Acton Trussell is named after the Trussell family and there is a record of a Sir John Trussel of Acton on 24th December 1342. Acton is derived from Ac meaning Oak and Ton a fort or inhabited place is normally understood to mean "the place of an oak".
Acton Trussell is a small village on the canal, with a Village shop and Post Office and an active community centre which hosts a number of activities including aerobics, indoor bowls, mother and baby group and play group.
Bilbrook is a large village five miles to the North West of the City Of Wolverhampton. Although there has been quite a lot of development over the last decade, Bilbrook retains most of its rural character and is surrounded by the beautiful countryside of Staffordshire.
Prior to the 1850s Bilbrook was a small farming village. Then, in the 1850s the Railway came, joining Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury. At first the railway stopped only at Codsall. Birches Bridge and Bilbrook gained a halt in 1934 and the area really started to develop.
The major development of Bilbrook occurred in the 1930s. The Post Office was built in the early 1930s, along with the Chemist, and then the village exploded following the arrival of the Boulton & Paul aircraft works from Ipswich in 1936. The village was flooded with Norwich workers whose arrival lead to the building of a large housing estate.
Bilbrook has a wide range of local shops and schools, a pub, a restaurant and there are clubs in the village and church halls.
Blymhill is a small and scattered village, six miles from Brewood and Weston-under-Lizard is a small village bounded on the south and west by Shropshire.
Weston-under-Lizard is probably most famous for Weston Hall, an ancient mansion and extensive park, near the church and the Roman Watling Street. Weston Hall is the ancestral seat of the Earls of Bradford.
Bobbington is a small village close to the Shropshire border. Bobbington is quite an ancient settlement, at the time of the Norman conquest, the settlement was owned by the Saxon, Wivar but the Domesday Book records that it had passed to Wivar, who held it from the Norman overlord, Robert of Stafford. Not that Bobbington was a major metropolis - only a few people lived here and only six ploughs worked the landscape.
Halfpenny Green airport is nearby. This airfield was constructed at the outbreak of World War 2. It was decommissioned in 1953 but in 1961 was reopened as a private airfield. It was recently renamed to become Wolverhampton Business Airport.
Brewood is a very attractive village with a wealth of historic buildings clustered around the old Market Place. Many are timber framed and display a variety of building techniques and styles. Even the later 17th and 18th century houses with grand facades are, in many cases, based around older timber framed cottages. Today the village is a popular place to live, proud of its heritage and attractive to visitors, particularly tourists cruising along the Shropshire Union Canal.
Coven is also a picturesque village. At the heart of the village are the Methodist Chapel and St. Paul's Church with its renowned nave and bell-turret dating from 1857. Coven is self-contained with a local chemist, post office, butcher, green grocer, baker and newsagent.
There are good bus links from both Brewood and Coven to Wolverhampton and Stafford, with good links to Telford and Birmingham via the motorways.
Years ago this village was at the centre of the mining industry with many small pits scattered around. The area still provides coal and clay for the brick and tile making industry.
The 1950's and 60's saw a rapid growth in the village and this has continued with large new housing estates being built. New industry is being attracted to the area to the South Staffs Business Park and the Landywood New Enterprise Park.
Codsall village originally grew around the church. Then, in the 1850s the Railway came, joining Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury and the area really started to develop. Industrialists moved into the area and built large houses and villas. The population rose steadily and in the 1950slarge housing estates were built and the village grew rapidly.
Codsall is now the administrative centre of the district with the District Council operating from offices near the centre. The village offers its residents all of the services associated with today's lifestyle, including good local schools and three shopping centres at Codsall, Birches Bridge and Bilbrook. A range of leisure facilities are available at Codsall Leisure Centre and combined with a wide range of housing, this makes Codsall a popular place to live.
Shown in Domesday as the king's manor of Dunestone, and later recorded as Doneston (1242), Dunston is built around St. Leonard's church. The original Saxon would have been 'Dunn's tun (farmstead)', little different from today's form.
This ancient rural village is midway between the towns of Bridgnorth and Stourbridge. The village name has had a variety of spellings such as Envil, Enfield, Enfeild, Enfelt and Enfeld. The meaning could be an Even (Level) Field a Village within a Clearing or a Clearing within a Wood. At the end of the Eighteenth Century and without explanation the Lord of the Manor The Fifth Earl of Stamford changed the spelling to Enville.
The Earls of Stamford lived in Enville Hall which is still owned and lived in by the family though the title is extinct. The family name was Grey, best known perhaps through Lady Jane Grey who was Queen of England for ten days in 1553 before being beheaded by her successor Mary Tudor.
