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That sounds about right. Sandwell MBC was created on 1 April 1974. Galton Bridge dates from 1829 and I think the valley was constructed artificially. But no-one called it Galton Valley until the 1970s. I confess that I have little sense of Sandwell as a physical place - unlike say Smethwick...

'Real Ale' is promised too! https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/fresh-hope-woodman-licence-application-29648468

The Woodman is being restored and will reopen as a pub in September! Good news for once.

Rosie, I'm pleased that the Shakespeare Garden has been restored. Mom was a keen gardener and we always looked in there. I don't know if the many poisonous plants in Shakespeare survived modern health and safety! What about the Lightwoods Park bandstand? I must go and visit the Woods this...

Richard, Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (the father) -- 'On 24 March 1841 Brunel was knighted by the young Queen Victoria. This was at the suggestion of Prince Albert who had shown keen interest in the progress of the [Thames] tunnel.' Wikipedia. Albert was keenly interested in Engineering, but he...

Lyn, in 1957 Warley Abbey (and the Woods) together with Lightwoods House and Park belonged to BCC (despite being outside the city bounds.) It was thought that Warley Abbey was too expensive to restore. The Gothic Revival was no longer fashionable then I suspect. Derek

Lyn, in the book linked by Pedro #24 above there is a photo of an interior room with a fire screen and pictures hung closely on the wall and another photo of an empty corridor with plastered ceiling, this last one taken before demolition. The house was completed in 1819, so Victorian Gothic...

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Thanks Pedro. I've not seen this before. Oliver Lodge and Alexander Chance together with the other subscribers were public spirited in saving the woods for the benefit of generations of local people. Derek

Happy Birthday!

The people who don't link their DNA to a tree are irritating. Also those who ask you for information, yet they don't want to reveal anything themselves! I appreciate there can be people who simply want to establish who their parents or grandparents were. They are not interested in family history...

Excellent news, Gerry! I look forward to it.

Some Black Patch stories in Travellers Times https://www.travellerstimes.org.uk/search/content?keys=Black+Patch

Yes, a little spit in a tube. It also helps to build a wide and deep family tree (ideally a public tree, so people who may be related to you can find relatives and you can find them.) Bear in mind that for some people there are skeletons. The man they were told was their father isn't. In my case...

In recent years there have been many supposedly paranormal events in the baths. There are certainly basements and sub-basements with WW2 posters and notices. The underground corridors were used as an air-raid shelter and it was said there was an entrance to a deep shelter in the flats over the...

Yes, Richard, both newer and different. Sandwell Aquatics Centre is in Londonderry Lane and costs £23 per month membership. It was built for the Commonwealth Games and adapted for public use.https://www.slt-leisure.co.uk/our-centres/sandwell-aquatics-centre/ Free swimming for under 18s and over...

Thimblemill Baths for sale. (Smethwick Baths in later years) A stylish grade 2 building. Happy days swimming there as a child. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnd021xkknro

As many of us know, the Library of Birmingham has important photography collections. There's an article in the Dispatch which might give publicity to the need to catalogue and digitise the collection to make it more widely...

Happy Birthday, Alberta!