Aldridge

Template:GBthumb Aldridge is a town in the West Midlands, England, in the borough of Walsall, although historically it was part of the county of Staffordshire.

In 1981, it had a population of 26,500.

Aldridge used to be an industrial town with coal mines and lime kilns. After the Second World War it became a dormitory town or suburb of Birmingham.

In 2004, Aldridge's MP was Richard Shepherd (Conservative), the MP for Aldridge-Brownhills.

Aldridge became an urban district in Staffordshire in 1894. Other villages within the district included Pelsall, Walsall Wood, Clayhanger and Streetly. This merged with Brownhills in 1966 to form Aldridge-Brownhills, and then became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in 1974.

Education

Aldridge has a number of primary and secondary schools. The primary schools are Cooper and Jordan (CE), Leighswood, St Mary of the Angels (Catholic) and Whetstone Field. The secondary schools are Aldridge School (a science college) and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Technology College.

Industry and commerce

Aldridge has a large number of factories, mostly located on the Redhouse industrial estate, but also heading up towards Walsall Wood in an area known as 'Northgate'. Factories include the large Ibstock brick works, Harold Bird Golf and the GKN Driveshafts factory.

Aldridge has a small central shopping area (called 'The Parade') that contains most of the shops in the town. Well-known shops here include WH Smiths, Iceland supermarket, and Boots The Chemist. There are also a number of independent shops and a large Morrisons supermarket just outside the town centre. The Home Bargains chain owned by TJ Morris Ltd. have recently opened a store in Aldridge. There are many take-aways in Aldridge including two Chinese Take-aways, two Indian take-aways, a Greek take-away and two fish and chip shops.

Transport

Aldridge is served by a good local bus service. Buses to Walsall are very frequent, namely the 366, 367, 368, 355, and there are half hourly buses to Sutton Coldfield [the 366] - which used to run all the way from Walsall, via Aldridge and Sutton Coldfield to Birmingham Airport. There are also two buses that run in to Birmingham City Centre from Aldridge: the 56, 56A and the 997.

In recent times, there has been talk of re-opening the railway that runs through Aldridge as a passenger line. In the late 1990s/early 2000s, plans were drawn up for a modern station to be built on the site of the old one, which closed in 1966. The site of the old station lies behind the new doctor's surgery, at the bottom of Portland Road - part of the platform can still be seen. Should the station be re-opened, it has potential to become a park & ride station and could offer services to Birmingham via Sutton Coldfield, or the short journey in to Walsall. Despite the plans that have been drawn up, nothing has happened yet. This is mainly down to a congestion of freight trains and the line's reliablity of diverting them away from the Birmingham Main line and there is currently no other route to reduce or remove freight traffic to, however there is plans to use the closed South Staffordshire railway as a single track freight line and would be a quicker route from Stourbridge to Bescot thus clearing the way to introduce passenger services to Aldridge.

Sports, recreation and entertainment

Aldridge has a cricket club, located up the green behind St Mary's Church and the Masonic Hall.

There are many pubs in the area around Aldridge.

There is also the Aldridge Youth Theatre which is located on Noddy Park Road by the Croft. It is run by a group of volunteers and puts on a variety of plays throughout the year. Usually, a Christmas pantomime is staged in December.

Air Cadets: 425 (Aldridge) Squadron of the Air Training Corps is located near to the town center. This offers a range of activities for boys and girls between the ages of thirteen and nineteen including flying, gliding, shooting, radio communications, Duke of Edinburgh award schemes, plastic modeling, sport, fieldcraft etc. for a small weekly subscription. Details are available at http://www.425atc.co.uk

The squadron is affiliated with 425 Tactical Fighter Sqn (Alouette Squadron)Canadian Armed Forces based at Bagotville in Quebec and the "Alouette" or skylark is taken from their crest

Famous People

Charles George Bonner VC, DSC (29 December 1884-7 February 1951), born in Aldridge, was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Richard Sinnott - Actor Richard Sinnott attended Leighswood School, then Aldridge Comprehensive. He has appered in Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Where the heart is & Life on Mars. He is the older Brother of Lee Sinnott

Lee Sinnott - Footballer (born July 12, 1965 in Aldridge, Walsall, England) is an English ex-professional footballer and is currently the manager of Farsley Celtic, whom he has led to promotion three times in four years. He began his career at Walsall as an apprentice, before joining Watford in 1983. The next year he played in the FA Cup Final against Everton at Wembley Stadium. He played for other clubs in England such as Bradford City (on 3 separate occasions), Huddersfield Town, whom he led as Captain to Play-Off victory in the 1995 season and Crystal Palace.

His brother is the actor, writer and director Richard Sinnott

External links

52°36′00″N 01°55′00″W / 52.60000°N 1.91667°W / 52.60000; -1.91667