St. Mary's Church is of Saxon origin, rebuilt by the Normans and the Victorians. It underwent major repair and restoration to its fabric just a few years ago.
The Parish has just short of 400 people on its electoral role almost exactly half the number that were living in the Parish during the 1831 census - perhaps two thirds live in the village but the boundary is difficult to define. In the centre of the village is one pub, a village shop, a Post Office and Stores and an Antique Shop.
Enville is surrounded by beautiful scenery. There are two large commons, Enville Common, which is flanked by a forest of Scotch firs, and Highgate Common, of about 800 acres.
Essington is a former mining village, albeit one that has changed over the years. Separated from Wolverhampton by a narrow belt of jealously guarded Green Belt, its attractiveness as a place to live has been enhanced by recent housing developments.
Featherstone was built by the "Holly Bank Colliery Company" in 1924 to house the miners who had travelled from the north of England to work at Hilton main colliery. It also had its own brickyard on the same site. The houses at that time were built by Cannock Rural District Council and private companies. When the mine closed in 1969, there was widespread unemployment. Things picked up in the 1980s when a large private housing estate was built.
There is a lot of history in Featherstone with Moseley Old Hall, where King Charles hid from Oliver Cromwell's troops. Workers from the munitions factories in World War II were housed in the area and the air raid shelters still exist today. The loss of the winding wheels at the pit head in 1969 was the start of the end of the coalfields of Staffordshire.
Featherstone is on the bus route between Wolverhampton and Cannock and thanks to its unique position, residents enjoy access to the West Midlands conurbation and the countryside of Cannock Chase, Shropshire and mid-Wales.
The village services include a post office, hairdressers, chemist, beauty salon, health centre, fish and chip shop, mini supermarket, grocers, off licence, community centre and pub.
Years ago this village was at the centre of the mining industry, with many small pits scattered around. The area still provides clay for the brick and tile industry.
The 1950's and 60's saw a rapid growth and this has continued with many new housing developments being built within the parish. New industry is being attracted to the area to the South Staffs Business Park and Landywood New Enterprise Park.
Hatherton is a small hamlet close to Cannock and easily accessible from the M6 and A5. It is situated close to the historic Hatherton Hall, the canal, marina and reservoir at Calf Heath and Cannock Chase.
Hilton was the site of the Holly Bank mine, which was started in 1922. It was the first colliery in South Staffordshire to be run solely on electricity - marking a new era in local mining. The huge power station was said to be without equal in the Midlands coalfields and its electrical equipment was described as "the latest word."
In 1924 the Hilton Main Colliery was opened and the two were linked together but production at Holly Bank declined due to geological faults and production ceased in 1952. Hilton Main closed in 1969.
Himley is a pleasant village and parish, five miles from Wolverhampton. Although Himley lies at the edge of the West Midland commuter belt, it retains a village community life.
Dramatic increases in road traffic during the 60's and 70's began to threaten the life of the village but a by-pass completed in the 1980's, that extended the Himley Road around the village to rejoin the Bridgnorth Road near to Wombourne, restored the rural charm.
The village includes the Himley Country Club, two very popular public houses/restaurants and its grand object of attraction is Himley Hall and Park.
The magnificent hall is situated in a beautiful park, which is popular for weddings. The hall has gardens by 'Capability Brown' and the park is well stocked with deer, has a sailing lake and a model railway.
The beautiful and extensive wood called Baggeridge, adjoins the park, and is well stocked with pheasant.
Huntington consists of approximately 1,303 acres situated on both sides of the A34 trunk road between Cemetery Road in the south and Pottal Pool in the north. This is made up of 4 main housing estates with a mix of private and various housing associations.
The Littleton Colliery had its first shaft sunk in 1877 by the Cannock and Huntington Colliery Company, but ran into serious problems with water and was abandoned for sixteen years, collapsing in about 1881. In 1897 Lord Hatherton reopened the site and sunk a new shaft, this colliery was worked until the mid 90's and by 1954 was the largest in the Cannock coalfield. The present industry is all light industry and has its centre in Cocksparrow Lane.
The village has a thriving community centre, a youth club, one pub, a members club and two restaurants. A health facility is actively being sought for the future. There is an active WI group held in the community centre. The nearest libraries are at Cannock or the weekly mobile.
There are 3 shops in the village, one being the post office. There are moves within the parish to modernise the recreation ground. The other notable area is the Huntington Leisure Park this is the large conical mound which is in Cocksparrow Lane and can be walked all the way to the top by way of a well laid path the view from the top which is 300 ft above ground is very good in all directions.
The southernmost village in South Staffordshire, Kinver occupies an enviable position in the valley of the River Stour, nestling beneath the rocky outcrop of Kinver Edge. The Edge is owned by the National Trust and contains the Rock Houses, dwellings formed within the sandstone caves and occupied until the early 1960's.
