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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Lye, West Midlands
Lye or The Lye is a town in the Dudley district, in the county of the West Midlands, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Stourbridge and borders with Pedmore and Wollescote.

History

Lye was formerly a village historically situated within the boundaries of the county of Worcestershire. It used to be famous for the manufacture of nails, anvils, vices, chain, crucibles and firebricks. Lye Waste, adjacent to the original village of Lye, was an area of uncultivated common land but it was settled by people who, by building houses including a fireplace within 24 hours by using mud and clay as the main building materials, acquired freehold rights as a result of the passing of the Inclosure Acts [sic] from 1604 onwards, and it became thickly built upon.

Bentley's History, Guide and Classified Directory of Stourbridge of 1841, describes the district of Lye and Lye Waste as "almost one continued series of humble dwellings and work-shops interspersed at intervals with others of a more respectable appearance". Nailmaking was the main occupation but anvils, chains, vices, bricks and tobacco pipes were also made. The writer observes that the "poor artizan in many of the trades appears to get a very small remuneration for his labour, and to make an improvident use of much of even the little he gets."

Lye was formerly a township and chapelry in the parish of Old Swinford, in 1866 Lye became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished. In 1951 the parish had a population of 4769.

The village of Careless Green, now part of Lye but once a separate village immediately to the south-east, was noted for insurance clubs called Stewpony societies and the Stewpony Allotment Society which tried to improve conditions for the labouring classes.

Places of interest

The local cemetery is the Lye and Wollescote Cemetery, which contains a pair of Grade II listed chapels.

Lye is also home to Lye Town F.C., which has competed in the West Midlands Regional League since 1947. Its home ground is The Sports Ground, which it shares with the resident cricket club.

Lye railway station serves the community, and is situated on the Stourbridge–Birmingham mainline.

Sir Cedric Hardwicke

Lye is the birthplace of the actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke, who is commemorated by a sculpture by Tim Tolkien, commissioned by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. The memorial takes the form of a giant filmstrip, the illuminated cut metal panels illustrating scenes from some of his best-known films which include The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Things to Come, and The Ghost of Frankenstein. It was unveiled in November 2005 and is located at Lye Cross near his childhood home.

Sport

The town has an association football club, Lye Town FC. They currently compete in the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands, the ninth tier of English football and play at The Sports Ground. The club were West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division champions in 2013–14.

  • Sir Cedric Hardwicke sculpture - Dudley Road, Lye
    Sir Cedric Hardwicke sculpture - Dudley Road, Lye
  • The Sports Ground, home of Lye Town FC
    The Sports Ground, home of Lye Town FC

Further reading

  • Britain In Old Photographs: Lye And Wollescote Denys Brooks and Pat Dunn, 1997 (ISBN 0-7509-1657-5).
  • A Brief History of Lye & Wollescote Don Cochrane, 2005 (ISBN 0-9541753-3-6).

References

  1. ^ "Table PHP01 2011 Census: Usual residents by resident type, and population density, number of households with at least one usual resident and average household size, wards in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  2. ^ Bentley's History, Guide and Classified Directory of Stourbridge, 1841. Birmingham. p. 7. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  3. ^ "History of Lye, in Dudley and Worcestershire". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Relationships and changes Lye Tn/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Stourbridge Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Population statistics Lye Tn/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Lye". Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Lye and Wollescote Cemetery Chapel". Listed Building in Stourbridge. British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Club Details". Lye Town F.C. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  10. ^ "Cedric Hardwicke". IMDb. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  11. ^ "Lye movie star gets civic honour". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
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