Hagley

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Hagley
latitude= 52.43
longitude= -2.12
population = 5,600 (approx.)
shire_district= Bromsgrove
shire_county = Worcestershire
region= West Midlands
constituency_westminster= Bromsgrove
post_town= STOURBRIDGE
postcode_area= DY
postcode_district= DY9
dial_code= 01562
os_grid_reference=

Hagley is a large village on the northern boundary of Worcestershire, England, near to the towns of Kidderminster and Stourbridge. It has a population of about 5,600, of which about 1,300 actually live in the adjacent parish of Clent.

Strictly, Hagley refers to the area of the original village, near Hagley Hall. The majority of what is commonly known as Hagley is strictly West Hagley. This grew up in the late 19th century near the train station contains the shopping area, train station and schools. The precise dividing line between the two areas is debatable. However, only two continously developed roads join "Top" Hagley and West Hagley, so that the line must fall along these roads, arguably near the roundabout between the A456 and A491 roads. Nevertheless, both settlements lie within the parish of Hagley.

Hagley is separated from Stourbridge and thus the urban Black Country by a narrow strip of green belt. It lies at the foot of the Clent Hills. The village is served by its own railway station on the Kidderminster - Birmingham line.

It is on the Birmingham to Kidderminster road, the A456, which is known as the Hagley Road in Birmingham, because it was once administered by a turnpike trust, whose responsibilities ended at the former boundary of the parish (now in Blakedown).

Despite having a population larger then some towns, Hagley lacks the essential characteristics of a market town. While it has a healthy shopping street and many local services, it is a fundamentally unbalanced community economically, in that there is little local employment (other than in local services). However, unemployment is low because of the ease of commuting to work. Accordingly Hagley is essentially a dormitory village. The population of Hagley greatly increased after the arrival of the railway, which enabled people to commute into Birmingham or the adjacent Black Country.

Hagley is known for
* Hagley Hall, the home for several centuries of the Lyttelton family, whose head is Viscount Cobham, and
* Wychbury Hill with its 'monument' (an obelisk). The body of "Bella" was found in a wood on the hill, sparking the murder mystery "Who put Bella in the Witch Elm?" about which a play was written by the local drama society.

It accommodates two secondary schools, Hagley RC High School and Haybridge High School. Hagley RC is known to be built on the site of an old mine once operated by British Steel. There has been a noticeable subsidence in the school field and several of the main buildings, including the main hall are under threat.

Three tragic events during the late 20th century have drawn media attention to Hagley. In June 1983, Susan Renhard, a student at Manchester Polytechnic was murdered in the Peak District at Cave Dale, Castleton. Susan had been brought up in West Hagley and her funeral was held at a local church in July 1983. Then, in January 1988, a 14-year-old newspaper delivery boy - Stuart Gough - was reported missing from the area, and he was found murdered some 20 miles away near Worcester several days later. Serial paedophile Victor Miller later admitted murdering Stuart and was sentenced to life imprisonment - he is still behind bars after almost 20 years and is likely to remain in prison for another decade at least, as his trial judge said that he didn't know whether it would be safe ever to release him. An article in the Daily Telegraph listed Victor Miller as one of 35 murderers that the Home Secretary had recently recommended never to be released from prison. Hagley hit the headlines again in November 1993 when a minibus crash occurred on the M40 motorway involving pupils returning to Hagley Rc High School from a concert in London. Ten pupils and a teacher died at the scene of the crash near Warwick, some 30 miles from Hagley, and the final death toll rose to 12 when two more pupils died in hospital as a result of their injuries. Two girls survived the crash and went on to make a full recovery.Fact|date=December 2007

Famous residents

* Adrian Chiles, Presenter of the 'One show' and 'Match of the Day 2'
* Hagley used to be home to one of Rock's most famous drummers John Bonham.
* Hagley was home to Jason Koumas
* Channel Five's Fifth Gear and Gadget Show presenter Jon Bentley currently lives in Hagley

* Clive Everton, snooker commentator, also lives in Hagley
* Andrew Downes, composer
* Luke Saunders, Sychronised swimming champion.

ee also

* Hagley Hall
* Wychbury Hill
* Hagley railway station

External links

* [http://www.hagleyrc.worcs.sch.uk/ Hagley Catholic High School]
* [http://www.haybridge.worcs.sch.uk/ Haybridge High School]
* [http://www.hagleyhall.info Hagley Hall]