Beechdale, West Midlands

Beechdale, originally named Gypsy Lane Estate, is a housing estate in Walsall, in the county of the West Midlands, England, that was developed predominantly during the 1950s and 1960s.

Beechdale
Suburb
Stephenson Avenue in Beechdale, Walsall
Beechdale is located in West Midlands county
Beechdale
Beechdale
Location within the West Midlands
OS grid referenceSJ992004
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWALSALL
Postcode districtWS2
Dialling code01922
PoliceWest Midlands
FireWest Midlands
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
West Midlands
52°36′04″N 2°00′31″W / 52.60111°N 2.00861°W / 52.60111; -2.00861

Education

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Beechdale Infant School for 5-7 year olds opened on the estate in 1955 in Remington Road, followed by the 7-11 junior school in 1959. These schools later merged to form a single primary school and remained open until July 2006, being demolished in early 2007.

Hatherton Lane Primary School (which originally opened to infants in 1956 and juniors in 1960) is now the only primary school in the area.

Just to the north of the estate is Bloxwich Academy, which opened as Frank F. Harrison Community School in 1965.[1]

Sport

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Beechdale Football Club, the local football team, play and train on a football pitch within the estate. The team has had considerable success in recent years within its division. There are also popular pool, snooker and darts teams on the estate.[citation needed]

Notable people

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Noddy Holder, the lead singer of Slade, grew up on the estate after moving there as a child from Caldmore; his parents were among the estate's original residents in the 1950s. Another famous former resident of the estate are Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Martin Degville of Sigue Sigue SputnikAuthor of the Alternative History Series Age of the Navigator, Montgomery Harris is also from the estate. His roots are reflected in the series' main character Dale Beechman. .[2][3]

Public transport

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Trolleybuses once ran into the estate when it was originally called Gypsy Lane Estate. Currently all public transport services are provided by bus and operated by National Express West Midlands.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Walsall - Education | A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 17 (pp. 254-266)". British-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Beechdale residents make a 'Noize' about community paper » Housing". 24dash.com. 26 September 2008. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Happy 60th Birthday to Beechdale" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Search National Express West Midlands".