Turners Hill, West Midlands
Encyclopedia
Turners Hill or Turner's Hill is the highest hill
in the West Midlands
, England, at 271m above sea level. The hill is situated on the border of Dudley
and Rowley Regis
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell (originally Rowley Regis and from 1966 to 1974 part of Warley
), in a rural part of the predominantly industrial Black Country
.
The hill can be seen from many miles away, and offers good views to Clent Hills
, Kinver Edge
, Shatterford Hill
, Barr Beacon and on a clear day to the Shropshire and Malvern Hills. There are good views of the hill from the M5 Motorway
between Junctions 1 and 2.
Portway Hill is sometimes thought to be a different hill, although in fact it is the name of a road that goes up the south side of the hill.
on the southern end of the hill that are used to obtain diabase
.
On top of the hill are two large British Telecommunications (BT) radio towers which can be seen for many miles.
The hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI), due to its well-exposed strata
of rock from the Silurian
Age. This makes it useful in understanding the nature of this geological period in Britain.
Dudley Golf Course is also situated on the hill.
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England, at 271m above sea level. The hill is situated on the border of Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
and Rowley Regis
Rowley Regis
Rowley Regis is a town in the Sandwell metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county and a part of the Black Country in the United Kingdom. Being part of the Black Country, locals speak with the traditional dialect, though in a form regarded by many as the quickest and the hardest to...
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell (originally Rowley Regis and from 1966 to 1974 part of Warley
Warley
Warley is the name of several places in the United Kingdom:In the West Midlands:*County Borough of Warley*Warley, West Midlands*Warley *Warley High School*Warley WoodsIn Essex:*Great Warley*Little Warley...
), in a rural part of the predominantly industrial 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...
.
The hill can be seen from many miles away, and offers good views to 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...
, Kinver Edge
Kinver Edge
Kinver Edge is a high heath and woodland escarpment just west of Kinver, about four miles west of Stourbridge, and four miles north of Kidderminster, and is on the border between Worcestershire and Staffordshire, England. It is now owned by the National Trust....
, Shatterford Hill
Shatterford Hill
Shatterford Hill is an English geographical feature that extends from Bewdley in north Worcestershire to Birdsgreen near Alveley, just over the border in Shropshire...
, Barr Beacon and on a clear day to the Shropshire and Malvern Hills. There are good views of the hill from the M5 Motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
between Junctions 1 and 2.
Portway Hill is sometimes thought to be a different hill, although in fact it is the name of a road that goes up the south side of the hill.
Interesting Features
There are working quarriesQuarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
on the southern end of the hill that are used to obtain diabase
Diabase
Diabase or dolerite is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. In North American usage, the term diabase refers to the fresh rock, whilst elsewhere the term dolerite is used for the fresh rock and diabase refers to altered material...
.
On top of the hill are two large British Telecommunications (BT) radio towers which can be seen for many miles.
The hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI), due to its well-exposed strata
STRATA
Strata Marketing Inc. is a Chicago, Illinois-based software company involved in connecting media buyers and sellers. It is owned by Comcast. As of 2010, it processes about $50 billion worth of media buys annually.-History:...
of rock from the Silurian
Silurian
The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
Age. This makes it useful in understanding the nature of this geological period in Britain.
Dudley Golf Course is also situated on the hill.