Place:Sedgley, Staffordshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Sedgley is a suburban area in the north of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the county of the West Midlands in England.

Until 1974 it was an urban district in Staffordshire. Sedgley is situated along the A459 road between Wolverhampton and Dudley, and was formerly the seat of an ancient manor comprising several smaller villages, including Gornall, Gospel End, Ettingshall, Coseley, and Brierley (now called Bradley) and Woodsetton. In 1894, the manor was split to create the Sedgley and Coseley Urban Districts, the bulk of which were later merged into the Dudley County Borough in 1966.

Originally dotted with farming communities in the middle-ages, the village became industrialized as natural resources such as coal and limestone were exploited, and by the 18th century it was producing goods such as iron and brick.

Sedgley expanded rapidly during the early part of the 20th century, partly in response to the development of the nearby Baggeridge Colliery (1899-1968) at Gospel End, despite a depletion in raw materials and a general decline in industry. As industry continued to decline, much of the area became redeveloped, with residential suburbs now dominating the landscape.

The east of the Sedgley district was transferred into Dudley as long ago as 1926, but Sedgley Urban District Council survived until 1966, when the majority of the area was merged into the Dudley County Borough, along with the Coseley and Brierley Hill districts. The Gospel End area, however, was merged into Wombourne in the Seisdon Rural District (later South Staffordshire), and the Goldthorn Park estate in the extreme north of the area was transferred into Wolverhampton.

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