Although out of date as 'news', these items are retained on the website because of the information they contain.

LANGLEY MALTINGS

On the evening of 8th September 2009 fire broke out in the derelict Maltings in Western Road, Langley. Half of the roof of the grade two listed building was destroyed before the fire was put out, and three of its characteristic outlet towere destroyed. So, another iconic building in the history of Oldbury is damaged or lost.

The maltings were erected by Walter Showell around 1880 on the side of the Titford Canal to supply malt to his new 'Crosswells Brewery' a hundred yards away across the railway line. This was one of the largest breweries in the area, and Showell's Ales were distributed throughout the Midlands. Local barley was used in the malting process, supplemented with grain brought in by barge and, later, by railway.

Malting ceased in 2006, and the building was sold by its owners,Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries, in 2007, since when it has been allowed to deteriorate. It was one of the last maltings to still use the traditional 'floor' malting process: the grains of barley were steeped in water and then spread over the floor of the maltings, the mass being frequently turned to permit even germination. At the end of the twentieth century, there were only five maltings in the country still using this process.

It is a striking building, rising from the side of the canal, the water at the base of its walls, and a feature of the canal walk from Oldbury locks to Titford Pool. This was not its first major fire. On 25th September 1925 the maltings caught fire and half of the building destroyed. Added hazards in 1925 were the location of the Shell-Mex petroleum tanks next to the maltings, and tar wagons in the railway yard opposite: both long since gone. On that occasion,the maltings were part of a commercially successful operation, and were quickly rebuilt. Their future now is much less certain, but it is to be hoped that they can be retained and a new use found for them.

Inspecting the scene after the fire, 10th September 2009

The maltings and the Shell-Mex storage tanks in the 1920s, before the first fire

Top of Page

On an otherwise cold and grey day, weak sunlight greeted the unveiling of the Pauper Memorial in Heath Lane Cemetery, West Bromwich on Friday 21st November 2008. It was symbolic of the light and warmth they seldom found in life once the stigma of poverty and pauperism had struck them.

Why is this relevant to Oldbury? The pauper buried in unmarked graves were those from the workhouse for the West Bromwich Poor Law Union, which included Oldbury, Langley and Warley. Some of the paupers will have come from Oldbury.

The memorial at last gives recogition to the hundreds interred in the green spaces of the cemetery - it was illegal to add a headstone to a pauper's grave. It has been carved in grey granite in India, and shows a pauper family, the father and mother bowed down, but the child looking up, perhaps in hope.

It is estimated that 2,500 paupers are interred in the cemetery, many of them in mass graves, but there are no records of who was buried in any particular plot. The memorial will provide a focus for those wishing to pay their respects.

More information: www.westbrompaupers.org.uk

THE BELLS WILL RING OUT

Note: there is a more detailed article on Christchurch Clock and Bells on the main website, together with a recording of the bells at their opening ceremony after restoration.

You may have noticed that the clock in the tower of Christchurch , Oldbury has been striking the hours again for some months. A new clock is linked to one of the bells in the tower with a striking mechanism.

New striking mechanisms have been added now to all of the eight bells so that the bells can be rung electonically for local and national celebrations, and strike the Westminster chimes on the quarter hours during the day. They should burst into life shortly!

The peal of eight bells was originally installed in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee following generous donations of the eight bells and a public subscription which raised £320 for the work, The tower had to be raised by 16 feet (5 metres) to accommodate the bell chamber, which is why the brickwork for the top section of the tower does not match that of the lower part. The bells were originally swung from a ringing chamber below the bell chamber, but, following the alterations to the church in the 1990s, this area now houses the central heating for the building, and the tower is deemed to be too weak to swing the bells anyway.

A clock was installed four years later which struck the hours and played the Cambridge (or Westminster) chimes on the quarters - the original clock has long gone, but the dial and hands remain, operated by a modern mechanism.

The inside of the tower showing the No 7 bell

Tenor bell showing the mechanism for swinging the bell and the original striking mechanism for the 1890 clock.

The original clockface and the recently installed clock mechanism.

