73-539: Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell , in the county of the West Midlands , England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census . It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeast of Wolverhampton . It is also contiguous with nearby towns of Darlaston , Dudley , Wednesbury and Bilston . Historically within Staffordshire and briefly Worcestershire . It
146-583: A Luftwaffe bomb which was dropped in Bloomfield Road and destroyed several buildings including the Star public house; it was rebuilt after the war but demolished in 1996. Just before Christmas in 1940, an anti-aircraft shell fired from the hills at Rowley Regis fell down the chimney of the Boat Inn, Dudley Road East, Tividale; fatally injuring 12 people at a wedding reception (including the bride, while
219-514: A unitary authority . The borough is divided into 24 wards and is represented by 72 ward councillors on the borough council. The borough was named after Sandwell Priory, the ruins of which are located in Sandwell Valley . Gaining widespread acceptance for the identity of Sandwell and unifying the distinct communities within the borough has been a protracted affair. The local council has considered changing its name over confusion outside
292-465: A 19th-century building on Owen Street until 1935 when it relocated to the former Bean offices site on Sedgley Road West, straddling the border with Coseley. The council remained at that site for the next 31 years, until the dissolution of the borough council. On 1 April 1966 the district was abolished and the bulk of the Tipton borough was absorbed into an expanded County Borough of West Bromwich , although
365-447: A Tory MP. The election of both Richards and Bailey has been marked as a significant milestone in the political history of the borough and marked the end to decades of control by Labour MPs. The Sandwell Borough is divided into 24 electoral wards , with each one represented by 3 councillors on the borough council: Sandwell is home to nearly 100 primary schools, 25 secondary schools, 4 special schools and 1 college. Sandwell College ,
438-674: A debt-ridden Sandwell College was subject to a police investigation. The area is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central . Television signals are received from the Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter. Radio stations for the area are: Local newspapers for the area are: The six towns that comprise Sandwell and localities within each include: Sandwell is twinned with: BCN Main Line The BCN Main Line , or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line
511-520: A few farms listed, which gave employment to 56 people. Expansion in the iron and coal industries led to the population of Tipton expanding rapidly through the 19th century, going from 4,000 at the beginning of the century to 30,000 at the end. Tipton gained a reputation as being "the quintessence of the Black Country" because chimneys of local factories belched heavy pollution into the air, whilst houses and factories were built side by side. Most of
584-538: A fragment of the town near the border with Coseley (including the former council offices and the bulk of the new Foxyards housing estate) was absorbed into the County Borough of Dudley and most of the Tividale area became part of the new County Borough of Warley . In this reorganisation, the township of Tipton was expanded around Princes End to take over a section of the former Coseley urban district. The parish
657-508: A merger of the county borough of Smethwick with the municipal boroughs of Rowley Regis and Oldbury; at the same time, West Bromwich had absorbed the boroughs of Tipton and Wednesbury. For its first 12 years of existence, Sandwell had a two-tier system of local government; Sandwell Council shared power with the West Midlands County Council . In 1986 the county council was abolished, and Sandwell effectively became
730-405: A popular hotspot for car cruising . In 2015 a High Court order was introduced to ban car cruising in the area. An extension has been secured to run until at least 2021. Since the council election in 2021 , the political composition of the council has been as follows: From the borough's creation in 1974 until 2010, all Members of Parliament (MPs) within its boundaries were Labour. However, in
803-551: A raised embankment on the south side of the New Main Line to his new Engine Arm branch canal and across an elegant cast iron aqueduct to top up the higher Wolverhampton Level at Smethwick Summit. The reservoir also fed water to the Birmingham Level at the adjacent Icknield Port Loop. The Smethwick Summit was bypassed by 71 ft (22 m) cutting through Lunar Society member, Samuel Galton's land, creating
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#1732765558388876-478: A significant number in the private sector. Local industry also expanded further during this time. In 1840, the Batson family established a lubricant blending plant to serve the local industries at the junction of High Street and Dudley Road. The site is still operational today, owned by German refiner H&R AG, although the original buildings have long since been replaced. Coal mining had disappeared from Tipton by
949-548: A tunnel through the hill at Smethwick but had encountered ground too soft to cope with. The canal rose from what is now the Birmingham Level through six narrow (7 ft, 2.1 m) locks to the summit level and descended through another six at Spon Lane. Water was brought from purpose-built reservoirs: Smethwick Great Reservoir (now built upon, holding 1514 locks of water), another smaller pool at Smethwick (holding 500 locks), and then from Titford Pool to supply
