STOURBRIDGE residents of a certain age have been remembering the "momentous" day in 1957 when Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh stopped off in Mary Stevens Park on a tour of the area.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip took a tour of the Norton park in an open top Landrover and stepped inside the Council House to view a prized collection of glass.

The Royal couple, who also visited Dudley, Brierley Hill and Hagley that same day, were greeted in the park by a sea of flag-waving schoolchildren and onlookers - among them was Norton councillor Heather Rogers, then a schoolgirl at Stourbridge Girls’ High School, who remembers the day vividly.

She said: “It was a very remarkable day for Stourbridge – a momentous day.

“I was around 12 and we went down from the high school in Junction Road.

“We were standing just inside the gate but we were there and the Queen and Prince Philip went down the main drive and round the bandstand – and all up the bank and everywhere was absolutely packed with residents so they went round the bandstand and back up again and then they went to the Council House where they saw a collection of glass which was on display.”

“It was absolutely superb. There were thousands of people there, and we were all given small Union Jack flags to wave; it was just a sea of Union Jacks waving. I can remember it to this day.”

Among the thousands that turned out to see the young Royals on the sunny afternoon were a group of more than 700 senior citizens from various clubs and organisations who were seated near the bandstand.

Scouts, Guides, Brownies, Cubs, Army Cadets, ex-services personnel from across the town were also among the crowds.

According to reports from the day compiled by the Mary Stevens Park History Group - some people who had been waiting for hours for a glimpse of the monarch found the heat overwhelming and fainted but members of St John Ambulance were on hand to administer first aid.

The Queen's eventual arrival at 4pm was met with much excitement and heralded by the arrival of a car containing Admiral Sir William Tennant (Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire) and Lady Tennant and the bell ringers at St Thomas's Church began to ring a celebratory peal of church bells.

At last, preceded by a police car, the royal limousine - a deep maroon coloured Rolls Royce - turned from Worcester Street through the main park gates.

Following Her Majesty’s visit the park's boulevard was named Queen’s Drive and a little flower trough and plaque were placed in the park to commemorate the occasion.