermarkets (one containing a post office), a fish and chip shop, hairdressers and pharmacy. The site also contains a doctors and dentist surgery, a public house ' The Farm ', Monkspath Junior and Infant School and a community centre. There are also several restaurants, a Tesco's Extra, McDonalds and David Lloyd Gym outside of the main community local shops. There is also a park called Hillfield Park with a new playground built in late 2009 and a lake.
Monkspath is built on the former hamlet of Shelly. During the 13th and 14th centuries Shelly was a thriving settlement which connected Solihull and Henley-in-Arden by way of the Kings Highway (now Shelly Lane). Monkspath was so named after the famous Harry Monkspath. He gave his life to helping locals through very hard times. He is known as one of the earliest philanthropists and many feel started the move in society to protecting the more vulnerable.
wn.com/Monkspath -
Much Marcle
Much Marcle is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Herefordshire, between Ross-on-Wye and Ledbury.
Much Marcle is home to the 13th century Church of England parish church of St Bartholomew with historic carvings and an ancient 'hollow' yew tree thought to be at least 1500 years old. The church contains the tomb of Blanche Mortimer, of the dynasty of Marcher Lords, the Mortimers; the tomb bears the Mortimer coat of arms. She married Peter de Grandison.
The Kyrle Tomb is located in the centre of the chapel of Much Marcle church. The recumbent effigies are that of Sir John Kyrle of nearby Homme House and his wife Sybil Scudamore. Sir John was born in 1568 and served as High Sheriff of the County in 1609. He was created a Baronet in 1627. Later he protested against the payment of Ship Money, and during the English Civil War his sympathies lay with the Parliamentarians. He died in 1650.
Hellens Manor, which sits in the heart of Much Marcle, is a monument to much of England’s history. In 1096 the manor was granted by King William II to Hamelin de Balun, whose family would later witness the signing of the Magna Carta. It contains a wealth of period furnishings, paintings and decorations, as well as a budding Tudor garden. The Manor plays a strong role in the community - it is open to the public and provides a venue for educational, musical and literary events the year round.
wn.com/Much_Marcle -
Much Wenlock
Coordinates: 52°35′48″N 2°33′29″W / 52.5966°N 2.5580°W / 52.5966; -2.5580
Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The population of the town's parish, according to the 2001 census, was 2,605.
The "Much" was added to the name to distinguish it from the nearby Little Wenlock, and signifies that it is the larger of the two settlements. Notable historic attractions in the town are Wenlock Priory and the Guildhall. The name "Wenlock" as found in Much Wenlock and Little Wenlock (And also Great Wenlock, a now obsolete name, but found in some historic sources) is probably derived from the Old English *Wenan loca meaning "Wena's Stronghold" (wéna being feminine and meaning "hope") The town was recorded in the Domesday Book as Wenloch.
The town grew around an abbey or monastery founded around 680 by Merewalh, a son of King Penda of Mercia. King Penda installed his daughter Milburga as abbess in 687. Milburga of Wenlock was credited with many miraculous works. The abbey flourished until around 874 when a Danish Viking attack occurred. In the 11th century another religious house was built on the same site by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and Countess Godiva his wife. In the 12th century this was replaced by a Cluniac priory, established by Roger de Montgomerie after the Norman Conquest, the ruins of which can still be seen and which is now in the hands of English Heritage. It prospered until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539.
wn.com/Much_Wenlock -
Myton School
Coordinates: 52°16′48″N 1°33′55″W / 52.2799°N 1.5654°W / 52.2799; -1.5654
Myton School is a secondary school located on Myton Road in the town of Warwick in Warwickshire, England. The history of the school in its current form dates from 1968. As of January 2010[update] the school has 1,626 pupils.
The school started life as Oken High School, a mixed-sex, non-selective secondary school which was opened in 1954. In 1959 Oken became Oken High School for Boys when the girls were transferred to the newly established Beauchamp High School for Girls. The two single-sex schools had each moved to the site that Myton School presently occupies and they were amalgamated in 1968. Since then the school has grown substantially as the size of each school year has increased, 11 year olds were admitted for the first time in 1996 (when Warwickshire changed its secondary school start date to a year earlier) and as the Sixth Form has grown in size. The school became a grant maintained school in 1992, and a foundation school after grant maintained status was abolished by the incoming Labour government in 1997. Under the government's school specialisation funding scheme it has become a specialist Science College. On 1 July 2011, the school became an academy.
wn.com/Myton_School -
North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire is a local government district and borough in Warwickshire, England. The main town in the district is Atherstone where the council is based. Other significant places include Coleshill, Polesworth and Kingsbury.
The North Warwickshire district was created on 1 April 1974 by a merger of the Atherstone Rural District and parts of the Meriden Rural District (the rest of which was merged into the West Midlands county).
North Warwickshire is a mostly rural area with several small towns. The area historically had a large coal mining industry, but this has almost died out. The district is relatively remote from the rest of Warwickshire, as the county is almost split in two by the West Midlands.
The boundaries of North Warwickshire are almost the same as the North Warwickshire parliamentary constituency. However the constituency also includes the town of Bedworth. The local MP is Dan Byles.
In 2007 the Conservatives took overall control of the Borough Council for the first time since the creation of the council within its current boundaries. The Council was retaken by Labour in 2011.
wn.com/North_Warwickshire -
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered by Scotland.
Northern England comprises three regions of England - the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber. The counties of Northern England combined have a population of around 14.5 million covering an area of 37,331 km2 (14,414 sq mi).
During antiquity most of the area was part of Brigantia — homeland of the Brigantes and the largest Brythonic kingdom of Great Britain. After the Roman conquest of Britain the city of York became capital of the area, called Britannia Inferior then Britannia Secunda. In Sub-Roman Britain new Brythonic kingdoms of the Hen Ogledd emerged. The Angle settlers created Bernicia and Deira from which came Northumbria and a Golden Age in cultural, scholarly and monastic activity, centred around Lindisfarne and aided by Irish monks.Norse and Gaelic Viking raiders gained control of much of the area, creating the Danelaw. During this time there were close relations with Mann and the Isles, Dublin and Norway. Northumbria was unified with the rest of England under Eadred around 952.
wn.com/Northern_England -
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland (Irish: Tuaisceart Éireann pronounced [ˈt̪ˠuəʃcəɾˠt̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] (
listen), Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann or Norlin Airlan) is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. As of 2001, its population was 1,685,000, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the population of the United Kingdom. Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, Northern Ireland is largely self-governing. According to the agreement, Northern Ireland co-operates with the rest of Ireland – from which it was partitioned in 1921 — on some policy areas, while other areas are reserved for the Government of the United Kingdom, though the Republic of Ireland "may put forward views and proposals".
Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter inter-communal conflict — the Troubles — which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom, and generally see themselves as British, while nationalists wish for it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule, and generally see themselves as Irish. Additionally, people from both sides of the community may describe themselves as Northern Irish. Since 1998, most of the paramilitary groups involved in the Troubles have ceased their armed campaigns.
wn.com/Northern_Ireland -
Norton Canes
Coordinates: 52°41′00″N 1°58′00″W / 52.683333°N 1.966667°W / 52.683333; -1.966667
Norton Canes is a village and civil parish on the southern periphery of Cannock Chase District, in Staffordshire, England. It is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) out of the centre of Cannock. At the 2001 census it had a population of 6,394. and an area of 3,746 acres (15.16 km2) of which 86% is green open space.
The Cannock Chase Coalfield once had 45 collieries within 2 miles (3.2 km) of Norton Canes, employing over 5,800 men, as well as 2 large surface mines; the last pit in the area closed in 1993.
Grove Pit was one of these pits, and on 1 October 1930 was the scene of a major tragedy when 14 miners were killed in an explosion there.
Another local colliery was owned by the Jerome family, hence Jerome Road now on the site of the pit. This was the family of the author Jerome K. Jerome. Norton Canes borders Chasewater - a collection of man-made lakes formed through old mining pits and a reservoir that feeds the canal system of West Midlands. Chasewater is a popular leisure destination offering facilities for water-skiing and yachting, mountain biking, jogging, walking and bird watching.
wn.com/Norton_Canes -
Nuneaton
Coordinates: 52°31′23″N 1°28′06″W / 52.523°N 1.4683°W / 52.523; -1.4683
Nuneaton (/nəˈniːtən/) is the largest town in the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth and in the English county of Warwickshire.
Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for much of her early life. In her novel Scenes of Clerical Life (1858), "Milby" is the thinly disguised market town of Nuneaton.
The Nuneaton Urban Area is a conurbation based around Nuneaton and several surrounding towns and villages.
The town is located 9 miles (14 km) north of Coventry, 20 miles (32 km) east of Birmingham and 103 miles (166 km) northwest of London. The River Anker runs through the town. Nuneaton (as defined by the Office for National Statistics) had a population of 70,721 according to the 2001 census, though the 2008 estimate is closer to 73,000 inhabitants. However, both of these figures exclude the Camp Hill area of the town, which is deemed to be in the Hartshill subdivision of the Nuneaton urban area by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as can be seen from the map included in its report on Key Statistics for urban areas and the dataset of this report, which cites a population of 12,207 for the Hartshill subdivision [1] (by comparison, the population of the civil parish of Hartshill in 2001 was just 3,611 [2]). A more representative figure is given by the combined population of Nuneaton's 11 wards, which was 78,403 in 2001 according to the ONS (see table below).
wn.com/Nuneaton -
Olton
Coordinates: 52°26′16″N 1°48′21″W / 52.4377°N 1.8058°W / 52.4377; -1.8058
Olton is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, England. In the 13th century the Lords of the Manor moved their seat and formed a new settlement, in the junction of two major roads, that village has now grown into a big town called Solihull. It was then that Ulverlei was being referred to as 'Oulton' (meaning 'old town') to distinguish it from the 'new town' of Solihull of which it is now a part. It is located on the A41 between Solihull town centre 4 miles (6.4 km), Acocks Green, 2 miles (3.2 km) and Birmingham 5.7 miles (9.2 km), dating back over a 1,000 years, it is a now a residential suburb, though historically part of Warwickshire. Many of the large houses built in St. Bernard's Road and Kineton Green Road during the Victorian and Edwardian period form part of one of Solihull's conservation areas.
Olton means 'old town' and is the site of the manor of Ulverlei from where Solihull was founded. Ulverlei has been translated to mean Wulfhere's clearing or meadow. Wulfhere was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, from the end of the 650s until 675. Wulfhere's father, Penda, was killed in 655 fighting against Oswiu of Northumbria. Penda's son Peada became king under Oswiu's overlordship, but was murdered a year later. Wulfhere came to the throne when Mercian nobles organized a revolt against Northumbrian rule in 658, and drove out Oswiu's governors. As he was a youth, Wulfhere had been kept in hiding until he came of age.
wn.com/Olton -
Over Whitacre
Over Whitacre is a hamlet in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England.
It is one of 'The Whitacres' – Over Whitacre, Nether Whitacre and Whitacre Heath, although Whitacre heath is actually the heath of Nether Whitacre and not a separate parish.
The hamlet appears in the Domesday Book so it was already established in the Saxon period. However, objects belonging to much earlier Neolithic and Bronze Age times have been found in the soil. Whitacre was spelt then as 'Witecore' which means white field. The area has many stone-built buildings of the 17th and 18th centuries. The 18th century parish church of St Leonards is situated on the main road between Coventry and Tamworth (the B4098 or old A51). It is of classical Italian style, built in 1766 on the site of an earlier foundation. Two of the oldest buildings in the parish are Barbers Farm, dating to 1586 and The Bothie at Botts Green.
The village today is mainly residential and agricultural, but there is some light industry.
wn.com/Over_Whitacre -
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire.
An area of great diversity, it is conventionally split into the northern Dark Peak, where most of the moorland is found and whose geology is gritstone, and the southern White Peak, where most of the population lives and where the geology is mainly limestone-based.
Most of the area falls within the Peak District National Park, whose designation in 1951 made it the first national park in the United Kingdom. Proximity to the major cities of Manchester and Sheffield and the counties of Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Staffordshire and South and West Yorkshire, coupled with easy access by road and rail, have contributed to its popularity. With an estimated 22 million visitors per year, the Peak District is thought to be the second most-visited national park in the world (after the Mount Fuji National Park in Japan), though the Peak District National Park Authority believe these figures are incorrect or unsubstantiated, estimating around 10 million people visit annually.
wn.com/Peak_District -
Pembridge
Coordinates: 52°13′05″N 2°53′35″W / 52.218°N 2.893°W / 52.218; -2.893
Pembridge is a village located just south of the River Arrow on the A44 between Leominster and Kington in Herefordshire, England.
Describing itself as The Jewel in the Crown of the Black and White Village Trail, Pembridge has a history stretching back at least eight hundred years and is notable for its many timber-framed buildings. As a result, it has been possible to date the construction of many of them using tree ring counting techniques with remarkable accuracy. In some cases this has allowed dating to the precise season in which they were erected, not just the year.
Pembridge gained a royal charter allowing it to hold a market and two fairs in 1239. During the Middle Ages, the Cowslip Fair (held every May) and the Woodcock Fair (held in November) were important places for agricultural labourers across the county to seek work from landowners.
In 1856, the Leominster and Kington Railway developed a railway station to connect to Kington to Leominster. Taken over by the Great Western Railway, it closed to passengers in 1955, and freight in 1961.
wn.com/Pembridge -
Plantsbrook School
Coordinates: 52°33′31″N 1°49′07″W / 52.5587°N 1.8187°W / 52.5587; -1.8187
Plantsbrook School, formerly Riland Bedford, is a secondary school and Sixth Form College in Sutton Coldfield, on Upper Holland Road, North Birmingham, England.
The Governing Body has recently voted in favour of moving the school to Academy Status with effect from the 1st August 2011.
The school has recently achieved a whopping 100% pass rate at A Level. This is the highest pass rate the school has ever achieved. Point scores were also up on last year's figures.
The school was part built by American soldiers during World War II, who used the site as a camp. When the school opened, boys and girls were kept separate.
The school receives its name from Plants Brook, a stream that flows through Sutton Coldfield and passes the school. The previous name of Riland Bedford School comes from the union of the prominent Riland and Bedford families of Sutton Coldfield.
The school also has its own student-run radio station, named PB Radio which broadcasts internally and on the internet from its studio on the site.
wn.com/Plantsbrook_School -
Powys
Powys ( /ˈpaʊ.ɪs/;Welsh: [ˈpowɪs]) is a principal area, local-government county and preserved county in Mid Wales.
Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.
It is bounded to the north by Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Wrexham; to the west by Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire; to the east by Shropshire and Herefordshire; and to the south by Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire and Neath Port Talbot.
Most of Powys is mountainous, with north-south transportation by car being difficult.
The majority of the Powys population is made up of villages and small towns. The largest towns are Newtown, Ystradgynlais, Brecon, and Welshpool with populations of 12,783, 9,004, 7,901 and 6,269 respectively (2001). Powys has the lowest population density of all the principal areas of Wales.
Just under a third of the residents have Welsh linguistic skills and Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural areas both in and around Machynlleth, Llanfyllin and Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (where William Morgan first translated the whole Bible into Welsh in 1588) in Montgomeryshire (Welsh: Sir Drefaldwyn), and the industrial area of Ystradgynlais in the extreme south-west of Brecknockshire (Welsh: Sir Frycheiniog). Radnorshire (Welsh: Sir Faesyfed) was almost completely Anglicised by the end of the 18th century.
wn.com/Powys -
Pype Hayes
Pype Hayes is an area in the east of the Erdington district of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. It is located within the Tyburn ward.
The name of the area derives from a major landowner in Erdington called Henry de Pipe. On this land he built a house which later developed into Pype Hayes Hall.
Pype Hayes developed mainly during the 20th century as a result of the expansion of Erdington northwards towards the Chester Road.
The Chester Road is a Roman road, originally known as 'Ridgeway'. It developed during the 17th century as a major thoroughfare through Birmingham. Stage coaches used the road and it developed a reputation as a haven for highwaymen.
All the land in Pype Hayes was owned as part of an estate with Pype Hayes Hall at its centre. This was a prominent hall in the area and the nearest settlement was Holifast Grange to the north-west. The construction of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal in the south of Erdington prompted the establishment of industries near Tyburn, which is close to Pype Hayes. However, Pype Hayes remained unaffected by the industry.
wn.com/Pype_Hayes -
QinetiQ
Coordinates: 51°16′43″N 0°47′33″W / 51.27861°N 0.7925°W / 51.27861; -0.7925
Qinetiq ( /kɪˈnɛtɪk/ as in kinetic; officially styled QinetiQ) is a British multinational defence technology company headquartered in Farnborough, United Kingdom. It is the world's 43rd-largest defence contractor measured by 2010 defence revenues, and the fifth-largest based in the UK.
Qinetiq was formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), when it was split up in June 2001 (with the smaller part becoming Dstl). It has major sites in the UK at Farnborough, Hampshire, MoD Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, and Malvern, Worcestershire where it was formerly DERA and is the largest single employer in the area. Since its formation it has made numerous acquisitions, primarily of United States-based companies. Former Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet served as an independent non-executive director to Qinetiq's board between October 2006 and January 2008.
wn.com/QinetiQ -
RAF Lichfield
Royal Air Force Station Lichfield also known as Fradley Aerodrome, was an operational training station from 1940 until 1958. It was situated in Fradley, 2 miles north east of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. The airfield was the busiest airfield in Staffordshire during World War II. The airfield supported its own units as well as providing safe haven for many more. It was a control point for all aviation traffic that passed through the Birmingham area during the war and saw more aircraft movements that any other Staffordshire airfield.
RAF Lichfield, known locally as Fradley Aerodrome, was constructed in from mid 1939 to 1940. The airfield was set out in the usual triangular pattern with two runways 1km in length and a main runway of 1.46km. Initially it operated as a maintenance site, being home to the No. 51 Maintenace Unit from August 1940. Manufacturers sent newly built aircraft to Fradley to carry out any modifications before delivery to squadrons. After the war, large numbers of aircraft were broken up and many aircraft were prepared before being sold to the air forces of other countries. The unit remained active until the closure of the airfield in 1958.
wn.com/RAF_Lichfield -
Redditch
Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry. At one point 90% of the world's needles were manufactured in the town and its neighbourhoods. In the 1960s it became a model for modern new town planning.
Redditch lies just south of the West Midlands urban area but is not part of it (being in Worcestershire), northwest of Studley on the A435, which skirts it to the east. The main route of access is the A441, a trunk road from Birmingham to Cookhill, via junction 2 of the M42 Motorway. The Roman Road known as Icknield Street is prominent, running north to south through the eastern side of the town.
Redditch experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.