1022-644: Is a residential canal basin at the museum, reflecting Tipton's former status in popular local culture as the Venice of the Midlands . Some of the town's canals were infilled during the 1960s and 1970s. The towpaths of the remaining canals, the Old and New BCN Main Lines are today a cycling, wildlife and leisure facility. The landscape of Tipton began to change further from the late 1920s when new housing estates were built by
1095-627: Is a section of the West Coast Main Line . Closed lines include that from Walsall to Stourbridge , closed to all traffic in 1993 after some 150 years in use. This line had served stations at Dudley Port Lower Level and Great Bridge North, but both were closed in 1964 by the Beeching cuts . The line is set to re-open around 2023, with the lines shared between goods trains and the West Midlands Metro . In October 2015, it
1168-503: Is located between both Wolverhampton and Birmingham . It incorporates the surrounding villages and suburbs of Tipton Green , Ocker Hill , Dudley Port , Horseley Heath and Great Bridge . Tipton was an urban district until 1938, when it became a municipal borough . Much of the Borough of Tipton was transferred into West Bromwich County Borough in 1966, but parts of the old borough were absorbed into an expanded Dudley borough and
1241-497: Is now Gas Street Basin and under Bridge Street to wharves on a tuning fork-shaped pair of long basins: Paradise Wharf, also called Old Wharf. The Birmingham Canal Company head office was finally built there, opposite the western end of Paradise Street . By 6 November 1769, 10 miles (16 km) had been completed to Hill Top collieries in West Bromwich , with a one-mile summit pound at Smethwick. Brindley had tried to dig
1314-670: Is the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England . The name Main Line was used to distinguish the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton route from the many other canals and branches built or acquired by the Birmingham Canal Navigations company. On 24 January 1767, a number of prominent Birmingham businessmen, including Matthew Boulton and others from
1387-603: The 2010 general election , Conservative party candidate James Morris was elected to the Halesowen and Rowley Regis seat which incorporates the Sandwell communities of Rowley Regis , Blackheath and Cradley Heath , and the neighbouring area of Halesowen which is situated within Dudley's borders. This was the first time any part of Sandwell had elected a Conservative MP – or indeed an MP from any party other than Labour. In
1460-625: The FA Cup first round proper for the first time in their history, earning a trip to Carlisle United , the League One (third highest English division) club. They were the first club that Steve Bull played for; he joined them on leaving school in 1981 and remained with them until he signed for West Bromwich Albion , a top division club, in 1985. However, it was after signing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in November 1986 that Bull achieved fame; by
1533-717: The Lunar Society , held a public meeting in the White Swan, High Street, Birmingham to consider the possibility of building a canal from Birmingham to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal near Wolverhampton , taking in the coalfields of the Black Country . They commissioned the canal engineer James Brindley to propose a route. Brindley came back with a largely level but meandering route via Smethwick , Oldbury , Tipton , Bilston and Wolverhampton to Aldersley. On 24 February 1768, an Act of Parliament
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#17327655583881606-453: The Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio WM , Capital Midlands , Heart West Midlands , Smooth West Midlands , Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands , and Black Country Radio , a community based station which broadcast to the town and across the Black Country .The town is served by the local newspapers, Dudley News and Express & Star . The town has two secondary schools, though in
1679-428: The West Midlands conurbation . Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council defines the borough as the six amalgamated towns of Oldbury , Rowley Regis , Smethwick , Tipton , Wednesbury and West Bromwich . Rowley Regis includes the towns of Blackheath and Cradley Heath . Sandwell's Strategic Town Centre is designated as West Bromwich, the largest town in the borough, while Sandwell Council House (the headquarters of
1752-407: The 16th century. Until the 18th century, Tipton was a collection of small hamlets . Industrial growth started in the town when ironstone and coal were discovered in the 1770s. A number of canals were built through the town and later railways , which greatly accelerated its industrialisation. James Watt built his first steam engine in Tipton in the 1770s, which was used to pump water from
1825-724: The 1960s. A stretch of the Wednesbury Oak Loop Canal was filled in to make way for it. The last major private housing development to be built in the Municipal Borough of Tipton was the Foxyards Estate, on land straddling the borders with Dudley and Coseley, in the mid 1960s. Until 1966, the town had its own council. The urban district council of Tipton was formed in 1894 contained only the civil parish of Tipton, then received Municipal Borough status in 1938. The headquarters were originally based in
