New Invention, Walsall
Encyclopedia
New Invention is a small suburban commuter village three miles north of the town of Willenhall
and four miles east of the city of Wolverhampton
in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall
, West Midlands
, although formerly South Staffordshire
, England
. It is situated half way between Walsall
and Wolverhampton
on the main A4124 and A462 roads.
It has rich coal deposits and a significant mining past, with many extensive mines being located in the area during the 19th and early 20th centuries, including primarily 'The Sneyd Colliery'. One present day landmark still running through the village, having extensive ties with the coal mining history of the area, is the Wyrley and Essington Canal
. The 'Curly Wyrley' was once used to transport coal via narrowboat
to fuel industry in the neighbouring industrial havens of Walsall
, Wednesbury
and Dudley
, seeing that New Invention, and Black Country
, coal played a key part in the success of the British Empire. The coal and industry has now disappeared and the canal serves as a scenic walk through woods and green belt
land toward the factory lined towpaths of Walsall.
The village also has strong links to the area's lock and key making history, with two major factories formerley being located here, 'Yale' locks and 'Squires' locks. Yale closed during the 1980s and Squires was demolished during the mid-2000's, due to the age of the building, and relocated in Essington. A new housing development has now been built on the land of the former factory.
The urban development of New Invention mainly began during the 1950s; prior to this it was a largely rural settlement dominated mainly by farmland and rural collieries. However, following a population increase in Willenhall and a need for new housing, New Invention was developed. The most recent major housing development to be completed was the Coppice Farm estate, which was mainly built throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
Methodist preacher John Wesley
once stopped in the village after being stoned and forced out of Willenhall, New Invention being, in those days, considerably more isolated from Willenhall than it is today. According to Wesley "I proceeded thence to New Invention, where I met with civility and kindness." Perhaps in recognition of John Wesley part of the present day A462 road is in fact named Wesley Road.
- linking it with the North, South and East of the country, and is also close to the M54 motorway
- linking the area to the West and Wales
.
Despite its relatively small size a large number of public transport services operate in New Invention, due to its location on the main Lichfield Road. These are mostly operated by National Express West Midlands
, but also by Diamond Bus
and Arriva Midlands
:
Term time only school service, running once school-bound and one return
Half hourly Monday - Saturday daytime
Hourly evening & Sunday service
Express service, running every 60 minutes via the M6
Motorway.
Half hourly Monday - Saturday daytime, hourly evenings & Sundays
Half hourly Monday - Saturday daytime
Half hourly Monday - Saturday daytime, hourly evenings & Sundays
Subsidised service, running every 30 minutes off-peak daytime Monday - Saturday. Several of the early and late journeys terminate in Willenhall
Half hourly Monday - Saturday daytime, hourly evenings & Sundays
These services also link New Invention to Wednesfield
, Bentley, Ashmore Park
, Cheslyn Hay
, Great Wyrley
, Pelsall
, Beechdale
and Lodge Farm
estates.
The nearest railway station is Bloxwich railway station
and the nearest Midland Metro
tram stop is in Wolverhampton.
Several pubs in the locality include The Broadway and The Milestone. A former early 18th century inn, 'The Gate', has been redeveloped, after the building began to fail in its former purpose as a public house, and is now a thriving Chinese take-away and award winning Indian restaurant and takeaway, Chilli Peppers.
The area is served by New Invention Library in The Square, which opened in 2007, replacing the old Forest Gate Library (new apartments are to be built on the site of the former library). Two doctors surgeries, New Invention Health Centre (currently being rebuilt) and Sina Health Centre, are located within the village, and there is also a small dentist's practice, the Key Dental Practice, situated within The Square.
Its proximity to surrounding countryside and greenbelt land on one side of the area, towards Essington
and Shareshill, and the urban services of Wolverhampton and Walsall on the other makes it a popular commuter village.
Willenhall
Willenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire...
and four miles east of the city of Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall
Metropolitan Borough of Walsall
The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a local government district in the Black Country part of the West Midlands, England, with the status of a metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes the towns of Aldridge, Brownhills,...
, 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...
, although formerly South Staffordshire
South Staffordshire
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south...
, 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...
. It is situated half way between Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
and Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
on the main A4124 and A462 roads.
History
About the name "New Invention", Timmins notes:This hamlet owes its strange name to a simple circumstance. The tennant of the first house erected there was annoyed by a smoky chimney, and he contrived an ingenious apparatus to remedy the evil. ... he invited every visitor to see his 'new invention' as he called it. ... it was applied to distinguish his house ... and others ... adopted it also.Hackwood states that the invention was "a hawthorn bush which was pushed out the top of his chimney."
