The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-10-04 00:00:00

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THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.

and to attain this object cookery classes have
been established in most of our great centres
oi industry, and also in many small towns
and villages, and it is fervently to be hoped
that they will meet with the support they so
well deserve. The question of reform in our
domestic cookery is indeed one of national
importance, and it is obvious to the thinking
mind that our rising generation should be
professional teachers of cookery, who in
conjunction with philanthrophists and others
concerned in the welfare and comfort of their
fellow-creatures may make an impression
upon the dense ignorance and prejudice that
surrounds this important domestic question.

and £5OO by the two recent floods, and he had
made a claim against the railway company for the
loss, which he believed was due to their neglig,ene?.
Mr. Kelley said a number of pervns had suffered
loss by the floods, and he suggested the appointment
of a small committee to enquire into the matter.
After some discussion a committee was Appointed to
take steps to semre the rernoN al co' the obstructions
f:•orn the river, but in the event of any expenditure
of money being required they were to report to the
Board.

The question of the drainage of Brook Street was
referred to the Improvement Committee, with
power to obtain estimates for the work.
The Clerk was instructed to prepare estimates
for improvement, highway, and general district
rates.

OPENING OF THE BRANCH RAILWAI INTO
STOURBRIDGE.
COMMISSIONERS' DINNER.
The branch railway from Stourbrilge Junction
Station into the town of Stourbridge eves opened for
traffic on Wednesday This brancti has been the
subject of perpetual agitation in Stourbridge for
some years past, owing to the inconvenience caused
by the fact that the existing statien of the Great
Wes'ern Railway Company—where there is a junc-
tion between the Stourbridge and Birmingham Ex-
tension Line and the main line from London and
Worcester to Wolverhampton and the North—was
placed for some undiscoverable reason a long i v,ty
from the centre of the town, in a neighbourh od
perhaps the least thickly populated of any ahjacent.
After having been in hand for about ten years the
work is at last completed, and the inhabitanti of
Stourbridge have an opportunity of putting to a
practical test the accotnmodatton they have so long
been urging the railway company to provide. The
inspection by the representative of the Board of
Trade took place about two months ago, and the
opening was delayed in consequence of Berne small
alteration desired by the inspector. A very cursory
look over the line will convince anyone acquainted
with engineering that although the length was alto-
gether only three-quarters of a mile, the work of
construction has involved very considerable difficul-
ties, and the cost is proportionately heavy. Indeed,
at first sight it would appear beyond question that
the company will not derive anything like remuner-
ation for their outlay, at all events from the passen-
ger traffic. There will, however, be probably a urge
goods traffic from the bottom of the town, and in this
way the increased facilities offered to the important
trading establishments there located will, no doubt,
bring the railway company a profit. The line,
which is a double one, constructed of double headed
steel rails, runs out of the main line a few yards past
the goods station on the Kidderminster side of Stour-
bridge Junetion, and makes immediately after the
divergence a very sharp curve along a high embank-
ment across the valley of a little watercourse run-
ning into the Stour, Oldswinford Church being some
dis'ance on the Worcester side. At this point there
are two paths—one leading from the Station Road
towards the church and the other which diverges
from it on the Oldawinford side of the railway con-
ducting from Oldswinford to the station. The first
of these footpath is carried under the lines by a sub-
way spacious enough for all the purposes fo which
it is likely to be required ; and the secoud a ter run-
ning some yards parallel with the railway on the
Oldswinford side, is carried under it by another sub-
way near the junction with the main line. After
traversing the embankment mentioned the line enters
a cutting in the sandstone of some depth. The
curve ends a few hundred yards in this cutting—
called the Red Hill Cutting—after which the rails
run straight in towards the new station in Foster
Street, which is the terminus for passenger traffic.
The line is some yards below the surface until clese
to the station itself, and is spanned in this part of its
c .urse by two bridges, one of which carries the Sta-
don Road leading from Church Street and the town
to the old station, and the other the road out of
Church Street in the direction of the residence known
as " Parkfield House." Up to the last mentioned
bridge the sides of the cutting are left in the rough
without facing, but sloping sufficiently to prevent
any danger from slipping. Adjoining the Station
R )ad bridge on the Stourbridge side, where the surface
is highest, there is a strong buttress of masonary, and
at the garden of the Rev. T. Williams's house, along
the bottom of which the line runs, another strong
protecting wall is erected, joining up to the bridge
there. From this point the railway makes a short
curve into the station. This terminus for passenger
traffic is situated between St. John's Church and
Foster Street. The station which is on the side of'
the line next High Street, is a handsome building of
