Hagley Historical and Field Society

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Decorations on Hagley station building. For the description of the visit see The Queen Visits Hagley in the 'Local History' section of this website.

Decorations on Hagley station platform and bridge. For the description of the visit see The Queen Visits Hagley in the 'Local History' section of this website.

Crowds waiting in Station Road to see the Royal couple pass by. For the description of the visit see The Queen Visits Hagley in the 'Local History' section of this website.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip being driven through Hagley. For the description of the visit see The Queen Visits Hagley in the 'Local History' section of this website

Crowds in Station Road Hagley after the Royal procession has passed by. For the description of the visit see The Queen Visits Hagley in the 'Local History' section of this website.

This photograph was taken on 15th July 1961 and shows 5095 Banbury Castle on a stopping train from Wolverhampton to Worcester. The signal box was opened, with others of similar design between Kidderminster and Rowley Regis, in 1887/8. The tiny goods yard on the left is seen with a solitary coal wagon, loading gauge, cattle dock and typical GWR pagoda roof corrugated iron hut: the prosaically titled The Sidings residential development now occupies the site.

This view of the station was taken in the early twentieth century. The large building on the right is a typical GWR late nineteenth century structure but the wooden building on the same platform is much older. The building on the other platform has now gone but it survived (without its canopy) until the 1980s. Notice the very tall signal by the signal box, positioned so that it could be seen over both bridges. The inhabitants of the village fought the GWR from 1875 until 1884 to get improved facilities until the rebuilt station and approach road opened later that year, jointly funded by both parties.

This view shows the crowds that were there to see Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip when they visited Hagley in 1957. Current thinking on health and safety would prevent the mass trespass on railway land seen here! The sidings were taken up in the1960s. Note the coal merchants’ huts in the background.

Despite being awarded Grade 11 listed status in 2000, the footbridge is a standard Great Western Railway product, to be seen across that railway. The decorative ironwork includes its date of construction and of the rebuilding of the station, 1884, as well as interwoven letters ‘GWR’. The Hornby plastic model used the Hagley footbridge as its inspiration.

The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway opened its line from Droitwich to Stourbridge on 1st May 1852, but a station at Hagley did not appear in the timetable until ten years later. As can be seen by the unusually wide spacing between the tracks, the formation was made sufficiently wide to accommodate Brunel’s broad gauge track. Some sources claim that a single broad gauge train travelled the mixed gauge track through Hagley as far as Wolverhampton.

Ben Cutler ran Central Garage from around 1920 to 1962 and it finally ceased trading in the 1970s. The grocer's shop on the right was run by Elizabeth Cutler. Note the petrol pump with boom across the road on this 1920s photograph. The cottages on the right are now Mercian Travel and Walton & Hipkiss, while the garage and the left hand of the picture are now part of Bakery Court.

This 1929 photograph shows the original Forge Garage built on the site of the old village forge at the junction of Kidderminster Road and Bromsgrove Road. During the Second World War the garage was rebuilt and enlarged so that it could take military vehicles if necessary.

This photograph of the post-War garage dates from the 1970s and shows that Shell petrol was sold, the garage was an agent for BMC cars and that credit cards were taken. The business changed from car repairs to new car sales in the 1990s and since then it has had many different vehicle franchises, but all have been luxury or sports models. The house to the right of the garage has since been demolished.

This 1960s photograph shows the small establishment on Worcester Road, not far from the Cross Keys. Smith’s ceased trading in the 1980s and the site became a used car business, specialising in executive and sports cars. The house to the right with its extension still stands adjacent to the present business.