The first recorded mention of Redditch ("Red-Dych", thought to be a reference to the red clay of the nearby River Arrow) is in 1348, the year of the outbreak of the Black Death. During the Middle Ages it became a centre of needle-making and later prominent industries were fish-hooks, fishing tackle, motorcycles and springs, the latter notably by Herbert Terry and Sons. It was designated a new town in 1964 and the population increased dramatically from 32,000 to around 77,000. Housing developments such as Church Hill, Matchborough, Winyates, Lodge Park and Woodrow were created to accommodate the large overspill from an industrially expanding Birmingham. Redditch was built as a 'flagship' town using new methods and new town planning; all the main roads (mostly new dual carriageways as well as a ring road for the town centre) in Redditch were banked to reduce noise to the new housing estates and the whole of Redditch was landscaped.
wn.com/Redditch -
River Wye
The River Wye (Welsh: Afon Gwy) is the fifth-longest river in the UK and for parts of its length forms part of the border between England and Wales. It is important for nature conservation and recreation.
The Roman name for the River Wye was the "Vaga", which stems from vagus meaning to roam (vagor) or the wanderer.[citation needed] The Tithe map references a Vagas Field in both Whitchurch and Chepstow. . The modern Welsh name "Gwy" may have entitled from the old Welsh "Gwybiol" or "Gwyr" (crooked wandering hills).
The source of the Wye is in the Welsh mountains at Plynlimon. It flows through or past several towns and villages including Rhayader, Builth Wells, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford (the only city on the River Wye), Ross-on-Wye, Symonds Yat, Monmouth and Tintern, meeting the Severn estuary just below Chepstow. The total length is 215 km.
wn.com/River_Wye -
Rugeley
Coordinates: 52°45′36″N 1°56′20″W / 52.7599°N 1.9388°W / 52.7599; -1.9388
Rugeley is an historic market town in the county of Staffordshire, England. It lies on the northern edge of Cannock Chase, and is situated roughly midway between the towns of Stafford, Cannock, Lichfield and Uttoxeter. The population as at the 2001 census was 22,724 (including the Brereton and Etchinghill wards).
The town was a centre of coal mining until 1991, when the Lea Hall Colliery was demolished. The Rugeley B coal-fired power station dominates the skyline where a flue gas desulphurisation plant has been constructed. This will allow it to continue to generate electricity and comply with environmental legislation. The former Rugeley A station took its fuel directly from the neighbouring mine by conveyor belt (this is a disputed fact as the mines coal was of poor quality). This was the first such arrangement in Britain. It is twinned with Western Springs, Illinois in the United States.
Rugeley has two railway stations, Rugeley Town and Rugeley Trent Valley, which lie on the Chase Line connecting Rugeley, Walsall and Birmingham. This line has not yet been electrified, and so the service is functional but slow, a typical end-to-end journey taking 54 minutes. Rugeley Trent Valley also lies on the West Coast Main Line, and now has a regular hourly service to London via Lichfield, Nuneaton, Rugby and Milton Keynes, and to Crewe via Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.
wn.com/Rugeley -
Sandwell
Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands with a population of around 289,100, and an area of 33 square miles (85 km2). The borough is named after Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of both the Black Country, and the West Midlands conurbation, encompassing the urban towns of Blackheath, Cradley Heath, Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Tividale, Wednesbury, and West Bromwich. West Bromwich is the most populous town in Sandwell, but Sandwell Council House (the headquarters of Sandwell's local government) is located at Oldbury.
The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell was formed in 1974 as part of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 and is an amalgamation of the former County Borough of Warley and County Borough of West Bromwich. For its first 12 years Sandwell had a two-tier system of local government; Sandwell Council shared power with the West Midlands County Council. Since the Local Government Act 1985 Sandwell Council has effectively been a unitary authority, serving as the sole executive, deliberative and legislative body responsible for local policy, setting council tax, and allocating budget in the district.
wn.com/Sandwell -
Scotland
Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba ([ˈalˠ̪apə] listen (help·info))) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.
wn.com/Scotland -
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament (Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots: The Scots Pairliament) is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Members are elected for four-year terms under the mixed member proportional representation system. As a result, 73 MSPs represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality ("first past the post") system, with a further 56 returned from eight additional member regions, each electing seven MSPs. The most recent general election to the Parliament was held on 5 May 2011.
The original Parliament of Scotland (or "Estates of Scotland") was the national legislature of the independent Kingdom of Scotland, and existed from the early 13th century until the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of England under the Acts of Union 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. As a consequence, the Parliament of Scotland merged with the Parliament of England to form the Parliament of Great Britain, which sat at Westminster in London.
wn.com/Scottish_Parliament -
Shobdon Aerodrome
Shobdon Aerodrome (ICAO: EGBS) is an airport 6 NM (11 km; 6.9 mi) west of Leominster,Herefordshire, England.
Shobdon started as a British Army camp. Out of range of long range German Luftwaffe bombers, it acted as a reception point for casualties received from Southampton distributed to existing local hospitals. With a depot railway station developed on the Leominster and Kington Railway, its first casualties arrived after the Battle of Dunkirk.
The camp was developed further by the United States Army from 1943, to act as a distribution point for two locally developed general hospitals. They also added a runway in cooperation with the Royal Air Force, but due to the marshy land only one runway was developed.
In 1943, RAF No.1 Glider Training School moved from RAF Thame to Shobdon, enabling an increase in training of glider pilots in preparation for Normandy and Arnhem landings.
The RAF Gliding School closed in 1953, when the site was handed to Herefordshire County Council.
Shobdon Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P779) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Herefordshire Aero Club Limited). It is frequently used by air taxi services to Europe.
wn.com/Shobdon_Aerodrome -
Shrewsbury
Coordinates: 52°42′28″N 2°45′15″W / 52.7077°N 2.7541°W / 52.7077; -2.7541
Shrewsbury (i/ˈʃruːzbri/ or i/ˈʃroʊzbri/) is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a borough home to some 96,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council. It is the second largest town in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, after Telford.
Shrewsbury is a historic market town with the town centre having a largely unaltered medieval street plan. The town features over 660 historic listed buildings, including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th century. Shrewsbury Castle, a red sandstone castle fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively, by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery. The town hosts one of the oldest and largest horticultural events in the country, Shrewsbury Flower Show, and is known for its floral displays, having won various awards since the turn of the 21st century, including Britain in Bloom in 2006.
wn.com/Shrewsbury -
Shropshire
Shropshire ( /ˈʃrɒpʃər/ or /ˈʃrɒpʃɪər/; alternatively Salop; abbreviated, in print only, Shrops) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Wales to the west, Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south-east and Herefordshire to the south. A unitary authority (Shropshire Council) was created on 1 April 2009, taking over from the previous county council and 5 district councils, and covers most of the county. The borough of Telford and Wrekin, included in Shropshire for ceremonial purposes, has been a separate unitary authority since 1998.
The county's population and economy is centred on five towns: the county town of Shrewsbury, which is culturally and historically important and is located in the centre of the county;Telford, a new town in the east which was constructed around a number of older towns, most notably Wellington, Dawley and Madeley, which is today the most populous; and Oswestry in the north-west, Bridgnorth just to the south of Telford, and Ludlow in the south. The county has many further smaller towns, including Whitchurch in the north, Newport just to the north-east of Telford, and Market Drayton in the north-east of the county.
wn.com/Shropshire -
Sideway
Coordinates: 53°02′31″N 2°13′01″W / 53.042°N 2.217°W / 53.042; -2.217
Sideway (pronounced "Siddaway") is an area of Stoke-on-Trent, approximately one mile south west of Stoke-upon-Trent. It is located on the junction of the A500 and the A50 adjacent to the Britannia Stadium.
The area around the stadium was formerly a spoil tip for the Hem Heath Colliery, which closed in the mid-1990s; the stadium itself opened in 1997. The surrounding area has also been redeveloped and is home to a hotel, restaurant, health club and a number of car dealerships.
Sideway is also home to a Michelin factory, a Medium Wave transmitter for Virgin Radio, Signal 2 and Radio Stoke, and the base of Marcroft Engineering, a railway wagon repair company.
There are proposals to build a park and ride station in this area, taking advantage of its location on the A500 and A50.
Sidders!
wn.com/Sideway -
Smethwick
Coordinates: 52°29′34″N 1°58′06″W / 52.492854°N 1.968226°W / 52.492854; -1.968226
Smethwick ( /ˈsmɛðɨk/ SMEDH-ick) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
Originally the area was an urban district and from 1894 a municipal borough in the county of Staffordshire. In 1907 it became a county borough. In 1966, Smethwick was merged with the boroughs of Oldbury and Rowley Regis to form the new County Borough of Warley, and was transferred into the county of Worcestershire. This in turn was merged with West Bromwich in 1974 to form the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, which was incorporated into the new West Midlands county.
In 1888, there had been plans for Smethwick to be incorporated into the city of Birmingham, but the urban district council voted against these plans by a single vote.
Smethwick had always had strong economic links to Birmingham (even after its independence of county control following the creation of Smethwick County Borough in 1907), although like most areas and towns of the West Midlands has a strong sense of its own identity. The Warley County Borough was placed entirely in Worcestershire on its creation, but Smethwick has also been in Warwickshire and Staffordshire, and since 1974 has formed part of the West Midlands county. The former boundary of Staffordshire, and detached parts of Worcestershire and Shropshire could be found at the Three Shires Oak, in Bearwood.
wn.com/Smethwick -
Soho Foundry
Soho Foundry was a factory created in 1795 by Matthew Boulton and James Watt at Smethwick, West Midlands, England (grid reference SP037885), for the manufacture of steam engines.
The factory was built on the edge of the Birmingham Canal on land bought in 1795. The following year the foundry was open. By 1840 James Watt Junior owned the factory after the death of the founding Boulton and Watt. He died in 1848 and his place was taken by H. W. Blake and the name changed from Soho Foundry to James Watt & Co..
In 1857 the screw engines for the steamship SS Great Eastern were built at the foundry. In 1860 a new mint was started at the Foundry, the Manufactory having closed in 1850.
In 1861 tests were performed at the Soho Foundry for the London Pneumatic Despatch Company.
In 1895 W & T Avery Ltd. acquired the Foundry as a going concern.
It is now the home of Avery Weigh-Tronix (formerly Avery Berkel), who make weighing scales. The site includes William Murdoch's cottage and overlooks Black Patch Park.
wn.com/Soho_Foundry -
Solihull
Coordinates: 52°24′46″N 1°46′20″W / 52.412903°N 1.772094°W / 52.412903; -1.772094
Solihull ( /ˈsɒlɨhʌl/ or /ˈsoʊliːhʌl/ or /soʊliˈhʌl/) is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles (14.5 km) southeast of Birmingham city centre. It is the largest town in, and administrative centre of, the larger Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, which itself has a population of 200,400.
Historically part of Warwickshire, Solihull is one of the most prosperous towns in the English Midlands. Residents of Solihull and those born in the town are referred to as Silhillians The motto of Solihull is Urbs in Rure (Town in Country)
Solihull is "commonly thought" to have derived its name from the position of St Alphege parish church – on a “soily” hill. The church was built on a hill of stiff red marl, which turned to sticky mud in wet weather.
wn.com/Solihull -
South Shropshire
Coordinates: 52°29′42″N 2°48′58″W / 52.495°N 2.816°W / 52.495; -2.816
South Shropshire was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district in south west Shropshire, England.
South Shropshire was the most rural district of one of the UK's most rural counties, the population of the district was 40,410 in 2001 spread out over 1,027 km² of forest, mountains, moorlands, hills and mixed quality farmland. It bordered the unitary authority of Powys in Wales, which it closely resembles, economically, socially, culturally and historically. 65% of the district is part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Only the towns of Ludlow and Church Stretton have populations in excess of 3000. Other towns formerly in the district were Clun, Bishop's Castle, Cleobury Mortimer and Craven Arms.
The district was formed by the merger of the rural districts of Clun and Bishop's Castle and Ludlow in 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972.
The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2009 when the new Shropshire unitary authority was established, as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England.
wn.com/South_Shropshire -
South Staffordshire
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south. It contains no towns of major size and many of the settlements within the district are dormitory villages for Stafford, Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Telford.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of Cannock Rural District (in the north) and Seisdon Rural District (in the south).
Its council is based in Codsall, one of the larger settlements in the district, along with Brewood, Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Kinver, Landywood, Penkridge, Perton and Wombourne. Other villages in the district include Coven, Essington, Featherstone, Gospel End, Huntington, Lower Penn, Pattingham, Seisdon and Trysull.
The district covers a similar geographic area to South Staffordshire parliamentary constituency, although the north of the district is covered by the Stafford (UK Parliament constituency). Sir Patrick Cormack of the Conservative Party held the South Staffordshire seat, and its predecessors, between 1970–2010, when he retired and the seat was won by Gavin Williamson for the Conservative Party.
wn.com/South_Staffordshire -
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering 9,200 square miles (23,828 km2) and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Five million people live there. The region includes the area often known as the West Country, and much of Wessex. The size of the region is shown by the fact that the northern part of Gloucestershire, near Chipping Campden, is as close to the Scottish border as it is to the tip of Cornwall. The largest city is Bristol. Other major urban centres include Plymouth, Swindon, Gloucester, Exeter, Bath, and the South East Dorset conurbation of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.
The region includes two National Parks and four World Heritage Sites, including Stonehenge.
Traditionally, the South West of England has been well known for producing Cheddar cheese, which originated in the Somerset village of Cheddar, for Devon cream teas, Cornish pasties, and for cider. It is also well known as the home of the Eden Project, Aardman Animations, the Glastonbury Festival, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, trip hop music and also Cornwall's surfing beaches.
wn.com/South_West_England -
Southam College
Southam College is a medium sized comprehensive located in Southam, Warwickshire. The college achieved its Specialist Technology Status in 2000, Humanities College Status in 2004 and Vocational College Status in 2006. The college has received a national award in recognition of its involvement in the Engineering Education Scheme. A February 2008 Ofsted report accorded the school a Grade 2 (good) However, since the 2011 Oftsted report the school has been Grade 1 (outstanding) .
The current head teacher there is Mr. R Samra. This year the school GCSE record was 76% (higher than all previous years) of students achieving 5 A*-C grades including English and Maths which is an 8% improvement.
wn.com/Southam_College -
Stafford
Coordinates: 52°48′24″N 2°07′02″W / 52.8066°N 2.1171°W / 52.8066; -2.1171
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of Wolverhampton and 18 miles (29 km) south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14. The population of Stafford was given in the 2001 census as 63,681, with that of the wider borough of Stafford as 122,000, making Stafford the fourth largest settlement in the Ceremonial county, after Stoke on Trent, Tamworth and Newcastle under Lyme.
Stafford means 'ford' by a 'staithe' (landing place). The original settlement was on dry sand and gravel peninsula that provided a strategic crossing point in the marshy valley of the River Sow, a tributary of the River Trent. There is still a large area of marshland northwest of the town, which has always been subject to flooding, such as in 1947, 2000 and 2007.
It's thought Stafford was founded in about 700 AD by Mercian prince called Bertelin who, according to legend, established a hermitage on the peninsular named Betheney or Bethnei. Until recently it was thought that the remains of a wooden preaching cross from this time had been found under the remains of St Bertelin's chapel, next to the later collegiate Church of St Mary in the centre of the town. Recent re-examination of the evidence shows this was a misinterpretation – it was a tree trunk coffin placed centrally in the first, timber, chapel at around the time Æthelflæd founded the burh, in 913 AD. The tree trunk coffin may have been placed there as an object of commemoration or veneration of St Bertelin.
wn.com/Stafford -
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (/ˈstæfərdʃɪər/ or /ˈstæfərdʃaɪər/; abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders. It adjoins the ceremonial counties of Cheshire (to the north west), Derbyshire (to the east), Leicestershire (to the east), Warwickshire (to the south east), West Midlands (to the south), Worcestershire (to the south), and Shropshire (to the west).
The largest city in Staffordshire is Stoke-on-Trent, which is administered separately from the rest of the county as an independent unitary authority. Lichfield also has city status, although this is a considerably smaller cathedral city. Major towns include Stafford (the county town), Burton upon Trent, Cannock, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Leek and Tamworth.
Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Bromwich and Smethwick were also in Staffordshire until local government reorganisation in 1974, but are now within the West Midlands County in the West Midlands Conurbation.
With the exception of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire is divided into the districts of Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Staffordshire, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands, and Tamworth.
wn.com/Staffordshire -
Stareton
Coordinates: 52°20′20″N 1°30′32″W / 52.338824°N 1.508986°W / 52.338824; -1.508986
Stareton is a small hamlet in Warwickshire, England. It is situated about half a mile from Stoneleigh Park, between Leamington Spa and Coventry. For more information please see the residents webs site for Stareton www.stareton.co.uk
Media related to Stareton at Wikimedia Commons
wn.com/Stareton -
Stoke Aldermoor
Stoke Aldermoor is a suburb in Coventry, West Midlands, England. An area of Stoke Aldermoor consisting of a small estate alongside the northeast of Pinley Fields is called Pinley.
During World War II, the Rootes No 1 Shadow Factory was located in Stoke Aldermoor. Four-wheel drive scout cars, tank engines, truck engines and aero engines were produced at the factory. Rootes also maintained a training school in the area. The factory was more recently used as the Peugeot UK head office until they relocated to new purpose-built premises a short distance away in Pinley in 2008.[citation needed]
Stoke Aldermoor is also known locally in Hollywood movie fame as the place where the famous Mini sewer chase was shot for the film The Italian Job, the Minis were lowered into the newly built sewers on the outskirts of Stoke Aldermoor and driven to the Finham Sewage Works.[citation needed]
In the television series Keeping Up Appearances, exterior shots around Daisy and Onslow's council house were filmed in Stoke Aldermoor.[citation needed]
wn.com/Stoke_Aldermoor -
Stourbridge
Coordinates: 52°27′27″N 2°08′52″W / 52.4575°N 2.1479°W / 52.4575; -2.1479
Stourbridge /ˈstaʊərbrɪdʒ/ is a large town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically a part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley.
The population, as recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,480. Stourbridge is included in the Stourbridge parliamentary constituency, currently held by Margot James of the Conservative Party.
Stourbridge is a part of the West Midlands metropolitan county and conurbation, in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. Stourbridge is located about 13 miles west of Birmingham, at the edge of the industrial Midlands, located between Kidderminster and Dudley.
Much of the town consists of suburban streets, interspersed with green spaces. Stourbridge borders on green belt land, and is close to unspoiled countryside with rural Shropshire close by to the west. The Clent Hills, Kinver Edge and large areas of farmland lie to the south and west.
wn.com/Stourbridge -
Stratford upon Avon
Coordinates: 52°11′24″N 1°42′36″W / 52.19°N 1.710°W / 52.19; -1.710
Stratford-upon-Avon ( /ˌstrætfəd əpɒn ˈeɪvən/) is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, 22 miles (35 km) south east of Birmingham and 8 miles (13 km) south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers a much larger area than the town itself. Four electoral wards make up the urban town of Stratford; Alveston, Avenue and New Town, Mount Pleasant and Guild and Hathaway. The estimated total population for those wards in 2007 was 25,505.
