post office and general store remain, along with some other small businesses. One business that disappeared in 2000 was the formerly renowned Blakedown Nursery, where the new Gladstone apple variety was identified in 1868. The recent building development on the nursery site was named Gladstone Place in its honour. However, the greater part of the modern village was built on the other side of the railway line in the years following World War 2. There are horse-riding stables along the Belbroughton Road and the village also has some excellent sports facilities. These include a golf club which was originally a 9-hole course, now extended to 18 holes; a tennis club; and football and cricket pitches. The snooker club that was established in 1904 has former World Billiard Champion and local resident Rex Williams as Honorary President. The 1920s Parish Hall with its modest Art Deco frontage houses an indoor performance space known as Theatre 282. Outside is a new bowling green completed in 2016 and below it a recreation area. Road and rail In ancient times the Roman road between Droitwich and Greensforge ran just east of Blakedown and later developed into a saltway supplying the West Midlands. Another road linking Kidderminster to Birmingham was made a turnpike in 1753, and a toll house was built above Blakedown Pool at the junction with the Belbroughton Road. A milestone from this era with an 1807 metal plate still exists on the first bend coming into the village from Kidderminster. The toll house income dwindled with the coming of the railway and the building was eventually replaced with a shop. One source of financial loss was Samuel Bradley, the owner of Spring Brook Forge, who made a short cut from Forge Lane to the station in order to avoid paying dues on his goods. Planted with trees, it is still known as The Avenue. The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway opened a station at the edge of the village in 1853 on land made available by the Squire of Harborough Hall. Originally it was named Churchill, then Churchill and Blakedown following the amalgamation of the two parishes. Now it is known simply as Blakedown railway station. In the station yard there still remain the single storey cottages built at the time for railway workers. The original viaduct over the wide valley of Wannerton Brook was built on wooden trestles. In 1885 what