This shop was known for many years in the 20th century as "Bradley's Shop".
The building is on the corner of Hall Lane and Bromsgove Road, Hagley. George Roberts bought the bakery business when that part of the shop closed in the early 1960s. The grocer's shop finally closed after Mrs. Birch, who ran it, died. In the early 1970s the property became an antiques shop and was later converted into a private house.
It had been a shop and a bakery for at least one hundred years.
In the first half of the 19th century, according to the writings of E. L. Grazebrook, it was known as Whitaker's London Tea and Grocery Warehouse and was run by Violette Whitaker. The Post Office Directory of 1850 lists her as shopkeeper, Slater's 1850 Directory lists Violette Whittaker as beer retailer and grocer and general goods supplier. The spelling in census records of 1841 and 1851 varies between Violette Whitaker and Violetta Whittaker and records her as an 80 year old grocer in 1851.
Henry Marsh, grocer aged 57, and his wife Hannah, aged 42, were the residents in 1861 and they were also there in 1871 with their three children.
In 1881 it was occupied by grocer Sutton S. Howe aged 43, his wife Eliza Howe aged 44 and their 6 children. In 1891 Sutton Howe was still head of the family here but in 1901 it was occupied by two of Sutton and Eliza's children: grocer and baker Robert R. Howe aged 22 and his sister Mary E. Howe aged 33.
Then in 1911, baker and provision dealer George Enoch Bradley aged 36 and his wife Beatrice Mildred Bradley aged 32 and their 3 surviving children were living here. They had been married for 9 years at that time. Beatrice's sister Ida Rowena Greene was also a resident.
This photograph taken in 1963. The shop as shown closed after Mrs. Birch, who ran it, died. It then reopened for a short period in the 1970s as an antique shop.

The general store on the right was on the corner of Bromsgrove Road and Hall Lane. It later became an antiques shop and is now a private residence. Note the sheep behind the well-filled bus, the lack of any other traffic and Park Road on the left.
The Great Western Railway pioneered regular bus services in the UK and only two years after the first route opened in Cornwall, the Company commenced running between Stourbridge and Belbroughton on 13th February 1905. The service was later extended to Bromsgrove but was withdrawn as a wartime economy measure in August 1916.
In the first half of the 19th century, according to the writings of E. L. Grazebrook, it was known as Whitaker's London Tea and Grocery Warehouse and was run by Violette Whitaker. The Post Office Directory of 1850 lists her as shopkeeper, Slater's 1850 Directory lists Violette Whittaker as beer retailer and grocer and general goods supplier. The spelling in census records of 1841 and 1851 varies between Violette Whitaker and Violetta Whittaker and records her as an 80 year old grocer in 1851.

Dolly Freeman’s shop in Worcester Road is seen in 1940, having been open for around two years. These premises, the last retail unit before the Western Road traffic lights, have housed a cake shop and bakery, amongst other uses. The land on the immediate right has never been developed.

This photograph of Moyle and Adams’ grocers was taken in 1960. The demolition site to the right formerly contained cottages: the site was later occupied by a double shop selling frozen food, then County Furnishing and, more recently, the Shenapur Indian Restaurant. Note the Dutch-style left hand end of the first floor and the Austin A35 parked outside the shop. The first floor has now been rebuilt and the site is occupied by the Mid Counties Co-operative newsagents and West Hagley Post Office.

Barbara Clark’s wedding dress shop now occupies the site of this hardware shop, fondly known as ‘Apples’. This photograph was taken in 1970 and the shop closed around 1971/2. The space on the left has now been built to full height and is occupied by a firm of undertakers.

This shop still fulfils the same purpose but is now owned by the Co-operative. This 1990 photograph shows the wooden building on the left which was used for storage by the chemist and also by the Central Garage on the opposite side of the road; it has been replaced by a brick building, housing the Happy Families shop. To the right of the chemist’s is the Lo-Cost supermarket, now the Hagley Cafe and gift shop. The doctor used to live over the archway and the surgery was in the one-time Post Office, now occupied by the Hagley Cobbler.

In this view, Birmingham is to the left and the Stourbridge Road is behind the photographer. The fountain, now located by the A456/A491 traffic island, was erected by their neighbours and friends in 1915 to celebrate the diamond wedding of Mr & Mrs John Grazebrook. The Grazebrooks were iron founders who lived in The Court, opposite.

In the left distance are the livestock market and the offices of Chapel & Foster, auctioneers who had an office in Bromsgrove. The houses in Market Way now occupy the site.

The old Spencer's Arms pub was demolished around 1930 and this building erected by the Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries Ltd. From the left is the Grazebrook Fountain, then is seen an example of a GPO Telephone Kiosk No. 1, dating from the 1920s and next is Dick Shepherd’s shop, which seemed to sell just about everything. On the extreme right can just be seen The Court, on the corner of Stourbridge Road.