1898-519: The 1970s, paving the way for mass private house building on the land. The town's naphtha gas plant opened in 1965 but closed just 10 years later, unable to compete with natural gas from the North Sea . The gasworks stood abandoned for about a decade afterwards, when it was finally demolished. Standeridge Park housing estate was built on its site during the 1990s. By the late 2000s, most of the town's large factories had closed. The M5 motorway between
1971-536: The 1990s and, more recently, the Pearl Girl, the world's first licensed pearl bar. It closed in 2016 and has since been converted into a day nursery for young children. The last major council housing development by Tipton council was the Glebefields Estate part of Ocker Hill and not Princes End as many suggest, due to Princes End not being part of Tipton at this time, and built during the first half of
2044-713: The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Company (created to propose a competitive canal from the coal fields to Birmingham and also a link to the Coventry Canal at Fazeley ) merged with the Birmingham Canal Company (ten years later the name of the merged company was changed to the Birmingham Canal Navigations Company) and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal was started. This created an even greater need for water to supply
2117-502: The December 2019 general election, however, Conservative candidates Nicola Richards and Shaun Bailey were elected to represent West Bromwich East and West Bromwich West respectively. This was the first time since the borough's creation that West Bromwich has returned any Conservative MPs to Parliament, and the first time that a constituency fully within the boundaries of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council has been represented by
2190-631: The Dudley borough. The borough covers an area of 86 square kilometres (33 sq mi). At the 2011 census, it had a population of 309,000. The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell was formed on 1 April 1974 as an amalgamation of the county boroughs of Warley ( ceremonially within Worcestershire ) and West Bromwich (ceremonially within Staffordshire ), under the Local Government Act 1972 . Warley had been formed in 1966 by
2263-729: The Galton Valley, 70 feet deep and 150 feet wide, running parallel to the Old Main Line. Telford's changes here were completed in 1829. Telford designed a cast iron bridge, the Galton Bridge , to span his cutting. It was cast in the Horseley Iron Works , as was the Engine Arm Aqueduct and many of the wide roving bridges . In 1837, after Telford's death, a new section of his planned canal
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2336-501: The Glebefields Estate at Ocker Hill and Great Bridge. Private houses were also built on smaller developments around the same time. The "Lost City" was integrated with the rest of Tipton as further housing developments sprang up around it namely The Glebefields Estate and The Gospel Oak Estate. During the Second World War (1939–1945), there were a number of air raids on the town. On 19 November 1940, three people were killed by
2409-580: The New Main Line was complete: 22 + 5 ⁄ 8 miles (36.4 km) of slow canal reduced to 15 + 5 ⁄ 8 miles (25.1 km); between Birmingham and Tipton, it was a lock-free dual carriageway. It was also called the Island Line as it was cut straight through the hill at Smethwick known as the Island. In 1892 the Smethwick Engine was replaced by a new pumping house between
2482-531: The Tipton Green area of the town a significant percentage of children attend High Arcal School in the borough of Dudley . Ormiston Sandwell Academy, formed in September 2009 from Tividale High School, also takes in pupils from parts of Dudley and Oldbury . Until 1958 there was also a secondary school at Ocker Hill, which was then replaced by Willingsworth Secondary Modern School. Alexandra High School
2555-876: The West Midlands and the West Country and its junction with the M6 motorway passes a few miles to the South and East of the town but not through the town itself. The M5 runs along the eastern region passing over canals and railways. M5 Junction 1 is accessible at West Bromwich using the A41 road Black Country Spine Road. M5 Junction 2 is accessible at Oldbury on the A4123 Wolverhampton Road (Harborne to Wolverhampton) at Birchley Island. The M5 also enables access to other motorways. Tipton has direct bus links with
2628-493: The West Midlands as to the whereabouts of the borough. A survey of borough residents in June 2002 found that 65 per cent of respondents favoured retaining the name. Landmarks and attractions in Sandwell include Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery , Bishop Asbury Cottage , West Bromwich Manor House , Oak House, West Bromwich , and Sandwell Valley Country Park . It is also the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C. Sandwell used to be
2701-417: The canal, and the entanglement at the meeting of boats being incessant; whilst at the locks at each end of the short summit at Smethwick, crowds of boatmen were always quarrelling, or offering premiums for the preference of passage; the mine owners injured by the delay, were loud in their just complaints." Telford proposed major changes to the section between Birmingham and Smethwick, widening and straightening
