Wollaston is a suburb of Stourbridge, in West Midlands, England. It is within Dudley Metropolitan Borough. It is situated on the border between Dudley Metropolitan Borough and Staffordshire County (South Staffordshire district), and until 1974 was in Worcestershire. Wollaston is one mile from Stourbridge town centre.EducationTwo primary schools serve Wollaston: St. James's C of E Primary and The Ridge Primary. Concerning secondary schools, the village is primarily served by Ridgewood High School (a Science Specialist College).Wollaston HallWollaston is locally famous for Wollaston Hall, which once stood in the village but was disassembled and shipped abroad to an unknown location in North America It has been established that panelling and a fireplace from the Hall are now in the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, a building that bears a striking resemblance to the original Hall.Birthplace of steam locomotiveThe Stourbridge Lion, built in Wollaston, was the first steam locomotive to run on a commercial line in the United States. Built by Foster, Rastrick & Co. in 1829, the Stourbridge Lion's historic first run took place on 8 August. The foundry in Lowndes Road, Wollaston where the Stourbridge Lion was built stands to this day but was under threat of demolition. The Grade II listed building had been vandalised since the last business went bankrupt and was in a sorry state until work started in 2013/2014 to form the current Lion Health Centre which is the multi million pound doctors surgery serving the village. Local historian Dr Paul Collins believes the site is of huge historical importance and should be developed into a heritage centre and exhibition to celebrate this unique piece of history. The locomotive is now on view at the B&O Railroad museum, Baltimore MD, on loan from the Smithsonian Institution, Washington.
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