Woodside, Telford

Woodside came to fruition due to the New Towns Act of 1946, which saw Dawley New Town, now known as Telford New Town, named after the famous Scottish civil engineer, Thomas Telford being developed to cope mainly with the overspill from the West Midlands conurbation.

The land that was chosen for Woodside was previously used for farming and mining purposes, namely Rough Park Farm and Leasowes Farm. Brick Kiln Leasowes Crawstone Pit still part exists today in the form of its spoil mount running along both Ironbridge Road and the William Reynolds School. It was here in 1864 that nine men fell to a tragic death, when a rope lowered to haul the men out, (the youngest being just a child of 12 years) at the end of a busy day, snapped and all souls were lost in the fall. Within the woodland which now covers the spoil mount, the brick pond can still be seen from which water was drawn from the mine.

Situated in south Telford, Woodside was originally built as a council housing estate, being managed by both Telford Development Corporation and Dawley District Council. Modern housing was provided along with shopping and play areas as well as community facilities including a health centre, schools, public houses, a police station and a community centre.

Other facilities were provided at the nearby district of Madeley, which included a leisure centre, shops, a library and banks. Educational facilities were provided with two county primary schools along with a playschool. Secondary education was provided nearby at Madeley, namely the Abraham Darby and Madeley Court schools. Roman Catholic education facilities were at St Marys’ primary, Madeley and Blessed Robert Johnson secondary at Wellington.

Employment was a main factor of people re-locating to Woodside, with plentiful employment being made available at the newly built Tweedale and Halesfield industrial estates nearby.

Public transport was provided by the Midland Red bus company. They offered residents local services to other areas of the new town, along with direct ser-vices to out of town places such as Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

Woodside was unique in the way it was built and also the residents in which it had attracted. The estate was built using the Radburn design, thus separating the motor car from the footpaths. This gave a friendlier feel to the estate and helped people move about more freely, both enjoying the freedom of the landscaped areas throughout and shopping without the worry of the car.

It wasn’t just the West Midlands in which the residents had left behind people came far and wide from all over England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland along with a handful from even more distant shores. Each resident had a skill, trade or profession which they could offer to help with the development of the estate and the new town.

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Wikipedia