- published: 14 Apr 2016
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Coordinates: 52°36′22″N 1°55′04″W / 52.606°N 1.91787°W / 52.606; -1.91787
Aldridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England. Historically it was part of the county of Staffordshire, but in 1974 it was incorporated into the Walsall borough as well as the West Midlands county.
Aldridge was recorded as a settlement in the Domesday Book of 1086, though the now much larger settlement of Walsall was not. It was valued at 15 shillings under the name of "Alrewic", which may have originated from an abundance of Alder trees in the area.
Aldridge began as a small agricultural settlement, with farming being the most common occupation up until the 19th century.
In the 1800s, Aldridge became an industrial town with coal mines and lime kilns. The coal and clay in the area prompted many to set up collieries and brickworks. Aldridge clay is especially useful in the manufacture of blue bricks. The 1881 census shows that the mines and brick works were major employers. Because the coal and clay beneath the eastern side of Aldridge (towards Stonnall) is located much deeper under the surface, extraction of this coal and clay would not have been economically viable. As a result farms continued to dominate the eastern part, though a sand quarry was set up and still remains on Birch Lane.
John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958 Liverpool, England) is a former Republic of Ireland international footballer and football manager. He was a prolific record-breaking striker best known for his productive time with Liverpool in the late 1980s, and for being the first man to have a penalty kick saved in a Wembley FA Cup Final.
Although a significant period of his career was spent in the English non-league and in Spain, his tally of 330 league goals still makes him the 6th top goalscorer in the history of English league football.
Aldridge took a long time to reach the top of the game. He began his career in the mid-1970s at non-league South Liverpool, before getting his break in the professional game when, aged 20, he signed for Newport County on 2 May 1979 for £3,500.
When at Somerton Park, "Aldo", as he came to be known, played 198 times scoring 87 goals, a goal every 2¼ games, including a respectable 7 goals in just 12 FA Cup matches. He partnered Tommy Tynan and Dave Gwyther for four years at Somerton Park, helping Newport to promotion from the Fourth Division and into the European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals.