Princes End is an area of

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...

, West Midlands,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, near the border with

Coseley Coseley ( ) is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, Dudley district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is situated north of Dudley itself, on the border with Wolverhampton and Sandwell. It f ...

(of which approximately half of the area was part of until 1966), which was heavily developed during the 19th century with the construction of factories. The population of the Sandwell ward taken at the 2011 census was 12,981. Several hundred terraced houses were built around the same time to accommodate the factory workers. Many council houses were built in the area between 1920 and 1980, as well as many private houses.

Neighbourhood

The centre of Princes End is situated on the A4037 Dudley - Wednesbury main road. It includes shops, flats and houses. The established residential area of the Tibbington Estate and Ocker Hill area including the Glebefields Estate and Moat Farm Estates "Lost City" are part of Princes End Ward for Voting purposes only but not actually in Princes End itself. Wednesbury Oak, originally a small settlement on the main road leading towards

Wednesbury Wednesbury ( ) is a market town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England; it was historically in Staffordshire. It is located near the source of the River Tame, West Midlands, River Tame and ...

and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, was expanded in the 1950s and 1960s with the development of a large private housing estate, which was originally in the Urban District of Coseley.

Railway

Princes End had two railway stations, but neither are in existence now. One was

Princes End and Coseley railway station Princes End and Coseley railway station was a station built by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway in 1853. It was one of two stations in Princes End, but was situated closer to Coseley, which influenced the decision in 1936 to add ...

, which was situated on the line between

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

and

Bilston Bilston is a market town in the City of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. It is in the Black Country, south east of Wolverhampton city centre and close to the borders of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, Sandwell ...

. It closed in 1962 under the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

and by the end of the 1960s the line was in total disuse. The other station,

Princes End railway station Princes End railway station served the area of Princes End, West Midlands, from 1864 to 1916 on the Princes End branch line. History The station was opened on 14 September 1863 by the London and North Western Railway The London and Nort ...

, closed in 1916 under a wartime economy measure, although the line - which ran to

- remained open to goods trains until 1981, with the final stub leading up to Ocker Hill Power Station remaining open until 1991. The former section of line between Princes End and Ocker Hill also marks the divide between Princes End and The Tibbington Estate, The Glebefields Estate and Moat Farm Estates "LOST CITY" That come under Ocker Hill and was converted into a public walkway at the end of the 1980s.

Industry

Bloomfield Road has been home to the

Angle Ring The Angle Ring Company Limited is an engineering firm based in Tipton, West Midlands, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of whi ...

factory since 1951. The factory's buildings and land have been gradually expanded over the years, taking over a section of the

railway which closed in 1968. Opposite the Angle Ring factory stood the British Rolling Mills, which opened in the 19th century and remained in use until 2005 as part of Brymill. The buildings, including the offices and laboratories built in 1959, were demolished in the autumn of 2006 and gave way to housing. However, one of the more modern Brymill factory and office units still stands and although currently disused, has been retained for eventual sale due to its age.

Bloomfield Infants School

Bloomfield Infants School was opened on Bloomfield Road in 1873, later becoming an annexe of Princes End Infants School. However, it closed in July 1967 after 94 years in use as a school and was briefly annexed into Princes End Infants School, but this was short-lived and the building was closed in the early 1970s and demolished a short time afterwards. The site of the school is now a scrapyard, which expanded in 2000 when the neighbouring Kings Arms public house (closed in the mid 1990s) was demolished.

Unemployment

In the 2001 census, it was revealed that 10.9% of economically active people in Princes End were unemployed - more than double the national average at the time. The figure rose substantially after 2007 due to the

Late 2000s recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

, but was falling by 2015 as the economic recovery accelerated.

Boundary changes

Although the bulk of Princes End was situated within the Tipton borders, until 1966 a significant percentage of the area formed part of

urban district council until 1966, when the borders were rationalised and the whole area became part of

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...

borough (which most of Tipton had become part of) and from 1974

Sandwell Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough ...

, which was formed by a merger of West Bromwich and Warley. The historic boundary of Coseley and Tipton had seen at least one building in Princes End being divided between the two towns.