Dudley
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Dudley is a large town in the county of West Midlands, England. Originally a market town, Dudley was one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution and grew into an industrial centre in the 19th century with its iron, coal, and limestone industries before their decline and the relocation of its commercial centre to the nearby Merry Hill Shopping Centre in the 1980s.
Vriants
Location
It is located 9 km south-east of Wolverhampton and 13 km north-west of Birmingham.
Tourism
Tourist attractions include Dudley Zoo and Castle, the 12th century priory ruins, and the Black Country Living Museum.
Jat clans
History
Early history: Dudley has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times,[1] its name deriving from the Old English Duddan Leah, meaning Dudda's clearing, and one of its churches being named in honour of the Anglo-Saxon King and Saint, Edmund.
Mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Dudelei,[2] in the hundred of Clent in Worcestershire,[3] the town was listed as being a medium-sized manor in the possession of Earl Edwin of Mercia prior to the Norman Conquest, with William Fitz-Ansculf as Lord of the Manor in 1086.[4] Dudley Castle, constructed in 1070 by William's father Ansculf de Picquigny[5] after his acquisition of the town, served as the seat of the extensive Barony of Dudley, which possessed estates in eleven different counties across England.[6]
Of historical significance, the town was attacked by King Stephen in 1138, after a failed siege of the castle following the Baron's decision to support Empress Matilda's claim to the throne during The Anarchy.[7]
The castle provided the centre from which the town and borough grew, with early coal and iron workings helping establish Dudley as a major market town during the Middle Ages, selling not only agricultural produce, but also iron goods at a national level.[8] Working iron and mining for coal was in practice as early as the 13th century. The first mention of Dudley's status as a borough dates from the mid-13th century, when Roger de Somery, then Baron of Dudley, approved of the establishment of a market in nearby Wolverhampton. An inquisition after his death further established the value and importance of the borough, with mentions to the town's growing coal industry.[9]
References
- ↑ Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council – History of Dudley Town
- ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dudley" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 637–638.
- ↑ Open Domesday Online: Dudley
- ↑ "Dudley — Domesday Book". Open Domesday.
- ↑ "Dudley Castle". Dudley and West Midlands Zoological Society.
- ↑ "Parishes – Dudley". A History of the County of Worcester. 3: 90–105. 1913.
- ↑ "The history of Dudley Castle". The Friends of Dudley Castle.
- ↑ History of Dudley Town Archived 6 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
- ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dudley" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 637–638.