The town is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of the playwright and poet William Shakespeare, receiving about three million visitors a year from all over the world. The Royal Shakespeare Company resides in Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre, one of Britain's most important cultural venues.
Stratford has Anglo-Saxon origins, and grew up as a market town in medieval times. The original charters of the town were granted in 1196, making Stratford officially over 800 years old. The name is a fusion of the Old English strǣt, meaning "street", and ford, meaning that a Roman road forded the River Avon at the site of the town.
wn.com/Stratford_upon_Avon -
Sunshine 855
Sunshine Radio is a local radio station, based in Ludlow, Shropshire. The station serves South Shropshire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire
The original station transmitted on 855 AM in Shropshire, Worcestershire & Herefordshire and played music from the 60s to the present day, along with features, local news, sport, weather, travel information and more.
After a very successful spell on air as a pirate radio station in the 1980s, the station went on air officially on 1 October 1992, after a company was formed, under the name of South Shropshire Communications Ltd. Before being owned by Laser Broadcasting, Sunshine Radio 855 was operated by Murfin Media Ltd, who are now once again in ownership of the station. Sunshine 855 is now known as simply Sunshine Radio, more recently forming part of a family of stations broadcasting under the same name with FM services in Hereford and Monmouth.
In 1992, Sunshine 855 boss James Harding purchased an old Wolseley classic car, which was painted up bright yellow with the station's livery. It was aptly named the "Sunshine Radiomobile", and DJ's such as Jeff Brown, and Mark Edwards dared to venture out with it, as it frequently broke down coming back from a gig.
wn.com/Sunshine_855 -
Sutton Coldfield
Coordinates: 52°33′47″N 1°49′19″W / 52.563°N 1.822°W / 52.563; -1.822
Sutton Coldfield ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town within the city of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton (as it is often abbreviated) is located about 8 miles (13 km) from central Birmingham; it has borders with North Warwickshire, Lichfield, Erdington, Kingstanding and Castle Vale. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census. It forms part of the West Midlands conurbation.
Historically within Warwickshire, the town has a historical connection to the Royal Family, resulting in it receiving the title of Royal Town when it was a municipal borough in its own right and part of Warwickshire. When the Local Government Act 1972 came into force in 1974, Sutton Coldfield became part of Birmingham and the wider West Midlands County.
The Etymology of the name Sutton appears to be from South Town.
The name "Sutton Coldfield" appears to come from this time, being the "south town" (i.e. south of Tamworth and/or Lichfield) on the edge of the "col field". "Col" is usually derived from "charcoal", charcoal burners presumably being active in the area.
wn.com/Sutton_Coldfield -
Talke
Coordinates: 53°04′37″N 2°15′47″W / 53.077°N 2.263°W / 53.077; -2.263
Talke is a village in the English county of Staffordshire, four miles northwest of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Its unusual name is derived from the even more unusual "Talk o' th' Hill" which means 'bush on top of the hill'. Talke is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Talc in 1086.
Talke was made a civil parish in 1932, being transferred from the disbanded Audley Urban District to being part of the Kidsgrove Urban District which subsequently became part of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Talke and Talke Pits were formerly mining sites, which is why there are such road names as "Coal Pit Hill". There are no longer remnants of its industrial past, as nowadays Talke is a large housing estate.
Reginald Mitchell (1895–1937), the creator of the Spitfire aeroplane, was a native of the village.
Media related to Talke at Wikimedia Commons
Local websites serve the residents of Kidsgrove and surrounding areas. Each website has a forum area where local issues can be discussed with local councillors and the local police.
wn.com/Talke -
Telford
Coordinates: 52°40′36″N 2°26′49″W / 52.6766°N 2.4469°W / 52.6766; -2.4469
Telfordi/ˈtɛlfərd/ is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about 13 miles (21 km) east of Shrewsbury, and 30 miles (48 km) west of Birmingham. With an estimated population of 162,300 in 2009, Telford is by far the largest town in Shropshire, and one of the fastest growing towns in the United Kingdom.
It is named after Thomas Telford, the famous civil engineer. The town was built in the 1960s and 1970s as a new town on previously industrial and agricultural land. Like other planned towns of the era, Telford was created from the merger of other, smaller settlements, most notably the towns of Wellington, Oakengates, Madeley and Dawley. Telford Shopping Centre, a modern shopping mall, was constructed at the new town's geographical centre, along with an extensive Town Park. The M54 motorway was completed in 1983, connecting the town with the West Midlands conurbation.
wn.com/Telford -
Tewkesbury
Coordinates: 51°59′10″N 2°08′10″W / 51.986°N 2.136°W / 51.986; -2.136
Tewkesbury ( /ˈtjuːksbri/ TEWKS-bree) is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook. It gives its name to the Borough of Tewkesbury, of which the town is the second largest settlement.
The name Tewkesbury comes from Theoc, the name of a Saxon who founded a hermitage there in the 7th century, and in the Old English tongue was called Theocsbury.
Tewkesbury is named after Theocalious, a hermit who founded Threwshon, adapted to Tewkesbury over the years, in the 7th century. Evidence of a church predating the abbey suggests that a considerable settlement rose up on the site previous to the Norman Conquest. Evidence of monastic buildings from the years immediately following the conquest can still be seen surrounding Tewkesbury Abbey, which was begun in 1090 and consecrated on 23 October 1121.
wn.com/Tewkesbury -
The Mailbox
The Mailbox is an upmarket development of offices, designer shops, restaurants, bars and luxury city-centre apartments in the City Centre and on the boundary of the City Centre Core in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is also home to BBC Birmingham.
The Mailbox is about 300 metres (980 ft) long from front to back including The Cube. Above the front shops it has an additional 6 floors. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal passes along the back.
Previously the location of canal wharves, the site was the location of the Royal Mail's main sorting office for Birmingham (hence its name), which was completed in 1970. It was designed by R. H. Ousman of the Ministry of Public Building and Works, who collaborated with project architect H. A. E. Giddings and with Hubbard Ford & Partners, who supplied E. Winters and R. Lee as architects. When completed, it was the largest mechanised letters and parcels sorting office in the country with a floor area of 20 acres (81,000 m2) and the largest building in Birmingham. A tunnel was constructed between the site and New Street station for letters to be delivered directly to the office. The structure housed the largest electronic sorting equipment in the West Midlands to handle the post.
wn.com/The_Mailbox -
The Wyre
107.2 The Wyre was a local commercial radio station serving Kidderminster, Bewdley, Stourport-on-Severn, Stourbridge and Bromsgrove. The station was merged on Monday 26 March 2012 with The Severn and 107.7 The Wolf to form Signal 107, a station also serving the Wolverhampton, Shropshire and north Worcestershire area.
Originally launched in September 2005 by the Midlands News Association. After 3 years, The Wyre gained permission from OFCOM to leave its Kidderminster studios and co-locate with Telford FM in Shropshire.
On February 3 2012, The Wyre and sister station The Severn were acquired by UTV Media. Live programming ended on the same day on both stations. The station was rebranded as Signal 107 at midday on Monday 26 March 2012 and merged with The Severn & 107.7 The Wolf.
Coordinates: 52°23′11″N 2°14′50″W / 52.386395°N 2.247356°W / 52.386395; -2.247356
wn.com/The_Wyre -
Tile Hill
Tile Hill is a suburb in the west of Coventry, West Midlands, England. It is mostly residential and partly industrial, with some common land and wooded areas. Tile Hill railway station is located on the West Coast Mainline which links Coventry with London and Birmingham, and is situated at the south-western border with Canley and Solihull.
Tile Hill is seated in the ancient Forest of Arden, and some remnants of the forest remain between the built up areas. Tile Hill Lane is flanked by Plants Hill Wood to the south and Pig Wood to the north.
Tile Hill Lane approximately divides the suburb into a northern and a southern section. Tile Hill has three main neighbourhoods:
Tanyard Farm built in the 1980s is an extension of Tile Hill Village to the West of Banner Lane.
There are two secondary schools in Tile Hill: Woodlands School, a boys' comprehensive school and sports college, and Tile Hill Wood School, a girls' comprehensive school and Language college. All of the other secondary schools in Coventry are coeducational.
wn.com/Tile_Hill -
Tyburn
Coordinates: 51°30′46.3″N 0°9′50.4″W / 51.512861°N 0.164°W / 51.512861; -0.164
Tyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the Thames. For many centuries, the name was synonymous with capital punishment, its having been the principal place for execution of London criminals and convicted traitors, including many religious martyrs. Its notoriety was further enhanced by the construction of a uniquely designed large gallows in 1571.
The village was one of two manors of the parish of Marylebone, which was itself named after the stream, St Marylebone being a contraction of St Mary's church by the bourne. Tyburn was recorded in the Domesday Book and stood approximately at the west end of what is now Oxford Street at the junction of two Roman roads. The predecessors of Oxford Street and Park Lane were roads leading to the village, then called Tyburn Road and Tyburn Lane respectively.
wn.com/Tyburn -
Tyseley
Tyseley is a district in the southern half of the city of Birmingham, England, near the Coventry Road and the districts of Small Heath and Yardley. It is located near the Grand Union Canal.
Aston Villa striker Nathan Delfouneso was born in Tyseley.
Tyseley means "Tyssa's clearing" with "-ley" meaning woodland clearing.
The local comprehensive secondary school (on Reddings Lane) is Yardleys School, which was newly constructed on the site of a former brick works. The school moved from its previous split site location in 2001.
Tyseley was once a thriving industrial area with thousands of people working in the area for major companies such as TI Reynolds (formally Reynolds Tubes) and Corona. Other companies also based in the area in the past include Abingdon Motorcycles (later becoming King Dick Tools), Girling Brakes, MEM Electrical, Harmo Exhausts, Wilmot Breedon and also the factory where Co-Operative Society (CWS) toys, motorcycles, prams and bicycles were made. They marketed their toys as 'Tyesley Toys'. The area contains many Victorian buildings that housed many manual workers reflecting the heritage of the area and the city. There is now a large incineration plant, the Tyseley Energy from Waste Plant, which burns rubbish and in the process produces electricity for the National Grid.
wn.com/Tyseley -
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
wn.com/United_Kingdom -
Voestalpine
Coordinates: 48°16′26″N 14°20′00″E / 48.27389°N 14.3333333°E / 48.27389; 14.3333333
Voestalpine AG is an international steel company based in Linz, Austria. The company is active in steel, automotive, railway systems, profilform and tool steel industries.
47 per cent of its workforce is based in Austria. The Linz hot strip mill is a "fully integrated steel works" operated by voestalpine Stahl GmbH, a part of the steel division of voestalpine AG. In addition to Linz the most important plants are in Leoben in Styria and in Krems in Lower Austria. It had a large plant at Liezen in Styria which closed in the 1990s.
The name of the company amalgamates its two principal components, the VÖEST (Vereinigte Österreichische Eisen und Stahlwerke) in Upper Austria, established through nationalization in July 1946, and the ÖAMG (Österreichische-Alpine Montangesellschaft) in Styria, established in 1881.
The Alpine Montangesellschaft (English: Alpine Mining Society) was founded in Vienna on July 19, 1881, as a vehicle of consolidating Austrian iron and steel assets. Some of these assets were later depleted, abandoned or sold. The core assets that remained concentrated in Styria: the iron ore pits in Erzberg and a steel mill in Donawitz. The company also owned smaller businesses and railroads in the Mur River valley and in Lower Austria (Krems and Schwechat). Alpine, chaired by Karl Wittgenstein, peaked in 1912, when it owned four coal mines, two iron ore mines and six metallurgical plants.
wn.com/Voestalpine -
Wales
Walesi/ˈweɪlz/ (Welsh: Cymru;Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkəm.rɨ] ( listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain,bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,200 km (750 mi) of coastline, including its offshore islands; the largest, Anglesey (Ynys Môn), is also the largest island in the Irish Sea. Wales is largely mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central areas, especially in Snowdonia (Eryri), which contains Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit.
During the Iron Age and early medieval period, Wales was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. A distinct Welsh national identity emerged in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations today. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was recognised as King of Wales in 1057. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales. The castles and town walls erected to ensure its permanence are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. Wales was subsequently annexed by England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 since when, excluding those matters now devolved to Wales, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and The Welsh Language Society in 1962. The National Assembly for Wales, created in 1999 following a referendum, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.
wn.com/Wales -
Walsall
Coordinates: 52°35′N 1°59′W / 52.58°N 1.98°W / 52.58; -1.98
Walsall ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.
Walsall is the administrative headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, though it has changed its name to Walsall Council. In the 2001 census, the town had a population of 170,994 with the wider borough having a population of 253,500. Neighbouring towns in the borough include Brownhills, Willenhall, Bloxwich and Aldridge.
The name Walsall is thought to have derived from the words "Walh halh", meaning "valley of the Welsh speakers" (referring to the Brythons). Walsall is first referenced as 'Walesho' in a document dated 1002. Possibly as a result of a clerical error, it is not referenced in the Domesday Book, while the settlements of Aldridge, Bescot, Shelfield, Pelsall, Bloxwich, Great Barr and Rushall within the Metropolitan Borough are. However, it is believed that a manor was held here by William FitzAnsculf, who held numerous manors in the Midlands. By the first part of the 13th century, Walsall was a small market town, with the weekly market being introduced in 1220 and held on Tuesdays. The mayor of Walsall was created as a political position in the 14th century. Walsall is known as "the town of a hundred trades". (This appellation is a nod to the fact that nearby Birmingham is known as "the city of a thousand trades".)
wn.com/Walsall -
Walsgrave
Walsgrave-on-Sowe is a village located about 3 miles north-east of Coventry, West Midlands in England. Although it now sees very little flooding, it was built on marsh lands. However, due to urban growth, it is now an outer suburb of Coventry, near to Ansty and Shilton. Walsgrave-on-Sowe neighbours the Potters Green, Henley Green, Wyken, Coombe Fields and Mount Pleasant areas of Coventry and is in the Henley ward of the city, although Walsgrave-on-Sowe was formerly in the Wyken Ward prior to ward changes made in 2003 by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE).
Walsgrave has reputedly been in existence for approximately 1,000 years. The first mention of a chapel in Walsgrave-on-Sowe (then known as Sowe) was in 1221. It is likely that the chapel would have been built after 1086, as there is no reference in the Domesday Book of a priest serving the area. St Mary's Church currently stands on the site of the former chapel. The original graveyard for the church was covered over and now forms the slope in front of the church, facing onto the main road.
wn.com/Walsgrave -
Warwick
Coordinates: 52°17′N 1°35′W / 52.28°N 1.59°W / 52.28; -1.59
Warwick (i/ˈwɒrɨk/ WORR-ik) is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, 11 miles (18 km) south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350.
There has been human activity at Warwick as early as the Neolithic, and constant habitation since the 6th century. A Saxon burh was created at Warwick in the 9th century and Warwick Castle was established on the site in 1068 as part of the Norman conquest of England. Warwick School claims to be the oldest boys' school in the country. The earldom of Warwick was created in 1088 and the earls controlled the town in the medieval period. During this time Warwick was given town walls; Eastgate and Westgate survive. The castle developed into a stone fortress and then a country house and is today a popular tourist attraction.
The Great Fire of Warwick in 1694 destroyed much of the medieval town and as a result most of the buildings post-date this period. Though Warwick did not become industrialised in the 19th century, it has experienced growth since 1801 when the population was 5,592. Racing Club Warwick F.C., founded in 1919, are based in the town. The town is administered by Warwick District Counil and Warwickshire County Council has its headquarters in Warwick.
wn.com/Warwick -
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (i/ˈwɒrɨkʃər/ or /ˈwɒrɨkʃɪər/) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare and George Elliot. Commonly used abbreviations for the county are Warks or Warwicks.
The five districts of North Warwickshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Rugby, Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon together form the Warwickshire County Council area, and are within the 1974 boundaries. The shape of the administrative area of Warwickshire differs considerably from that of the historic county, which also includes the now autonomous unitary authorities of Coventry and Solihull, as well as a small area around central and northeast Birmingham.
For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG13) and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region.
Warwickshire is bounded to the north-west by the West Midlands metropolitan county and Staffordshire, by Leicestershire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the east, Worcestershire to the west, Oxfordshire to the south and Gloucestershire to the south-west. The northern tip of the county is only 3 miles (5 km) from the Derbyshire border. An average-sized English county covering an area of almost 2,000 km2, it runs some 60 miles (97 km) north to south.
wn.com/Warwickshire -
Warwickshire College
Coordinates: 52°17′17″N 1°32′56″W / 52.2880°N 1.5490°W / 52.2880; -1.5490
Warwickshire College is a large further and higher education college in England. It provides National Curriculum courses and vocational education in a broad range of subjects to students aged 16 and over. Through a series of mergers over a period of 12 years, it has over 20,000 students a year in six locations, with a wide network of outreach centres throughout Warwickshire and one in Worcestershire, making it one of the largest General Further Education (GFE) colleges in the country. It was formed in 1996 with the merger of Mid-Warwickshire College in Leamington Spa and Warwickshire College for Agriculture, Horticulture, Equine & Related Studies (formerly Warwickshire College of Agriculture) in Moreton Morrell. In a further expansion the college merged with Rugby College in 2003, followed shortly by a new campus opening in Warwick called the Trident Centre. It then merged with a fifth site at Henley-in-Arden. In August 2007, Warwickshire College merged with Pershore College, Centre of Horticultural Excellence, in Worcestershire, spreading Warwickshire College across the two counties. The college has Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) awards in engineering, equine, farriery, maintenance and construction, and leadership and management. Following a March 2008 inspection, an Ofsted report accorded the college an overall Grade 1 (outstanding) for its performance. The college is a member of the 157 Group of high performing colleges.
wn.com/Warwickshire_College -
Washwood Heath
Coordinates: 52°29′49″N 1°50′31″W / 52.4969°N 1.8419°W / 52.4969; -1.8419
Washwood Heath is a ward in Birmingham, within the formal district of Hodge Hill, roughly two miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, England. Washwood Heath covers the areas of Birmingham that lie between Nechells, Bordesley Green, Stechford and Hodge Hill.
Saltley on the south-western side and Ward End on the north-eastern side of Washwood Heath are the two areas that cover the entire ward, though some parts near Nechells and Hodge Hill do not come under either of these and are simply headed under "Washwood Heath". One of the area's major employers was the railway works owned by Metropolitan-Cammell (later GEC Alsthom), but this closed in 2005.
