IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Winsford Close, HALESOWEN, B63 3QH

Here the Stour runs in a short but deep ravine which is a haven for wildlife. It is difficult to get down to the river. Evidence of the industrial past is clear. The slope is strewn with old junk and must have been used as an informal rubbish tip. Moreover, the 'soil', which is visible in places, seems to be almost pure coal waste, unsurprising given the hamlet placename (The Furnace) and the proximity of several collieries.

The river flows past the gun barrel works.

Ironworking has been recorded at this site next to the River Stour since 1690. Water from a two acre pool powered the 1801 mill with a pair of sixteen foot water wheels. Products produced at the site ranged from gun barrels, optical lenses, sword blades, spades, nails and chains. The site was later converted to steam power and the mill pool filled in.

This lane was formerly part of Shelah Road but this eastern section was bypassed in the latter half of the twentieth century and now serves merely as cul-de-sac access to a few houses and as a public footpath. It crosses the River Stour on a tall narrow arch bridge. I think that before it was Shelah Road, it was originally built as a tramway to link Old Hawn (later Hawne) Colliery with the canal. The colliery operated from about 1834 to 1902.

The Industrial Estate on Hayseech Road.

Ironworking has been recorded at this site next to the River Stour since 1690. Water from a two acre pool powered the 1801 mill with a pair of sixteen foot water wheels. Products produced at the site ranged from gun barrels, optical lenses, sword blades, spades, nails and chains. The site was later converted to steam power and the mill pool filled in.

This lane was formerly part of Shelah Road but this eastern section was bypassed in the latter half of the twentieth century and now serves merely as cul-de-sac access to a few houses and as a public footpath. It crosses the River Stour on a tall narrow arch bridge. I think that before it was Shelah Road, it was originally built as a tramway to link Old Hawn (later Hawne) Colliery with the canal. The colliery operated from about 1834 to 1902.

This lane this bridge carries was formerly part of Shelah Road but this eastern section was bypassed in the latter half of the twentieth century and now serves merely as cul-de-sac access to a few houses and as a public footpath. Here it crosses the River Stour which is in a deep ravine. I think that before it was Shelah Road, it was originally built as a tramway to link Old Hawn (later Hawne) Colliery with the canal. The colliery operated from about 1834 to 1902.