It has rich coal deposits and a significant mining past, with many extensive mines being located in the area during the 19th and early 20th centuries, including primarily 'The Sneyd Colliery'. One present day landmark still running through the village, having extensive ties with the coal mining history of the area, is the Wyrley and Essington Canal
Wyrley and Essington Canal
The Wyrley and Essington Canal, known locally as "the Curly Wyrley", is a canal in the English Midlands. As built it ran from Wolverhampton to Huddlesford Junction near Lichfield, with a number of branches: some parts are currently derelict...
. The 'Curly Wyrley' was once used to transport coal via narrowboat
Narrowboat
A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
to fuel industry in the neighbouring industrial havens of Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, Wednesbury
Wednesbury
Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
and 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...
, seeing that New Invention, and 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...
, coal played a key part in the success of the British Empire. The coal and industry has now disappeared and the canal serves as a scenic walk through woods and 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...
land toward the factory lined towpaths of Walsall.
The village also has strong links to the area's lock and key making history, with two major factories formerley being located here, 'Yale' locks and 'Squires' locks. Yale closed during the 1980s and Squires was demolished during the mid-2000's, due to the age of the building, and relocated in Essington. A new housing development has now been built on the land of the former factory.
The urban development of New Invention mainly began during the 1950s; prior to this it was a largely rural settlement dominated mainly by farmland and rural collieries. However, following a population increase in Willenhall and a need for new housing, New Invention was developed. The most recent major housing development to be completed was the Coppice Farm estate, which was mainly built throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
Methodist preacher John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
once stopped in the village after being stoned and forced out of Willenhall, New Invention being, in those days, considerably more isolated from Willenhall than it is today. According to Wesley "I proceeded thence to New Invention, where I met with civility and kindness." Perhaps in recognition of John Wesley part of the present day A462 road is in fact named Wesley Road.
Transport
The village is well served by transport links, being only 3 miles from the M6 motorwayM6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
- linking it with the North, South and East of the country, and is also close to the M54 motorway
M54 motorway
The M54 is a 23 mile east-west motorway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford Motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the new town of Telford...
- linking the area to the West and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Despite its relatively small size a large number of public transport services operate in New Invention, due to its location on the main Lichfield Road. These are mostly operated by National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
, but also by Diamond Bus
Diamond Bus
Diamond is a bus operator in the West Midlands, formed in 1986 as The Birmingham Coach Company.-Birmingham Coach Company:The company was created in 1986 as the Birmingham Coach Company operating a single route, 16, in competition with West Midlands Travel....
and Arriva Midlands
Arriva Midlands
Arriva Midlands is a division of Arriva. It operates bus services around the Midlands area of England and is made up of various previous bus operators.-Arriva Midlands North:...
:
- 703 New Invention - St Thomas More School (National Express West MidlandsNational Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
)
Term time only school service, running once school-bound and one return
- 28 WolverhamptonWolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
- New Invention - WillenhallWillenhallWillenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire...
(National Express West MidlandsNational Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
)
Half hourly Monday - Saturday daytime
- 28E WolverhamptonWolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
- New Invention (MidlandChoice TravelMidland, previously known as Choice Travel is a limited bus company operating mostly in the Wolverhampton area of the West Midlands. Some services also operate in the Staffordshire area.-History:...
)
Hourly evening & Sunday service
- X31 BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham 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...
- New Invention - CannockCannockCannock is the most populous of three towns in the district of Cannock Chase in the central southern part of the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England....
(Arriva MidlandsArriva MidlandsArriva Midlands is a division of Arriva. It operates bus services around the Midlands area of England and is made up of various previous bus operators.-Arriva Midlands North:...
)
Express service, running every 60 minutes via the M6
M6
-In roads:* M6 motorway, a motorway in Great Britain* M-6 , a state highway in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area* Frederik Meijer Trail, formerly the M-6 Trail, a bike trail running along the M-6 freeway in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area...
Motorway.
- 41 WalsallWalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
- New Invention - WillenhallWillenhallWillenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire...
(National Express West MidlandsNational Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
& Diamond BusDiamond BusDiamond is a bus operator in the West Midlands, formed in 1986 as The Birmingham Coach Company.-Birmingham Coach Company:The company was created in 1986 as the Birmingham Coach Company operating a single route, 16, in competition with West Midlands Travel....
)
Half hourly Monday - Saturday daytime, hourly evenings & Sundays
- 69 WalsallWalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
- New Invention - WolverhamptonWolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
(National Express West MidlandsNational Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
)
Half hourly Monday - Saturday daytime
- 89 WalsallWalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
- New Invention - WolverhamptonWolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
(National Express West MidlandsNational Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
)
Half hourly Monday - Saturday daytime, hourly evenings & Sundays
- 326 BilstonBilstonBilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. Three wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and...
- New Invention - BloxwichBloxwichBloxwich is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England, with a population of around 40,000 people.-Early history:Bloxwich has its origins at least as early as the Anglo-Saxon period, when the place name evidence suggests it was a small Mercian settlement named after the...
