Aldridge
Template:GBmap Aldridge is a town in the West Midlands, England, in the borough of Walsall, although historically it was part of the county of Staffordshire.
In 1981, it had a population of 26,500.
Aldridge used to be an industrial town with coal mines and lime kilns. After the Second World War it became a dormitory town or suburb of Birmingham.
In 2004, Aldridge's MP was Richard Shepherd (Conservative), the MP for Aldridge-Brownhills.
Aldridge became an urban district in Staffordshire and 1894. Other villages within the district included Pelsall, Walsall Wood, Clayhanger and Streetly. This merged with Brownhills in 1966 to form Aldridge-Brownhills, and then became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in 1974.
Education
Aldridge has a number of schools, including Aldridge Secondary School, St. Francis of Assisi Secondary School, Redhouse Primary school (Sadly closed in 2005-2006), Cooper & Jordan Primary school, Whetstone Primary School, and Leighswood Primary School.
Industry
Aldridge has a large number of factories, mostly located on the Redhouse industrial estate, but also heading up to Walsall Wood. Factories include the large Ibstock brick works and the GKN Driveshafts factory.
Autobee mechanic Dave is also on Northgate Aldridge Near The Total Petrol Station, He has been a good mechanic for the past few years, and has a great garage!
Shopping
Aldridge has a small central shopping area (called 'The Parade') that contains most of the shops in the town. Well-known shops here include WH Smiths, Iceland supermarket, and Boots The Chemist. There are also a number of independent shops and a large Morrisons supermarket just outside the town centre.
If you like Bargains go to Home Bargains! [www.homebargains.co.uk]
If you need to top up your Cash there is a Llyods Bank, HSBC , and a Natwest.
Entertainment
There are a number of pubs in the area around Aldridge,
Struggling Munkey Pub - Northgate
The Lazyhill Pub
The Cedar Tree (accross the road from Lazyhill Pub) <Walsall wood road>
The Elms, In Aldridge Centre
Famous residents
There is no known relationship between the town and ex-Liverpool striker John Aldridge despite urban myths to the contrary.
On the other hand Matthew Wallace is a well known resident of Aldridge for his youth work.
Geography
Aldridge is located at 52°36′00″N 01°55′00″W / 52.60000°N 1.91667°W (52.6000, -1.9167)1.