white brick, with courses of stone and of red and
blue brick, its design at once securing beauty in out-
ward appearance and the maximum of accommoda-
tion. The spacious platform is paved wih ornamental
blue bricks, and covered for a great part of its lengtn
by a vary elegant roof of wood and glass on an iron
framework, and opening upon it are the various
waiting rooms and offices, including a first and second.
class ladies' waiting room, third-class ladies' waiting
room first and second-class general waiting room,
third-class general waiting roam; aho a parcels and
cloak room, lamp roorn, Jec. The booking office is
in the centre of the block of rooms between the two
general waiting rooms, in each of which is a ticket
postal for the respective classes. Outside the station
there is a large space for vehicles. After crossing
Foster at., the double line ceases, and a single pair of
rails proceeds down a steep Elope, with several curves
te the bottom of the town, where a commodious
goods station is in Mill Meadow. This section of the
lines crosses Birmingham Street and the Stour, ant
is then conducted over a rapidly-deelining embank-
ment to the canal basin and the space which is de-
signed to utilise as the depot for the goods t afire of
the to sn. Hitherto the goods brought to t is paint
have been carried to the main line by means of an
inclined railway, up which trucks are drawn by rope
to a stationary engine situated between the Somber
Mill Viaduct and Brettell Lane, This incline will
now be done away with, re Will also thepr-esent goods
station at Stourbridge Junction(the old station), when
the arrangements for the goods traffic are compleied.
Pees from the town to the
At present the cartage of
old station is continued pendin; the new arrange-
ments; but in the coarse of three months this will
b abolished, and all the goods traffic will be worked
fain the botom of the town. Whether there will
ultimately be a continuatien of the now line beyond
the Mill Meadow remains to be seen, no project of the
kind being on the tapis. There has, however, been
some talk on the subject of a line beyond, by which
the districts of Wordsley, Sedg,ley, and others may
be provided with every accommodation.
The time table issued for the new line shows
nineteen trains running each way between" Stour-
bridge Junction," as the old statien is now den.oin-
inated by the directors, and "Stourbridge," which
name is henceforth to be borne by the new station
in Foster Street. These trains are for week-days
only, the directors not thinking it viorth while to
run Sunday trains at present. Travelling away
from the town, the trains from Stourbridge to the
junction are timed at the latter to cateh all the
trains to Birmingham with the exception of the
10.52 a.m.; all those to Kidderminster and Wor-
cester (except the 6.10, 6.43, and 11.30 a.m., and
10 41 p.m,; and all in the direction of Dudley
excepting the 8.15. a in., and 1.35, 4.35, 9.50, 10.413,
and 11.60p.m. Entering Stourbridge, trains from
the junction to the to en run in connection with alt
the trains fro n Birmingham except the 9.45 and
11 43 p.m.; all from Dudley except the 10 38 and
11.35 p.m ; aud all from Kidderminster except those
at 10 42 a.m., 9.45 and 10.44 p.m.
There was no ceremony at the opening. The
first train ran out of Stourhridge (town) station at
7.42 a.m., under the eyes of but few spectators, the
unexpected earliness of the starting, and the wet
weather probably preventing the gathering of the
crowds who witnessed the departure of later trains
In the course of the day a great number of persons
availed themselves of the branch-line service. At
four o'clock in the afternoon a number of the Im-
provement Commissioners of the town, with their
chairman (Mr. Henry Hughes) and the Town
Clerk (Mr. Taylor), as well as several of the leading
tradesmen, made a trial of the line by taking a trip
to the Junction Station and back, a saloon carriage
being placed at their disposal by the Railway Com-
pany.
In the evening a banquet was held at the Talbot
Hotel, to celebrate the opening of the railway and
to afford the members of the governing body of the
town—the Stourbridge Improvement Commission-
ers—an opportunity of presenting to their chairman
Mr. Henry ml ugh es, a teetimonial in acknowledgment
of his very long services to the town. Mr. H. J.
Turney presided, with Messrs. E. Stringer and J.
Taylor as vice-chairmen. The numerous assemb-
lage included the membere of the Town Commis-
sioners and their chairman, Mr. H. Hughes, the
Revs. H. Sherrard and D. Mag,ginnis, and other of
the principal gtntlemen of the town. As repro..
sentetives of the Great Western Railway Company
there were present Messrs B. Hughes (divisional
superintendent, Birmingham), T. Bantoek (cartage
agent, Wolverhampton division), T. Kinsey (agent),
Pritchard (stationmaster at town station), and
Noble (stationmaster at the junction.
After the customary preliminary toasts the
Chairman gave " The Bishop, Clergy, End Ministers
of all Denominations," coupled with the names of
the Revs. H. Sherrard and D. Maginnis.
The Rev. H. Sherrard, in replying, said he begged
to thank them for the very kind manner in which
they had drunk his health. He thought what had
taken place was for the good anti welfare of the
town. There were many people who had been dis-
posed to say that the railway would be no good to
the town, but he hoped that at some future time
etenethi• g would I‘.: done t ) open up Kinver and
at other N.lrto of the nPighliourliood,
and that Stourbrhige Town Station might be brought
I upon the main line—(hear, hear).
The Rev. D. hlaginnis, who also responded, men -

