Information
The following information was summarised from various sources for your convenience.
Coordinates: 523043N 20545W / 52.5119N 2.0957W / 52.5119; Before 1791, Dudley was governed by the Court Leet of the Lords of Dudley. The County Borough of Dudley included the town of Dudley and the villages of Woodside and Netherton. It was financed by the then Earl of Dudley, William Humble Eric Ward, who stipulated that when the Mayor is seated at the head of the council chamber he should have a direct line of sight to Dudley Castle once all the chamber doors are thrown open (Source: 'Dudley's Little Book of Big History', Dudley MBC publication, 2008) In 1966, the county borough was expanded to include the majority of the urban district councils of Brierley Hill and Sedgley, about half of Coseley along with small areas of Amblecote and Rowley Regis, as well as a fragment of rural Seisdon. Dudley Zoo is to be regenerated under proposals by Dudley Zoo in partnership with Dudley Council, St Modwen and Advantage West Midlands, which will see a former freightliner site redeveloped with a tropical dome, Asiatic forest, two aquatic facilities and walkthrough aviaries. Dudley is home to a former Odeon Cinema and a former music hall, the Dudley Hippodrome, both from the Art Deco period in the 1930s.
There are many canals in and around Dudley, the main one being the Dudley Canal - most of which passes beneath Dudley in a tunnel which lacks a towpath and is therefore accessible only by boat. The Wren's Nest National Nature Reserve is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) considered to be one of the most notable geological locations in the British Isles and home to the Calymene blumenbachi trilobite nicknamed the Dudley Bug or Dudley Locust by 18th century quarrymen. Established in 1260, Dudley Market in Dudley town centre is a major shopping area for the town. The old St Edmund's Church School, a 19th century building near the town centre, was closed in 1970 on a merger with St John's Church School on Kates Hill, and later converted into a mosque for the town's growing Islamic community, which is mostly concentrated around Kates Hill, Queen's Cross, Eve Hill and The Buffery. Dudley Mosque is a strong member of the Dudley Borough Interfaith Network who have posted a Fact-Check about the proposed Mosque. Politics National government Dudley is covered by two parliamentary constituencies, Dudley South and Dudley North, which also represent some other towns within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. Tipton railway station and Dudley Port railway station are served by local services operated by London Midland, and Sandwell and Dudley railway station which is served by both local London Midland services and Virgin Trains West Coast services from London Euston to Wolverhampton. Dudley railway station, in the town of Dudley itself, opened in 1850, and closed under the Beeching Axe in 1964. Both of the town's railway stations (Dudley and Blowers Green) were closed in 1962 under the Beeching Axe, although the line through Dudley remained open to goods trains until 1993. Education Primary schools Dudley is served by a range of primary schools. For example, Jessons Church of England Primary School, St Chads Roman Catholic School, St Edmund's and St John's Church of England Primary School and Netherton Church of England Primary School are all Church of England primary schools. Other primary schools in the town include Priory Primary School, Kates Hill Primary School, Sledmere Primary School, Russells Hall Primary School, Milking Bank Primary School, Highgate Primary School, Northfield Road Primary School, Dudley Wood Primary School, Foxyards Primary School, Netherbrook Primary School and Blowers Green Primary School. Wrens Nest Primary School Wrens Nest Primary School is a primary school that was built in 1936 to serve the new council housing estate which was being built at the time. It was formed as a result of a merger between The Dudley School, Sir Gilbert Claughton School and The Blue Coat School. It also occupies the buildings which once consisted of Dudley Boys Grammar School and land that was once used for Dudley Girls High School. Constructed in 1958, it became one of the first Roman Catholic secondary schools in the region and is the oldest existing school in Dudley. Hillcrest School is another secondary school in Dudley, serving the community of Netherton. Dudley traditionally ran a system of 5-7 infant, 7-11 junior and 11+ secondary schools, but in 1972 the system was altered to create 5-8 first, 8-12 middle and 12+ secondary schools - this affected the towns of Dudley, Sedgley, Coseley and Brierley Hill, while the traditional system remained in Kingswinford. Casualties of the introduction of comprehensive education included Dudley's girls high and boys grammar schools, which merged with the nearby Park secondary modern school to form The Dudley School (which in turn became Castle High on a merger with The Blue Coat School in 1989), while the equivalent schools in Stourbridge merged with Valley Road Secondary Modern School to become Redhill School. Defunct schools As well as The Dudley School, Sir Gilbert Claughton School and The Blue Coat School which merged to form Castle High School which also occupies the land and buildings of Dudley Boys Grammar School and Dudley Girls High School, other defunct schools in the town include Rosland Secondary School, which became part of The Blue Coat School in 1970, and Park Secondary School. Primary schools that no longer exist include St James' School (erected in 1842), St John's Primary School and St Edmund's Primary School which both merged together to form St Edmund's and St John's Church of England Primary School in the 1970s. Medical In October 2006, Dudley Beacon and Castle Primary Care Trust and Dudley South Primary Care Trust merged to become Dudley Primary Care Trust. There are also Dudley News, which is published weekly, and the Black Country Bugle, which looks at the history of Dudley and the rest of the Black Country. Dudley was also served by the Dudley Evening Mail until its absorption into the Birmingham Evening Mail in late 1986. In 1981, when still playing at Dudley Sports Centre, Dudley Town played a prestigious game against Wolverhampton Wanderers to commemorate a refurbishment of the stadium, with the new floodlights being switched on by legendary former Wolves player Billy Wright. For some time after leaving Dudley Sports Centre, there were hopes that it could be made safe for Dudley Town to return, but these plans never materialised and the site was instead redeveloped as a business and leisure complex which has been developing since 2000.
