Outcry expected as cottages face chop

Cottages near Kidderminster which were once part of the Earl of Dudley's estate could be flattened to make way for a new house – sparking fears history could be lost for good.

Duckpen Cottages on Birmingham Road in Blakedown, which are believed to date back to early Victorian times, could be pulled down to make way for a replacement detached house and a twin garage. However the plans do not make clear whether it is one or both properties that will go. According to the parish council the plan will meet opposition.

The application, which has been submitted by Arthur Morgan & Son Ltd from Stourbridge, has already sparked sadness from the clerk of Blakedown Parish Council, Roger Gurney, who said he expected some opposition as history was being removed from the area.

He said: "I hadn't heard about this. It has got to go before the parish council yet but it's history that being got rid of and I would think there would be opposition."

The two red brick cottages were included as a lot in a 1918 sale of some of the the Earl of Dudley's estate. In this they were described as "a pair of well-built cottages".

Mr Gurney said he was not sure who owned the cottages.

The Earl of Dudley, according to legend, once said that he owned all he could see from his Dudley home.

However this is said to have annoyed inhabitants of Hagley Hall who then proceeded to build an obelisk. This meant the Earl of Dudley no-longer owned all he could see as the obelisk was not his.

News that an old house in Stourport could also be bulldozed has sparked fears that history is being destroyed in the town.

Conservation officers on Wyre Forest District Council say the building is an important landmark in the area, due to its size and prominence. The house in Mill Road dates back to at least 1838.