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Cradley Heath () is a small town and ward in the Rowley Regis area of the Sandwell, Birmingham, West Midlands, England. Cradley Heath is often confused with neighbouring Cradley in Halesowen, although the two places have long been in separate local authorities, and until 1966 were in separate counties. A part of the Black Country, Cradley Heath is one of several towns in central England still recognisable from their early 20th century appearance. Many of the shops and houses in the High Street are still standing after 100 years, though some were demolished in the mid-2000s to make way for a bypass, to ease congestion in the town centre. ==History== Cradley Heath was originally an area of heathland between Cradley, Netherton, and Old Hill, in the Staffordshire parish of Rowley Regis. The residents of Cradley had grazing rights, subject to an annual payment to the Lord of the Manor. As on other commons in the Black Country, cottages were built encroaching on the heath. These were occupied by nailmakers, amongst other industries. One landmark in the growth of Cradley Heath as a distinct community was the creation of Cradley Heath Baptist Church, in December 1833. This was the first Christian Church meeting in Cradley Heath,〔Rev. Idris Williams, A History of the Four Ways Baptist Church, Cradley Heath, Staffs. Centenary Souvenir, 1933.〕 and has the distinction of having the first Afro-Caribbean minister in Britain, Rev. George Cosens, in 1837.〔Idris Williams, ''op. cit.'', p. 35.〕 From the introduction of machine-based nail-making around 1830, Cradley Heath developed two prolific industries – chainmaking and nailmaking – which would remain strong for decades afterwards. Among the metallurgical companies that were active in the area was the British Iron Company and its successor, the New British Iron Company, who operated iron and steel works at Corngreaves from 1825 to 1894. The works subsequently continued under other owners until 1912. It was only during the 1980s recession that the iron-working industries based in Cradley Heath began to decline. Over the summer of 1910 around 1000 local women were involved in the 9-week long Chainmakers Strike when they successfully campaigned for the implementation of the national minimum wage for the industry – effectively doubling their wages. The Papers of the Cradley Heath Chainmakers' Trade Union are housed at the University of Birmingham Special Collections. Cradley Heath was formerly a part of the Rowley Regis Municipal Borough, with the council house situated in Old Hill. Following the abolition of the borough in 1966,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10062044 )〕 the council house remained in use as offices by Sandwell Council until 2012, when it was demolished to make way for the construction of a new fire station. The Workers' Institute, which stood in Lower High Street for almost 100 years, was rebuilt at the Black Country Living Museum in 2006, after being dismantled to make way for a bypass. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cradley Heath」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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