According to the 2001 Population Census, there were 27,822 people living in the ward with a population density of 5,335 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. The area is 5.2 km². Washwood Heath is an ethnically diverse community with 57% (15,863) of the ward's population being of an ethnic minority compared with 29.6% for Birmingham. It had been a major Irish community, however, in more recent times has become a large Asian community along with nearby Alum Rock and Small Heath.
wn.com/Washwood_Heath -
West Bromwich
Coordinates: 52°31′30″N 2°00′58″W / 52.525°N 2.016°W / 52.525; -2.016
West Bromwichi/wɛst ˈbrɒmɪtʃ/ is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road and is part of the Black Country. Historically within Staffordshire, West Bromwich is the largest town within Sandwell, with a population of 136,940 at the time of the 2001 census.
The Latin motto on the town's coat of arms translates as "Work Conquers All".
West Bromwich was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, the name meaning "the little village on the heath of broom" (broom being a particular type of bush). It is believed that it may have originally been part of the Handsworth parish. A Benedictine priory existed in West Bromwich from the 12th century around which the settlement of Broomwich Heath grew. In 1727, the town became a stop on the coaching road between London and Shrewsbury and its growth began.
wn.com/West_Bromwich -
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the Central Belt of Scotland. Since an upgrade in recent years, much of the line has trains running at 125 mph (201 km/h), thereby meeting the European Union's definition of an upgraded high-speed line.
The WCML is the most important intercity rail passenger route in the United Kingdom, connecting London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow and many smaller towns and cities. In addition, several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing a number of links to more rural towns. In 2008 the WCML handled 75 million passenger journeys.
The WCML is also one of the busiest freight routes in Europe, carrying 43% of all UK rail freight traffic. The line is the principal rail freight corridor linking the European mainland (via the Channel Tunnel) through London and south-east England to the West Midlands, north-west England and Scotland. The line has been declared a strategic European route and designated a priority Trans-European Networks (TENS) route.
wn.com/West_Coast_Main_Line -
West Midlands county
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county itself is a NUTS 2 region within the wider NUTS 1 region of the same name. The county consists of seven metropolitan boroughs: the City of Birmingham, the City of Coventry, and the City of Wolverhampton, as well as Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, and Walsall. The West Midlands County Council was abolished on 31 March 1986, and so its districts (the metropolitan boroughs) are now effectively unitary authorities. However, the metropolitan county continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference.
The county is sometimes described as the "West Midlands metropolitan area" or the "West Midlands conurbation", although these have different, and less clearly defined, boundaries. The main conurbation, or urban area, does not include Coventry for example. The name "West Midlands" is also used for the much larger West Midlands region, which sometimes causes confusion.
wn.com/West_Midlands_county -
Westwood Heath
Westwood Heath is a village which is now a western suburb of the City of Coventry in the West Midlands, England. It is bordered by the suburbs of Canley and Cannon Park, and by the University of Warwick campus to the east, the suburb of Tile Hill to the north, the village of Burton Green to the west, and rural Warwickshire to the south.
Coordinates: 52°23′07″N 1°34′38″W / 52.38528°N 1.57722°W / 52.38528; -1.57722
wn.com/Westwood_Heath -
Whitley plant
Coordinates: 52°22′59″N 1°29′27″W / 52.3830°N 1.4909°W / 52.3830; -1.4909
The Whitley plant, situated in Whitley, Coventry in the West Midlands of England, is one of the engineering centres of Jaguar Land Rover and the headquarters of Jaguar Cars. The facility is a fully integrated design, research and development centre and is used for the design and development of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.
The site now occupied by the Whitley plant was originally an airfield, built during the First World War.
In the early 1920s the site and its associated buildings were bought by Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Co. Ltd. From 1923 until the end of the Second World War a series planes, including the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin and the Hawker Hart biplanes and the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber were built at the site.
After the Second World War, Armstrong Whitworth concentrated its guided missile work at the plant, including the development of the Sea Slug surface-to-air missile. In 1968 Hawker Siddeley Dynamics, who had by then absorbed the Armstrong Whitworth company, closed the site with the loss of 2,260 jobs. Work being carried out at the site on the Nike-Ajax and Sea Dart missiles was transferred to Hawker Siddeley Dynamics plants in Hatfield, Cheadle Hulme and Lostock.
wn.com/Whitley_plant -
Willenhall
Coordinates: 52°34′47″N 2°03′38″W / 52.57980°N 2.06046°W / 52.57980; -2.06046
Willenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire. It lies upon the River Tame.
The urban district of Willenhall (established by the Local Government Act 1894) was partitioned in 1966 between the county boroughs of Walsall and Wolverhampton (since 1974 the metropolitan boroughs of Walsall and Wolverhampton).
The northern border of Willenhall has always been adjoining green belt land, although Willenhall has expanded so much in the last 100 years that its northern border has been moved by about two miles. This is mostly due to housing developments in the Short Heath and New Invention areas.
As a town it is historically famous for the manufacture of locks and keys. As early as 1770 Willenhall contained 148 skilled locksmiths and its coat of arms reflects the importance of this industry to its growth. Its motto is "Salus Populi Suprema Lex" - The welfare of the people is the highest law.
wn.com/Willenhall -
Wolverhampton
Wolverhamptoni/ˌwʊlvərˈhæmptən/ is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG35) and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region. In 2004, the local government district had an estimated population of 239,100. Wolverhampton is part of the West Midlands Urban Area which had a population of 2.3 million in the 2001 census which makes it part of the second largest urban area in the United Kingdom.
Historically a part of Staffordshire, and forming part of the metropolitan county of the West Midlands from 1974, the city is commonly recognised as being named after King Wulfhere, who established an abbey in 659. The original name being from Wulfereēantūn = "Wulfhere's high or principal enclosure or farm" after the Mercian King. The name Wulfrun is used to denote a later nun who established a church in the city – for example, for the Wulfrun Centre or for Wulfrun Hall.
wn.com/Wolverhampton -
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, (i/ˈwʊstər/ WUUS-tər), is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Birmingham and 29 miles (47 km) north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the middle of the city, overlooked by the twelfth-century Worcester Cathedral. The site of the final battle of the Civil War, Worcester was where Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army defeated King Charles II's Cavaliers, resulting in the English Interregnum, the ten-year period during which England and Wales became a republic. Worcester was the home of Royal Worcester Porcelain and the birthplace of the composer Sir Edward Elgar. It houses the Lea and Perrins factory where the traditional Worcestershire Sauce is made, and is home to one of the UK's fastest growing universities, the University of Worcester.
Occupation of the site of Worcester can be dated back to Neolithic times, a village surrounded by defensive ramparts having been founded on the eastern bank of the River Severn in around 400 BC. The position, which commanded a ford on the river, was used in the first century by the Romans to establish what may at first have been a fort on the military route from Glevum (Gloucester) to Viroconium (Wroxeter) but which soon developed – as the frontier of the empire was pushed westwards – into an industrial town with its own pottery kilns and iron-smelting plants.
wn.com/Worcester -
Worcestershire
Worcestershire (i/ˈwʊstərʃər/ WUUS-tər-shər or /ˈwʊstərʃɪər/ WUUS-tər-sheer ; abbreviated Worcs) is a non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands of England. In 1974, it merged with the neighbouring county of Herefordshire to form Hereford and Worcester. This was divided in 1998, re-establishing Worcestershire as a county. The Malvern Hills forms the east–west border between the two counties, with the exception of West Malvern in Worcestershire.
The county borders Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire. To the west, the county is bordered by the Malvern Hills and the spa town of Malvern. The southern part of the county is bordered by Gloucestershire and the northern edge of the Cotswolds; to the east is Warwickshire. There are two major rivers flowing through the county, the Severn and the Avon.
The cathedral city of Worcester is the largest settlement and administrative seat of the county, which includes the principal settlements of Bromsgrove, Stourport-on-Severn, Droitwich, Evesham, Kidderminster, Malvern, and the largest town, Redditch, and a number of smaller towns such as Pershore, Tenbury Wells and Upton upon Severn. The north of the county includes part of the industrial West Midlands conurbation while the south of the county is largely rural. The average salary is £20,300.
wn.com/Worcestershire -
Wychavon
Coordinates: 52°06′50″N 2°04′52″W / 52.114°N 2.081°W / 52.114; -2.081
Wychavon is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in Pershore. Other towns in the district include Droitwich Spa, Evesham and Broadway. The district extends from the south-east corner of Worcestershire north and west. The districts to the west are Malvern Hills and Worcester and to the north Wyre Forest.
The district was created under the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974. It was a merger of the boroughs of Droitwich and Evesham along with Evesham Rural District and most of Droitwich Rural District and most of Pershore Rural District.
The district's name, which was invented in 1973, contains two elements. "Wych" recalls the Saxon Kingdom of Hwicca, and "Avon" is for the River Avon.
Wychavon District Council is joint 'Council of the Year 2007', along with High Peak Borough Council. It was also featured as the 'Best Council to work for' by the Sunday Times.
The Wychavon district includes the following Civil parishes
wn.com/Wychavon
-
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe. It is based north of the village of Alton in Staffordshire (approximately 16 miles (26 km) east of Stoke-on-Trent, and not to be confused with the town of Alton in Hampshire), in the grounds of Alton Towers, a semi-ruined gothic revival country house. The estate was a former seat of the Earls of Shrewsbury.
The resort includes the theme park as well as Alton Towers Hotel, Splash Landings Hotel, Waterpark, Spa, Extraordinary Golf and Conference Centre. It is the flagship attraction of Merlin Entertainments in the United Kingdom. Major attractions at Alton Towers include Nemesis, Oblivion, Air, Rita and Th13teen.
The park's promotional music is In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg.
An Iron Age fort was built on Bunbury Hill (c.1st-century BC) which is now occupied by the Alton Towers estate. In about 700 AD, the Saxon king Ceolred of Mercia built a fortress on the hill. But King Ine of Wessex besieged the site in 716 AD. The ensuing battle, which ended in stalemate, caused such a loss of life the place was called Slain Hollow (which later became the estate's oriental water garden).
wn.com/Alton_Towers -
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, and head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations. She is also head of state of the Crown Dependencies.
Elizabeth was born in London, and educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne as George VI in 1936 on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. On the death of her father in 1952, she became Head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the first to be televised. Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence and some realms became republics. Today, in addition to the first four aforementioned countries, Elizabeth is Queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
wn.com/Elizabeth_II -
Geoffrey Dummer
Geoffrey William Arnold Dummer, MBE (1945), C.Eng., IEE Premium Award, FIEEE, MIEE, USA Medal of Freedom with Bronze Palm (25 February 1909 – 9 September 2002) was a British electronics engineer and consultant who is credited as being the first person to conceptualise and build a prototype of the integrated circuit, commonly called the microchip, in the late-1940s and early 1950s. Dummer passed the first radar trainers and became a pioneer of reliability engineering at the Telecommunications Research Establishment in Malvern in the 1940s.
Born in Hull, Dummer studied electrical engineering at Manchester College of Technology starting in the early 1930s. By the early 1940s he was working at the Telecommunications Research Establishment in Malvern (later to become the Royal Radar Establishment).
His work with colleagues at TRE led him to the belief that it would be possible to fabricate multiple circuit elements on and into a substance like silicon. In 1952 he presented his work at a conference in Washington, DC, some six years before Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments was awarded a patent for essentially the same idea. As a result he has been called "The Prophet of the Integrated Circuit"
wn.com/Geoffrey_Dummer -
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613 at age 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
wn.com/William_Shakespeare
Send this Playlist by SMS
Email this Page
DUDLEY BUSES WEST MIDLANDS FEB 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:16
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
BUY DVD NOW PMP FILMS www.pmpfilms.com the world's largest range of transport hobby films, see website for our famous shop. list, links, blog etc
http://wn.com/DUDLEY_BUSES_WEST_MIDLANDS_FEB_2012
BUY DVD NOW PMP FILMS www.pmpfilms.com the world's largest range of transport hobby films, see website for our famous shop. list, links, blog etc
Massive Thunderstorm sweeps across the West Midlands UK
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:39
- Updated: 22 Dec 2012
This Thunderstorm just came from no where last night 23/09/2010. The Storm hit just north of where i was in Kingswinford England we were right on the edge of it as it caused havoc through Wolverhampton and walsall with over an inch of rain falling in just 45 minuets. Some great Lightning shots and Thunder. Check out the first clap of Thunder right at the begining of the film and people screaming with fright! Turn up and enjoy if you like Thunder!!!
http://wn.com/Massive_Thunderstorm_sweeps_across_the_West_Midlands_UK
This Thunderstorm just came from no where last night 23/09/2010. The Storm hit just north of where i was in Kingswinford England we were right on the edge of it as it caused havoc through Wolverhampton and walsall with over an inch of rain falling in just 45 minuets. Some great Lightning shots and Thunder. Check out the first clap of Thunder right at the begining of the film and people screaming with fright! Turn up and enjoy if you like Thunder!!!
- published: 24 Sep 2010
- views: 43587
- author: 264flight
Ouch! Camera lout taken out by lamp-post
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:25
- Updated: 24 Dec 2012
Lamp-post One, Lout Nil: A foul-mouthed yob was left red-faced after he aimed abusive hand gestures at a CCTV camera...then walked straight into a lamp-post! Read more here...bit.ly
http://wn.com/Ouch!_Camera_lout_taken_out_by_lamp-post
Lamp-post One, Lout Nil: A foul-mouthed yob was left red-faced after he aimed abusive hand gestures at a CCTV camera...then walked straight into a lamp-post! Read more here...bit.ly
- published: 28 Nov 2012
- views: 334567
- author: westmidlandspolice
Sak Noel — Loca People (West Midlands version)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:11
- Updated: 09 Dec 2012
Found on BBC 1 Radio show with Scott Mills
http://wn.com/Sak_Noel_—_Loca_People_West_Midlands_version
Found on BBC 1 Radio show with Scott Mills
- published: 15 Oct 2011
- views: 44270
- author: scumbagWasteman
Regional Dialect Meme - Stourbridge, West Midlands (UK)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:23
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
The Regional Dialect Meme Say these words: Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught Now answer these questions: What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house? What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball? What is the bubbly carbonated drink called? What do you call gym shoes? What do you say to address a group of people? What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs? What do you call your grandparents? What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket? What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining? What is the thing you change the TV channel with?
http://wn.com/Regional_Dialect_Meme_Stourbridge,_West_Midlands_UK
The Regional Dialect Meme Say these words: Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught Now answer these questions: What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house? What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball? What is the bubbly carbonated drink called? What do you call gym shoes? What do you say to address a group of people? What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs? What do you call your grandparents? What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket? What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining? What is the thing you change the TV channel with?
- published: 07 May 2011
- views: 3300
- author: SmallFluffyCloud
Early morning live Drink Drive Operation - West Midlands Police, Fire & Ambulance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:40
- Updated: 24 Dec 2012
West Midlands Police, Fire & Ambulance highlight the dangers of drinking & driving. This early morning operation targets drivers who may be still over the limit the following morning having consumed alcohol the night before.
http://wn.com/Early_morning_live_Drink_Drive_Operation_West_Midlands_Police,_Fire_Ambulance
West Midlands Police, Fire & Ambulance highlight the dangers of drinking & driving. This early morning operation targets drivers who may be still over the limit the following morning having consumed alcohol the night before.
- published: 21 Dec 2012
- author: westmidlandspolice
West Midlands Ambulance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:41
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
West Midlands Ambulance Getting Stuck In Rush Hour Traffic In The Busy Selly Oak Region Of West Midlands
http://wn.com/West_Midlands_Ambulance
West Midlands Ambulance Getting Stuck In Rush Hour Traffic In The Busy Selly Oak Region Of West Midlands
- published: 16 Jul 2009
- views: 21304
- author: rossioeo123
Bear in the Air - West Midlands
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:05
- Updated: 01 Dec 2012
In the sixth part of his mission to visit Scouts across the UK, Chief Scout Bear Grylls flys into various locations around the West Midlands on 6 October 2012, including BrumVenture in Burcot, Worcestershire and Coventry Back to Basics.
http://wn.com/Bear_in_the_Air_West_Midlands
In the sixth part of his mission to visit Scouts across the UK, Chief Scout Bear Grylls flys into various locations around the West Midlands on 6 October 2012, including BrumVenture in Burcot, Worcestershire and Coventry Back to Basics.
- published: 09 Oct 2012
- views: 2956
- author: UKScoutAssociation
West Midlands Police Clueless Officer Interview Tape
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:05
- Updated: 22 Dec 2012
Back in November 2003 I was arrested after an officer from West Midlands Police searched me in a Stop & Search and found a stanley knife I used for Uni in the bottom of the main compartment of my backpack (I forgot it was there). The arresting officer (badge number 0636) seemed to be the cream of the crop in knowledge as he battled with the idea that someone would use a knife to cut card and FOAM board to mount photographs. Foam board, Is it really that hard to understand what it is? I spell it out to him in the interview and he still questions what it is at the end of the interview!! I really hope West Midlands Police have stopped employing anyone and start to recruit the more educated officers. This was 7 years ago, hopefully for everyones sake, he has not become a detective as god forbid if he gets a 'serious' crime that he needs to investigate he is going to need someone to hold his hand! I ended up with a caution, probably because I was naive to think that because I was innocent and thought I had done nothing wrong, it would make me look guilty having legal advice, well it is a hard and career damaging decision. ALWAYS get legal advice! The tape has been edited to remove my personal details, also the audio of the time spoken in the background has also been removed.
http://wn.com/West_Midlands_Police_Clueless_Officer_Interview_Tape
Back in November 2003 I was arrested after an officer from West Midlands Police searched me in a Stop & Search and found a stanley knife I used for Uni in the bottom of the main compartment of my backpack (I forgot it was there). The arresting officer (badge number 0636) seemed to be the cream of the crop in knowledge as he battled with the idea that someone would use a knife to cut card and FOAM board to mount photographs. Foam board, Is it really that hard to understand what it is? I spell it out to him in the interview and he still questions what it is at the end of the interview!! I really hope West Midlands Police have stopped employing anyone and start to recruit the more educated officers. This was 7 years ago, hopefully for everyones sake, he has not become a detective as god forbid if he gets a 'serious' crime that he needs to investigate he is going to need someone to hold his hand! I ended up with a caution, probably because I was naive to think that because I was innocent and thought I had done nothing wrong, it would make me look guilty having legal advice, well it is a hard and career damaging decision. ALWAYS get legal advice! The tape has been edited to remove my personal details, also the audio of the time spoken in the background has also been removed.
