Aldridge
Aldridge is a town in the West Midlands, England, in the borough of Walsall, although historically it was part of the county of Staffordshire.
In 1981, it had a population of 26,500.
Aldridge used to be an industrial town with coal mines and lime kilns. After the Second World War it became a dormitory town or suburb of Birmingham.
In 2004, Aldridge's MP was Richard Shepherd (Conservative), the MP for Aldridge-Brownhills.
Aldridge became an urban district in Staffordshire in 1894. Other villages within the district included Pelsall, Walsall Wood, Clayhanger and Streetly. This merged with Brownhills in 1966 to form Aldridge-Brownhills, and then became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in 1974.
Education
Aldridge has a number of schools, including St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Technology College, St Mary of the Angels Catholic School, Aldridge Science College, Cooper & Jordan Primary school, Whetstone Primary School, and Leighswood Primary School.
Industry
Aldridge has a large number of factories, mostly located on the Redhouse industrial estate, but also heading up to Walsall Wood. Factories include the large Ibstock brick works and the GKN Driveshafts factory.
Aldridge Plasics Aldridge Paper Co Ltd
Shopping
Aldridge has a small central shopping area (called 'The Parade') that contains most of the shops in the town. Well-known shops here include WH Smiths, Iceland supermarket, and Boots The Chemist. There are also a number of independent shops and a large Morrisons supermarket just outside the town centre. The Home Bargains chain owned by TJ Morris Ltd. have recently opened a store in Aldridge.
Entertainment
There are a number of pubs in the area around Aldridge,
The Elms - Anchor Road, Aldridge The Whitehouse (owned by the Sizzling Pub co)- Walsall Road The Lazyhill Pub - Walsall Wood Road The Cedar Tree Pub - Walsall Wood Road The Bowman - Redhouse Lane The Brickmakers Arms - Salters Road (Walsall Wood) The Plough and Harrow - Chester Road, Aldridge The Old Irish Harp - Chester Road, Aldridge The Tavern - Paddock Lane Aldridge
Geography
Aldridge is located at 52°36′00″N, 01°55′00″W (52.6000, -1.9167)1.
Transport
Aldridge is served by a good local bus service. Buses to Walsall are very frequent, namely the 366, 367, 368, 355, and there are half hourly buses to Sutton Coldfield [the 366] - which used to run all the way from Walsall, via Aldridge and Sutton Coldfield to Birmingham Airport. There are also two buses that run in to Birmingham City Centre from Aldridge, the 156 and the 997.
In recent times, there has been talk of re-opening the railway that runs through aldridge as a passenger line. In the late 90's / early 2000's, plans were drawn up for a modern station to be built on the site of the old one, which closed in 1966. The site of the old station lies behind the new doctors surgery, at the bottom of Portland Road - part of the platform can still be seen. Should the station be re-opened, it would offer services to Birmingham via Sutton Coldfield, or the short journey in to Walsall. Despite the plans that have been drawn up, nothing has happened yet.
Sports & Recreation
Aldridge has a Cricket Club, located up the green, behind St Mary's Church, and the Masonic Hall.
...taking the stress out of moving
