Stone Cross is a residential area 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 ...
in the metropolitan borough of
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 ...
in the
West Midlands of
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 ...
. It is situated on the
A4031 road that links West Bromwich 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 ...
. To the southwest is
Charlemont and Grove Vale and to the north is
Friar Park
Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, construction began in 1889 and was completed in 1895. It was built for lawyer Sir Frank Crisp, and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatl ...
.
Stone Cross takes its name from a
wayside cross
A wayside cross is a cross by a footpath, track or road, at an intersection, along the edge of a field or in a forest. It can be made of wood, stone or metal. Stone crosses may also be conciliation crosses. Often they serve as waymarks for wal ...
which stood until the 1890s - a replica was unveiled in 2002. It was a largely rural area until the late 1920s, when West Bromwich council built a large
council housing
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...
development in the area, to the west of Walsall Road, which joined up with the new
Friar Park
Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, construction began in 1889 and was completed in 1895. It was built for lawyer Sir Frank Crisp, and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatl ...
estate, another council housing development.
In the centre of Stone Cross, there is a
roundabout
A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...
surrounding the Stone Cross
pub
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
. Stone Cross also has a small shopping area including a library, which opened in 1975.
On 10 November 1940, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a bomb landed on Walsall Road and damaged several houses, missing its target of a nearby anti-aircraft gun. There were no fatalities.
The suburb is served by
Tame Bridge railway station, which gives railway links to
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
,
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 ...
,
Rugeley
Rugeley ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District, in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is north of Lichfield, southeast of Stafford, northeast of ...
and
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 centre is a major interchange of
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is bus operator in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. It is a subsidiary of Mobico Group (formerly National Express Group) and is the largest bus operator in the region, as well as one of ...
and
Diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
bus services 4, 4H, 4M, and 40 bus services connecting to
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Blackheath,
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, ...
and
Oldbury.
Stone Cross is home to the countries largest
St George's Day
Saint George's Day is the Calendar of saints, feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, regions, and cities of which he is the Patronages of Saint George, patron saint, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bu ...
parade, which runs between Stone Cross and
Dartmouth Park
Dartmouth Park is a district of north west London in the London Borough of Camden, north of Charing Cross. The area adjoins Highgate and Highgate Cemetery (to the north) and Kentish Town (to the south). Parliament Hill, London, Parliament Hill ...
in West Bromwich. In 2014 it attracted around 15000 people.
References
Areas of Sandwell
West Bromwich
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