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29-604: Cradley Heath bus station is right in front of the railway station; together they form Cradley Heath Interchange . The station was opened in 1863 by the Stourbridge Railway , on their line from Stourbridge Junction to Old Hill . This was later taken over by the Great Western Railway , who incorporated it into their line to Birmingham . Historically, the station was known as Cradley , and later as Cradley Heath and Cradley . The present station buildings date from

58-518: A child chorister at the local parish church of St. Mary's . Together with his duettist wife Anne Ziegler , he became a mainstay of West End musicals and World War II musical films. A BBC Showbiz Hall of Fame article described him as "possessing one of the finest English tenor voices of the twentieth century." Handsworth Park has hosted numerous events: The Birmingham Tattoo , The Birmingham Festival (both originally called Handsworth- rather than Birmingham). The Handsworth Carnival grew out of

87-447: A reason" (August 2011) seeks to explore the context and histories of these inner-city riots, since the 1980s; emphasising the need for improvements in the relationship between the community and the police. In the 2010s neighbourhood schemes and developments have helped to improve the area. Businesses in the area, particularly on Soho Road have contributed towards schemes in partnership with council. Soho Road, Holyhead Road & Soho Hill

116-407: A small village from the 13th century to the 18th century. Accommodation was built for factory workers, the village quickly grew, and in 1851, more than 6,000 people were living in the township. In that year, work began to build St James' Church . Later St Michael's Church was built as a daughter church to St James'. In the census of 1881 , the town was recorded as having approx. 32,000 residents. By

145-533: Is a listed building in Oxhill Road which also held Sunday school classes in a small building on the corner of Oxhill Road and Church Lane. It also contains Handsworth Park , which in 2006 underwent a major restoration, the vibrant shopping area of Soho Road and St. Mary's Church containing the remains of the founders of the Industrial Revolution - Watt, Murdoch and Boulton. The 1901 Red Lion public house

174-546: Is named after the area), Joan Armatrading , Pato Banton , Benjamin Zephaniah , Swami , Apache Indian , Ruby Turner and Bhangra group B21 . In addition, hard rock band Black Sabbath 's lead guitarist and songwriter Tony Iommi , Steve Winwood , pop singer Jamelia and progressive rock drummer Carl Palmer were born in Handsworth. The tenor Webster Booth was born in Handsworth in 1902, and began his singing career as

203-621: Is the Rookery School, a 100-year-old mixed state primary school, still housed largely in its original buildings. These were opened in 1899 to the designs of the architect Edward Holmes . Secondary schools include Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy , Holyhead School , St John Wall Catholic School , also, selective state schools such as King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys and King Edward VI Handsworth School (girls). The Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line Canal passes through

232-550: Is within a Business Improvement District (BID) area. A number of initiatives promoting community cohesion exist within this multicultural community. The Handsworth Community Choir boasts a blend of singers from the area. The Handsworth Park Community Garden opened in July 2017. The community website ‘ Inside Handsworth ’, shares community news, events and stories. Handsworth has produced some notable popular musical acts: Steel Pulse (whose first studio album Handsworth Revolution

261-620: The Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line . Handsworth, West Midlands Handsworth ( grid reference SP035905 ) is an inner-city area of Birmingham in the county of the West Midlands , England. Historically in Staffordshire , Handsworth lies just outside Birmingham City Centre and near the town of Smethwick . In 2021 the ward had a population of 11,820. The name Handsworth originates from its Saxon owner Hondes and

290-646: The Old English word weorthing , meaning farm or estate. It was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086, as a holding of William Fitz-Ansculf , the Lord of Dudley, although at that time it would only have been a very small village surrounded by farmland and extensive woodland. One of the oldest buildings in Handsworth is the Old Town Hall which dates from 1460. Historically in the county of Staffordshire , it remained

319-600: The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OWWR) at Stourbridge Junction to Smethwick , where it joined the Stour Valley Line at Galton Junction . The act of Parliament incorporating the company, the Stourbridge Railway Act 1860 ( 23 & 24 Vict. c. xciv), was passed on 14 June 1860, allowing it to build a three and a half mile long line from Stourbridge Junction to Old Hill , another act of Parliament,

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348-687: The Stourbridge Railway Extension Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. ccxxi), was passed the following year to allow it to reach the Stour Valley Line at Smethwick. The route was open in full by 1 April 1867. The OWWR had come under the control of the GWR by this time, and so in order to integrate the Stourbridge Railway with their system, the GWR constructed a link from the Stourbridge Railway at Smethwick to Handsworth Junction, which

377-751: The 1880s engineer George Tangye bought the hall and lived there until his death in 1920. From 1927 the hall was demolished and the lands redeveloped. What was the Heathfield Estate is now the land that comprises West Drive and North Drive. Watt's workshop from the house was dismantled and rebuilt in the Science Museum , London. A riot occurred in 1981 , during which similar riots took place in Brixton (London), Chapeltown (Leeds), and Toxteth (Liverpool). The 'sus' law ( Vagrancy Act 1824 ) saw black youths being disproportionately stopped, searched and arrested by

406-699: The Flower Show and Carnival; Caribbean-style carnivals began in Handsworth Park, in 1984, with a street procession via Holyhead Road. In 1994 the carnival was held in Handsworth Park for the last time. The following year it was moved from the park out onto the streets of Handsworth, since which time it has been known as the Birmingham International Carnival . In 1999, it was again held in a park, but this time in Perry Park . Among education providers

