Oldbury is a town in Sandwell, West Midlands in England. It is a section of the Black Country, and the administrative centre of the borough of Sandwell. The town's name comes from the Old English 'Ealdenbyrig', which signifies that Oldbury was old even in early English times over 1000 years ago. Eald is Old English for 'old', and Byrig is the plural of 'burh' in Old English, with a burh being a stronghold or fortified town. According to the 2011 Census, the town has a permanent population of around 13606 people. Oldbury was part of the ancient parish of Halesowen, a detached part of Shropshire surrounded by Worcestershire and Staffordshire, up until the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, when it was combined back into Worcestershire after an absence of nine-hundred years. It ended up being an Urban District in 1894, earning Municipal Borough status in 1935. In this time, Oldbury council constructed a few thousand homes, flats and cottages for some 40 years until its dissolution, the 1000th of which was completed in 1933 at Wallace Road near the border with Rowley Regis. Ever since the 1980s, the town has seen continued expansion, specifically the development of more retail options. This features Oldbury Green Retail Park, located on the town's ring road, which was built in the middle of the 1990s. This, as well as the advancement of the Merry Hill Shopping Centre found around 6 miles away during the course of the 2nd half of the 1980s, has actually added to a decrease in the functioning of neighboring West Bromwich town centre as a retail centre for locals. For all of your home improvements, make certain to identify reputable specialists in Oldbury to make certain of quality.