Hagley
Encyclopedia
Hagley is a village and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 on the northern boundary of Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, near to the towns of Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...

 and Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...

. The parish had a population of 4,283 in 2001, but the whole village had a population of perhaps 5,600, including the part in Clent
Clent
Clent is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England, southwest of Birmingham and close to the edge of the West Midlands conurbation. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,600...

 parish. It is in Bromsgrove District
Bromsgrove (district)
Bromsgrove is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Bromsgrove.It borders the built up area of Birmingham to the north...

.

The name Hagley refers to the area of the original village, near Hagley Hall
Hagley Hall
Hagley Hall is an 18th century house in Hagley, Worcestershire. It was the creation of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton , secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales, poet and man of letters and briefly Chancellor of the Exchequer...

. The majority of what is today known as Hagley is strictly West Hagley. This area grew up in the late 19th century near the railway station
Hagley railway station
Hagley railway station serves the English village of Hagley, Worcestershire. It was opened in 1862 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway. The station retains its GWR-era station building and its cast and wrought iron monogrammed GWR canopied footbridge dating from 1884...

 and contains the shopping area and schools. The precise dividing line between the two areas is undefined and is therefore debatable. Nevertheless, both settlements lie within the parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Hagley.

Hagley is separated from Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...

 and thus the urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

 Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...

 by a narrow strip of green belt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...

. It lies at the foot of the Clent Hills
Clent Hills
The Clent Hills lie 9⅓ miles southwest of Birmingham city centre in Clent, Worcestershire, England. The closest towns are Stourbridge and Halesowen, both in the West Midlands conurbation. The Clent Hills range consists of, in order from north-west to south-east: Wychbury Hill, Clent Hill , and...

. The village is served by its own railway station on the Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...

 to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 line.

It is situated on the A456
A456 road
The A456 is a main road in England running between Birmingham and Woofferton, Shropshire, south of Ludlow.-History:Much of the road is almost certainly medieval in origin...

 Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 to Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...

 road, which is known as the Hagley Road in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, because it was once administered by a turnpike trust
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...

, whose responsibilities ended at the former boundary of the parish (now in Blakedown
Blakedown
Blakedown is a village in the Wyre Forest District in the north of the county of Worcestershire, England. Due to its road and rail links it serves mainly as a dormitory village for Kidderminster, and the cities of Birmingham and Worcester...

).

Despite having a population larger than some market towns (such as Tenbury Wells
Tenbury Wells
Tenbury Wells is a market town and civil parish in the north-western extremity of the Malvern Hills District administrative area of Worcestershire, England. The 2001 census reported a population of 3,316.-Geography:...

), Hagley lacks the essential characteristics of a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...

. While it has a healthy shopping street and many local services, it is a fundamentally unbalanced community economically, in that there is little local employment (other than in local services). However, unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...

 is low, because of the ease of commuting
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...

 to work. Accordingly Hagley is essentially a dormitory village
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...

. The population of Hagley greatly increased after the arrival of the railway in 1862, which enabled people to commute into Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 or the adjacent Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...

.

Landmarks

Hagley is known for
  • Hagley Hall
    Hagley Hall
    Hagley Hall is an 18th century house in Hagley, Worcestershire. It was the creation of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton , secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales, poet and man of letters and briefly Chancellor of the Exchequer...

    , the home for several centuries of the Lyttelton family, whose head is Viscount Cobham
    Viscount Cobham
    Viscount Cobham is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1718 for Field Marshal Richard Temple, 1st Baron Cobham and 4th Baronet, of Stowe...

    , and
  • Wychbury Hill
    Wychbury Hill
    Wychbury Hill is a hill situated off the A456 Birmingham Road, at Hagley, Stourbridge, on the border of West Midlands and Worcestershire.It is divided between the parish of Hagley and former parish of Pedmore. It is one of the Clent Hills. The hill offers good views across the Severn Valley as...

     with its 'monument' (an obelisk
    Obelisk
    An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...

    ). The body of "Bella" was believed to be found in a wood near the hill, sparking the murder mystery "Who put Bella in the Witch Elm?" about which a play was written by the local drama society. However contrary to the urban myth the body was found in Hagley Wood off a lane on the side of nearby Clent Hill.
  • St. Saviour's Church, a stone-built church near the centre of West Hagley, dedicated in 1908 and consecrated in 1957. The church consists of a nave and chancel without a tower. It has a series of windows by Francis Skeat
    Francis Skeat
    Francis Walter Skeat is an English glass painter who has created over 400 stained glass windows in churches and cathedrals, both in England and overseas. Skeat is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, and a member of the Art Workers...

    .

Significant events

Three tragic events during the late 20th century drew media attention to Hagley.

Murder of a student

In 1983, Susan Renhard
Susan Renhard
Susan Renhard was a student murdered in Cave Dale near Castleton, Derbyshire in Derbyshire 1983. Norman Hugh Smith, a young student, later admitted to her sexual assault but denied strangling her. He is thought to still be in prison.-Background:...

 from West Hagley, a student at Manchester Polytechnic, was murdered while taking photos in the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....

. Her body was discovered showing indications that she had fought violently to defend herself before being strangled. The murder made national headlines and Norman Hugh Smith, a 17 year old computer student, was found guilty of the crime and described by the judge a "very wicked man". Susan's father, a retired law lecturer, became heavily involved in two charities that seek to help relatives who have lost loved ones through homicide.

