The Croft, St Mary’s Church and Farm, early 1900s.Image supplied by Walsall Local History Centre.

I’d like to draw readers attention to the following great local history event taking place in Aldridge on the 12th September 2013 at 7:00pm. The walk will cost just a quid, and will be led by Betty Fox.

I’m pleased to see Betty still active in the local history scene, and I believe this to be the same lady who wrote the guide to Street Names of Brownhills and Walsall Wood. Is she perchance the lady who used to teach in Brownhills a few years ago?

Please do attend this walk if you can. Stuart Williams, Paul Ford and all the other staff of the history centre have made some remarkable contribution to the blog, and I’d like to draw readers attention to some of them, like  the Yates Map of Staffordshire and The great Walsall Wood subsidence mystery or even The lost mortuary in Bullings Heath.

There is a wonderful team at Walsall Local History Centre who provide a largely free service to everyone from serious family historians to muppets like me involved in the bizarrest bits of local history. This service is the jewel in Walsall’s cultural crown and we need to cherish and protect it.

Local historian Betty Fox is all set to take Aldridge residents on a stroll down memory lane with a fascinating local history walk ‘Around Old Aldridge’ next month.Mrs Fox, who specialises in the history of Aldridge and district, will be leading the ramble round the village centre, highlighting historic buildings which have survived and what has been lost.The walk has been organised by Walsall Local History Centre and will take place on Thursday 12 September 2013, from 7pm – 8.30pm., starting at 7pm from outside St Mary’s Church, The Green, off Little Aston Road, Aldridge.The guided walk, which costs just £1 per person (payable on the evening) will take around one-and-a-half hours to complete (weather permitting) and will uncover the story of Aldridge, which has been in existence since at least the 11th century!Members of the public are asked to book a place on the walk in advance by telephone on 01922 721305 as numbers are limited.Walsall Local History Centre is the archives service and local studies library for Walsall Metropolitan Borough, and is part of Walsall Council.  It is located in Essex Street, Walsall, WS2 7AS.  Disabled facilities and on-site parking are available.  Further details of the centre may be found online at www.walsall.gov.uk/localhistorycentre