2774-461: The canal, providing towpaths on each side, and cutting through Smethwick Summit to bypass the locks, allowing lock-free passage from Birmingham to Tipton. Telford's proposals were swayed by the threat of a new Birmingham to Liverpool railway. His suggestions were accepted and he was appointed chief engineer on 28 June 1824. By 1827 the New Main Line passed straight through, and linked to,
2847-513: The capacity of the descent at Smethwick locks by building a parallel flight of three locks, in use until the 1960s. The changes were made in two phases with a new cut to the side to remove two locks from each end and lower the summit by twelve feet, and then another parallel cut another six feet lower, removing another lock at each end and the provision of a parallel set of three locks at the Smethwick end. In 1790, after 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 years
2920-507: The contour of the land but with deviations to factories and mines in the Black Country and Birmingham. A branch led to Matthew Boulton's Soho Manufactory . The original Birmingham Canal was extremely successful but there was a problem with supplying sufficient water to the Smethwick Summit. Matthew Boulton's partner, James Watt , had just patented an improvement to the steam engine involving an external condenser which improved
2993-514: The cutting was completed. The canal was closed for only 14 days. The lowered summit was at the Wolverhampton Level and simplified water supply. Water was also pumped from several local coal mines. The Spon Lane engine was removed and sold but the Smethwick Engine continued to be used to pump used water from the Birmingham Level . The Act allowed for branches to extend from the main line, and for private wharves and basins. In May 1821
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3066-594: The efficiency (and therefore reduced the amount of coal needed to run it). Steam engines were constructed at either end of the Smethwick Summit to pump water used in the operation of the locks back to the summit. The Smethwick Engine (5 June 1779) pumped water from the Birmingham side of the summit, and another, the Spon Lane Engine (April 1778) operated from the Wolverhampton side. In 1784, after two years of counter-productive attempts at legislation,
3139-583: The gas plant was redeveloped as the Standbridge Park housing estates in the 1990s. Tipton has two railway stations, the main railway station at Owen Street and another station at Dudley Port. There were several other stations in the town on three different railway lines, but these were gradually closed between 1916 and 1964 as passenger trains were phased out on these lines. The Dudley-Wolverhampton railway line, which straddled Tipton's border with Coseley, closed in 1968. The Princes End Branch Line, which
3212-544: The groom lost both legs) as well as the resident of an adjacent house. On 17 May 1941, six people died in an air raid in New Road, Great Bridge. Tipton Tavern and New Road Methodist Church were destroyed and a number of nearby houses were damaged. Tipton Tavern landlord Roger Preece was trapped in the rubble but survived with minor injuries. Tipton Tavern was rebuilt in the 1950s and became the Hallbridge Arms during
3285-554: The line in and out of Tipton Five Ways another on the Birmingham New Road near the Black Country Museum are some of the last remaining signs of this railway in Tipton. Tipton Town Football Club were formed in 1948 as Ocker Hill United, adopting their current name in 1967. They currently play in the non-league West Midland league division one and made history in the 2010-11 football season by reaching
3358-696: The local authority) is situated in Oldbury. In 2019 Sandwell was ranked 12th most deprived of England's 317 boroughs. Bordering Sandwell is the City of Birmingham to the east, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley to the south and west, the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall to the north, and the City of Wolverhampton to the north-west. Spanning the borough are the parliamentary constituencies of West Bromwich West , West Bromwich East , Warley , and part of Halesowen and Rowley Regis , which crosses into
3431-457: The locks at Smethwick Summit were still a constriction. In 1824 Thomas Telford was commissioned to examine alternatives. He famously travelled the route of the Old Line and reported the existing canal as: "... little more than a crooked ditch, with scarcely the appearance of a towing path, the horses frequently sliding and staggering in the water, the hauling lines sweeping the gravel into
3504-403: The loop of the main line around Oldbury was bypassed by a straight cut, shortening the route between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. Over the next thirty years, as more canals and branches were built or connected it became necessary to review the long, winding, narrow Old Main Line. With a single towpath boats passing in opposite directions had to negotiate their horses and ropes. As traffic grew
3577-430: The loops of the Old Main Line, creating Oozells Loop, Icknield Port Loop, Soho Loop, Cape Loop and Soho Foundry Loop, allowing continued access to the existing factories and wharves. A year earlier he had built an improved Rotton Park Reservoir ( Edgbaston Reservoir ) on the site of an existing fish pool, bringing its capacity to 300 million imperial gallons (1,400,000 m ). A canal feeder took water to, and along,
