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.[1][2][3] The parish council is a joint one with Streethay.[4] 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'.
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[edit] Village amenities
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.
The Coventry Canal runs through the village and merges with the Trent and Mersey Canal at nearby Fradley Junction. Several bridges cross the Coventry Canal in Fradley, including Bell Bridge which carries the A38.
Fradley has a small Post Office/newsagent located in Church Lane and there are several retail units at the Stirling Centre near Fradley South - including two take-away restaurants, a Co-operative Food convenience store, a cafe and a salon. The Fradley Arms Hotel is located adjacent to the northbound carriageway of the A38, next door to the Premier Inn Lichfield and a new public house is planned for a site near Fradley Park.
[edit] Fradley Aerodrome/RAF Lichfield
Construction on the Fradley Aerodrome (known as RAF Lichfield) started in 1939 and in August 1940 the Royal Air Force moved in, along with Hawker Hurricane, Airspeed Oxford and Avro Anson aircraft. Spitfire arrived in 1941 and Vickers Wellington aircraft followed in 1942. Alongside RAF personnel training in the Wellingtons, there were a large number of Australians and some Canadians and Czechs. The RAF left in 1958 and the whole site was sold by the Air Ministry in 1962.
St. Stephen's Church is home to the war graves of a number of Australian aircrew and one German Luftwaffe pilot who lost their lives during World War II. In 2000 a memorial to all who served at RAF Lichfield was constructed in Fradley.
[edit] Fradley Park
In 1998 major redevelopment started on the former airfield, with the construction of factories, warehouses and 750 new houses. Today Fradley Park, a 300-acre warehousing and distribution development, covers most of the former airfield. Tenants of Fradley Park include Tesco, Faurecia, Hellman Worldwide Logistics, NTN Bearings (UK), Caterpillar Logistics, Swish UK and Zytek.
[edit] Fradley Junction
Fradley was first mentioned in 1768 when the Engineer James Brindley won the contract to build the canal from Coventry, to link with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Fradley. It was not until 1783 that this canal was completed, meeting the Trent and Mersey at Fradley Junction.
[edit] References
- ^ "Names and codes for Administrative Geography". Office for National Statistics. 31 December 2008. http://www.ons.gov.uk/about-statistics/geography/products/geog-products-area/names-codes/administrative/index.html. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
- ^ "Closure of AaFwS Parish Council web pages". 2009. http://www.afspc.info/. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
- ^ "Review of Parish Council Wards and Boundaries". 2005. http://www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/downloads/item_4.pdf. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
- ^ "Parish clerk contact details". Lichfield District Council. 2009. http://www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=540. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
- "The Fradley Village Website used across the village community", 2009, Retrieved 27 September 2009
[edit] External links
Due to the new split of the councils of Alrewas and Fradley the village website and forum was taken down by the council. This has been replaced by a new site that contains much more detail of current events in the village, and is used by community groups.
[edit] External links
Media related to Fradley at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 52°43′12″N 1°45′47″W / 52.720°N 1.763°W