- published: 25 Aug 2010
- views: 67490
- author: collegefreaks2000
West Midlands & South Wales Police Display - Crufts 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 23:18
- Updated: 07 Dec 2012
West Midlands & South Wales Police Display
http://wn.com/West_Midlands_South_Wales_Police_Display_Crufts_2012
West Midlands & South Wales Police Display
- published: 08 Mar 2012
- views: 17291
- author: OfficialCrufts
Buses all over West Midlands 15th February 2008
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:39
- Updated: 02 Sep 2012
Buses filmed around the West Midlands area.
http://wn.com/Buses_all_over_West_Midlands_15th_February_2008
Birmingham (City Centre) Riot 2011: BBC1 West Midlands coverage
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:07
- Updated: 02 Nov 2012
This piece first broadcast on 8 Aug 2011. Televised on UK's regional television BBC1 West Midlands. Programme (Program) -- Midlands Today.
http://wn.com/Birmingham_City_Centre_Riot_2011_BBC1_West_Midlands_coverage
This piece first broadcast on 8 Aug 2011. Televised on UK's regional television BBC1 West Midlands. Programme (Program) -- Midlands Today.
- published: 08 Aug 2011
- views: 22163
- author: BhamUrbanNewsUK
First G+ Live Drink Drive Operation - West Midlands Police 1-12-12
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 17:24
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
West Midlands Police broadcast live from a Drink Driving Operation using Google +
http://wn.com/First_G+_Live_Drink_Drive_Operation_West_Midlands_Police_1-12-12
West Midlands Police broadcast live from a Drink Driving Operation using Google +
- published: 01 Dec 2012
- author: westmidlandspolice
Knowle, West Midlands, 1963 - UK
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:59
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
An 8mm movie showing Knowle and Dorridge as they were in 1963, when the villages were in Warwickshire. Includes shots of my parents business. Also visit www.knowlehistory.org.uk
http://wn.com/Knowle,_West_Midlands,_1963_UK
An 8mm movie showing Knowle and Dorridge as they were in 1963, when the villages were in Warwickshire. Includes shots of my parents business. Also visit www.knowlehistory.org.uk
- published: 17 Sep 2011
- views: 11865
- author: km6nab
Pup Idol Part One: West Midlands Police launch 'Pup Idol'
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:09
- Updated: 01 Dec 2012
Part one - Follow the latest litter of police dogs from birth, right up to the point where they become operational police dogs. For more information visit www.west-midlands.police.uk/specialist-crime/dogs/index.asp.
http://wn.com/Pup_Idol_Part_One_West_Midlands_Police_launch_'Pup_Idol'
Part one - Follow the latest litter of police dogs from birth, right up to the point where they become operational police dogs. For more information visit www.west-midlands.police.uk/specialist-crime/dogs/index.asp.
- published: 12 May 2009
- views: 10671
- author: westmidlandspolice
MCW Metrobus Travel West Midlands Route 7
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:01
- Updated: 27 Jun 2012
MCW Metrobus for Travel West Midlands in the UK Bus City on Route 7. This is decent in every department so a good all rounder.
http://wn.com/MCW_Metrobus_Travel_West_Midlands_Route_7
MCW Metrobus for Travel West Midlands in the UK Bus City on Route 7. This is decent in every department so a good all rounder.
- published: 26 May 2008
- views: 29477
- author: vjaska
Trains and Buses in West Midlands December 2005
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:29
- Updated: 15 May 2012
Trains and Buses around West Midlands
http://wn.com/Trains_and_Buses_in_West_Midlands_December_2005
Trains and Buses around Birmingham and West Midlands November 2009
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:35
- Updated: 28 Nov 2012
Buses and Trains around the West Midlands.
http://wn.com/Trains_and_Buses_around_Birmingham_and_West_Midlands_November_2009
Travel West Midlands Tribute - National Express West Midlands
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:20
- Updated: 24 Nov 2012
a collection of photos of Travel West Midlands buses that have been collected from many bus photo websites. this video is a tribute to them too.
http://wn.com/Travel_West_Midlands_Tribute_National_Express_West_Midlands
a collection of photos of Travel West Midlands buses that have been collected from many bus photo websites. this video is a tribute to them too.
- published: 05 Dec 2007
- views: 34969
- author: ukbusnutter
White Lion Cubs at West Midlands Safari Park
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:42
- Updated: 12 Sep 2012
Mirror.co.uk meets the new arrivals at West Midlands Safari Park - white lion cubs Snowy and Frosty.
http://wn.com/White_Lion_Cubs_at_West_Midlands_Safari_Park
Mirror.co.uk meets the new arrivals at West Midlands Safari Park - white lion cubs Snowy and Frosty.
- published: 31 May 2007
- views: 74457
- author: dailymirror
Twister, West Midlands Safari Park (POV)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:45
- Updated: 29 Oct 2012
Twister, West Midlands Safari Park (POV). Better quality version on www.ride-guide.co.uk
http://wn.com/Twister,_West_Midlands_Safari_Park_POV
Twister, West Midlands Safari Park (POV). Better quality version on www.ride-guide.co.uk
- published: 13 Jun 2007
- views: 25449
- author: therideguide
West Midlands Fire Cuts
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:12
- Updated: 26 Sep 2012
DON'T FORGET TO SEE PART II A recent fire service meeting, do NOT add comments they can be tracked. Video now online at vimeo.com Also on depositfiles for download (See above) Dont forget to see the final Part II Remember they are watching.
http://wn.com/West_Midlands_Fire_Cuts
DON'T FORGET TO SEE PART II A recent fire service meeting, do NOT add comments they can be tracked. Video now online at vimeo.com Also on depositfiles for download (See above) Dont forget to see the final Part II Remember they are watching.
- published: 21 Feb 2012
- views: 9889
- author: fireservicespoofs
West Midlands Safari Park
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:02
- Updated: 11 Mar 2012
Tori was awarded 4 free tickets to visit West Midlands Safari Park for not having lost a behaviour point in 3 years at school! We are so proud of her. This is video footage of Aaron and Andy on the rides - Tori and I did the sensible thing and stood taking photos!!! LOL ;)
http://wn.com/West_Midlands_Safari_Park
Tori was awarded 4 free tickets to visit West Midlands Safari Park for not having lost a behaviour point in 3 years at school! We are so proud of her. This is video footage of Aaron and Andy on the rides - Tori and I did the sensible thing and stood taking photos!!! LOL ;)
- published: 04 Aug 2010
- views: 2558
- author: tmbpershore
photo: AP / Aijaz Rahi
22 Dec 2012
Tweet. 0 Email. Report. Photo 1 of 18. In 2009, ELLE Magazine named Mrs Assad the most stylish woman in world politics. She is an icon of fashion in her country. Credit. Aimee Kligman. In 2009, ELLE Magazine named Mrs Assad the most stylish woman in world politics. She is an icon of fashion in her country.In 2009, ELLE Magazine named Mrs Assad the most stylish woman in world politics ... Syrians detained by the Assad regime. 13 Photos ... 10 Photos ... ....(size: 6.3Kb)
photo: AP / Virginie Nguyen Huang
23 Dec 2012
Tweet. Moscow, Dec 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Chemical weapons in Syria are under the control of the government, which has consolidated them in one or two locations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "As of right now, the (Syrian) government is doing all it can to safeguard those weapons," he said. "We are following all leads concerning chemical weapons," Lavrov said ... "My answer is very simple. Why use us as a postman ... pm/ ... ) .. ). ... . ....(size: 3.2Kb)
photo: AP / Eranga Jayawardena
22 Dec 2012
Salman Khan's Dabangg 2 has broken the record for the biggest non-holiday opener ... "Biggest opener [holiday] #EkThaTiger 32.92 cr ... Biggest opener [non-holiday] #RowdyRathore 15.1 cr ... ....(size: 0.9Kb)
photo: Creative Commons / Giorgione
24 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. A deadly silence immediately followed after a bullet penetrated the calf's skull. Against my wishes, Vic had decided against either amputating its leg or contacting a veterinarian-something he reasoned would have been too expensive. The unfortunate calf had slid down into a ravine where its hind leg, which was mangled and torn, became wrapped in barbed wire ... But it was more than a bellow ... 9....(size: 6.3Kb)
photo: AP / Musadeq Sadeq
24 Dec 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said. The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt ... The woman was taken into Afghan custody shortly after the attack ... As many Afghans, the policewoman uses only one name ... Air Force Lt. Col ... Gen ... ....(size: 4.6Kb)
Belfast Telegraph
25 Dec 2012
The Guardian
25 Dec 2012
Staffordshire police say several people have died in crash on northbound carriageway ... Photograph ... The incident is being handled by the Central Motorways Police Group which deals with motorways in Staffordshire, West Mercia and the West Midlands ... ....(size: 2.4Kb)
The State
25 Dec 2012
Hosted by the Richland Northeast Cross Country and Track and Field teams, the race has been selected as the 2013 Southern Region Cross Country Championship ... Age 18 and older are asked to make a $10 donation to Children’s Charities of the Midlands; age 17 and younger, $5 ... 8-29 at Midlands Technical College Airport Campus, 1260 Lexington Drive, West Columbia; $89....(size: 11.6Kb)
noodls
25 Dec 2012
(Source. Manchester United plc) FEATURES ... This season will hopefully be no exception as the Reds contest four league and cup matches in just 10 days, hosting Newcastle and West Brom before travelling to Wigan and West Ham in the New Year ... Seems United enjoyed trips to the West Midlands even then, with John Grimwood (2), William Harrison and Teddy Partridge ensuring the Reds were on the right end of a seven-goal thriller ... (noodl....(size: 2.6Kb)
Skynews
25 Dec 2012
Three children have been killed in a serious crash on the M6 at Staffordshire, the West Midlands Ambulance Service has confirmed. ... More follows... ....(size: 2.2Kb)
Belfast Telegraph
25 Dec 2012
Three children have died and two adults have been injured following a crash on a busy motorway. The three children - two boys and one girl - were travelling in a vehicle on the M6 that had crashed and overturned, said West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) ... A WMAS spokesman said ... ....(size: 1.4Kb)
Irish Times
25 Dec 2012
West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said the three children - two boys and one girl - were travelling ......(size: 0.6Kb)
Goal
25 Dec 2012
Signon San Diego
25 Dec 2012
Where. Westview, West Hills, Grossmont, Canyon Crest, Mount Miguel, Del Norte. When. Wednesday through Saturday. Online.. PLAYERS TO WATCH. Wendy Anae, Cathedral Catholic. Team’s leading scorer is headed to Utah. Tylinn Carter, Serra. The 6-1 forward averages 13 points and 12 rebounds ... Emily Cole, West Hills ... 2003 ... Clovis West ... Clovis West ... Tia Dixon, San Diego, Midland (Texas) Junior College ... Marilyn Naderhoff, West Hills, Cal State Bakersfield ... ....(size: 4.1Kb)
BBC News
25 Dec 2012
The agency has issued more than 160 flood warnings and 260 flood alerts for England and Wales, with most concentrated in the Midlands and southern counties of England ... On the motorways, the eastbound carriageway of the A27 is closed at Chichester in West Sussex and is not expected to reopen until Boxing Day ... "On Boxing Day, more wet weather will push in from the south-west....(size: 4.8Kb)
BBC News
25 Dec 2012
A study has been looking at the role of various micro-organisms in the production of the East Midlands' famous blue cheeses, like Stilton ... Blue Stilton was given Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status by the European Union in 1996 The designation is intended to help regionally distinct food - such as Champagne and Parma ham - resist ......(size: 3.4Kb)
The Times of India
25 Dec 2012
"Our record suggests that continued summer warming in West Antarctica could upset the surface mass balance of the ice sheet, so that the region could make an even bigger contribution to sea level rise," said Bromwich ... Andrew Monaghan, study co-author, said that these findings place West Antarctica among the fastest-warming regions on Earth....(size: 2.2Kb)
The Independent
25 Dec 2012
The Tottenham boss said ... "He has eight goals so far ... Lambert moved to Villa following a successful spell at Norwich, but he initially struggled at the midlands club as he started building a new team with the emphasis on youth, rather than experience ... But Villas-Boas - speaking before Villa's 8-0 mauling at the hands of Chelsea on Sunday - points to the recent 3-1 win at Liverpool as evidence that the midlands club are improving....(size: 2.9Kb)
Not to be confused with West Midlands (county) or West Midlands conurbation.
 West Midlands region shown within England |
|
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Status | Region |
| Area — Total |
Ranked 7th 13,004 km² 5,020 sq mi |
| NUTS 1 | UKG |
| Demographics | |
| Population — Total — Density |
Ranked 5th 5,267,337 (2001) 405/km² |
| GVA per capita | £17,161 (7th) |
| Government | |
| Admin HQ | Birmingham |
| Leadership | West Midlands Councils |
| Regional development | Advantage West Midlands |
| European parliament | West Midlands |
| Website | |
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley, Solihull, Walsall and West Bromwich. The city of Coventry is also located within the West Midlands county, but is separated from the conurbation to the west by several miles of green belt.
The region is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of the conurbation to the rural western counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire which border Wales. The longest river in the UK, the River Severn, traverses the region southeastwards, flowing through the county towns of Shrewsbury and Worcester, and the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Staffordshire is home to the industrialised Potteries conurbation, including the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the Staffordshire Moorlands area, which borders the southeastern Peak District National Park near Leek. The region also encompasses five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Warwickshire is home to the town of Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of the writer William Shakespeare.
Contents |
Geography[link]
| England |
 This article is part of the series: |
|
|
|
England in the UK
England in the EU
|
|
Other countries · Atlas Politics portal |
The official region contains the large conurbation that includes Birmingham and Wolverhampton, but also covers the predominantly rural shire counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
There is some confusion in the use of the term "West Midlands", as the name is also used for the much smaller West Midlands county, and is still used by various organisations within that area such as West Midlands Police and West Midlands Fire Service.
The highest point in the region is Black Mountain, at 703 metres (2,307 ft) in west Herefordshire on the border with Powys, Wales.
The region contains five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), including all of the Shropshire Hills, Malvern Hills and Cannock Chase, and parts of the Wye Valley and Cotswolds. The Peak District national park also stretches into the northern corner of Staffordshire.
Transport[link]
Road[link]
Numerous notable roads pass through the region, with most converging around the central conurbation. The M5, which connects South West England to the region, passes through Worcestershire, near to Worcester, and through the West Midlands county, past West Bromwich, with its northern terminus at its junction with the M6 just south of Walsall. The M6, which has its southern terminus just outside the southeast of the region at its junction with the M1, and which connects the region to North West England, passes Rugby and Nuneaton in Warwickshire, Coventry and Birmingham, and Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. The M6 toll provides an alternative route to the M6 between Coleshill and Cannock, passing north of Sutton Coldfield and just south of Lichfield. The M40 connects the region through South East England to London, with its northern terminus at its junction with the M42; it passes close to Warwick and Banbury. The M42 connects the M5 at Bromsgrove, passing around the south and east of Birmingham, joining the M40 and M6, passing Solihull and Castle Bromwich, to Tamworth, northeast of Birmingham. The M50 connects the M5 from near Tewkesbury to Ross-on-Wye in the southwest. The M54 connects Wellington in the west, passing Telford, to the M6 near Cannock. The A5 road traverses the region northwest-southeast, passing through Shrewsbury, Cannock, Tamworth and Nuneaton.
Transport policy[link]
As part of the transport planning system, the Regional Assembly is under statutory requirement to produce a Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) to provide long term planning for transport in the region. This involves region wide transport schemes such as those carried out by the Highways Agency and Network Rail.[1]
Within the region, the local transport authorities carry out transport planning through the use of a Local Transport Plan (LTP) which outlines their strategies, policies and implementation programme.[2] The most recent LTP is that for the period 2006-11. In the West Midlands region, the following transport authorities have published their LTP online: Herefordshire,[3] Shropshire U.A.,[4] Staffordshire,[5] Telford and Wrekin U.A.,[6] Warwickshire,[7] West Midlands[8] and Worcestershire.[9] The transport authority of Stoke-on-Trent U.A. publishes a Joint Local Transport Plan in partnership with Staffordshire County Council to cover the North Staffordshire Major Urban Area, which includes Stoke-on-Trent and the more urban parts of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands.[10]
Towns and cities[link]
Major towns and cities in the West Midlands region include:[11]
- Bold indicates city status.
|
|
File:WestMidlandsRegion.jpg
A map of the West Midlands region, showing Towns/Cities in Red, Motorways in Blue, AONBs in Light Green and National Parks in Dark Green.
|
History[link]
Much of the Industrial revolution in the United Kingdom began in Birmingham and the Black Country area of West Midlands. The Iron Bridge was first built in Shropshire at Coalbrookdale. Much of the UK's car industry would be centred in Coventry and Birmingham. Most of this has now gone.
Regional Assembly[link]
The official representative body of the region is the West Midlands Leaders Board which has limited administrative functions such as regional planning and economic development. The board is not an elected body, but is made up of members appointed from local councils across the region and is known as a quango. It is based on Edward Street in Birmingham, near the National Indoor Arena. From March 2010, the funding decisions at regional level were taken over by Advantage West Midlands, the Regional Development Agency.
Demographics[link]
Teenage pregnancy[link]
For top-tier authorities in the West Midlands, Stoke on Trent has the highest teenage pregnancy rate. For council districts, Nuneaton and Bedworth in Warwickshire has the highest rate closely followed by Tamworth. For top-tier authorities, Shropshire has the lowest rate, and for council districts Malvern Hills has the lowest rate.
Social deprivation[link]
The region, from studies of multiple deprivation, shows similarities with Yorkshire and the Humber, and is more deprived than the neighbouring East Midlands. From the Indices of deprivation 2007, it can be seen that, in common with Northern England, the region has more Lower Area Super Output Areas in the 20% most deprived districts than in the 20% least deprived districts.[12] The region's most deprived council districts, in descending order, are Birmingham (10th highest in England), Sandwell (14th), Stoke on Trent (16th), Wolverhampton (28th), Walsall (45th), Coventry (61st), and Dudley (100th). These have Labour MPs except for a Conservative MP in Walsall, one in Sandwell, one in Dudley, and one in Wolverhampton (Wolverhampton South West), and a Lib Dem MP for Birmingham Yardley.[13]
The least deprived districts in 2007 (before Shropshire became a unitary authority in 2009) were Bromsgrove, South Staffordshire, Warwick, Wychavon, and Lichfield. These areas, like all rural areas of the West Midlands, have Conservative MPs. At county level, the least deprived areas, in descending order, were Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Solihull, Staffordshire, and Shropshire.