tioned that he had the privilege of joising the
Chairman and Mr. Hughes in concocting a requisi-
tion to the railway comp:Any asking for the branch
line. The result sought had been achieved, at least
partially; but he could never have been one to urge
the rail,vay company to construct this branch, if
• there had not beeu the ulterior, objec,, of continuing
the line. He hoped the work Would beca,:ri,i Ito
an end worthy of the b.-tgiuning, that the filling up
of the spider-iike viaduct at S:amber ljll would be
rendered unnecassary, and that the present " junc-
• tion " station would be made subordinate by the
town station becoming the station of the district—
(hear, hear),
Mr. Broombeill proposed " The army, navy, and
volunteers.,

Mr. C. Evers responded.
The chairman then c lied upon the town clerk,
(Mr. Taylor) to read the following address to be
presented to Mr. Hughes :—" To Henry Hughes,
Esq., chairman of the Stourbridge Improvement
Commissioners, "Dear Sir,—The opening of the
branch railway to Foster Street, affords us, the
Commissioners acting under the Stourbriclga Im-
provement Act, 180, an opportunity of congratu-
lating you on the completion of the work so far as
the passenger traffic isconcerned. The fact that
Szourbrid.ge now possesses a central railway station
is to us a matter of great imp irtance, although the
public advantages may not be so apparent to-day
as we believe they will be in days to 21me. Having
had ample proofs how constantly yea others
have laboured to bring the work to a s inessful
issue, our desire is to place on permanent record
how much we value your efforts in this important
matter. We are not, however, unmindful of the
many other ways you have served the town of
your adoption, In 1826 you commenced your
business career in this town, and in 1829 started
on your own account, while in 1351 it was your
good fortune to be able to retire from business
pursuits. You were elected a Commissioner uu ler
the old 'Town Act' in 1813, end ever since that
date, with the exception of the brief interval of
two years, 1866 to 1863, a great portion of your
time has been devoted to carrying out the obliga-
tions resting upon you as a Commissioner under
our Local Acts. You were appointed chairman
under our present Act until the first public elction
of Commissioners in October, 1866, and subse-
quently in 1872, 1876, 1378, and 1879, you have
been unanimoudy elected the chairman of the
Board. At a time of life when most men retire
from active duties, you devote your energies to the
public services, and our hope is that you may be
spared some years to come, so tht.t your general
knowlege and matured experience may still be used
for the public good. We ask you, the,refore, dear
Sir, to accept this as a token of our esteem for you
personally, and to testify how highly we appreciate
your disinterested labours in connection with our
local affairs. Given under the conarron seal of our
Board this Ist day of October, 1879." The address
which is beautifully illuminated, is the work of
Mr. Frank Allsop.
The chairman proposed the health of Mr. Hughes,
and sada that he regretted exceedingly that im-
portant toast had not been placed into hands more
able to do it justice than himself, as he felt quite
out of place in making the presentation as it ought
to have been, and therefore without making any
