Oldbury is the most north-westerly town in the traditional county of Worcestershire. A part of the Black Country, it is a market town and the administrative centre for Sandwell Council. Oldbury has historically formed part of an exclave of Shropshire locally situate in Worcestershire.
The Oldbury area is home to the temple of Shri Venkateswar (consecrated 2006), one of the largest Hindu places of worship in Europe.
History
In the 11th century, modern-day Oldbury formed a part of the Manor of Hales (now Halesowen). Following the Norman conquest in 1066, the Manor was given by William the Conqueror to Roger Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury. The Manor became a part of Shropshire detached from the main county within Worcestershire, the nearest place of any size within the main body of Shropshire being Bridgnorth, some 18 miles to the west.
Among the earliest mentions of Oldbury by name was in 1174, when it appeared in the form Aldeberia, in Old English meaning either "old stronghold" or perhaps "stronghold belonging to Ealda". Three years later, the manor of Hales (having been confiscated by the Crown some 75 years prior) was given by Henry II to his brother in law, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd (1145 – 1203).
Henry VIII gave Halesowen manor, Oldbury included, to Sir John Dudley (1504-1553), an English politician and general, following the dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s and early 1540s. By 1555 (at which point Henry VIII and Sir John Dudley were both deceased), much of Halesowen manor had been sold, but Oldbury and Langley was retained and it became a separate manor.
The oldest building still standing in Oldbury is "The Big House" from the 18th century. A Grade II building, it has been a listed building since since 10 January 1950. Located at 44 Church Street, it was built in around 1725 by local landowner William Freeth.
In Pigot and Co.'s National Commercial Directory 1828-29, Oldbury is described as a village in Shropshire with close ties in trade and manufacturing to Dudley and Stourbridge.
In the 1840s, a new parish Oldbury cum Langley (Langley Green currently being an area of Oldbury) was established.
Although Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council was established with Oldbury within its area in 1974, its HQ was originally based at West Bromwich but moved to Freeth Street Oldbury in 1989 where it remains.