Child murder

In January 1988, Stuart Gough, a 14-year-old newspaper delivery boy was found murdered some 20 miles away near Worcester. Serial paedophile Victor Miller later admitted murdering Stuart and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial judge said that he didn't know whether it would be safe ever to release him. An article in the Daily Telegraph listed Miller as one of 35 murderers that the Home Secretary had recently recommended never to be released from prison.

School minibus crash

In November 1993 a serious collision occurred on the M40 motorway
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...

 near Warwick
Warwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...

, approximately 30 miles from Hagley, resulting in the deaths of twelve pupils and a teacher. Only two girls survived the accident that made national headlines and caused moves for new legislation to improve safety and driving standards for school vehicles.

Famous residents

  • Jon Bentley
    Jon Bentley (TV presenter)
    Jon Bentley is an English journalist and television presenter, educated at Oriel College, Oxford.He has specialised in television production and journalism in the field of motoring. Between 1987 and 1999, he was producer and editor of BBC Two's Top Gear and was series producer of Fifth Gear from...

    , Channel Five's Fifth Gear and Gadget Show presenter currently lives in Hagley
  • Adrian Chiles
    Adrian Chiles
    Adrian Chiles is a British television and radio presenter, currently working for ITV Sport presenting football coverage....

    , presenter of The One Show
    The One Show
    The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...

     and Match of the Day 2
    Match of the Day 2
    Match of the Day 2 is a football highlights programme shown on BBC Two in the United Kingdom...

    .
  • Andrew Downes
    Andrew Downes (composer)
    Andrew Downes is a British classical composer.Downes was born in Handsworth, Birmingham. In 1969, he won a choral scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge, where he gained an MA degree specializing in composition, and in 1974 went on to study with Herbert Howells at the Royal College of Music...

    , composer.
  • Clive Everton
    Clive Everton
    Clive Everton , is a Welsh veteran BBC snooker commentator, journalist and author. He began his BBC career on the radio, but has been commentating on the television from the 1978 World Championship through to the present...

    , snooker
    Snooker
    Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...

     commentator.
  • Jon Ford
    Jon Ford (footballer)
    Jon Ford is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. Ford made over 200 appearances in the Football League between 1991 and 1999.-Playing career:...

    , former professional association footballer with Swansea AFC, Bradford City and other teams. Now a retired assistant manager for Stourbridge FC.
  • Jason Koumas
    Jason Koumas
    Jason Koumas is a Welsh professional footballer who is currently a free agent after being released by Wigan Athletic. Formerly of Tranmere Rovers, Cardiff City and West Bromwich Albion, he is a former Welsh international...

     lived in Hagley
  • Charles Lyttelton (bishop)
    Charles Lyttelton (bishop)
    Charles Lyttelton was an English churchman and antiquary, bishop of Carlisle from 1762.-Life:He was third son of Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 4th Baronet, by his wife Christian, daughter of Sir Richard Temple, 3rd Baronet of Stowe, Buckinghamshire...

    , born here, and buried in the parish church.
  • Dan O'Hagan
    Dan O'Hagan
    Dan O'Hagan is a freelance football commentator and TV presenter, who covers the UEFA Champions League for SBS in Australia. Formerly he was the voice of the world feed for the French Football League...

    , television football commentator.
  • Emily Pepys
    Emily Pepys
    -Family:Emily was born on 9 August 1833, at Westmill, Hertfordshire, where her father was rector at that time. Her father, Henry Pepys , was created Anglican bishop of Sodor and Man in 1840 and translated only a year later to Worcester. He played a minor political role as a Liberal in the House of...

     (1833-1877), child diarist, became the first wife of the rector, Rev. Hon. William Henry Lyttelton.
  • Lee Sharpe
    Lee Sharpe
    Lee Stuart Sharpe is an English former footballer. Predominantly a left winger, Sharpe joined Manchester United from Torquay United as a youngster in 1988, playing for the club up until 1996...

    , former professional footballer with (among other teams) Manchester United was a former student of Hagley RC High School.
  • Victoria Stanton, interior designer and co-presenter of Tommy Walsh's Eco House.

See also

  • Hagley Hall
    Hagley Hall
    Hagley Hall is an 18th century house in Hagley, Worcestershire. It was the creation of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton , secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales, poet and man of letters and briefly Chancellor of the Exchequer...

  • Wychbury Hill
    Wychbury Hill
    Wychbury Hill is a hill situated off the A456 Birmingham Road, at Hagley, Stourbridge, on the border of West Midlands and Worcestershire.It is divided between the parish of Hagley and former parish of Pedmore. It is one of the Clent Hills. The hill offers good views across the Severn Valley as...

  • Hagley railway station
    Hagley railway station
    Hagley railway station serves the English village of Hagley, Worcestershire. It was opened in 1862 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway. The station retains its GWR-era station building and its cast and wrought iron monogrammed GWR canopied footbridge dating from 1884...

  • Hagley Catholic High School
  • Haybridge High School
    Haybridge High School
    Haybridge High School and Sixth Form is a 11–18 mixed comprehensive school with approximately 1,250 students in Hagley, serving North West Worcestershire. The school is a Technology College, with the two additional specialisms of Applied Learning and Sports...


External links

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