Oakham, West Midlands
Oakham is an area of Dudley, England, situated on the peak of Turners Hill, the highest point in the West Midlands. All of the area was historically in Dudley but in 1966 approximately half of it was incorporated into the county borough of Warley, which in turn merged with West Bromwich in 1974 to form Sandwell.
It was a largely rural area until the 1930s, when private and council housing developments took place around City Road, including the Grace Mary Estate. The Tividale Hall Estate was developed for private housing in the mid to late 1930s. Both of these estates were expanded after the end of World War II in 1945.
Despite being situated some two miles to the east of Dudley town centre, the Oakham area fell victim to most of the town's air raids by the German Luftwaffe on 19 November 1940. These damaged several houses in City Road on the Grace Mary Estate and resulted in 10 civilian deaths.
