Blakedown is a village in the Wyre Forest District lying along the A456 in the north of the county of Worcestershire, England. Following enclosures and the arrival of the railway, it developed both agriculturally and industrially during the 19th century. Due to its transport links, it now serves mainly as a dormitory for the neighbouring town of Kidderminster and for the cities of Birmingham and Worcester.
History
From the time of the Domesday book, the Blakedown (earlier Bleak Down) area formed part of Hagley Parish; originally it belonged to Clent Hundred and later to the lower division of Halfshire. In 1888 the growing village was separated administratively from Hagley to merge with the small adjacent parish of Churchill; there is now a combined Parish Council for both villages.
Much of Blakedown was originally an area of common land, only enclosed in 1832. With the coming of the railway line in 1852, and the consequent agricultural and industrial development, Blakedown eventually became larger than its companion, Churchill. The stream running to the south of it as an affluent to Churchill's Wannerton Brook had been dammed to make a roadside pool as early as 1367. Formerly known as Blakedown Pool, it was later named Swan Pool. More dams were built higher up to form Springbrook Pool (now Ladies Pool), and Wheatmill Pool, eventually called Forge Pool when the agricultural mill there was redeveloped for industrial use. Even after the mills and forges were demolished, workers came from Lancashire and Cumberland for two months each year to cut the willows surrounding them for withies and clogs until the 1930s.
There are still two public houses serving the road through Blakedown: the Swan Inn, dating from 1760, and the Old House at Home. The latter started as a cottage taproom in the 1830s, eventually growing to absorb two neighbouring cottages. The confluence of streams at the foot of the village provided power for ironworks. These included Samuel Bradley's Spring Brook Forge, which in its heyday had a workforce of 150. The forge began as a glassworks, before diversifying to the manufacture of axles, and was demolished in 1917. The other establishment was the Blakedown Foundry, on the site of which Mill Cottage was built after 1920. Further along was a smaller foundry which later became a saw mill.
Many of the village shops that used to serve this clientele have now closed, although a post office and general store remain, along with some other small businesses. One business that disappeared in 2000 was the formerly renowned Blakedown Nursery, where the new Gladstone apple variety was identified in 1868. The recent building development on the nursery site was named Gladstone Place in its honour. However, the greater part of the modern village was built on the other side of the railway line in the years following World War 2.
There are horse-riding stables along the Belbroughton Road and the village also has some excellent sports facilities. These include a golf club which was originally a 9-hole course, now extended to 18 holes; a tennis club; and football and cricket pitches. The snooker club that was established in 1904 has former World Billiard Champion and local resident Rex Williams as Honorary President. The 1920s Parish Hall with its modest Art Deco frontage houses an indoor performance space known as Theatre 282. Outside is a new bowling green completed in 2016 and below it a recreation area.
Road and rail
In ancient times the Roman road between Droitwich and Greensforge ran just east of Blakedown and later developed into a saltway supplying the West Midlands. Another road linking Kidderminster to Birmingham was made a turnpike in 1753, and a toll house was built above Blakedown Pool at the junction with the Belbroughton Road. A milestone from this era with an 1807 metal plate still exists on the first bend coming into the village from Kidderminster. The toll house income dwindled with the coming of the railway and the building was eventually replaced with a shop. One source of financial loss was Samuel Bradley, the owner of Spring Brook Forge, who made a short cut from Forge Lane to the station in order to avoid paying dues on his goods. Planted with trees, it is still known as The Avenue.