New Invention is a large estate around north of the town of

Willenhall Willenhall is a market town situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 28,480. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of ...

and east of the city of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England (formerly in Staffordshire). It is halfway between

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

and

on the busy main A4124 and A462 roads.

History

About the name "New Invention":

This place owes its strange name to a simple circumstance. The tenant of the first house erected there was annoyed by a smoky chimney, and he contrived an ingenious apparatus to remedy the evil. ... he invited every visitor to see his 'new invention' as he called it. ... it was applied to distinguish his house ... and others ... adopted it also.Timmins, S., ''Birmingham and the Midland hardware district'', Routledge, 1968, p. 88n.

Hackwood states that the invention was "a hawthorn bush which was pushed out the top of his chimney."Hackwood, FW., ''The annals of Willenhall'', 1908, Reprinted by Echo publications, 2010, p. 148

/ref> It has rich coal deposits and a significant mining past, with many extensive mines being located in the area during the 19th and early 20th centuries, including primarily 'The Sneyd Colliery'. One present day landmark still running through the area, having extensive ties with the coal mining history, is the Wyrley and Essington Canal. The 'Curly Wyrley' was once used to transport coal via narrowboat to fuel industry in the neighbouring industrial havens of

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of 3 ...

and

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

, seeing that New Invention, and Black Country, coal played a key part in the success of the British Empire. The coal and industry has now disappeared and the canal serves as a pathway toward the factory lined towpaths of Walsall. There are also strong links to the area's lock and key making history, with two major factories formerly being located here, 'Yale' locks and 'Squires' locks. Yale closed during the 1980s and Squires was demolished during the mid-2000s, due to the age of the building, and relocated in

Essington Essington is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire, England, located near the city of Wolverhampton and towns of Walsall, Bloxwich, Cannock and Brewood. The villages of Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Coven, Penkridge and Featherston ...

. The urban development of New Invention mainly began during the 1950s; prior to this it was a largely rural settlement dominated mainly by farmland and rural collieries. However, following a population increase in Willenhall and a need for new housing, New Invention was developed. The most recent major housing development to be completed was the Coppice Farm estate, which was mainly built during the 1980s and early 1990s. Methodist preacher John Wesley once stopped in the area after being stoned and forced out of Willenhall. In those days, New Invention was considerably more isolated from Willenhall than it is today. According to Wesley "I proceeded thence to New Invention, where I met with civility and kindness." Perhaps in recognition of John Wesley, part of the present day A462 road is named Wesley Road.

Transport

The area is well served by transport links, being only 3 miles from the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at ...

- linking it with the North, South and East of the country, and is also close to the

M54 motorway The M54 is a 23-mile (37 km) east-west motorway in the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire, England. It is also referred to as the Telford motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the town of Telford. It cost £65&nbs ...

, linking the area to the West and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. A number of public transport services operate in New Invention, due to its location on the busy main Lichfield Road. These are operated by

National Express West Midlands National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, as well as limited routes outside of the general area of Birmingham, s ...

and

Diamond West Midlands Diamond Bus Ltd.,Companies House extract company no 2531054

. The nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

is Bloxwich railway station and the nearest

West Midlands Metro The West Midlands Metro (originally named Midland Metro) is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. Opened on 30 May 1999, it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmi ...

tram stop is in Wolverhampton. The A4124 (also known as the Lichfield Road) runs through New Invention. This gives the area a direct route to

Bloxwich Bloxwich is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. It is located between the towns of Walsall, Cannock, Willenhall and Brownhills. Early history Bloxwich has its origins at least as early as t ...

and

Brownhills Brownhills is a town and former administrative centre in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. A few miles south of Cannock Chase and close to the large Chasewater reservoir, it is northeast of Walsall, a similar dista ...

Facilities

There are limited facilities in the area, with the a few shops based around 'The Square', a small parade with shops on three sides. New Invention Methodist Church is now closed but the area is served by two other churches, Short Heath Methodist Church and Holy Trinity Short Heath. The nearby Coppice Farm Estate is home to a small shopping centre which includes an

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...

which opened in 2019. This store originally opened as

Somerfield Somerfield (; originally Gateway) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company also previously owned the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores. The company was taken over by the Co-operati ...

then as a

Co-op Food Co-op Food is a brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group in the United Kingdom. Prior to reintroducing the brand in 2016, the group used " The Co-operative" branding, which is still used by a number of consumers' co- ...

but was latterly a franchised branch of Budgens before closing to be demolished and rebuilt as an Aldi. Several pubs in the locality include The Broadway and The Milestone. A former early 18th century inn, 'The Gate', has been redeveloped into a Chinese and Indian takeaways. Two doctors surgeries and a dentist's practice also operate in the area.

Education

The area also has a number of schools, including New Invention Infant School, New Invention Junior School and Beacon Primary School. The nearest Secondary school was the Black Country University Technical College (formerly Sneyd Community School), located on the border of New Invention and Bloxwich, that provided technical courses to 14- to 19-year-olds. This facility closed as an educational establishment several years ago and now serves only as a community centre.

Geography

The area has a few open spaces including Coppice Farm open space, the Wyrley & Essington canal and Sneyd reservoir (developed to provide water to the locks of the former Wyrley branch of the canal).

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, New Invention, Willenhall Willenhall