Tag: derelict

20th November – Still clinging on, and looking handsome despite the decay, the mellow, early winter sunshine lit up the Workhouse Guardian’s Office beautifully. Derelict for some years, this listed building is marooned in front of the new Manor Hospital on Pleck Road in Walsall. 

I wish someone would find a suitable use and rejuvenate this lovely edifice; every detail of it is gorgeous from the stained glass windows to the beautifully ornate finial and weathervane. But such old buildings are expensive to renovate and convert, and in such an unusual physical position uses must be very limited indeed.

In the meantime, this Victorian wonder is being gently carried to dust, Havershambling away unloved, except by the few who see it’s beauty. I pray the arsonists don’t spot it.

October 28th – Coming into the town centre from the Green, I passed this old building in Church Street I’d not noticed before – shame it’s not in better condition. Does anyone know what its original function was? Tramway power houses normally say so. Perhaps it was a depot or workshop. Under the horrid primrose paint there’s some interestingly ornate brickwork there.

I was also intrigued by the corner townhouse adjacent ‘Favourite House’ – what a curious name.

October 23 – A little further on up the canal, the vegetation is changing colour, but is still remarkably green. The canal here is peaceful, and a little urban oasis where herons fish and ducks potter in the rushes. The roving bridge here was to allow access to the Anson Branch – a lost, truncated waterway whose last job was mainly to supply water to Reedswood power station, itself long demolished.

The fate of the Anson Branch was sealed by the M6, which cut it short, but the bridge is still in use to access the road from the other side.

Septemver 27th – I’ve been passing this odd, low farmhouse/barn in Knowle Lane, south of Lichfield, for years. It looks disused, but someone clearly used to live here. 

It’s more redolent of a railway station building than a farm, but has impressive chimneys. There seems to be a bigger house behind, and this the outbuildings, but it’s hard to tell. It has some curious features, including the door or aperture halfway up the wall.

Since the lane here is a partial holloway, it’s impossible to get a good angle for a photo, but this is a fascinating little bit of architecture. Does anyone know the history?

July 11th – I made an escape, of sorts.

The rush now over, I had loads of errands and calls to make in the Black Country, and I took the opportunity to make them on my bike – nothing better after a stressful period at work than a sunny afternoon in the industrial heartland I love. Wednesbury, Moxley, Great Bridge, Lanesfield, Netherton and lots of canals made for a great day – including an excellent portion of hake and dumpling from the excellent Carribean takeaway in Great Bridge.

`Talking of bridges, between Moxley and Toll End, I spotted this one; the eagle eyed will note that this decaying, derelict railway crossing – The Hempole Bridge – is almost identical in construction to the railway bridge over the canal near the Pelsall Road in Brownhills, which is a listed structure, due to it’s rarity. Note the same blue Freakley Brothers bricks; the pattern in the cast plates, the pre-girder hot-rivet and cast truss metalwork. 

Sad to see it lost.

June 5th – I returned via Walsall Wood, and checked out the site of the recently demolished St. John’s School, where building work on a new development has now started and is progressing well.

Further on, on the Brownhills Road opposite Walsall Wood School, the site of the long-derelict terraces finally seems to be seeing some action. The ‘sold’ sign has gone, and someone has been surveying judging from the datum marker on the opposite pavement. Utility marks on the other pavement suggest someone is planning on digging there. 

I heard reports earlier in the week that there were people milling around on site with drawings and surveyor’s kit.

Hopefully soon, this long vacant site will see some positive movement.

May 25th -Darnford Bridge Farm is still decaying, slowly, although there does seem to be some activity in the yard now.  This old farm sits in the middle of a short, unnamed, potholed, unadopted cut through between the A51 Tamworth Road and Darnford Lane, just on the eastern side of Lichfield.

There’s been planning permission granted here since 2013 to build a large house and swimming pool, and I think maybe someone is planning to start work here soon. 

I’m not against the plan; the farm is derelict and needs sorting – but the overgrown gateway and white lilac in the hedge will be missed, as will my prurient stops here to nose around when I pass…

Everything must change, I guess.

April 30th – I returned from work late, in the evening, just before dark. I stopped at the Co-op in Walsall Wood for some groceries, and then noticed that the land where the derelict terraces was, opposite Walsall Wood School, has now been sold.

Planning permission was obtained for a new development here a couple of years ago, the eyesore abandoned homes here demolished, and then, surprisingly, the site was put up for sale again. 

Hopefully, this might see the end of a long period of dereliction for this site – which would be ideal for housing, it has to be said. I think this could be one to watch in coming weeks.

March 29th – I passed through Lichfield briefly, but didn’t stop as the crowds were crazy. Cruising down from Greenhill I happened to look to my right up the alleyway beside the former Regal Cinema, currently abandoned and derelict. High up the wall, growing from a soil pipe, a large, tenacious buddleia.

I love the audacity and determination with which nature reclaims the man-made if it can get a chance to.

March 21st – Off to the new Screwfix at Walsall Wood in the morning for some odds and ends, I made a point of checking out the flooded bowling green in the old, neglected and dilapidated Oak Park. Still flooded, but with waters receding, it’s still a tragic sight. This used to be the pride of the community, left to become a waterlogged marsh with no sign of resolution. Walsall Council have allowed this to happen with poor maintenance, and stood by as it continued from one year to the next.

This land is supposed to be held in trust for the community to benefit.

The only community benefiting from this sorry mess is the wildfowl one – these two mallards were having a ball.