Stone Cross, West Midlands

Stone Cross is a residential area of West Bromwich in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the A4034 road that links West Bromwich and Walsall. To the southwest is Charlemont and Grove Vale and to the north is Friar Park.

Stone Cross
Stone Cross is located in West Midlands county
Stone Cross
Stone Cross
Location within the West Midlands
OS grid referenceSP010940
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWEST BROMWICH
Postcode districtB71
Dialling code0121
PoliceWest Midlands
FireWest Midlands
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
West Midlands
52°32′38″N 1°59′06″W / 52.544°N 1.985°W / 52.544; -1.985

Stone Cross takes its name from a wayside cross 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 development in the area, to the west of Walsall Road, which joined up with the new Friar Park estate, another council housing development.

In the centre of Stone Cross, there is a roundabout surrounding the Stone Cross pub.[1] Stone Cross also has a small shopping area including a library, which opened in 1975.[2]

On 10 November 1940, during World War II, a bomb landed on Walsall Road and damaged several houses, missing its target of a nearby anti-aircraft gun. There were no fatalities.[3]

The suburb is served by Tame Bridge railway station, which gives railway links to Birmingham, Walsall, Rugeley and Wolverhampton. The centre is a major interchange of National Express West Midlands and Diamond bus services 4, 4H, 4M, 30 and 40 bus services comnecting to West Bromwich, Walsall, Wednesbury, Blackheath, Halesowen and Oldbury.[4][5]

Stone Cross is home to the countries largest St George's Day parade, which runs between Stone Cross and Dartmouth Park in West Bromwich. In 2014 it attracted around 15000 people.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Raven, Michael (2004). Guide to Staffordshire and the Black Country,The Potteries and the Peak. p. 351. ISBN 0-906114-33-0.
  2. ^ "Stone Cross Library". Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  3. ^ "BBC - WW2 People's War - West Bromwich at War - Part 2".
  4. ^ Travel West Midlands – Mecca, Stone Cross Archived 2007-10-31 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "West Bromwich Town Plan". Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  6. ^ "15,000 on streets for St George's Day". thecep.org.uk/. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.