Hero firefighters praised for battling huge blaze at Lickey Hills in sweltering temperatures.The medieval town was named after a bridge which went over the River Stour. In that document, it was referred to as Sturbrug or Sturesbridge. Stourbridge: The town was first mentioned in 1255 in a document relating to Worcestershire, the county it was once part of before joining the modern Dudley borough. Sedgley was also named in the Domesday Book. In Old English, the name meant Secg's clearing. The second part 'ley' translates to leah, meaning clearing. The first part of Sedgley relates to a person called Secg, which means sword-bearing man or warrior. Sedgley: The town, located in the north of the borough, was first mentioned in 985AD in a charter from King Ethelred to Lady Wulfruna. When put together, it translates to the king's swine's ford, or Kingswinford. It is derived from a ford that run through the area, which was a shallow place of water, used by the king's pigs or swine. Kingswinford: Kingswinford was named in the Domesday Book of 1086. Eerie Apocalypse Now-style image reveals extent of Lickey Hills destruction.Walsall Tesco's fridges and freezers stop working due to heatwave.It was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was then a bigger settlement than nearby Birmingham. The second part refers to the Welsh Prince Dafydd ab Owain, who was gifted the land of Halesowen by King Henry ll (who lived from 1133 to 1189AD), so it became known as Halas Owen. Hala derives from 'halh', meaning nook or remote valley in the Anglo-Saxon tongue. Halesowen: The name features an Old English word and refers to a Welsh prince. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelt Dudelei.

The 'ley' part refers again to a clearing in the woods, meaning 'Duddah's clearing'. Then 'ley' comes from 'leah', meaning woodland or clearing, followed by hill.ĭudley: Referring to the town itself - it was named after a landowner called Duddah. Brier comes from the Old English word 'brer' - meaning where the Briar Rose flower grows. Dudleyīrierley Hill: made up of three words, the first two being Old English. We've rounded up the towns and cities of the Black Country, providing their original meanings and spellings. Some of the towns are mentioned in the Domesday Book. Settlements ending in 'ton' and 'ley' have secret references to the landscape, while the starting letters of names can relate to a person who lived a long time ago. READ MORE: Where is the actual Black Country? As such, they were given names in Old English, which was the language spoken at the time, and those old spellings have slightly changed over the centuries. The origins of our region's place names go back more than 1,000 years to the first millennium.Ī lot of the Black Country's modern towns were settled during the early medieval period, at the time of the Anglo-Saxons. Many people would say their names without thinking twice about any hidden meanings.īut a look through the history books tells a different story. In the 21st century, the names of towns and cities in the Black Country may seem normal.

Medieval town names