Toll End

Toll End is a residential area of Tipton

Tipton

Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....

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...

of England. It was developed during the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

which saw previously rural Tipton developed as one of the most prolific manufacturing and mining towns in the country. It is situated on the former A461 road

A461 road

The A461 is a main road in Great Britain that links Lichfield in Staffordshire, with Stourbridge, West Midlands, passing through Walsall & Dudley.-Places along the route:* Lichfield* Walsall* M6 motorway * Wednesbury* Tipton* Great Bridge...

which connects 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...

to 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...

.

Several factories were built around Toll End as the area developed during Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

times, and many houses were built to accommodate the workers. Private and council housing saw the area further expand between 1920 and 1970.

The main road through Toll End - Toll End Road - is no longer part of the main Dudley to Walsall route following the completion of the Black Country Spine Road in 1995.

But the biggest change around Toll End has no doubt been the de-industrialisation of the area since the 1970s. Most of the local industry has gone due to a de-industrialisation of the 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...

, though the local electricity power generation firm npower

Npower (UK)

RWE Npower plc is a UK-based electricity and gas supply generation company, formerly known as Innogy plc. As Innogy plc it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...

- formerly the Midlands Electricity Board - has remained in the area since its current base was built in about 1960.

Much of the land around Toll End previously occupied by industry has been developed for modern housing, with a number of substantial private housing developments having taken place since 1990.

Despite the extensive residential developments around Toll End in the last 20 years, many older buildings still remain, including dozens of turn-of-the-20th century terraced house

Terraced house

In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...

s on the main Toll End Road.

Tipton Green and Toll End Canals

In 1806 it was decided to extend this branch to the Tipton Green Branch of the Tipton Green and Toll End Canals

Tipton Green and Toll End Canals

The Tipton Green Branch and Toll End Branch were narrow canals comprising part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations near Tipton , West Midlands, England...

., with further locks, and in January 1809 the Toll End Communication Canal was completed making the length 1 ³/₈ miles.

The Tipton Green Branch became disused in 1960, and the Toll End Branch in 1966. The locks and canals were infilled in 1976.

Eagle Rail Crossing

Eagle Crossing - a level crossing situated in Eagle Lane on the border with West Bromwich

West Bromwich

West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...

- was a significant local landmark in Toll End. It was opened in 1850 on the completion of the South Staffordshire Line

South Staffordshire Line

The South Staffordshire Line was a railway line that connected Lichfield in Staffordshire, England with Dudley, formerly in Worcestershire. However, it joined the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway's line just north of Dudley Station, where it, in essence, continued to Stourbridge, in...

between 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 Walsall

Walsall

, and for many years had a signal box which was typical of many which existed - and still exist - throughout the country. The line at Eagle Crossing closed in 1993 and two years later a four-span "viaduct" style roadbridge was constructed above road level to carry the new Spine Road.

Eagle Lane was also home to a factory owned by Birmingham-based firm JF Ratcliff metals, built in the late 19th century and employing hundreds of workers until its closure in December 1989. Demolition took place shortly after closure and within four years the site was occupied by a private housing estate, one of the roads being called Ratcliff Way.

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