Wikipedia
Kingswinford is a suburban area of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England. In 2001, its population was 25,808, falling to 25,191 at the 2011 Census.
Historically a part of Staffordshire, Kingswinford is mentioned in the Domesday Book its name relates to a ford for the King's swine (Kingswin(e)ford) - Latin Swinford Regis. The ancient parish of Kingswinford spanned Wordsley, Brierley Hill and Quarry Bank. The parishes of Kingswinford and Amblecote formed the Kingswinford rural district in 1894. It gave its name to the Kingswinford Parliament constituency from 1885 until 1950. However, Amblecote became an urban district in 1898, leaving Kingswinford one of a minority of single-parish rural districts in England. It was added to the Brierley Hill urban district in 1935, which became part of the County Borough of Dudley in 1966 and then the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in 1974. However, the rural part of the parish was added to Kinver in 1935, becoming part of Seisdon in 1966 and since 1974 part of South Staffordshire.
The current economic focus of Kingswinford is tourism, education and housing for commuters. Positioned at the western edge of the West Midlands Urban Area it borders on a rural area extending past the River Severn; but its position at the edge of the Black Country and its long standing in the area means it has had significant industrial influence in the past. This is illustrated by the influence in creating local workhouses which shows a population of 15,000 plus in the 1831 census.
Kingswinford was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Kingswinford in Staffordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The constituency was created for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1950 general election, when the new Brierley Hill constituency took over much of the area, Brierley Hill Urban District having already absorbed much of Kingswinford Rural District more than a decade earlier.