Wordsley - Places of Interest

Places of Interest

This church is the Holy Trinity Church in Wordsley which was consecrated in 1831, replacing St. Mary. Construction had begun 1828 following the donation of land from the Earl of Dudley. The building was designed by architect Lewis Vulliamy. This replaced the ancient parish church at Kingswinford, which was reopened in 1846, initially as a chapel of ease.

Much of the historic fabric of the village has been subject to demolition over the decades. Victorian terraced housing, shops and glassworker cottages - now so valued elsewhere - were replaced en masse by large housing estates built either in the 1960s modernist style or the 1990s Barratt style. Village buildings that were formerly highly notable fine relics of the Victorian and Edwardian era, such as the Wordsley Hospital and the Wordsley School of Art, have recently been demolished or redeveloped.

Wordsley Hospital closed in 2005, with its functions being transferred to Russells Hall Hospital. Some of the less significant buildings were demolished in 2007, but most of the older buildings are being refurbished and incorporated into the new housing development.

The fine Wordsley School of Art, built in 1899 had fallen into disrepair and was demolished at the end of 2000. The first instructor at the school was Frederick Carder, a glass designer. The building had not been used since the Community Association moved to new premises at The Green in the 1970s. The Broadfield House Glass Museum salvaged two granite plaques which were laid down when the school was completed in 1898 and extended in 1906. The school's site remains empty and overgrown.

In 2006, a row of dilapidated shops at the junction of High Street and Brierley Hill Road were cleared, and plans were announced to widen the often congested road system at this point. New apartments were built on the plot and completed in 2008 (Retrieved 14 July 2007) There is concern that this, and other major homes schemes in the area, will lead to much increased traffic problems on the High Street.

Stuart's Glass Works, another notable building, came under pressure from sales of cheaper imported glass and the business there closed in March 2002. The Stuart's site is earmarked for residential development, which will incorporate some of the historic buildings such as the old flour mill. The glass making centre has know been knocked down, and waiting for a new housing development. The historic Red House Cone is now preserved as a museum and visitor centre with a craft centre.