By 1850 the importance of canals died down as they were replaced by rail transport. The last commercial load was brought into the wharf on Christmas Eve, 1929. Hockley Heath did not receive a station and so residents had to use the nearby Dorridge railway station, Lapworth railway station, or Whitlocks End railway station. Until 1837, Hockley Heath had neither a church nor school. To remedy this, Umberslade resident and Whig MP for Warwick, Edward Bolton King, gave land for the building of a chapel on Orchard road and a school. The school building still stands on the end of School Road and is now used as an offices for John Shepherds estate agents. The Church of St Thomas was built in 1879. In the 1850s the village bakery 'Wedges' would open, remaining in the same family until 2013. Local industrialist and politician, Mr G. F. Muntz instigated the building of the village institute in 1892, later renamed King George VI Memorial Hall. In 1913, the old school was closed and a new council school was built for 120 pupils from the old school and now closed Baptist school. The school is now Hockley Heath Primary Academy. The village was attacked during the First World War when Zeppelin L 62 bombed the village during an attempted raid on Birmingham but heavy anti-aircraft fire prevented the airship from getting near the city centre. The sporting life of the village increased in the 1920s with the acquisition of land for recreation. This was due to the enterprise and generosity of Mr Harry Mould of Hockley House and grants from Warwickshire and National Playing Fields Associations, Carnegie trustees and by money raising events. Several hundred pounds was raised by Mr Mould, who acquired a Rhode car, value £235, and took it around the country inviting people to subscribe one shilling to the Recreation Ground Fund. The car was raffled at a concert held at the institute on 3 November 1923 During the Second World War, the village had an air station called RAF Hockley Heath. The station opened in 1941 and closed in 1948. The airfield was situated on the Stratford Road opposite Box Trees farm. The former RAF site is currently used for farming. In 1978, the Memorial Hall was modernized. Due to its rural location, until at least 1998 the village had its own policeman who resided in the Police House