Lighting up the Past

The next meeting of the Society takes place on Thursday 10th May 2012 at 7:30 pm in St. Andrew’s Church, Bilston Street, Sedgley.

The short Annual General Meeting is followed by a talk – Lighting up the Past.

The speaker is John Hughes a retired installation inspector with the Midland Electricity Board and stalwart of the Black Country Memories Club.

John is an avid collector of old electrical equipment and period photographs and will be reminiscing about the days before low energy bulbs and fused plugs.

As usual visitors are invited to come along. Individual talks cost £1.

2012 Spring Teaser

Take a close look at this unusual water feature.

What purpose did it serve?

Where is it?

Send an email with your ideas.

Coseley Scouts Centenary

This year 1st Coseley celebrates a 100 years of scouting. The September reunion will include a display of old photographs and memorabilia. However, the group are struggling to put together their history. They would appreciate help with pictures, artefacts, newspaper cuttings and information about the Bayer Street headquarters.

If you can assist, please email 1st Coseley Scouts.

Read all about it - the 2011/2012 Programme

The 2011/2012 Programme is now available as a PDF.

Note this document is a PDF download: to read PDFs you will need Adobe Reader - reliable, safe, and available free from Adobe at this site.

2012 Winter Teaser

While this is an easily named building in Sedgley, the problem is sorting out its early history. We suggested you visited Vicar Street and gave the exterior a second look – we think the brickwork, windows and foundations might tell an intriguing tale. 

This 1860s Victorian police station was built on the site of Sedgley’s first workhouse.

The workhouse was built in 1734 to house 60 inmates and replaced in 1855/6 with one catering for over 800 on the west side of Burton Road, Upper Gornal. Eventually the Sedgley building was closed in 1858, sold on to the police in July 1859 and its contents auctioned in August.

On-going research by Michelle and Carl Higgs and Christine Buckley has raised the intriguing prospect of identifying parts of the present day station to the reign of George II. The façade’s brickwork was revealed a few years ago looking more C18th than C19th. It’s a tale of two buildings and deserves to be told.

Sedgley Local History Society [SLHS]

Sedgley Local History Society [SLHS] is a Black Country group based in the village of Sedgley, which is situated at the northern tip of Dudley Metropolitan Borough and just 3 miles south of the centre of Wolverhampton.

Here, the heritage of the Manor of Sedgley, in south Staffordshire, is focused through its nine villages - Sedgley, Gospel End, Cotwall End, Upper Gornal, Lower Gornal, Woodsetton, Coseley, Ettingshall and Brierley. A history of people, places and events.

Please contact us if you have any comments, suggestions, contributions or questions.