As you go up Sandy Lane towards the Church the first small holding on the right belonged to my brother-in-law. He had land on both sides of the road. Our field ran right up to his land at the back. Jeffrey's had the next piece of land and he had a milk round. Then there were quite a few farms, Rodger's, Nursery Farm and Gunstone Farm, near to
Codsall.
CODSALL PERSONALITIES
One of the Codsall personalities was Mr Shelton who was a timber merchant in Broad Street, Wolverhampton. They lived on the other side of the road from The Terrace in Oaken Drive. Major Thompson lived at The Terrace at that time. Granny Maybury was the midwife. She was a tiny woman only about 4ft 4 inches. She walked to all her cases and she would ask her better-off patients if they would give something, like sheets for example, for the poor people. Later on in life she lived in Station Road.
Mr Clewlow lived in a smallholding next to the Catholic School. He was the local secretary of the National Men and Women's Land League and one of the very few members. During the War he organised the collection of the pig food. He was always short of money. The Chapel collected money and had his seed sown for him. When he died he left the Chapel �100 in his Will.
BILBROOK
In Bilbrook there were other farms. There was Heath House Farm, and Chandler's Farm opposite the Woodman Public House. In front of Chandler's there was a big pool, with ducks on it, where the Village Green is now. There were very few people living in Bilbrook. In Duck Lane there were a few bungalows, about half-way down, then the small-holdings, the Woodman and then some small cottages, similar to those in Codsall,
which were demolished before the Second World War.
They were round the corner and back of the Woodman. There were also small holdings on Lane Green Road. At this time Bilbrook was centred much more around Wesley House and the Manor House. Wesley House had Gothic-shaped windows and a long frontage onto the road. It was said that John Wesley stayed there when he came into the area preaching. Whether this is true or not I do not know. It may even be that there was a previous house on the site and that he stayed there.
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