General Information

Population
Total Population	7,645 (Estimate 2004)+
No. Over 60	25.7%
No. Under 18	21.6%
No. BME	2.4% to 9.1%
Indices of Deprivation	9.7%
Area KM2	3,042
Population Density KM2	2.51
Financial Information
Annual Budget	£121,350.00 (2005/2006)
Annual Precept	£107,894.00 (2005/2006)
Grants Received
Spending per Resident	£15.87+
Average Council Tax Brand	3026.73 (council tax base 2005/2006)

 

 

Codsall As It Is Now

 

Codsall is a thriving modern village set in the heart of South Staffordshire. A blend of ancient and modern providing a pleasant living environment surrounded by open rural countryside, but within easy commuting to the West Midlands conurbation.

 

The village provides a range of shops, schools, public houses and open spaces, numerous community activities take place on a daily basis many centred on the village hall, and the community high school. South Staffordshire Council offices are centred in the Parish and are the largest employer.

 

 

Brief History of Codsall

 

In 1086, 20 years after the Norman invasion, the Doomsday Book recorded that Codsall had a population of six people. It then grew very slowly through the Middle Ages so that by 1801 there were only 589 people recorded and 1,452 by 1901.

By 1996 the population had risen sharply to over 10,000 and the old village of Codsall, centred on the Church of St. Nicholas, at the top of the hill, had grown to include the nearby hamlets of Bilbrook, Lane Green and Dam Mill. Today, after changes in the boundaries over the centuries, present day Codsall consists of two parishes - Codsall, which includes the villages of Codsall Wood and Oaken (mentioned in the Doomsday Book with a population of 8) and Bilbrook, which takes in Lane Green and part of Dam Mill.

Although evidence exists of two moated sites, Wood Hall and Moor Hall, probably dating from the 13th century, the oldest building is the Church, which still has a Norman doorway, dating from possibly the 12th century. The church also includes part of the Chancel of a similar date; a tower built in the 14th century and some additions in the 15th century. It was substantially altered in the mid 19th century and further restoration work was carried out in the 1950s. A small number of farm and residential buildings date from the 16th century.

Until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1549, the main landowner was Croxden Abbey, situated some distance away on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border. After that date the large landowner to the south of Codsall - the Wrottesley family - acquired a considerable part of the land. To the north west of Codsall is another extensive estate belonging to the Giffard family (whose ancestor accompanied William the Conqueror when he came to Britain from Normandy). The Giffard estate is still largely intact and lived in by the family, whereas the Wrottesley estate has been sold into different ownership while the remaining family live outside Britain. 

In terms of local government administration Codsall has been part of a large district which has been subject to change. However, for centuries it has been within the county of Staffordshire. Its western boundary, the current parish boundary, is shared with the county of Shropshire. To the north and south is land belonging to Staffordshire but to the east, land which was once in Staffordshire is now part of the West Midlands.

A significant date in the history of Codsall was 1849 when the church was extensively restored. The necessary finance came partly from a levied rate and partly by private subscription. In the same year the Shrewsbury to Birmingham Railway (later part of the Great Western Railway) was built with a station at Codsall. The coming of the railway led to a steady influx of people from Wolverhampton and the Black Country.

Building work resulted in the development of quarries. Small local industries and commerce grew, livestock, farming and smallholdings flourished; the latter developing into horticulture and poultry. Bakers Nurseries, the home of the original "Russell Lupin", started in 1900. Throughout the 19th century large houses with estates of different sizes were built in various parts of Codsall and Bilbrook, some still exist, some have been demolished.

In the 1930s one significant industry was developed on the outskirts of Bilbrook - Boulton Paul, the aircraft manufacturer and maker of the Defiant fighter aeroplane. This required housing in Bilbrook for its workers and the building of Codsall's second railway 'station' - Birches Halt - to receive workers from Wolverhampton.

The other important World War Two development was the establishment of a camp at Perton for the Princess Wilhelmina Battalion of the Dutch Army, on land held by the Wrottesley family.

Religion in Codsall has been largely centred on the Established Church - the Parish Church of St. Nicholas, but two outlying Missionary Churches were built in the 19th century. St Peter's was built at Codsall Wood and another at Kingswood. This one is now closed and lies outside the present Parish boundary. A third small church was built in Bilbrook in 1898 and enlarged in 1966. A Nonconformist chapel was built in the early 19th century and subsequently re-sited twice, resulting in the new Trinity Methodist Church. The Roman Catholic Church was not built until the 1930s.

Education in Codsall prior to the 19th century was mainly based on the Church. A National School was established in 1818, changing its name to the Codsall Church of England School in 1906. Legislation and a rising population led in the present century to the building of additional primary schools and a secondary school, known now as a High School.

CODSALL AND BILBROOK CIVIC SOCIETY
HISTORY GROUP January 1997

Sources of information

* "A History of Codsall, Patshull and Pattingham" Published by Staffordshire Libraries, Arts and Archives from the Victoria County History of Staffordshire.

* Publications by Codsall and Bilbrook Civic Society