In March 2011 the region had the second highest overall unemployment claimant count in England at 4.7%, second to North East England. The highest in the region was Wolverhampton at 7.7%, the joint second highest (with Manchester) unemployment rate in England. Next is Sandwell with 7.1%, Birmingham with 7.0%, and Walsall with 6.4%. The lowest rate in the region is the district of Stratford-on-Avon, with 1.6% - one of the lowest unemployment rates in England.[14]
Elections[link]
In the 2010 General Election, the Conservatives gained the largest share of the region by popular vote and took control of the number of seats, with 40% of the region's electorate voting Conservative, 31% Labour and 21% Liberal Democrat (very similar to the East Midlands). Although having a slightly smaller percentage of the vote than the neighbouring East Midlands, the geographic area of the West Midlands is more Conservative, due to Labour's vote now consigned to the urban areas of Birmingham, Coventry, Telford and Stoke on Trent. The number of seats is more favoured towards Labour than the geographic spread, with 33 Conservative seats, 24 Labour and 2 Liberal Democrat (neighbouring each other around Solihull). Important metropolitan gains by the Conservatives were in the Dudley and Wolverhampton boroughs. All of Warwickshire, Staffordshire (except Newcastle-under-Lyme), Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire (except Telford) is now Conservative. The Conservatives gained 15 seats with a 6.3% swing from Labour to Conservative.
Local government[link]
The official region consists of the following subdivisions:
| Map | Ceremonial county | Shire county / unitary | Districts |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
1. Herefordshire U.A. | ||
| Shropshire | 2. Shropshire U.A. | ||
| 3. Telford and Wrekin U.A. | |||
| Staffordshire | 4. Staffordshire † | a) Cannock Chase, b) East Staffordshire, c) Lichfield, d) Newcastle-under-Lyme, e) South Staffordshire, f) Stafford, g) Staffordshire Moorlands, h) Tamworth | |
| 5. Stoke-on-Trent U.A. | |||
| 6. Warwickshire † | a) North Warwickshire, b) Nuneaton and Bedworth, c) Rugby, d) Stratford-on-Avon, e) Warwick | ||
| 7. West Midlands * | a) Birmingham, b) Coventry, c) Dudley, d) Sandwell, e) Solihull, f) Walsall, g) Wolverhampton | ||
| 8. Worcestershire † | a) Bromsgrove, b) Malvern Hills, c) Redditch, d) Worcester, e) Wychavon, f) Wyre Forest | ||
Key: †shire county | *metropolitan county
Demography[link]
| Ceremonial County | Population | Population density | Largest local authority | Largest settlement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Midlands (region) | 5,267,337 | 405/km² | Birmingham (1,006,500) | Birmingham (1,006,500) |
| West Midlands (county) | 2,600,100 | 2,884/km² | Birmingham (1,006,500) | Birmingham (1,006,500) |
| Staffordshire | 1,062,500 | 391/km² | Stoke-on-Trent (240,636) | Stoke-on-Trent (259,252) |
| Worcestershire | 552,900 | 318/km² | Wychavon (116,300) | Worcester (93,400) |
| Warwickshire | 522,200 | 264/km² | Warwick (132,900) | Nuneaton (70,721) |
| Shropshire | 451,100 | 129/km² | Shropshire (290,900) | Telford (138,241) |
| Herefordshire | 177,800 | 82/km² | N/A[15] | Hereford (50,400) |
The West Midlands' population accounts for almost 11% of England's overall population. 49.36% of the region's population resides in the West Midlands county, 20.17% in Staffordshire, 10.49% in Worcestershire, 9.91% in Warwickshire, 8.56% in Shropshire, and 3.37% in Herefordshire.
Economy[link]
Business Link West Midlands[16] is based on the Quinton Business Park in Quinton, next to the Highways Agency and the M5 at the A456 junction. NHS West Midlands, the strategic health authority on Hagley Road (A456) in Edgbaston. West Midlands Ambulance Service is on the Waterfront Business Park in Brierley Hill, off the A461, near the headquarters of West Midlands Police. The region's Manufacturing Advisory Service is on Wolverhampton Science Park[17] off the A449 north of the city centre. UKTI for the region[18] is based at West Midlands Chambers of Commerce on Harborne Road (B4284), south of NHS West Midlands. Most of the region is covered by the Midlands Air Ambulance, except Warwickshire is covered by the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, based at Coventry Airport; both are charity-funded.
Herefordshire[link]
Bulmers Cider is in Hereford. Cadbury UK make milk chocolate near Marlbrook (near Leominster). Weston's Cider is in Much Marcle, south-west of Ledbury at the A449/B4024 junction. Holden Aluminium Technologies are a sports car chassis manufacturer at Linton on the A44, east of Bromyard. Kingspan Insulation is based at Pembridge, next to Shobdon Aerodrome, west of Leominster off the A44.
Shropshire[link]
The PDSA, Rayburn Range and Aga Rangemaster Group are based in Telford. The MoD have a significant depot at Donnington. There are also high-technology industries such as Unimation, Nikon, Hitachi Maxell, Ricoh, Capgemini, Fujitsu and Electronic Data Systems. In Hadley Castle off the A442, Denso Manufacturing UK Ltd make car air-conditioning systems and GKN Wheels make car wheels. Nearby is Ogihara Europe, a tool making (dies and press) and metal-pressing company. Makita Manufacturing Europe off the A518 at Hortonwood at Telford is the only plant in the UK that makes power tools. Chequer Foods (owned by the Chiswick-based Autobar Group), off the A442 near the A4169 junction in Halesfield to the south, make food sachets for foodservice and for the UK's military ration packs.
Müller Dairy Ltd is based in Market Drayton, and Palethorpes, part of Pork Farms which makes own-label sausages, is on the same site on A53. At Crudgington, Dairy Crest makes Country Life butter and Clover. Anglo Beef Processors (ABP Food Group) are at Harlescott in the north of Shrewsbury. Nearby Stadco, a metal pressings company, are based off the A5124 and next to the railway, on the Battlefield Ind Estate and have a site at Hadley Castle, Telford off the A442. Uniq plc have a plant on the A488 at Minsterley making chilled desserts for Tesco. Riversimple propose to make hydrogen-powered (fuel cell) cars in Ludlow.
Bridgnorth Aluminium (owned by the Greek company Elval) makes aluminium foil (for food preparation) and offset plates for lithography on the A458 at Danesford, south of Bridgnorth. Grainger & Worrall cast aluminium and iron engine blocks off the A454.
Staffordshire[link]
The brewing companies such as Coors Brewers are in Burton on Trent, as well as Marmite, Marston's Brewery, GNC UK (health supplements), and Doncasters (aerospace components and steel forging, founded by Daniel Doncaster of Sheffield). Conder Structures is a structural steel company next to Marmite on the A5121. Spirit Pub Company (which demerged from Punch Taverns in August 2011, and owns Chef & Brewer, Flaming Grill and Fayre & Square) is near the A5121/A38 junction, with Punch Taverns slightly further north. JCB is based in Staffordshire, near the Alton Towers colossal leisure park. Newell Rubbermaid UK (owner of Parker Pen, Berol, Paper Mate and DYMO) and Zytek (motorsport) are at Fradley Park, next to the A38, on an old airfield. Norgren (part of IMI) is an international pneumatic technology company on the A5192 in Lichfield.
Michelin Tyres are made in Sideway in Stoke-on-Trent, with Royal Doulton and Wedgwood based in Barlaston. Emma Bridgewater make pottery on the A50 in Hanley. Premier Foods make Mr Kipling slices and Cherry Bakewells in Trent Vale in the south of Stoke-on-Trent. Bet365 is on Festival Park in Etruria, off the A53. Dechra Pharmaceuticals make veterinary pharmaceuticals at Talke, off the A34. Churchill China are at Sandyford near Tunstall at the A50/A527 junction. Sumitomo Electrical Wiring Systems (Europe), who supply wiring for the automotive industry, are in Silverdale, not far from Keele University. At Kidsgrove off the A34, Converteam (former GEC) make variable speed drives (VSDs). AWS Electronics have a factory, off the A34 north of Newcastle.
RoadChef are at Norton Canes, near Cannock. TKA Tallent make car suspensions and crossmembers at Cannock. Motivair, who make air compressors, is based off the A5190 in Burntwood. Armitage Shanks is in Rugeley. The UK headquarters of Alstom Grid (former Areva T&D UK, and GEC) is based in Stafford as well as a factory and the UK headquarters of Bostik (a subsidiary of TOTAL). Alstom Power repair electrical generators.
Invotec Group, a PCB manufacturer, is based off the A51 in Dosthill, south of Tamworth. Numark Pharmacy is in Tamworth (former base of Reliant). JVM Castings make crankcases off the A51 at The Leys in Tamworth, and have a site in Worcester. Bristan (owned by Masco) based in Dordon and Baddesley Ensor on the Birch Coppice Business Park south-west of Tamworth, next to a new Ocado distribution centre, is the UK's largest supplier of kitchen and bathroom taps.
Premier Foods make Bird's Custard, Angel Delight and Marvel powdered milk in Knighton, west of Eccleshall near the Shropshire boundary. Static Systems Group (SSG) in Wombourne, south Staffordshire, make most of the nurse call systems for the NHS. Kerrygold have a large cheese production site on the A53 in Leek on the Barnfields Industrial Estate.
Warwickshire[link]
Bridgestone UK, Telent (near the A46 bypass), Calor (on Tachbrook Park off the A452), Baxi (now owned by BDR Thermea, and on the A429 near Warwick railway station) with Potterton, Volvo Group UK (next to the A46 bypass) and a large data centre of IBM are in Warwick. Dennis Eagle, who make bin wagons, are headquartered off the A452 at Heathcote Ind Estate, in east Warwick towards Leamington. Godiva (former Hale Products Europe, part of the IDEX Corporation) are the UK's leading manufacturer of fire pumps off the A445 in Emscote, east Warwick.
Codemasters, Aga Rangemaster Group, and Wolseley UK are in Leamington Spa. On the Warwick Technology Park, south of Warwick on the A425, are ConocoPhillips UK who own JET UK (petrol), McKesson's European HQ (who produce the software for the NHS's 1.4 million employees' payroll - the largest payroll in the UK),[19] National Grid plc, Midcounties Co-operative, the wireless division of Arqiva, Allinea Software, and Tulip (who produce SPAM, with Plumrose and Danepak) in the UK, and are owned by Danish Crown Group - Europe's largest pork producer. Caparo Vehicle Technologies is off the B4087 towards Leamington Spa.
NFU Mutual is in Tiddington near Stratford and the NFU is in Stoneleigh; AGCO Limited UK is nearby at Stareton, who own Massey Ferguson; the large factory at Coventry closed in 2002. The British Horse Society is in Kenilworth. At Cubbington is the UK headquarters of Joma, and has the Thwaites dumper manufacturer. The University of Warwick, on the Coventry/Warwickshire boundary, is home to the Warwick Manufacturing Group technology consultancy and the Tata Motors European Technical Centre.
BMW have their main European four-cylinder engine plant at Hams Hall near the M42. Subaru UK and Isuzu UK (IM Group) are sandwiched between the M6 and the M42 (south of junction 8) at the Coleshill Manor Office Campus, west of Coleshill. ALDI UK is in Atherstone and 3M have an abrasive products (sandpaper) factory. Daw Mill, next to the railway, is Britain's biggest coal producer near the B4098/B4114 junction at Arley and Over Whitacre. Holland & Barrett, the health food chain, Triton Showers (the UK's largest shower company), and Adams Childrenswear are based in Nuneaton. South of Nuneaton, at the A444/B4113 roundabout is the national distribution centre of Dairy Crest, where it also packages Cathedral City cheese. North of Coventry, Oleo International (its name is from the Oleo strut) is a world leader in railway buffers based on the B4113 in Exhall, next to the M6.
Aston Martin and Land Rover have their headquarters in Gaydon. Converteam UK (former Alstom), Morgan Est, and the European HQ of Gap are in Rugby. Alstom have their Power and Transport division in the north of Rugby on the A426, where they service steam turbines; on the Swift Valley Ind Estate Premier Foods have their national distribution centre. Rolls-Royce have a large engine overhaul plant (former Armstrong Siddeley), near Ansty and the M6/M69 junction in Coombe Fields, which also makes their engine casings.
West Midlands conurbation[link]
Nationally famous companies in the West Midlands include Cadbury's in Bournville, Birmingham. Mitchells and Butlers, the pub chain company, CrossCountry, and National Express are in Birmingham. Small-scale production of MG cars was started again by Nanjing Automobile Group on part of the former MG Rover Group site at Longbridge in 2008. H. Samuel, the jewellers, is in Hockley of the Jewellery Quarter. RoSPA is based in Edgbaston; Dollond & Aitchison and ATS Euromaster are in Aston. Goodyear Tyres and Dunlop Tyres are at Fort Dunlop near Erdington, where the plant manufactured car tyres until 2000, and now manufactures for motorsport. GKN Driveline is the world's leading manufacturer of constant-velocity joints and, although headquartered in Redditch, has its UK plant at the A38/A452 roundabout in Tyburn, north of the JLR plant. Stadco UK have a metal pressings plant at Bromford off the A47. Concentric UK (former part of Haldex) is a manufacturer of oil and water pumps for small diesel engines, off the A38 in Gravelly Hill. VDO make fuel systems nearby off the A38. Alstom used to have a train factory in Washwood Heath, which built Pendolino trains, but closed in 2007. Dana Traction Technologies make axles (including that of the Ford Transit and Range Rover) and limited slip differentials at Witton, off the A4040 near the M6, and TIMET UK. Legrand UK (electrical switches) is based at the A41/A4540 junction at Newtown south of Aston. Eaton Electric (former Delta and MEM) make residual-current devices (Cutler-Hammer) and switchgear off the A41 in Tyseley, and Mereway Kitchens is nearby. Goodrich Engine Controls make engine control systems for jet engines at Hall Green. Webasto Roof Systems is on the A4097 in Minworth, where Hozelock make plastic hose couplings, next to Cadbury's distribution centre.
The Highways Agency have their National Traffic Control Centre in Quinton between the M5 and A456 near junction 3. Ishida Europe makes industrial multihead weighers on the Woodgate Business Park near the M5, and to the west Lander Automotive make pipes for automotive cooling systems.
Jaguar Cars, Peugeot UK (head office, on the B4110 next to the railway at Stoke Aldermoor), Jewson (off the B4428 in the east of the city at Binley), and Severn Trent (water) are in Coventry. E.ON UK (former Powergen) and a main office of Thomson Holidays are at Westwood Business Park in Westwood Heath, south-west of the city near Tile Hill. Bladon Jets, in Pinley off the B4110, develop micro gas turbines and were the first to develop an axial flow micro gas turbine in 1994. The Jaguar Land Rover Engineering Centre is just south of Coventry at Whitley on the A444, and Jaguar Land Rover also have a large manufacturing plant at Castle Bromwich Assembly where they make the XJ, XF and XK; this site in Pype Hayes and Tyburn built half of the RAF's Spitfires in World War 2. The Jaguar Veneer Manufacturing Centre is on the B4067, where the former main factory had been since 1951, on the outskirts of western Coventry. Motaquip, PSA Peugeot Citroën's spares division, is based in Tile Hill off the A45 outer ring road, and UYT produces body in white automotive components at the B4101 junction with the A45 Coventry Business Park, built on the former Triumph car factory. The Skills Funding Agency, Young People's Learning Agency, and National Apprenticeship Service are east of the railway station. AAH Pharmaceuticals and Lloyds Pharmacy are at the Walsgrave Triangle next to the M69/M6 junction off Hinckley Road (A4600), and are both owned by Stuttgart-based Celesio, Europe's largest pharmaceutical wholesaler. Nextdoor, Sainsbury's have the national distribution centre for their TU brand of discount clothing. Magnetto-Topy (former Dunlop, now part of the C.L.N. S.p.A Italian company) make car wheels at Whitmore Park off the B4118 in north Coventry. To the east of the factory, Stadco UK have a design site, and Pailton Engineering make steering columns and steering linkages.
The main Land Rover factory and Halfords Autocentre (in Olton off the A41, until early 2012) are in Solihull. The Forensic Science Service, Linpac, Lafarge Cement UK and IMI plc are on the Birmingham Business Park in Bickenhill, near the airport; the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is just north, between the airport and the M42. Newey and Eyre, Britain's largest electrical wholesaler and part of Rexel UK, is at Sheldon on the A45 near the airport. Goodrich UK is in Shirley. Prologis UK and Enterprise Inns are on the A34 in Monkspath.
Carillion (has the second largest turnover of companies in the East and West Midlands, and the largest in the West Midlands) is on the west of the Wolverhampton ring-road (A4150), Tarmac is on the A4039 south-east of the city centre in Ettingshall, and ADAS is to the north-west on the A41 in Wergs. Marston's is headquartered west of the ring road, on the A41, and have the Park Brewery on the A4124, east of the city centre. BAE Systems Land & Armaments (former Alvis Bridging) is on the A4126 in Ettingshall, near Tarmac, and will close at the end of 2011. In Fordhouses, along the A449 to the north, are HS Marston (part of Hamilton Sundstrand) makes heat exchangers, Goodrich Actuation Systems, and a new engine plant for JLR. Poundland is in Willenhall, on the side of the Black Country Route (A454) towards the M6 junction 11. Wedge Group, based on the B4484 in Willenhall, is the largest hot dip galvanizing company in the UK. Hampson Industries is in Brierley Hill.
Boss Design is a furniture manufacturer in Blowers Green, Dudley at the A461/A459 roundabout. KUKA Robotics UK, a maker of industrial robots, is off the A459 at Mucklow Hill in Halesowen. Hingley Trailers (former M+G Trailers before 2009) makes trailers on the A458 in Lye. Marcegaglia UK make electrical-resistance welded steel tubes off the A461 in Dudley. Essar Steel UK (former Servosteel) on the A4101 in west Dudley, is the largest steel toll processor in the UK.
Avery Weigh-Tronix is on the site of James Watt's Soho Foundry in Smethwick. Hadley Group near the Soho Foundry is the largest cold roll forming manufacturer in the UK. J. B. & S. Lees makes steel strip at the Trident Steel Works in Albion, West Bromwich off the B4166 and also by Firth Cleveland at the B4517/B4163 junction in Tipton further up the Birmingham Canal. Caparo Precision Tubes between the M5 and A4182 in Oldbury, is the UK's largest producer of electric resistance welded (ERW) steel tubes, and Wellman Group make boilers off the A457 to the west. Metsec, east of Oldbury (owned by Voestalpine), is one of the UK's largest cold roll-forming companies. Conex Bänninger (former IBP Conex), on the B4166 in New Town, west of West Bromwich on Birmingham Canal, make pipe and compression fittings
Homeserve is in the north of Walsall on the A34.
Worcestershire[link]
- see also Manufacturing in Worcester
In Redditch are Halfords, on the B449 to the south in Washford, and GKN (has the second largest turnover in the West Midlands) is on the A441 in Riverside. CompAir Hydrovane, who make rotary vane compressors, are on the Washford Ind Estate near the B4497/A453 junction in Redditch. Mettis Aerospace are on the B4184 in Enfield, north Redditch, and make light metal components.