more remarks in the matter said he had great
pleasure in presenting the address on behalf of the
Commissioners of this town. The health of Mr.
, Hughes was heartily drunk.
Mr. HUGHES, after expressing his thanks for the
honour bestowed upon him, adverted b the subject of
the new railway. He said it *lv auld be wrong on his
part to attempt to give a history of the pains he had
taken, the trouble he had given, and the expense he had
been at in eadtavouring to bring about what had been
accomplished that day ; bet he might say that it was
with a feeling uf very great pleasure that he foetid that
at last, after a long period of persevering industry in
every shape, they had brought the matter so far to its
completion—(hear, hear). As to the propriety of the
work, there were always a groat many detractors in
everything commenced for the good of the public, and
thEref.ire it was not surprising that they were found in
the present instance. He had heard it said that the
line had spoilt the two hest sLrsets of the town. As to
that he would leave it to them t 3 judge ; but he would
late to know how it was possible ever to carry a railway
through the midst of a town or near it without interfer-
ing with property in some way—(hear' hear). As far as
wee possible the railway company had met the views of
the Commissioners and while the latter had beers •vatch-
trig the progress made and egging on the company con-
tinually, the company had always been fouled willing to
listen to anything suggested—(applanse). He wished to
bear his personal te,timony to the gentlemanly treat-
ment and the attention the Commissioners had always
received. It bad been necessary on m may occasions to
sent deputations up to see the authorities at Paddington
Whenever these deputations had gone they had been
treated in a gentlemanly way, and the company hail
done the best to meet their requirements--(applause).
Mr. STRINGER proposed "Prosperity to the Great
Western Railway and. Stourbrilge Branch," remarking
that any statements made as to the line not being apples-
elite,' or wanted would very soon be disproved.
Mr. fluauss, the Great Western Railway Company's
divisional superintendent, who replied, asked the in-
dulgence of tre townspeople in the matter of the train
service, on the grJund that it vroula be exceedingly
aieleult te meet every one of the juoction trains. rhe
company, he said, were anxious to give the best service
they possibly could.
Mr. J. B. SHEPHERD, who propeserl "Oar Local
Boated, the Stoarbridge Improvement Commissioners,"
said the Commissioners were doing a work of the utmost
poesibie importance with the greatest at cation amid
diligent care, for which the thanks of the ratepayers
were due. He hoped shortly to see an extension of
local self government,
Mr. Aiesoa, in replying, said the Commissioners had
groat and iucrea,ing burdens placed ii on them, the
“worst of all" being the sewerage. It might be set
do an that the present great debt of £lB,OOO would very
soon be doubled.
The VICE-CHAIRMAN gave "Prosperity to the Town
and Trade of Steurbridge," to which Mr. Beerock re-
sponded.
In replying, after his health had been giv-n by Mr.
Hughes, the Cerentues expressed a hope Vast tour-
bridge woul I be incorporated shortly. and placed on a
footiog with its neighbours at Keidermia ter and Wet.
verb :Lupton.

