Between the late 11th century and 1844, the English

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

(or Salop) possessed a large

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

within the present-day

Black Country The Black Country is an area of England's West Midlands. It is mainly urban, covering most of the Dudley and Sandwell metropolitan boroughs, with the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall and the City of Wolverhampton. The road between Wolverhampto ...

and surrounding area. This territory was gained from neighbouring

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

,History of Oldbury, Langley and Warley
– Retrieved 13 August 2014 and the exclave's border corresponded with the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Manor of Hala (or Halas, Hales). Shropshire (Detached) contained the townships of (what are now known as)

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, ...

, Oldbury, Warley Salop, Ridgacre, Hunnington, Romsley and Langley. The exceptions were Cradley, Lutley and Warley Wigorn, which were exclaves or

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

s still aligned with the original county. Bounded entirely by

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

and Worcestershire, Hala was part of Brimstree hundred, and totally detached from the rest of Shropshire.

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the United Kingd ...

, the nearest town within the main body of Shropshire, is 16.8 miles (27.03 km) away from Halesowen, whilst the county town of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

is 34.6 miles (55.62 km) away. In 1844, following enactment of the ''

Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 ( 7 & 8 Vict. c. 61), also known as the Detached Parishes Act 1844, which came into effect on 20 October 1844, was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which eliminated many outliers or exclaves of co ...

'', Shropshire (Detached) was reunited with Worcestershire and remained within the original county until 1974.H.M. GovernmentLocal Government Act 1972
– Retrieved 13 August 2014 Halesowen and Oldbury are currently part of the metropolitan County of West Midlands,Local Government Act 1972 (1972) c. 70 SCHEDULE 1 Part III Section 1

History

The Old Worcestershire-Shropshire Border - Lutley - geograph

Prior to the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

of England in 1066, the Manor of Hala formed a northerly arm of the fledgling county of Worcestershire, within the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of Clent. By the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

in 1086, the manor was listed as under the control of Roger de Montgomerie, first Earl of Shrewsbury and his ally 'Roger the Huntsman', although integration into Shropshire had not yet taken place.British HistoryHistory of the County of Worcester Vol III
– Retrieved 13 August 2013 The Domesday Book also states that the Earl had an estate within the Manor, with ''"four ploughs at work on his home farm and 36 tenant farmers cultivating the remaining land with 41 ploughs between them. He also had a separate estate in Halesowen, leased to Roger the Huntsman, who had one plough on his own farm and six sub-tenants employing five more ploughs"'' As a close ally of the King, the Earl of Shrewsbury was granted most of Hala by

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, although the remainder of the land was gifted to others, such as

Ansculf de Picquigny Ansculf de Picquigny (c. 1014 – c. 1084) was a French baron who followed William the Conqueror to England. Biography Ansculf de Picquigny, born around 1014, was the son of Guermond de Picquigny, Picquigny being a village near Amiens in Picard ...

(his son

William Fitz-Ansculf William Fitz-Ansculf was a Norman-French landowner who succeeded his father, Ansculf de Picquigny. Birth and early life William's date of birth is not known, though the place was likely in Picquigny, Picardy, now in the Somme department, Fran ...

inherited the land). De Picquigny was a French

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

who became Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and founded the Barony of Dudley to administrate his lands across eleven counties of England. Warley was divided into two; the Barony of Dudley's lands were known as Warley Wigorn (Warley Worcestershire) and remained in Worcestershire, whilst Earl Roger's segments became integrated into Shropshire, known as Warley Salop (Warley Shropshire). Cradley was also a possession of the Barony of Dudley and thus remained in its original county, along with the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Lutley which was held by the Canons of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

. The Shropshire territories of the Manor remained in the hands of Earl Roger's descendants until 1102, when Robert de Belesme led an unsuccessful

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

against Henry I and Hala was confiscated by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

as a consequence.

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

gave the Manor to his half-sister Emma who had married Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd in 1174. She restored it to

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

, although her son Owen still had claims on it. The Manor's name was altered to Hales Owen in the 1270s.

Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844

The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 was an Act of Parliament which abolished many of the exclaves of counties in England and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

for civil purposes. The precursor to this legislation was the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

and

Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 The Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 64) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the parliamentary divisions (constituencies) in England and Wales required by the Reform Act 1832. The boundaries we ...

, which redefined the boundaries for Members of Parliament. These acts changed the status of many exclaves and enclaves, thus starting the process of incorporating these 'outliers' into their surrounding county. Halesowen was to be incorporated into Worcestershire for Parliamentary purposes, although the Justices of the Peace of Shropshire still held jurisdiction until 1844. The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 placed all of what was the medieval Halesowen

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

back into Worcestershire, under the 'Lower' division of

Halfshire Halfshire (Latin: ''Hundredum Dimidii Comitatūs'', "hundred of half (the) county") was one of the hundreds in the English county of Worcestershire. As three of the five hundreds in the county were jurisdictions exempt from the authority of the sh ...

hundred. Warley Wigorn was unified with Warley Salop to form the new parish of Warley in 1884.

Modern local government era

In 1889; Halesowen and Oldbury formed part of the new administrative county of Worcester, due to enactment of the

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

. The county retained Halesowen (and Oldbury through the

County Borough of Warley Warley was a short-lived county borough and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the ceremonial counties of England, geographical county of Worcestershire, England, forming part of the West Midlands conurbation. It was formed in 1966 by the ...

) until adoption of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, which established the Metropolitan County of West Midlands in April 1974. Dudley County Borough along with

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

and Halesowen formed Dudley Metropolitan District (later to become Dudley Metropolitan Borough), whilst Warley County Borough merged with

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 ...

to create

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 ...

. The 'top tier' West Midlands County Council was abolished in April 1986 via enactment of the

Local Government Act 1985 The Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51) is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Its main effect was to abolish the six county councils of the metropolitan county, metropolitan counties that had been set up by the Local Government Act 1972, ...

. Romsley, Hunnington and Frankley are part of the administrative Worcestershire, within the

Bromsgrove District Bromsgrove is a non-metropolitan district, local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England. It is named after its only town, Bromsgrove, where its council is based, but also includes several villages and surrounding rural areas ...

References

External links

Map of Shropshire detached

Local Government Boundary Commission for England – Documentation about Shropshire

Local Government Act 1972

A Vision of Britain through Time – Shropshire

The Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry
{{West Midlands County West Midlands (region) History of Shropshire History of Worcestershire History of Dudley History of the West Midlands (county) Former exclaves

History

Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844

Modern local government era

See also

References

External links