Photographs: Terry Daniels, October 2008

Top of Page

THE WORCESTERSHIRE REGIMENTAL MUSEUM

Members of Langley Local History Society visited the Worcestershire Regimental Museum in September. This followed a talk by John Lowles earlier in the year on the history of the regiment, in particular the history of the Oldbury Volunteers. The Volunteers existed from 1860 to 1908, when they were disbanded on the inauguration of the Territorial Army.

The story of the Oldbury Volunteers is available as an Adobe Acrobat file.

The museum traces the history of the regiment from its inception as the Farrington's Regiment of Foot in 1694 to the latest action of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. Members of the society were impressed by the displays and recommend a visit.

The Worcestershire Regiment Museum is open Monday to Saturday at The Worcester City Museum and Art Gallery, Foregate Street, Worcester, WR1 1DT

Regimental Museum website: http://www.worcestercitymuseums.org.uk/coll/worcs/worcind.htm

The Bugle presented to the Oldbury Volunteers by the Ladies of Oldbury in 1860

Oldbury Volunteers who served in the Boer War 1900-1901

A volunteer's uniform from the 1880s

Photographs: Terry Daniels, 2008

Top of Page

FACING DEMOLITION - ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS, LANGLEY

The church of St Michael and All Angels at Causeway Green Road, Langley Green was the parish church for Langley from 1890, replacing the smaller Trinity Church, Langley. Recently, with falling congregations, it proved impossible to maintain the fabric of this large late-Victorian church, and, after due process, it closed this year. The last service was held on 1st July 2007, ironically as always on these occasions, with a large congregation of people associated with the church across the years, but no longer attending!

The Birmingham Diocese has been unable to find a purchaser for the building to date, and it is now likely that the building, at the heart of the Langley community for nearly a century, will be demolished.

The building contains many interesting features, including a Nicolson organ, tablets and memorial stones to leaders of the Langley area, and several fine stained glass windows. These windows are of concern to local people and Langley Local History Society.

One is a fine window dedicated to Gladys Pryor, the daughter of the Vicar, who died at the age of twelve in 1900. This was made by the Camm studio in Smethwick, and includes Gladys as one of the children gathered at the feet of Christ.

The east window contains a fine crucifixion panel showing Mary, St John and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. There is also a three-light window in memory of Mary Amphlett, with the pastoral theme of Christ the Good Shepherd, and a modern baptistry window showing the progress of the soul from conception to rest in heaven.

Of particular concern are the two war memorial windows commemorating the dead of Langley in the Great War. The main window depicts in its three lights St George, Faith and Hope. It also lists the names of sixty-four men of the parish who died in the Great War, the only public record of these men. The second window commemorates Cecil Percy William Lloyd, who was associated with the church, and was killed on the Somme in 1916.

Langley Local History Society accepts that the closure of such buildings may be inevitable when they are no longer viable, and takes no view on the decision for closure itself. It is concerned, however, that the historic fabric is preserved and adequately protected during the period when the building is not in use, and suitably re-sited following any decision to demolish the building.

Colour photographs: Dr Terry Daniels, 2005

St Michael's Church and Schools, 1900s

The nave and sanctuary of St Michael and All Angels Church

Detail of the Gladys Pryor window

The Langley War Memorial window

Top of Page

DEMOLISHED - THE MORTUARY CHAPEL IN ROOD END CEMETERY

The remaining mortuary chapel in Oldbury Cemetery, Rood End has been demolished. This was a lovely building with polychrome brickwork erected when the cemetery was opened in 1857 by the Oldbury Burial Board. The cemetery originally featured two chapels, the one just demolished on the 'unconsecrated' side of the road, and a similar chapel taken down many years ago on the Anglican 'consecrated' side. The chapel had been neglected for many years, becoming no more than a splendid pigeon house. Nevertheless, it is a pity such a fine building of historic interest had to be pulled down.

Langley Local History Society did manage to save a blue, a red and a yellow brick from the chapel, and two souvenirs, the carved faces of a man and a woman which were sited on the outside of the east window. These were blackened after 150 years in Oldbury's industrial atmosphere, and slightly damaged on removal, but they will be restored as a reminder of the old mortuary chapels.

The chapel awaiting demolition, autumn 2007 [Photo: Terry Daniels]

-Coffin carrier used in the cemetery in former times [Photo: Janet Smith]