3650-403: The mid-20th century, and the town lost a large percentage of its factories during the recessions of the 1970s and 1980s, which contributed to a rise in unemployment and poverty in Tipton, while living conditions continued to improve. Bean Cars , a company that manufactured cars and lorry engines and other vehicle parts, had a factory in Tipton. Further industrial sites have been abandoned since
3723-591: The mines. In 1780, James Keir and Alexander Blair set up a chemical works there, making alkali and soap on a large scale. The 1801 census records 834 houses with 872 families living in Tipton: 46 houses were stated as being empty. An adult population of 4,280 is recorded with males numbered at 2,218 and slightly fewer females at 2,062. Iron making and mining were the main employment for the population. Trades and manufacturing provided work for 1,740 people and other jobs totalled 2,484. Between Tipton and Dudley there were
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#17327655583883796-701: The newly created County Borough of Warley . Along with the rest of West Bromwich and Warley, Tipton was moved into the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough in 1974. Tipton gains its name from the Anglo-Saxon name 'Tibba' followed by 'tun' , the Old English word for farm or settlement. The town of Tipton was recorded as Tibintone in the Domesday Book of 1086, meaning Tibba's estate. The present spelling of Tipton derives from
3869-512: The old and new canals, just north of Brasshouse Lane Bridge in Smethwick. Late in the 20th century, a pair of concrete tunnels near Galton Bridge were built to carry the Telford Way road. Ryland Aqueduct, built in 1836 carrying the canal over the main A461 road at Dudley Port, Tipton , was rebuilt in the late 1960s at a cost of £170,000 (equivalent to £3,897,400 in 2023). Demolition of
3942-586: The only further education college in the borough, was opened in September 1986 following the merger of Warley College and West Bromwich College. It was originally based in the old Warley College buildings on Pound Road, Oldbury, and the West Bromwich College buildings on West Bromwich High Street, as well as a building in Smethwick town centre, but moved into a new single site campus in West Bromwich town centre in September 2012. In 2004,
4015-416: The price of coal sold to domestic households in Birmingham halved overnight. Vested interests of the sponsors caused the creation of two terminal wharves in Birmingham. The 1772 Newhall Branch and wharf (now built upon) originally extended north of, and parallel to Great Charles Street. The 1773 Paradise Street Branch split off at Old Turn Junction and headed through Broad Street Tunnel , turned left at what
4088-618: The railway was followed by the construction of a pedestrian walkway on the trackbed, while the tunnel under the road at Ocker Hill was filled in. The final stub of the line, which linked Wednesbury with Ocker Hill Power Station , was closed in 1991. The Dudley-Wolverhampton railway closed in 1968, several years after passenger trains were withdrawn, and by the 1990s some sections of it had been built over, making it impossible to reopen this route at any stage. The former Tipton Five Ways and Princes End & Coseley stations were redeveloped for housing and road access. A bridge abundment that carried
4161-654: The stations within the Tipton boundaries will be Great Bridge, Horseley Heath, Dudley Port (Low Level), Sedgley Road East and Birmingham New Road. The line between Great Bridge and Swan Village in nearby West Bromwich was closed in 1968 under the Beeching cuts, and most of its route was occupied by the southern section of the Black Country Spine Road , completed in 1995. The line between Princes End and Ocker Hill closed to passenger trains in 1916 but remained open to goods traffic until 1981. The closure of
4234-499: The summit level. In 1770 work started towards Wolverhampton, from above the third Spon Lane lock at what is now the Wolverhampton Level . On 21 September 1772 the canal was joined with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Aldersley Junction via another 20 locks (increased to 21 in 1784 to save water). Brindley died a few days later. The canal measured 22 + 5 ⁄ 8 miles (36.4 km), mostly following
4307-461: The thirteen locks at Farmer's Bridge and eleven at Aston, all running downhill and taking water out of the Birmingham system. There were problems of congestion at Smethwick caused by the time taken to traverse the locks and with supplying sufficient water to the summit level. John Smeaton was engaged to advise on a solution. He specified a 1000-yard cutting through the top eighteen feet of the summit, eliminating three locks from each end, and doubling
4380-618: The time he retired in 1999, he had scored more than 300 goals for the club. He was also capped 13 times by the England national football team between May 1989 and October 1990, scoring four goals. The Sandwell Steelers who are an American Football team who play in the BAFA National Leagues operate from the Tipton Sports Academy . Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central . Television signals are received from
4453-401: The town's council, in response to the growing need to replace slum housing. Among the first council estates to be built were the Shrubbery Estate at Tipton Green, the Tibbington Estate near Princes End, (Princes End came under Coseley at the time) the Moat Farm Estate at Ocker Hill (which earned the nickname "Lost City" due to its isolated location) and the Cotterill's Farm Estate at Ocker Hill,