Mr -Woor,Lvir proposed, and Captain TURNEY re-
spondel to, "The litre Brigade."
Bev, D. NIAGINNII who prop a 1 "Oar Local Institu-
tions" said that the first iastitutioa wa should notico
was the Grammar School, which had done and was
doing a grea deal of goo.l in the town. 'rhea there was
the Mechanics Institute aud the School of Art which
rendered very able assistince to 'boys who had to leave
school at an rarly age.
Mr. hivpms in r Foaling, ssid that no oae owed more
to theta institutions than he did. 'Therefore he very
gladly seconded the proposition.
The VICL-OILURAILN in replying, after his health had
been given by Ur She:rani, expressed a hope that
whit had taken place the present d ty, would prove a
great bo in to the towa of Stoureri ige, (11. t ir, best%)
Mr. W. EDWARO3 proposed and Mr. Bant,ck re-
sponded to "The Visitors".
The health of "The Clerk to the Commissioners"
wail proposed by Mr. ALLSOP and heartily responded to
by the .e present.
Mr. T. WALL gave "The Press," to which Mr. A.ddison
responded _

M. MILLS proposed "The Ladies" and stated that
Oey brightend ear bouaes, and whoa coasi.ieriog that,
they wonid drink Llie toist with vett pilasaro,
W. PtlitY expressed his plcusdra ia hvrin; the
hooonr of seconding the proposition t th..! ladies, and
thanked them for the kia 1 manner in which they had
drunk the of ths

MELANCHOLY DEATH. -We regret to announcre.
the sudden death of Mrs. Millinship, wife of Mr. u•
Millinchip, of this towns It appears that the de-
ceased attendtd St. Tho nas's Church on Thursday
evening, and during the sarvica .she fainted and
was conveyed to the house of Nlr. Hewitt, in Market
Street. Dr. Hammond Smith was in immadiate at-
tehdance, but the unfortunate lady expired in a phort
time.

The sale of Colon=d Biirrows farming stook at the
Brake Mill Farm, Ha;ley, took place on Wednes-
day, Messrs. Oates, Perrens, and Wooldridge being
the auctioneers. Mr. Wooldridge, in commencing,
observed that he felt in common with every one,
very great regret that the Colonel was compelled
by the state of his health not only to give up
farming with his grand flock of sheep, but also his
charming matchless residence, "The Birches," to
go and reside in the more genial atmosphere of the
South.—Of the implements he said some were the
best that money could buy. Of the horses, they
were in good working condition. Of the ricks they
were from land that had produced heavy crops, and
of the flock of sheep, that it was the best and most
even that had this season been submitted to compe-
tition anywhere, as was confessed by everyone who
had seen it He need not, he said, expatiate, be-
cause there was neither time nor necessity, for
notw'thstand the rains and swill of the past season,
and the very poor farms on which the sheep had
been kept whilst other,flocks had deteriorated, and
some had actually perished, this was found in a
perfe,t state of healthiness and in good ripe condi-
tion. It had blood, size, and condition, and was to
be recommended to anyone who desired to lay a
foundation for a first class flock of Shropshires. No
expense had been spared by Colonel Barrows, and
he had eminently succeeded. The following were
th.: prices made by the sheep: Best rams 10fgns.;
best pen of ewes, 91s a head; shearling ewes, 77.8 ;
ewe limbs, 45s a head; ram lambs, 100 s. lhe
other effeca were generally well sold, and altogether
the sale Rai a very satisfactory one.
THHATan ROYAL. Owing to the continued
success of Mr. W. Stokes's company, they will per-
form at the above theatre for one week longer,
commencing Monday next, October 6th. To make
the affair more popular, the enterprising proprietor
(Mr. Stokes) his determined to give away each
evening a number of valuable prizes. As we have
farad to before this company is one of the best
that has ever visited this town, and for the ensuing
week there will be additional attractions.
VICTORIA HALL AND RINIE.—In our advertising
columns it will be seen that a grand evening con-

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