This view of the Market, which was open on Mondays, was taken about 1960 at around the time of its closure. The photographer is looking towards Hagley Hill and Rockingham Hall can be seen on the left. This building has its origins around 1600 but it was altered and extended by Sanderson Miller in 1751 and then again in Victorian times. Birch Cottage is seen in the centre of the picture.

Court House Hotel was situated on the N.W. corner of Stourbridge Road and Kidderminster Road, the Grazebrooks created The Court by extending Hagley Cottage. It later became a nursing home, was the Hagley Court Hotel at the time of the photograph and eventually became the Hagley Country Club before its demolition in the 1960s. The site is now occupied by housing.

This 1960s view shows the Stourbridge Road public house which dated from 1820. The archway to the left of the building was a shop at one time. The building was bought by the Department of the Environment in the 1990s for the proposed North Western bypass but closed in 2007 and is now subject to development.

The building on this site on the A456 near the junction with the A491 Stourbridge Road is now called the Wychbury Inn. The houses on the right in this early 1900s view are still standing and the road in the foreground is the original alignment of Middlefield Lane. The pub is named after Lady Sarah Spencer, who married William Henry, 3rd Lord Lyttelton in 1813. George Harry Newnam became the landlord around 1880 and in the early years of the twentieth century opened the Coronation Brewery on what is now the car park. Brewing appears to have ceased during the First World War.

This view of the Worcester Road pub was taken in 1927. The flat-roofed extension with its chimney designed to match the others is still standing but the building on the right has been demolished to accommodate an extension to the licensed premises and the space where the cars are parked has also been taken up by further interior room for the pub’s customers.

An MG Midget is parked outside this Worcester Road pub which was converted into housing during the 1990s. At one time a bowling green graced the rear of the building.

This view at the junction of Bromsgrove Road and Park Road was taken in the early 1900s. The pub suffered a disastrous fire in December 2007 but was subsequently rebuilt.

This picture shows Fanny Davis with her parents. She married William Griffiths Wooldridge, the Hagley Blacksmith, in 1877 and was headmistress at the Infants' School in Bromsgrove Road Hagley for 15 years.
She retired in 1899 because of ill health. The 1891 census shows her employed as a schoolmistress aged 30 and the 1901 census shows her age as 40 with no occupation thus she retired at age 38.
She was presented with a timepiece, a purse of gold and a water colour painting of Hagley Views by Lady Cobham, the Rector, Mrs Gibbs, Miss Grazebrook and Miss Williams. The painting was the work of Miss Grazebrook.
This undated photograph was donated by Doris who was the wife of Gilbert, son of William and Fanny Wooldridge. Gilbert was born in 1891.

This picture shows (tallest, standing on the right) Fanny Wooldridge nee Davis who was headmistress at the Infants' School in Bromsgrove Road, Hagley for 15 years.
She married William Griffiths Wooldridge, the Hagley Blacksmith in 1877.
She retired in 1899 because of ill health. The 1891 census shows her employed as a schoolmistress aged 30 and the 1901 census shows her age as 40 with no occupation thus she retired at age 38.
She was presented with a timepiece, a purse of gold and a water colour painting of Hagley Views by Lady Cobham, the Rector, Mrs Gibbs, MissGrazebrook and Miss Williams. The painting was the work of Miss Grazebrook.
This is a copy of an undated photograph which was was donated to St. John's Church, Hagley by Doris who was the wife of Gilbert, son of William and Fanny Wooldridge. Gilbert was born in 1891.

This picture shows (standing on the left) Fanny Wooldridge nee Davis who was headmistress at the Infants' School in Bromsgrove Road ,Hagley for 15 years.
She married William Griffiths Wooldridge, the Hagley Blacksmith, in 1877.
She retired in 1899 because of ill health. The 1891 census shows her employed as a schoolmistress aged 30 and the 1901 census shows her age as 40 with no occupation thus she retired at age 38.
She was presented with a timepiece, a purse of gold and a water colour painting of Hagley Views by Lady Cobham, the Rector, Mrs Gibbs, Miss Grazebrook and Miss Williams. The painting was the work of Miss Grazebrook.
This undated photograph was donated by Doris who was the wife of Gilbert, son of William and Fanny Wooldridge. Gilbert was born in 1891.