Roger Dyson Group manufactures auto-recovery vehicles off the A442 in north Droitwich, near Vax and Koito Europe (car headlamps). Lea & Perrins is in Worcester. Joy Mining Machinery are on the A44 in the west of Worcester. Worcester, Bosch Group make 1,200 boilers a day. Mazak UK have the parent company's European manufacturing facility (for CNC machine tools) on the B4639 in the north of Worcester, next to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. Sealine make boats at the A442/A451 roundabout in Kidderminster, owned by Brunswick Boat Group. Also In Kidderminster of the A451, Stourport Road. Is Brintons Carpets & Beak bane. The West Midland Safari Park is off the A456 in Bewdley, west of Kidderminster. Morgan Technical Ceramics is headquartered on the B4195 at Lickhill in Stourport-on-Severn, south of Kidderminster. Egbert H. Taylor off the A442 in Elmley Lovett, near Hartlebury is the world's leading manufacturer of metal bins.
Liquid crystal displays were developed in 1972 in conjunction with the Royal Radar Establishment, where Geoffrey Dummer invented the idea of the integrated circuit in 1952. It was based in Malvern, and became the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, which developed thermal imaging, and is now a large site owned by QinetiQ. Morgan Motor Company is in Malvern Link; nearby is Desire Petroleum. Commsoft RMS is in Evesham.
Education[link]
Secondary education[link]
Birmingham (8), Walsall (2), Wolverhampton (1), Warwickshire (6), Stoke on Trent (1), and Telford and Wrekin (2) have selective schools. The other counties or metropolitan boroughs do not: being completely comprehensive. Virtually all of the grammar schools are in the top twenty schools for the West Midlands. Competition for these schools can be high, with their excellent records. The top 20 schools at A-level rarely changes from year to year.
There are around 275,000 at secondary schools in the region, the 4th highest in England after South East England, Greater London and North West England. For persistent truancy at secondary schools, Sandwell has the highest rate at 6.9%. The lowest truancy rate for the region is the former district of South Shropshire, and the district of Bromsgrove has the lowest truancy for a current district with 2.3%.
At GCSE, the best performing area in 2010 is Solihull, closely followed by Warwickshire and Shropshire. Dudley, Herefordshire, Telford and Wrekin, Birmingham and Staffordshire (in descending order) are also above the England average. Worcestershire is at the England average. The (consistently) worst performing area is Sandwell, followed by Stoke-on-Trent. Wolverhampton and Walsall also do not perform well, although Wolverhampton improved in 2010. For metropolitan boroughs, Solihull then Dudley perform the best, and Dudley also is the best metropolitan borough at A-level, being much better than Solihull.
At A-level in 2010, the consistently best performing area is Herefordshire. Herefordshire's results are due to most of its A-level candidates going to Hereford's sixth form college. Dudley is also above the England average; the other metropolitan boroughs have low A-level results. Solihull does not perform as well at A-level as it does at GCSE. Shropshire is at the England average.
Tertiary education[link]
There are thirty-seven FE colleges (FECs). There are six LSCs for the area (which fund FECs), and the Learning and Skills Council head office is based in Coventry. The three main FE colleges are Warwickshire College, South Birmingham College and Worcester College of Technology.
School children in Shropshire and Solihull are most likely to attend university, followed by Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
School league tables[link]
Below is a list of the top thirty state schools in the West Midlands by 2010 A level results:
- 1. King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, Kings Heath (1212)
- 2. Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls
- 3. King Edward VI Five Ways, Bartley Green
- 4. King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Kings Heath
- 5. Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls
- 6. Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall
- 7. Wolverhampton Girls' High School
- 8. Newport Girls High School
- 9. King Edward VI Handsworth
- 10. King Edward VI School Stratford-upon-Avon
- 11. King Edward VI Aston
- 12. Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield
- 13. King Edward VI College, Stourbridge
- 14. Thomas Telford School, Telford
- 15. St. Joseph's College, Stoke-on-Trent
- 16. Queen Mary's High School, Walsall
- 17. Rugby High School for Girls
- 18. St Augustine's High School, Redditch
- 19. Hereford Sixth Form College
- 20. Moorlands Sixth Form College, Cheadle, Staffordshire
- 21. Lawrence Sheriff School
- 22. Southam College
- 23. Shrewsbury Sixth Form College
- 24. King Edward VI School (Lichfield)
- 25. Plantsbrook School, Sutton Coldfield
- 26. Myton School, Warwick
- 27. Kings Norton Girls School
- 28. Old Swinford Hospital, Stourbridge
- 29. St Francis of Assisi Catholic Technology College, Aldridge
- 30. William Brookes School, Much Wenlock (880)
Universities[link]
| University | No. Students | National Ranking (1998–2007)[20] |
|---|---|---|
| University of Warwick | 21,598 | 7 |
| University of Birmingham | 30,725 | 19 |
| Aston University | 8,915 | 37 |
| Keele University | 12,720 | 41 |
| Coventry University | 19,495 | 41 |
| Staffordshire University | 15,200 | 82 |
| University of Worcester | 9,455 | 85 |
| Birmingham City University | 25,010 | 96 |
| University of Wolverhampton | 24,020 | 108 |
There are also three university colleges:
- Harper Adams University College, 2,200 students
- Newman University College, 2,600 students
- University College Birmingham, 13,970 students
The University of Birmingham is the main university in the region.[21] It has the most funding and the most students. It has a large research grant, as does the University of Warwick, which is the next largest, in terms of funding. Keele and Aston have a moderate research grant, but none of the other universities do. Keele, although having the largest campus in the UK (by area), is one of the smallest universities in the region. UCE and Wolverhampton are the next largest after Birmingham, by numbers. The three medical schools are at Warwick, Keele and Birmingham. Birmingham and Warwick receive more than twice as much total income than any other university in the region - around £400 million each.
For students in the region, around 45% are from the region, and 35% from other regions. The other region with the most native students in the region is South East England (good access via the M40 and the West Coast Main Line), but there is a good mix of students from other regions, except the North East (especially) and Yorkshire.
Students native to the West Midlands are most likely to study in the region (40%), then the East Midlands (12%), the North West (11%), and then Yorkshire (9%). Very few go to the East of England or the North East. The region has a net export of university students to other regions.
Once graduated, almost 60% of graduates stay in the region, with 10% going to London, 7% to the South-East, and around 5% to the East Midlands. Very few go to Yorkshire, the North-East, or even (neighbouring) Wales.
Local media[link]
- The West Midlands region of the BBC is based at the Mailbox in Birmingham. From there, the regional programme Midlands Today is produced. ITV Central broadcasts from Birmingham, off Broad Street on Gas Street next to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, with its Central Tonight regional programme. Most television and radio services for the region come from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter, with the lesser-powered Ridge Hill for the south-west of the region, and The Wrekin for Shropshire. Droitwich is the BBC's main longwave transmitter for Radio 4, and is near the M5/M42 junction and is also one of three main transmitters for 5 Live on 693MW. Digital switchover was completed for Wrekin and Ridge Hill in April 2011, with Sutton Coldfield done in September 2011.
- BBC Radios WM, Coventry & Warwickshire, Stoke, Hereford & Worcester and Shropshire.
- Commercial radio stations: brmb, Beacon in Wolverhampton, Mercia in Coventry, Touch Radio (Burton, Lichfield and Tamworth) in Tamworth, Touch FM (Coventry), Touch FM (Stratford-upon-Avon), Kerrang! 105.2 in Birmingham, Capital Birmingham (former Galaxy Birmingham), Heart West Midlands in Birmingham, 105.7 Smooth Radio in Birmingham, 107.1 Rugby FM, The Severn (north Shropshire), Sunshine Radio in Hereford, Sunshine 855 in Ludlow, 107.2 The Wyre in Kidderminster, 107.7 The Wolf in Wolverhampton, Wyvern in Worcester, and Signal 1 from Stoke.
- Newspapers - the Birmingham Post, Birmingham Mail, Express & Star in Wolverhampton, Burton Mail, Shropshire Star, Worcester News, The Sentinel in Stoke-on-Trent, Coventry Evening Telegraph,Nuneaton News and Nuneaton Telegraph
- Websites - Channel 4's 4Talent network has a hub in the West Midlands dealing with rising media talent from the region: Channel 14[disambiguation needed
].[22]
Sport[link]
Football[link]
| Club | League | City/Town | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa FC | Barclays Premier League | Birmingham | Villa Park | 42,788 |
| Stoke City FC | Barclays Premier League | Stoke-on-Trent | Britannia Stadium | 28,384 |
| West Bromwich Albion FC | Barclays Premier League | West Bromwich | The Hawthorns | 26,500 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. | Barclays Premier League | Wolverhampton | The Molineux | 28,525 |
| Birmingham City F.C. | NPower Championship | Birmingham | St Andrew's | 30,079 |
| Coventry City F.C. | NPower Championship | Coventry | Ricoh Arena | 32,609 |
| Walsall F.C. | NPower League 1 | Walsall | Bescot Stadium | 11,300 |
| Burton Albion F.C. | NPower League 2 | Burton Upon Trent | Pirelli Stadium | 6,912 |
| Hereford United F.C. | NPower League 2 | Hereford | Edgar Street | 5,075 |
| Port Vale | NPower League 2 | Stoke-on-Trent | Vale Park | 19,052 |
| Shrewsbury Town F.C. | NPower League 2 | Shrewsbury | Prostar Stadium | 9,875 |
| Nuneaton Town F.C. | Blue Square Bet Premier | Nuneaton | Liberty Way | 4,314 |
References[link]
- ^ "Regional Transport Strategy: the National Picture". Government Office for the West Midlands. http://www.gos.gov.uk/gowm/Transport/TransportRegTransStrat/?a=42496. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ "The LTP Process". Department for Transport. http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/ltp/theltpprocess. Retrieved 2009-04-28. [dead link]
- ^ "Herefordshire 2006-11 Local Transport Plan". Herefordshire Council. http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/transport/3197.asp. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ "Shropshire2006-11 Local Transport Plan". Shropshire Council. http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/traveltransport.nsf/open/ADE3AAF9F3AAD7C48025709E003D2144. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ "Staffordshire2006-11 Local Transport Plan". Staffordshire County Council. http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/transport/transportplanning/localtransportplan/LocalTransportPlan2.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05. [dead link]
- ^ "Telford and Wrekin 2006-11 Local Transport Plan". Telford and Wrekin Council. http://www.telford.gov.uk/Transport+streets+and+parking/Transport+planning/Local+Transport+Plan+2006-2011+with+mid-term+Delivery+Report.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05. [dead link]
- ^ "Warwickshire 2006-11 Local Transport Plan". Warwickshire County Council. http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ltp. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ "West Midlands 2006-11 Local Transport Plan". West Midlands LTP. http://www.westmidlandsltp.gov.uk/. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ "Worcestershire 2006-11 Local Transport Plan". Worcestershire County Council. http://worcestershire.whub.org.uk/home/wccindex/wcc-ht/wcc-ht-ltp-v2.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05. [dead link]
- ^ "Stoke-on-Trent 2006-11 Local Transport Plan". Stoke-on-Trent City Council. http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/content/rc/LTP/provisional-north-staffordshire-ltp.en. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ^ Office for National Statistics - Key Statistics for Urban Areas Population data
- ^ LSOA data
- ^ Communities and Local Government 2007
- ^ Claimant count
- ^ County of Hereford forms single local government unit (Unitary Authority)
- ^ Business Link
- ^ Manufacturing Advisory Service
- ^ UKTI
- ^ NHS Electronic Staff record
- ^ The Times (London). http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/univ07ten.pdf.
- ^ HEFCE
- ^ Channel14.com
External links[link]
- Advantage West Midlands - Regional Development Agency
- Government Office for the West Midlands
- West Midlands Regional Assembly
- Government's list of councils in the West Midlands
- MLA West Midlands - Museums, Libraries and Archives Regional Agency
- NHS West Midlands - The regional Strategic Health Authority for the West Midlands
- West Midlands NO! - campaign against regional government in the West Midlands
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates: 52°28′N 2°17′W / 52.47°N 2.29°W / 52.47; -2.29
http://wn.com/West_Midlands_(region)
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Midlands Occidentali (regione)
http://cs.wn.com/West Midlands (anglický region)
http://id.wn.com/West Midlands (region)
http://es.wn.com/Midlands del Oeste
http://ru.wn.com/Западный Мидленд
http://nl.wn.com/West Midlands (regio)
http://pl.wn.com/West Midlands (region)
http://fr.wn.com/Midlands de l'Ouest
http://de.wn.com/West Midlands (Region)
http://pt.wn.com/Midlands Ocidentais
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Midlands_(region)
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
Not to be confused with West Midlands (region) or West Midlands conurbation.
| West Midlands | |
|---|---|
| File:Westmidsarms.PNG | |
 |
|
| Geography | |
| Status | Ceremonial and metropolitan county |
| Origin | 1974 (Local Government Act 1972) |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Area - Total |
Ranked 42nd 902 km2 (348 sq mi) |
| Admin HQ | Birmingham |
| ONS code | 2E |
| NUTS 2 | UKG3 |
| Demography | |
| Population - Total (2010 est.) - Density |
Ranked 2nd 2,638,700 (2009 estimate by ONS) 2,945 /km2 (7,630 /sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | 76.5% White 13.3% S. Asian 4.9% Black British 2.3% Mixed 3% Other |
| Politics | |
| No county council West Midlands Joint Committee |
|
| Executive | |
| Members of Parliament |
|
| Metropolitan Boroughs | |
|
|
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county itself is a NUTS 2 region within the wider NUTS 1 region of the same name. The county consists of seven metropolitan boroughs: the City of Birmingham, the City of Coventry, and the City of Wolverhampton, as well as Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, and Walsall. The West Midlands County Council was abolished on 31 March 1986, and so its districts (the metropolitan boroughs) are now effectively unitary authorities. However, the metropolitan county continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference.[1][2][3]
The county is sometimes described as the "West Midlands metropolitan area" or the "West Midlands conurbation", although these have different, and less clearly defined, boundaries. The main conurbation, or urban area, does not include Coventry for example. The name "West Midlands" is also used for the much larger West Midlands region, which sometimes causes confusion.
Contents |
Geography[link]
The West Midlands is a landlocked county that borders the counties of Warwickshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south, and Staffordshire to the north and west.
The West Midlands County is one of the most heavily urbanised counties in the UK. Birmingham, Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Solihull together form the most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom outside London, with a combined population of around 2.27 million. However, the West Midlands is not entirely urban; Coventry is separated from the West Midlands conurbation by a stretch of green belt land roughly 15 miles (24 km) across, known as the "Meriden Gap", which retains a strongly rural character. A smaller piece of green belt between Birmingham, Walsall and West Bromwich includes Barr Beacon and the Sandwell Valley.
The highest point in the West Midlands is Turners Hill, with a height of 271 m (889 ft). The hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Barr Beacon is another hill in the West Midlands, located on the border of Birmingham and Walsall, with a height of 227 m (745 ft).
There are 23 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the county.[4] One of these SSSIs is Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield, which has an area of 970 hectares (2,400 acres).[5] As a result, it is one of the largest urban parks in Europe, and the largest outside of a capital city in Europe.[citation needed] The park also has National Nature Reserve status.
There are numerous rivers that pass through the county, including the River Tame. The river basin is the most urbanised basin in the United Kingdom, with approximately 42% of the basin being urbanised.[6] The River Tame is fed by the River Rea, River Anker, and the River Blythe, which in turn is fed by the River Cole. The River Sowe and River Sherbourne both flow through Coventry. The River Stour flows through the west of the West Midlands county.
Main towns and cities[link]
See also: List of places in the West Midlands, Constituent areas of Birmingham, England, List of areas in Dudley, List of areas in Sandwell, List of areas in Walsall, and List of areas in Wolverhampton
- Aldridge
- Bilston
- Birmingham *
- Bloxwich
- Brierley Hill
- Brownhills
- Coventry *
- Dudley
- Halesowen
- Oldbury
- Rowley Regis
- Smethwick
- Solihull
- Stourbridge
- Tipton
- Walsall
- Wednesfield
- Wednesbury
- West Bromwich
- Willenhall
- Wolverhampton *
* = city
History[link]
Main article: History of West Midlands County
Although the modern county has only existed since 1974, the settlements of the West Midlands have long been important centres of commerce and industry. Coventry was one of England's most important cities during the Middle Ages, with its prosperity built upon wool and cloth manufacture. Birmingham and Wolverhampton have a tradition of industry dating back to the 16th century, when small metal-working industries developed. Birmingham was known for its manufacture of small arms, whereas Wolverhampton became a centre of lock manufacture and brass working. The coal and iron ore deposits of the Black Country area provided a ready source of raw materials. The area grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution, and by the 20th century had grown into one large conurbation. Coventry was slower to develop, but by the early 20th century, it had become an important centre of bicycle and car manufacture.
1966 saw a substantial reform in the local government of the area as the patchwork of county boroughs with municipal boroughs and urban district councils in between was replaced by a core of county boroughs covering a contiguous area, roughly as follows:
- Birmingham, which remained substantially unaltered;
- Dudley, which absorbed all of Brierley Hill as well as most of Coseley and Sedgley, and part of Amblecote, Tipton and Rowley Regis;
- Solihull, which remained substantially unaltered;
- Walsall, which absorbed all of Darlaston and most of Willenhall, as well as parts of Wednesbury, Coseley, Wednesfield and Bilston;
- Warley, which was created by amalgamating the vast majority of Smethwick, Oldbury and Rowley Regis as well parts of Dudley, Tipton, West Bromwich and Halesowen;
- West Bromwich, which absorbed most of Wednesbury and Tipton, along with parts of Bilston, Oldbury, Smethwick and Walsall;
- Wolverhampton, which absorbed most of Bilston, Wednesfield and Tettenhall as well as parts of Sedgley, Coseley and Willenhall.
Around the periphery of this area, three other towns remained separate (Halesowen, Stourbridge and Sutton Coldfield), while Aldridge and Brownhills joined to form a single unit, called Aldridge-Brownhills. In the same year, a single West Midlands Constabulary was formed for the Black Country county boroughs, whilst Birmingham retained its Birmingham City Police and Solihull continued being policed by the Warwickshire Constabulary. The West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority was established in 1968.
