Stourbridge

United_Kingdom

Red House Glass Cone Stourbridge is a small, historic town in the borough of Dudley in the West Midlands. It is located on the south-western edge of the conurbation of industrial towns known as the Black Country.

Stourbridge was historically in the county of Worcestershire until the creation of the West Midlands county in 1974. There has been settlement in various parts of what now makes up the town for hundreds of years, particularly in the region of the bridge over the River Stour, and in Oldswinford to the south. The area became famous for its glass production in the seventeenth century after Huguenot glass makers, fleeing religious persecution in France, found the local clay, lime and coal to be ideally suited to glassmaking. Today there are still many glass producers in the area, as well as several museums, and the Stourbridge Canal was built into the town centre to facilitate trade.

Today, alongside artisan glass makers in the Glass Quarter, the town exists as a local hub for retail and leisure. The town now includes several areas such as Norton, Lye, Pedmore, Amblecote, Wordsley and Wollaston.

Red House Glass Cone, High Street, Wordsley, DY8 4AZ, +44 1384 812750. Possibly the only complete glass cone in the country.

Ruskin Glass Centre, Wollaston Road, Amblecote, DY8 4HF, +44 1384 399419.

Stourbridge Canal.

There are a number of shops in the town centre, including Waitrose, Aldi, WH Smith, and several charity shops.

  • The Retreat, 157 Hagley Road, DY8 2JJ, +44 1384 396290. mid-range.
  • Balti Bazaar, 1a Pedmore Road, Lye, Stourbridge, DY9 8DJ, +44 1384 894800. budget.

The Retreat, 157 Hagley Road, DY8 2JJ, +44 1384 396290. mid-range.

Balti Bazaar, 1a Pedmore Road, Lye, Stourbridge, DY9 8DJ, +44 1384 894800. budget.

The Plough and Harrow, 107 Worcester Street, DY8 1AX, +44 1384 397218.

Stourbridge provides easy access for Bridgnorth and the Clee Hills in Shropshire, and Kinver in Staffordshire.