Sedgley Beacon – Past, Present and Future

The next meeting of the Society takes place on Thursday 9th November at 7:30 pm in St. Andrew’s Church, Bilston Street, Sedgley. The speaker is Simon Atkinson, Conservation Manager of the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust.

Simon will outline exciting projects for the limestone landscape and historical features including the neglected Victorian tower. The landmark hill is widely regarded as Dudley’s most accessible viewing point for Wales, Wolverhampton and large parts of the Black Country.

Re-establishing Sedgley Beacon as a major greenspace attraction will be expensive. Dudley Council and the Wildlife Trust need to apply to the Heritage Lottery Fund for finance to support some aspects of the 10 year management plan announced in August 2012.

For over twenty years community groups have expressed concern over the lack of investment in Sedgley Beacon. This meeting is an ideal opportunity to see what has been achieved and what is promised.

As usual visitors are invited to come along – admission £1. Annual membership of the Society costs £5 and gives free access to the programme of talks.

2017 Summer Teaser

Not the prettiest building sitting on the Sedgley Manor boundary yet a famous hall of memories. We asked you to name the venue.

The Hippodrome, next to the zoo entrance on Castle Hill, was opened in December 1938. Life as a variety theatre lasted until 1964 then it was converted to a bingo hall. In 2009 the lights went out and the owners, Dudley MBC, threatened to demolish the building. A bitter battle raged with campaigners intent on reopening the doors for entertainment. Eventually Friends of the Hippodrome prevailed and a five year lease was signed in 2016. The long haul to raise finance stalled in the autumn of 2017. A request to extend the lease to 25 years in order to attract long term investment was made.