Holly Hall - In the south-west of Dudley town, situated around the road towards Brierley Hill and Stourbridge. Is home to Dudley Golf Course, which since 1966 has actually existed beyond Dudley's boundaries. Those parts within the present Metropolitan Borough of Dudley are considered by the ONS to be part of the Dudley Urban Sub-Area. Also an acclaimed equestrian and UK Clay Pigeon Shooter Champion years 1998-2003 inclusive
John Badley (17831870) - surgeon of Dudley, FRCS (original 300 Fellows) Medical pioneer
John Haden Badley (18651967) - educator, founder (1893) and Headmaster (18931935) Bedales School
David Burrows (1968 - ) - retired professional footballer who played for clubs including Liverpool, Everton and Coventry City
Dorothy Round (19081982) - tennis player who won the ladies' singles at Wimbledon in 1934 and 1937.
Short film on the listed buildings that Berthold Lubetkin designed for Dudley Zoo in the 1930s
City of Birmingham City of Coventry City of Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough of Dudley Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough of Solihull Metropolitan Borough of Walsall
Aldridge Amblecote Bilston Birmingham Blackheath Bloxwich Brierley Hill Brownhills Coseley Coventry Darlaston Dudley Halesowen Hampton-in-Arden Oldbury Rowley Regis Sedgley Smethwick Solihull Stourbridge Sutton Coldfield Tipton Walsall Wednesbury Wednesfield West Bromwich Willenhall Wolverhampton See also: West Midlands
River Blythe River Cole River Penk River Rea Smestow Brook River Sherbourne River Sow River Sowe River Stour River Tame
Birmingham Canal Navigations Shropshire Union Canal Staffordshire & Worcestershire Worcester & Birmingham
Bert Bobby Berto Bertus Dobby Bo Bob Hob (Medieval) Rab (Scots) Raibeart (Scottish) Riobard (Irish) Robby Robere (Old French) Roberts (Robertson, Latvian) Rob Robb Rodbert Rodepertus (Latin) Rothbert Rbert (Hungarian, Icelandic) Roberto (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese) Robertino (Italian, Portuguese, "Little Robert") Robbert (Dutch)
Robbi (Icelandic) Robbie Robertus (Latin) , Rovrtos (Greek) , Rovros (Greek) Rbi (Swiss German) Robin Rpke (Low German) Rabbie Rhobert (Welsh) Robban (Swedish) Roban Robercik or Robu "Little Robert" in Polish Robert (Polish) Robetus Roiberd (Irish) Roeper Roper (Breton/French) Roope (Finnish) Roupen (Armenian)
Rupert Ruprecht (Old High German) Ruppert Rvpertvs (Latin: "Rupertus") Rubert Rochbert Robrecht (German) Rodebert Rodebrecht (Old German) Rudbert Rudebet Roteberht (Germanic) Rotebert (Germanic)
Saint Robert of Newminster, established the Abbey of Newminster near the castle of Ralph de Merlay, at Morpeth, Northumberland
Robert of Winchelsea, theologian and opponent of both Edward I and Edward II of England
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, English noble and favourite of Elizabeth I
Robert the Magnificent, also known as Robert the Devil, father of William the Conqueror