This picture shows William Griffiths Wooldridge who was the last blacksmith working in Hagley. William was listed in Worcestershire business directories in 1892 as a blacksmith and in 1902 as a farrier and shoeing smith. He was registered by the Company of Farriers, London.
He worked at the Hagley Forge which was latterly located at the junction of Bromsgrove Road and the A456.
Previously it was next to the Spencer's Arms (now Wychbury Inn) public house.
The latest map on which the Smithy is shown is dated 1923; William was still running the business in 1917.
The Forge Garage was subsequently built on the site.
The 1891 and 1901 censuses both list William's son Charles, born in 1875, as a blacksmith. It is thus possible that one of the young men in the photograph is Charles.
William was born in Lye in 1843 and married Fanny Davis in 1887. Fanny was headmistress at the Infants' School in Bromsgrove Road Hagley for 15 years and retired in 1899 because of ill health.
This undated photograph was donated by Doris, who was the wife of William and Fanny's son Gilbert. Gilbert was born in 1891.

Mr Sidney D. Groom inside Lloyds Bank Hagley c1930. The bank used a room in the Mission Church (to the Parish Church of St. John's) building in Church Street. That building was designed by Tom Grazebrook (son of J.P. Grazebrook of The Court, Hagley) and was opened on 18th December 1882.
When St.Saviour's Church opened it replaced the function of the Mission Church which was demolished in 1972 and was replaced with shops. Before he retired Sid Groom was manager at Lloyds Bank in Great Bridge, Staffordshire

Mr Sidney D. Groom outside Lloyds Bank Hagley c1930. The bank used a room in the Mission Church (to the Parish Church of St. John's) building in Church Street. That building was designed by Tom Grazebrook (son of J.P. Grazebrook of The Court, Hagley) and was opened on 18th December 1882.
When St.Saviour's Church opened it replaced the function of the Mission Church which was demolished in 1972 and was replaced with shops. Before he retired Sid Groom was manager at Lloyds Bank in Great Bridge, Staffordshire.

This photograph shows the beginning of the demolition, in 1972, of the mission hall on the corner of Church Street and Worcester Road. It was designed by Tom Grazebrook (son of J.P. Grazebrook of The Court, Hagley) and was opened on 18th December 1882. It was no longer needed as a church after St. Saviour's church was opened in 1908 and was occupied by Lloyd's bank in the 1930s. After its demolition shops were erected on the site.

This picture shows William Griffiths Wooldrige with his wife Fanny nee Davis outside Lea Cottage, Bromsgrove Road, Hagley. They married in 1887.
William was the last blacksmith working in Hagley and Fanny was headmistress at the Infants'School in Bromsgrove Road Hagley for 15 years.
Fanny and William are sitting behind the bridal couple. Gilbert, their son b.1891, is on the right of the photograph with his wooden horse. This dates the photograph to possibly 1893. Gilbert's grandmother is sitting next but one to Fanny on her right hand side.
A modern note (in ball-point ink) on the back of the photograph says that this is the wedding of Gilbert's step brother Charles to Mary Ann.
William Wooldridge married Jane Downes in 1865 and had several children by her of which Charles Downes Wooldridge was one. Records show that Charles Downes Wooldridge marriage to Kathleen Florence Johnston was registered in Cheltenham in 1902. According to Hagley Parish records William's son John
George Wooldridge married Mary Ann Jones in 1893 so it is probable that the event is the wedding of John George Wooldridge and Mary Ann Jones.
This undated photograph was donated by Doris, who was the wife of William and Fanny's son Gilbert.

This farrier's certificate was held by a blacksmith whose name at birth was registered as General Bache. He worked at a forge in Halesowen. This Christian name is uncommon but there are 155 persons listed in the General Register Office indices between 1839 and 1922 with that name. William Wooldridge of Hagley, whose photograph is part of this collection, would have held a similar certificate from the Worshipful Company of Farriers.