Kinver village and the Edge have always been popular with visitors from the Black Country and further afield and in the holiday season, many boaters from the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal stroll along the High Street for its shops.
Kinver's attractions are complemented by many pubs and restaurants serving real ale and good food, and the annual carnival is a colourful event.
Wheaton Aston is the largest village in this parish, situated near the canal and five miles from Penkridge. Wheaton Aston has grown over the past few years and is now a popular place to live for people working in Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Telford. Wheaton Aston has a range of facilities including a garage, newsagents, post office, supermarket, fruit and veg shop, hairdressers, dentist and two public houses.
Lower Penn is a small village in South Staffordshire, situated to the west of Wolverhampton, and adjoining the county boundary line with the West Midlands. To the south-west of it are its neighbouring villages of Trysull and Seisdon and to the south-east, Wombourne.
Pattingham is a semi-rural village set in the South Staffordshire countryside, seven miles from Wolverhampton and 10 miles from Bridgnorth.
Though the dormitory housing estates have filled out the village they have not hugely altered the centre of the village, the outlook is still of fields and woods towards the Wrekin Hills and farming still dominates the landscape.
There is a row of shops including Post Office, ironmongers and hairdressers. The village hall holds painting classes, keep fit and a senior citizens' club and there is a working man's club in the village centre. There are local playing fields including tennis courts, football pitch and childrens play area with fishing, golf and leisure centre facilities nearby at Patshull Park.
A children's fun day, village fete and dog show is held each year in the summer and a flower and vegetable show with a barbecue in the autumn. The drama society present several productions each year in the village hall and visiting bands put on concerts in the village hall and church.
Penkridge is the largest village in the north of the district and is an important market town resulting from a Charter issued by Henry III in 1244. On Mondays, farmers from the local area buy and sell livestock , and the open air retail markets held on Wednesdays and Saturdays are very popular.
Penkridge boasts many fine historic buildings, including the magnificent St Michael and All Angels Church, and many of the buildings around the village centre are listed as Buildings of Special Architectural or Historical Interest. The village has grown rapidly in the last 30 years, initially from the estates built to accommodate overspill agreements with Wolverhampton and more recently, with large private housing developments.
The parish of Perton has a long history with parts mentioned in the Domesday Book. Today, however, Perton is synonymous with the new village built on an old airfield which was last used in 1947. The land was owned by the Mander family who sold parcels of the land to various builders for development. Building began in 1974 and was completed in 1989.
Over 4,000 houses have been built here and the village has its own shops, 2 pubs, a library and a community centre. The shopping mall in the centre provides for local needs and the large Sainsburys draws people from a wide area.
It has a very pleasant semi-rural environment with myriads of trees and shrubs, open spaces, two beautiful man-made lakes and a recently created woodland walk.
There are good bus links to Wolverhampton.
Great and Little Saredon are two hamlets, forming one village, the former seven and a quarter and the latter six and a half miles from Wolverhampton, near the Cannock branch of the River Penk.
The parish of Trysull and Seisdon consists of two country villages situated approximately six miles to the south-west of Wolverhampton. These villages have not been greatly affected by over modern development and still retain a lot of the old country cottages, house, manor houses and halls.
Shareshill is a small village, six miles north east of Wolverhampton, close to the M6. The village has a primary school and The Elms pub and popular car boot sales.
The name of Swindon is derived from Swine-don which means Pig Hill. Located in the Smestow Valley and surrounded by farmland. Until the 1970's there was an ironworks which produced wrought iron, tin plated and lead plated sheets, and also electrical quality sheets. Only the canteen remains and this is now used as the community centre for the village.
The Staffordshire and Worcester canal passes through Swindon and there are three pubs, a few local shops and close links to the amenities of Wombourne and Wall Heath.
Wombourne is the largest village in South Staffordshire and at its centre, the village green is still used as a cricket pitch providing a focal point for the shops and fine parish church.
Although largely a commuter village, Wombourne has its own industries providing valuable local employment. Opportunities include the Wombourne Enterprise Park where there are 50 thriving workshop units.
Housing has developed rapidly since the 1950's and Wombourne remains a much sought after village, with good schools and a well-equipped leisure centre.
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South Staffordshire Housing Association Ltd. Part of Housing Plus. Our Registered Office is: Acton Court, Acton Gate, Staffordshire ST18 9AP. We are registered in England and Wales as a Charitable Industrial and Provident Society (28312R) and registered with the Homes and Communities Agency and Tenant Services Authority: LH4121. VAT Number: 918 3969 77