In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 came into effect, creating the metropolitan county of West Midlands. This area was based on the seven county boroughs and the other non-county boroughs and urban districts around the fringe of the conurbation. The new area consisted of seven new metropolitan boroughs, with Aldridge-Brownhills added to Walsall; Halesowen and Stourbridge to Dudley and Sutton Coldfield to Birmingham. A new borough of Sandwell was formed by the merger of West Bromwich and Warley. The actual designation of Warley itself was abolished and the three towns of Smethwick, Oldbury and Rowley Regis reinstated as component parts of Sandwell, although these areas formed the Warley postal district. Solihull took in much of the suburban fringe to the east of Birmingham, including the former villages of Chelmsley Wood and Castle Bromwich, also Birmingham Airport, and the area of countryside between Solihull and Coventry, whilst Coventry itself received only small changes and Wolverhampton was unaltered. This led to (apart from in the east, with Coventry and the Meriden Gap) quite a tightly defined metropolitan border, excluding such places as Burntwood, Bromsgrove, Cannock, Kidderminster, Lichfield and Wombourne which had been considered for inclusion in the West Midlands metropolitan area by the Redcliffe-Maud Report. The 1974 reform created the West Midlands County Council that covered the entire area and dealt with strategic issues. A new West Midlands Police service was formed covering the entire area, with the West Midlands Constabulary and Birmingham City Police abolished, and also taking over responsibility from the county forces.
| post-1974 | pre-1974 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan county | Metropolitan borough | County boroughs | Non-county boroughs | Urban districts | Rural districts |
 |
Birmingham | Birmingham | Sutton Coldfield | - | - |
| Coventry | Coventry | - | - | Meriden | |
| Dudley | Dudley | Halesowen • Stourbridge • | - | - | |
| Sandwell | Warley • West Bromwich • | - | - | - | |
| Solihull | Solihull | - | - | Meriden • Stratford-on-Avon • | |
| Walsall | Walsall | - | Aldridge-Brownhills | ||
| Wolverhampton | Wolverhampton | - | - | - | |
Margaret Thatcher's government abolished the metropolitan county councils with the Local Government Act 1985, in March 1986, causing the seven metropolitan boroughs to become de facto unitary authorities with most of the county councils' functions given to the district councils.
Local government[link]
File:Westmidsarms.PNG
The arms of the West Midlands County Council, depicted here, became redundant with the abolition of the council in 1986 (though similar arms are used by the West Midlands Fire Service).
Metropolitan boroughs[link]
The West Midlands is divided into seven districts called metropolitan boroughs, these are: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton (see map). Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton have city status. Coventry is a city by ancient prescriptive usage;[7] Birmingham was granted city status in 1889;[8] and Wolverhampton in 2000 as a "Millennium City".[9]
Between 1974 and 1986, the county had a two-tier system of local government, and the seven districts shared power with the county council. However, when the county council was abolished in 1986, most of its functions were devolved to the districts which effectively became unitary authorities, with responsibility for most local authority functions.
County-wide services[link]
Although the County Council was abolished, some local services continue to be run on a county-wide basis, administered by joint-boards, of the seven districts. These are:
- The West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive; also known as Centro, which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating public transport across the county.
- The West Midlands Police, who are overseen by a joint Police authority.
- The West Midlands Fire Service, which is administered by a joint "Fire and Rescue Authority".
These joint-boards are made up of councillors appointed from each of the seven West Midlands district councils. In addition to this, the West Midlands Joint Committee exists as a joint body of the seven districts to co-ordinate matters such as roads and planning. The seven West Midlands councils jointly produce a county-wide Local Transport Plan.[10]
The boroughs jointly own a share in Birmingham International Airport, which used to be owned by the county council.
Boundary changes[link]
- 1 April 1994: The western/southern shores of Chasewater, plus the adjacent Jeffreys Swag, were transferred from the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall to the District of Lichfield, Staffordshire.[11]
- 1995: Part of the Hereford and Worcester parish of Frankley (including the south-west part of Bartley Reservoir) was transferred to Birmingham and became part of the county.
Places of interest[link]
| Key | |
 |
Abbey/Priory/Cathedral |
 |
Accessible open space |
 |
Amusement/Theme Park |
 |
Castle |
 |
Country Park |
 |
English Heritage |
 |
Forestry Commission |
 |
Heritage railway |
 |
Historic House |
 .svg){kind=icon} |
Museum (free/not free) |
 |
National Trust |
 |
Theatre |
 |
Zoo |
|
Education[link]
The West Midlands contains seven universities. Aston University, the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University are all located in Birmingham. Coventry University and the University of Warwick are located in Coventry whilst Wolverhampton University is located in Wolverhampton with campuses in Telford and Walsall. It had a campus in Dudley until 2002, when it was replaced by a new building in Wolverhampton city centre and the Dudley site became part of Dudley College.
The Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies and Newman College, both in Birmingham, received university college status in 2008 and 2007, respectively. The colleges changed their names as a result and both pledged to become Birmingham's fourth university. University College Birmingham, formerly Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies, purchased a 2-acre (8,100 m2) site in the Jewellery Quarter area of Birmingham to expand its student capacity from 3,500 to 4,000 which would make it eligible for University status.[12]
Each of the local authorities has at least one further education college for students aged over 16, and since September 1992 all of the local authorities have operated traditional 5-7 infant, 7-11 junior, and 11-16/18 secondary schools for students in compulsory education. This followed the demise of 5-8 first, 8-12 middle and 12-16/18 secondary schools in the Sutton Coldfield area.[13]
For 18 years before September 1990, Dudley had operated 5-8 first, 8-12 middle, and 12-16/18 secondary schools before then, while Halesowen (September 1972 until July 1982) and Aldridge-Brownhills (September 1972 until July 1986) had both operated 5-9 first, 9-13 middle and 13-16/18 secondary schools.
Many local authorities still have sixth form facilities in secondary schools, though sixth form facilities had been axed by most secondary schools in Dudley since the early 1990s (and in Halesowen in 1982) as the local authorities changed direction towards further education colleges.
All secondary state education in Dudley and Sandwell is mixed comprehensive, although there are a small number of single sex and grammar schools existing in parts of Birmingham, Solihull, Wolverhampton and Walsall.
In August 2009, Matthew Boulton College and Sutton Coldfield College merged to become Birmingham Metropolitan College, one of the largest further and higher education institutions in the country. Plans are afoot for the construction of a new campus in the Perry Barr area of Birmingham.
Sport[link]
Football[link]
The West Midlands is home to numerous sports teams. In football, there are six Premier League and Football League teams in the county of which three, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers, play in the Barclays Premier League. Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Coventry City, Walsall, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers are often referred to as the West Midlands "Big Six".
| Club | League | City/town | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa FC | Barclays Premier League | Birmingham | Villa Park | 42,788 |
| West Bromwich Albion FC | Barclays Premier League | West Bromwich | The Hawthorns | 26,500 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | Barclays Premier League | Wolverhampton | The Molineux | 28,525 |
| Birmingham City FC | NPower Championship | Birmingham | St Andrew's | 30,079 |
| Coventry City FC | NPower Championship | Coventry | Ricoh Arena | 32,609 |
| Walsall FC | NPower League 1 | Walsall | Bescot Stadium | 11,300 |
Other sports[link]
The West Midlands is also home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, who are based at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, which also hosts Test matches and One Day Internationals. The Birmingham Panthers basketball team replaced the Birmingham Bullets and are currently based at a facility provided by the University of Wolverhampton in Walsall. In rugby union, the West Midlands is home to Moseley Rugby Football Club, Birmingham & Solihull RFC, Dudley Kingswinford RFC, Stourbridge RFC, Walsall RFC and Coventry RFC.
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ Office of National Statistics - Gazetteer of the old and new geographies of the United Kingdom, p48. URL accessed 10 March 2007.
- ^ Metropolitan Counties and Districts, Beginners' Guide to UK Geography, Office for National Statistics, 17 September 2004. URL accessed 10 March 2007.
- ^ West Midlands Counties, The Boundary Commission for England. URL accessed 10 March 2007.
- ^ "SSSIs in the West Midlands". Natural England. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/sssi/searchresults.cfm?sssi_name=&frmcounty=1043. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ Introduction To Sutton Park Birmingham City Council
- ^ John S. Rowan; R. W. Duck, A. Werritty (2006). Sediment Dynamics and the Hydromorphology of Fluvial Systems. IAHS. pp. 98. ISBN 1-901502-68-6.
- ^ Home Office List of English Cities by Ancient Prescriptive Right, 1927, cited in Beckett, J V (2005). City status in the British Isles, 1830–2002. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 12. ISBN 0-7546-5067-7.
- ^ "History of Mayoralty". Birmingham.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-05-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20080510232357/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/mayors. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
- ^ "City winners named". BBC News. 2000-12-18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1074434.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
- ^ "What is the LTP?". West Midlands Local Transport Plan. http://www.westmidlandsltp.gov.uk/default.php?id=249. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
- ^ "The Hereford and Worcester, Staffordshire and West Midlands (County and Metropolitan Borough Boundaries) Order 1993". Office of Public Sector Information. 2000-09-20. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1993/Uksi_19930492_en_1.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ Shahid Naqvi (2008-01-08). "The race for Birmingham's fourth university". Birmingham Post. http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/news/tm_method=full%26objectid=20325005%26siteid=50002-name_page.html. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ [1]
External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: West Midlands |
- Photographs of Birmingham and the West Midlands
- Identity in the West Midlands
- West Midlands Joint Committee
- West Midlands (county) at the Open Directory Project
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates: 52°28′58″N 1°53′37″W / 52.48278°N 1.89361°W / 52.48278; -1.89361
http://wn.com/West_Midlands_(county)
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/West Midlands (contea)
http://cs.wn.com/West Midlands (hrabství)
http://id.wn.com/West Midlands
http://es.wn.com/Midlands Occidentales
http://ru.wn.com/Уэст-Мидлендс (графство)
http://pl.wn.com/West Midlands (hrabstwo)
http://fr.wn.com/Midlands de l'Ouest (comté)
http://de.wn.com/West Midlands (Metropolitan County)
http://hi.wn.com/वेस्ट मिडलैंड्स (काउंटी)
http://pt.wn.com/Midlands Ocidentais (condado)
http://nl.wn.com/West Midlands (graafschap)
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Midlands_(county)
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Sak Noel | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Isaac Mahmood Noell |
| Also known as | Sak Noel |
| Born | (1983-04-12) 12 April 1983 (age 29) La Cellera de Ter, Gerona, Spain |
| Genres | House music, dubstep, techno, electro |
| Occupations | Disc jockey, music producer |
| Years active | 2011-present |
| Labels | Moguda |
| Website | www.saknoel.com |
Sak Noel (born Isaac Mahmood Noell) is a Spanish DJ, music producer, songwriter and music video director. He was also founder and co-owner of Moguda, the Catalan nightlife community. Now, Moguda is non-operational. Since late 2011 he is the owner of Noel Music.
Contents |
Musical career[link]
Sak Noel, born 12 April 1983 in La Cellera de Ter, started in music as a teenager, influenced by the electronic music. Through his own company Moguda he cooperated with Mak & Sak and Xana making electronic music sung in Catalan language. He is best known for "Loca People", which was a big hit on European & American charts. A following up single called Paso (The Nini Anthem) premiered on November 15, 2011. Paso (The Nini Anthem) is the second part of the Crazy Society Trilogy."Paso"was also a hit single throughout Europe.
Discography[link]
|
|
|
References[link]
External links[link]
- Sak Noel official website
- Sak Noel on Twitter
- Sak Noel on Facebook
- Moguda website
- Moguda Dance Festival website
- Sak Noel discography at Discogs
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Noel, Sak |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1983 |
| Place of birth | La Cellera de Ter, Girona, Spain |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Sak_Noel
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Ноэль, Сак
http://fr.wn.com/Sak Noel
http://nl.wn.com/Sak Noel
http://pt.wn.com/Sak Noel
http://de.wn.com/Sak Noel
http://it.wn.com/Sak Noel
http://cs.wn.com/Sak Noel
http://es.wn.com/Sak Noel
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sak_Noel
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is about the animal. For the Czech order, see Order of the White Lion. For the band, see White Lion. For lion hill figure, see Whipsnade Zoo.
The white lion is occasionally found in wildlife reserves in South Africa and is a rare colour mutation of the Kruger subspecies of lion (Panthera leo krugeri). It has been perpetuated by selective breeding in zoos around the world. White lions are not yet a separate subspecies and they have been said to be indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest recorded sighting in this region was 1938. Regarded as divine by locals,[1] white lions first came to public attention in the 1970s in Chris McBride's book The White Lions of Timbavati. Up until 2009, when the first pride of white lions was reintroduced to the wild, it was widely believed that the white lion could not survive in the wild. It is for this reason that, now, a large part of the population of white lions are in zoos. Another large part, however, are bred in camps, for canned hunting trophies.
It is hard to determine exactly how many white lions there are today, because they are held in captive breeding and hunting operations which don't keep adequate records. Based on available evidence, The Global White Lion Protection Trust estimate there are 500 White Lions world-wide.[2]
White lions are not albinos. Their white colour is caused by a recessive gene known as the chutiya or color inhibitor gene, distinct from the albinism gene. They vary from blonde through near-white. This coloration, however, does not appear to disadvantage their survival. The white lions of the Global White Lion Protection Trust (GWLPT) have been reintroduced into their natural habitat and have been hunting and breeding successfully without human intervention for a significant amount of time. White lions in South Africa are currently being bred almost exclusively for hunting, but Linda Tucker (the founder of GWLP] and author of The Mystery of the White Lions) and her team are trying to change the South African hunting laws.[clarification needed]
Contents |
Breeding white lions[link]
The chinchilla mutation, a recessive gene, gives white lions their unusual colors. A similar gene also produces white tigers. White lions can therefore be selectively bred for zoos, animal shows and wildlife park. Such breeding involves inbreeding of close relatives and can result in inbreeding depression (genetic defects, reduced fertility, and physical defects) although this has not yet been recorded in white lions in zoos as it has been in white tigers. According to Tucker, white lions in canned hunt camps have been found to have hind-limb paralysis and serious heart defects, indicating a severe level of inbreeding involved in mass-production although they are rare in the wild. People are concerned about the White Lions mating with other lions of other alleles, because of possible extinction of the white lion. However, this is not valid as the offspring will inherit the white gene and therefore make it possible to produce white offspring in a later generation. Some critics maintain that white lions should not be introduced in to the wild because of the inbreeding that has taken place over zoos and breeding camps. However, ethical reintroduction programs such as The Global White Lion Protection Trust have ensured through the use of scientific methodologies that the lions in their program are not inbred.
Kruger and Umfolozi white lions[link]
In 1979, three litters containing white lions were recorded in Kruger National Park. In March, a female lion with three white cubs was observed near Tshokwane. In September, three white cubs (from two different lionesses) were seen. Another litter of white female cubs was captured from Kruger National Park and treated for sarcoptic mange. A white lion was observed in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve in Zululand.
White lions of unknown ancestry[link]
- A white lion breeding program is currently underway at Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve in South Africa's Eastern Cape province.
- Four white lion cubs were born at the Papanack Park Zoo outside Ottawa, but did not resub-adults have since been released into the main reserve with the other tawny lions. Queen has since given birth to a further 3 white lion cubs. Continuous monitoring by the Wildlife Department at Sanbona has ensured their white lions are still wild, well, and free.
Jurques Zoo in France[link]
In May 2007 four white lion cubs were born at Jurques Zoo in France. The cubs consisted of one male and three females. Each cub weighed approximately 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) at birth, and all four were in good health. However, they needed to be hand fed because their mother was not taking proper care of them.
Belgrade Zoo in Serbia[link]
Belgrade zoo in Serbia has 12 white lions. In 2010 four were born by two female lions, each of weight about 1.5kg (3.3 pounds).[3] Four new white lions were born in April 2011.[4] The zoo was awarded in 2009 for its professional care for animals.
West Midland Safari Park[link]
In 2004 West Midland Safari Park had 4 white lions arrive at the park the only white lions in the UK and they settled into the Kingdom of the White Lion exhibit at the park very well, 4 years later one lioness had 4 cubs in the space of 9 hours, Doubling the total of the 4 to 8 in the UK. The pride at the Park in Worcestershire are they only pride of white lion in the UK and are breeding very well.
Genetics[link]
White lions are not albinos but are leucistic. They have pigment visible in the eyes (which may be the normal hazel or golden color, blue-gray, or green-gray), paw pads and lips. Blue-eyed white lions exist and may be selectively bred. The leucistic trait is due to the chinchilla mutation that inhibits the deposition of pigment along the hair shaft, restricting it to the tips. The less pigment there is along the hair shaft, the paler the lion. As a result "white" lions range from blonde through to near white. The males have pale manes and tail tips instead of the usual dark tawny or black. The Latin name of Panthera leo krugeri is not limited to white lions. It applies to all South African lion subspecies; the prides of which are mostly located in Kruger National Park and nearby game reserves.
White specimens usually have a yellowish-brown or golden eye color which is very similar to their tawny cousins, though some have bluish coloring like the white tiger.
Belgrade Zoo has become known as a center of natural reproduction of white lions. The first specimen arrived in 2005 and Belgrade became the first zoo in Europe to have the rare animals.[citation needed]
Six years later, the "Garden of Good Hope," boasts that in his area currently has ten white lions.[citation needed]
In the wild within their natural endemic range[link]
In 2003, the Global White Lion Protection Trust (WLT) initiated the first ever reintroduction of white lions to their natural endemic range - the Greater Timbavati region in South Africa. Preliminary results have shown that the hunting success of the white lion pride was comparable to or higher than the wild prides ('normal' coloured / tawny) of the Timbavati itself (Turner 2005, Turner in prep.). This pride of "all" white lions has shattered the misperception that white lions cannot hunt successfully (within their natural endemic habitat) due to a perceived lack of camouflage. The long-term objective of the WLT is to restore the natural balance by reintroducing an integrated pride/s of white and tawny lions within their endemic range. White lions are a unique contribution to the biodiversity of the region and are revered by the local communities that hold them sacred.[5]
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ Limpopo celebrates white lion News24, 24 September 2009
- ^ Breaking News: First White Lions born to the project in their natural habitat, Global White Lion Protection Trust
- ^ Принове у београдском Зоо врту PTC, 14 August 2010
- ^ Bela lavica Maša omacila četiri prinove Blic Online, 21 April 2011
- ^ Tucker, Linda "Mystery of the White Lions - Children of the Sun God" 2003 Npenvu Press. ISBN 0-620-31409-5
- McBride, Chris "The White Lions of Timbavati" 1977 E. Stanton. ISBN 0-949997-32-3
- McBride, Chris "Operation White Lion" 1981 St Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-58680-9
- Sanbona Wildlife Reserve
- Mutant Big Cats - Lions (with genealogy charts)
External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: White lions |
http://wn.com/White_lion
Related pages:
http://fr.wn.com/Lion blanc
http://pt.wn.com/Leão branco
http://it.wn.com/Leone bianco
http://es.wn.com/León blanco
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_lion
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
More Videos