(Diamond BusDiamond BusDiamond is a bus operator in the West Midlands, formed in 1986 as The Birmingham Coach Company.-Birmingham Coach Company:The company was created in 1986 as the Birmingham Coach Company operating a single route, 16, in competition with West Midlands Travel....
)
Subsidised service, running every 30 minutes off-peak daytime Monday - Saturday. Several of the early and late journeys terminate in Willenhall
- 560 WolverhamptonWolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
- New Invention - BloxwichBloxwichBloxwich is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England, with a population of around 40,000 people.-Early history:Bloxwich has its origins at least as early as the Anglo-Saxon period, when the place name evidence suggests it was a small Mercian settlement named after the...
(Arriva MidlandsArriva MidlandsArriva Midlands is a division of Arriva. It operates bus services around the Midlands area of England and is made up of various previous bus operators.-Arriva Midlands North:...
/Diamond BusDiamond BusDiamond is a bus operator in the West Midlands, formed in 1986 as The Birmingham Coach Company.-Birmingham Coach Company:The company was created in 1986 as the Birmingham Coach Company operating a single route, 16, in competition with West Midlands Travel....
)
Half hourly Monday - Saturday daytime, hourly evenings & Sundays
These services also link New Invention to Wednesfield
Wednesfield
Wednesfield lies at , and is located to the northeast of Wolverhampton city centre on the northern fringe of the West Midlands conurbation...
, Bentley, Ashmore Park
Ashmore Park
Ashmore Park is a large housing estate just outside of Wednesfield, in England. It is now in the city of Wolverhampton, West Midlands and was located within the historic county boundaries of Staffordshire...
, Cheslyn Hay
Cheslyn Hay
Cheslyn Hay is a former mining village in south Staffordshire, between Cannock and Walsall.Station Street is the main street with some small shops.A major employer in the village is B.S. Eaton Ltd, a manufacturer of concrete products...
, Great Wyrley
Great Wyrley
Great Wyrley is a parish and town in South Staffordshire, England, with a population of 11,236 at the 2001 census.-Etymology:The word "Wyrley" derives from two Old English words: wir and leah. Wir meant "bog myrtle," and leah meant "woodland clearing," suggesting that Great Wyrley was, at genesis,...
, Pelsall
Pelsall
Pelsall is an area of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is part of the Parliamentary Constituency of Aldridge-Brownhills.- History :Pelsall was first mentioned in a charter of 994, when it was amongst various lands given to the monastery at Heantune by Wulfrun, a Mercian noblewoman...
, Beechdale
Beechdale
Beechdale, originally named Gypsy Lane Estate, is a housing estate in Walsall, England, that was developed predominantly during the 1950s and 1960s....
and Lodge Farm
Lodge Farm
The Lodge Farm estate is located in the area of Short Heath in the town of Willenhall, which is in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.The estate is centred primarily within the interior loop of Stroud Avenue. It comprises mainly current and former council properties and a smaller number of more...
estates.
The nearest railway station is Bloxwich railway station
Bloxwich railway station
Bloxwich railway station serves the town of Bloxwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by London Midland.-History:...
and the nearest Midland Metro
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
tram stop is in Wolverhampton.
Facilities
The main shopping area is based around The Square, a small parade with shops on three sides. There is also a Co-op supermarket on Coppice Farm Way and a very popular Tesco Express petrol station on the Lichfield Road (A4124). New Invention Methodist Church serves the area as well as two other churches.Several pubs in the locality include The Broadway and The Milestone. A former early 18th century inn, 'The Gate', has been redeveloped, after the building began to fail in its former purpose as a public house, and is now a thriving Chinese take-away and award winning Indian restaurant and takeaway, Chilli Peppers.
The area is served by New Invention Library in The Square, which opened in 2007, replacing the old Forest Gate Library (new apartments are to be built on the site of the former library). Two doctors surgeries, New Invention Health Centre (currently being rebuilt) and Sina Health Centre, are located within the village, and there is also a small dentist's practice, the Key Dental Practice, situated within The Square.
Education
The area is also served well by schools, including New Invention Infant School, New Invention Junior School and Beacon Primary School. The nearest Secondary schools are Sneyd Maths and Computing College, located on the border of New Invention and Bloxwich (shortly due to close and be transformed into the country's first University Technical College), and Coppice Performing Arts School on the border with Wednesfield (shortly due to be rebuilt as part of Wolverhampton's Building Schools for the Future programme).Geography
The area has many green spaces including the village green, Coppice Farm open space, the Wyrley & Essington canal, Sneyd reservoir (developed to provide water to the locks of the former Wyrley branch of the canal), Sneyd Wharf and Rough Wood Nature Reserve.Its proximity to surrounding countryside and greenbelt land on one side of the area, towards Essington
Essington
Essington is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire, England. It is considered by the Office for National Statistics to be part of the Wolverhampton Urban Subdivision, and is within the West Midlands conurbation....
and Shareshill, and the urban services of Wolverhampton and Walsall on the other makes it a popular commuter village.