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#17327655583884526-465: The town's library. Tipton was one of the key towns in the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. Even during the 18th century it had established its first key industries. This included the world's first successful steam pumping engine, which was erected at Conygre Coalworks in 1712 by industrialist Thomas Newcomen . A full-size replica of the engine now exists at the Black Country Living Museum just over Tipton's borders in Dudley. In 1800, Tipton
4599-458: The towns of Dudley , Walsall , Sedgley , West Bromwich , Bilston , Wednesbury on Diamond Bus . Tipton has direct, frequent rail services to Wolverhampton and Walsall via Birmingham New Street with some additional services during evening rush hour direct to Telford and Shrewsbury. There are two railway stations - Tipton in the town centre and Dudley Port . Both are on the electrified line from Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton which
4672-561: The traditional industries which once dominated the town have since disappeared. In March 1922, 19 girls - as young as 13 - and young women were killed in an explosion at an unlicensed factory that was dismantling surplus World War I ammunition, in an event dubbed the Tipton Catastrophe . The Black Country Living Museum in nearby Dudley re-creates life in the early 20th century Black Country, in original buildings which have been rebuilt and furnished, many of them being transported from – or based on – sites originally located in Tipton. There
4745-414: Was a predominantly rural area, with a few coal mines and some 4,000 residents. Mass building of factories and digging of coal mines then took place, and resulted in Tipton becoming a heavily built-up and industrialised area with more than 30,000 residents by the end of the 19th century. The town's population grew further in the 20th century after new housing developments, mostly by the local council but with
4818-412: Was also abolished on 1 April 1966 and merged with West Bromwich and Dudley, part also went to form Warley . In 1961 the parish had a population of 38,100. The headquarters building was later taken over by Dudley College, who retained it until 1993. It has since been occupied by businesses and training scheme providers. Since 1974, Tipton has been split between the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell , which
4891-449: Was announced that due to high transport funding for the West Midlands, the Stourbridge to Walsall line could re-open as a Network Rail operated line served by West Midlands franchise services and the delivery date was 2018-2020, however this did not occur. Instead, the line will partially reopen operated by the West Midlands Metro as its second line, running between Wednesbury and Brierley Hill. Services are anticipated to start in 2023 and
4964-480: Was created by a merger of the former West Bromwich and Warley boroughs, and the neighbouring Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. By the end of the 1970s, most of the housing in Tipton built before 1890 had been demolished. Owen Street, the town's main shopping area, was redeveloped between 1979 and 1982, with a reduced number of shop units as well as new low-rise council houses and flats. In 1956, one of Britain's first comprehensive schools, Tividale Comprehensive School ,
5037-411: Was formed in 1969 on a merger of Tipton Grammar School and Park Lane Boys and Girls Secondary Modern Schools, with the Park Lane buildings being retained until 1990 for the teaching of younger pupils at the new school. Sandwell Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England . The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory , and spans a densely populated part of
5110-435: Was only two miles long, closed in 1981. The South Staffordshire Line through Tipton, which led to Walsall northwards and Dudley southwards, closed in 1993. The part of the line between Wednesbury and Brierley Hill is scheduled to re-open in 2023 as a part of Midland Metro line 2. Most of the archive collection for Tipton is held at Sandwell Community History and Archives Service , although some items have been retained by
5183-414: Was opened in Tipton near the border with Oldbury , in the area which became part of Warley a decade later and was not included in the modern Tipton DY4 postal district. Tipton's first gasworks was opened in 1958 and redeveloped as a state-of-the-art Naphta Gas plant by 1965, but owing to the emergence of North Sea gas, the gasworks closed in 1975 and stood empty for a decade before demolition. The site of
5256-686: Was opened together with the 360 yard Coseley Tunnel, complete with double towpath, cutting out the long detour around Coseley and Wednesbury Oak, and therefore relegating it as the Wednesbury Oak Loop . As with many of the branch canals on the BCN, most of the Wednesbury Oak Loop became officially abandoned from 1954, but the northern stretch remains navigable to the British Waterways workshops at Bradley . By 1838
5329-403: Was passed to allow the building of the canal, with branches at Ocker Hill and Wednesbury where there were coal mines. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire company was given the right to make the connection to their canal if the Birmingham company failed to do so within six months of opening. On 2 March Brindley was appointed engineer . The first phase of building was to Wednesbury whereupon
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