435-563: The census of 1911, this had more than doubled to 68,610. The Council House , in Soho Road, now used as a public library and college campus, was completed in 1879. The development of the built environment was sporadic and many of Handsworth's streets display a mixture of architectural types and periods – among them some of the finest Victorian buildings in the city. Handsworth has two grammar schools – Handsworth Grammar School and King Edward VI Handsworth School (for girls). St Andrew's Church

464-506: The mid-1980s when the station was rebuilt entirely on the west side of the level crossing. Previously there had been a staggered platform arrangement on either side of the crossing. Following an incident on 7 October 1954, lamp-man Anthony Rivers was awarded the George Medal and the Order of Industrial Heroism . Rivers had gone to assist a woman whose foot was caught in a level crossing between

493-527: The periphery of many "high risk" areas. During the Second World War, West Indians had arrived as part of the colonial war effort, where they worked in Birmingham munitions factories. In the post-war period, a rebuilding programme required much unskilled labour and Birmingham's industrial base expanded, significantly increasing the demand for both skilled and unskilled workers. During this time, there

522-487: The police existed during the rioting of September 1985 (which lasted for two days, beginning in Lozells Road, Lozells, and spreading into Handsworth) to which this unrest was ascribed. After the 1985 riots and a change in perception of British sub-urban integration, community relations were reviewed. Local government worked to improve community relations as a way of managing both racial and cultural differences. Encouragement

551-408: The police, on the grounds of mere 'suspicion' of possible illegal activity; this, along with high unemployment and social alienation, was a key element of the backdrop to the 1981 riots. The subsequent Scarman report (1981) concluded that the riots were "essentially an outburst of anger and resentment by young black people against the police". A similar social backdrop of tensions and hostility towards

580-449: The railway station there is a bus station with five bus stands, which opened during the 1980s. The bus station was extensively rebuilt from 2014 to 2015, and reopened in July 2015 as Cradley Heath Interchange. The bus station is owned and operated by Transport for West Midlands which charges operators for their usage. Services are operated by National Express West Midlands and Diamond Bus . The former Midland Red bus depot stands across

609-450: The road from the interchange and is now Hawks Cycles. 52°28′12″N 2°05′24″W  /  52.470°N 2.090°W  / 52.470; -2.090 Stourbridge Railway The Stourbridge Railway was a small independent railway company in England which existed between 1860 , and 1870 when it was taken over by the Great Western Railway (GWR). The company built a line from

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638-483: The station with one train to Stourbridge Junction at weekday nighttime only, from London Marylebone . A morning service to Marylebone runs on Sunday mornings only. Regular direct services to and from Birmingham New Street (the terminus for all eastbound trains between 1967 and the reopening of the line to Snow Hill in 1995) ceased in May 2004 and passengers wishing to travel there must now change at Galton Bridge . Alongside

667-446: The station's platforms. As a train bore down on them, he realised he could not free her, so held her away from the tracks and the train severed her foot. In doing so, he suffered a fractured pelvis and a broken forearm. West Midlands Railway : The Monday to Saturday off-peak service sees trains approximately every 15 minutes in each direction, operated by West Midlands Trains. Eastbound: Westbound: Chiltern Railways also serve

696-462: Was grade II* listed in 1985, but has been empty since 2008 and is considered "at risk". In 1894 Handsworth became an urban district , on 9 November 1911 the urban district was abolished and merged with the County Borough of Birmingham and Handsworth parish was transferred from Staffordshire to Warwickshire . In 1921 the civil parish had a population of 75,145. On 1 October 1930 the parish

725-491: Was abolished and merged with Birmingham. Birmingham historian Dr. Carl Chinn noted that during the Second World War the boundary between Handsworth and the outlying suburb of Handsworth Wood marked the line between being safe and unsafe from bombing, with Handsworth Wood being an official evacuation zone, despite being at least ten miles away from any countryside that might now qualify as "green belt" land, and being on

754-654: Was direct recruitment for workers from the Caribbean and the area became a centre for Birmingham's Afro-Caribbean community . A tram depot was erected near Birmingham Road, next to the border with West Bromwich , during the 1880s, and remained in use until the tram service ended in 1939. Although it has since been demolished, a replica of the depot was created later in the 20th century at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley . Matthew Boulton 's Soho Manufactory

783-416: Was opened at the same time, connecting it to the GWR's Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level Line , allowing trains to run into Snow Hill station . The running of the line was also taken over by the GWR. The Stourbridge Railway was formally merged with the GWR in 1870 after it emerged that the company's director W. T. Adcock had fraudulently issued stock. The line still functions today as part of

812-444: Was provided by arts organisations such as West Midlands Ethnic Minority Arts Service; its director, Pogus Caesar , photographed the riots, and Black Audio Film Collective produced the 1986 film Handsworth Songs . There was further unrest in 1991 and 2005; with a fatality occurring during the 2005 riot. The 2011 England riots also spread to the Handsworth area. The Guardian ' s online article "Riots don't happen without

841-429: Was set up on the northern edge of Handsworth, on Handsworth Heath. It operated from 1766 to 1848, and was demolished in 1863. Boulton commissioned Samuel Wyatt to design his nearby house Soho House , which is now a museum. In 1790, Heathfield Hall , also designed by Wyatt, was built for Boulton's business partner, the engineer James Watt . Watt died in the house in 1819, and was buried at nearby St Mary's Church . In

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