A Short History by Margaret Brice the GROWTH of WALSALL WOOD
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A Short History by Margaret Brice THE GROWTH OF WALSALL WOOD The area originally comprised three main settlements, Shelfield, Walsall Wood and Clayhanger. It consisted mainly of a wooded area on the outer edges of Cannock Wood, combined with common land until the 19th century. Walsall Wood was the main settlement of the area, the earliest recorded community being at Bullings Heath, which was at the junction of Green Lane and Hall Lane. By 1763 a settlement had grown up at Paul •s Coppice, although it did not bear that name until 1805. The area now known as Coppice Wood was originally called 'Goblin's Pit Wood'. There was once a limestone mine there and it is believed that the l imestone from that mine was used for building bridges and loc ks during t he canal building boom of the 18th and 19th centuries. The canal through Walsall Wood was opened in the 19th century, as part of the Daw End Branch of the Wyrley and Essington Canal. It started at Catshill Junction, passed southwards through Walsall Wood then on to the Hay Head limestone works and thence to Walsall. There is evidence to suggest that dwellings in Hall ' Lane, Boatman ' s Lane, Hollinder•s , Lane and Brickkiln Lane belonged to people who helped to build the canal and afterwards settled down to live in Walsall Wood. The Walsall Wood parish registers support this idea - the records include references showing that boatmen and navigators were married and buried at St. John's Church. The main road, or rather pathway, at this time ran over Walsall Wood Common to Catshill approximately in line with what are now Brownhills Road and Lindon Road. The Victoria County History of Staffordshire [vol. xvii, p.277] states that "In 1619 237 people were in receipt of Mollesley•s Dole". This ancient charity entailed the distribution of one penny to every man, woman and child in the Borough and Foreign of Walsall, of which Walsall Wood was a part. The distribution was originally made by the Mace-Bearers on Twelfth Night. They were required to visit every house in the Borough and Forei gn and enq u ire the number of people therein and deliver a penny to each , i ncl ding strangers as well as residents. In 1661 38 ~ ~eoole fro ~a1sa~- ~ood received this penny dole. This would seem to suggest that the village had grown somewhat in size during the century. The practi ce of distributing Mollesley•s Dole was di scontinued in 1824 and Corporation almshouses were established i nstead. This did little for the inhabitants of Walsall Wood - in 1825 it was said that ~The people of this area consist entirely of paupers". In 1835 the new Corporation of Walsall was established and, although Walsall Wood appeared on maps as part of Walsall, it did not qualify for the purpose of administration of the Poor Law. In 1837 the population of Walsall Wood was about 900. They were mainly nailmakers and chainmakers by trade - the census of 1841 showed that the ~opulation was made up of people following these occupations:- Butchers 1 Wheelwrights Limestone Miners 7 Ti le Makers 6 Brickmakers 3D- Bricklayers 13 Boatmen 30 Blacksmiths 3 Colliers 9 Chainmakers 40 The last nail ma ker 1n Wals all ood was one Abraham Harrison, who ceased to trade in 1896 and died in 1904 . The blacksmiths all be 1 o n g e d to t he J a c le so n f a mi 1 y , a f a the r a n d h i s two s on s • I n 1843 there was a blacksmith named Sa uel Jackson who ran a smith~ near the Red Lion public house. This smithy remained in opera t i on u n t i 1 1 96 0 . ' 0 n 1y two fa mi 1 i e s i n Wa 1 sa 1 1 Wood we re rich enough to employ servants. Th ey were the family who lived at Walsall Wood Grange, a farm near Goblin's Pit Wood, and the Reverend Harper's home. At th is time there was no doctor in Walsall Wood, but there was a midwife by the name of Ruth Stokes. The rest of the population was made up of agricultural w~rkers. By 1851 the population had risen to 1,142 and miners and their families were now in the majority, although mining had not yet begun in Walsall Wood itself. Most of these men worked at the colliery in Shelfield. Ten years later, due mainly to the further development of mining in the area and the opening of the brickyards, the population had risen to 1,930. Records show that 'Etruria Marl • from Walsall Wood had been used in the manufacture of bricks since at least 1775 - at Shire Oak. Now brickyards opened up around the opencast mines which spread along Salters Road, towards Aldridge. Although these early mines soon closed down, the brickmaking continued. At one time there were six large brickyards in the area, producing the now famous Staffordshire Blue bricks. During the 1870•s a brickworks was opened in the colliery at Paul •s Coppice, but it closed down sometime between 1916 and 1937. Today, in 1982, only two brickworks still operate in the area~ Ibstock Brick and Barnett and Beddows, both in Aldridge. Between 1871 and 1891, the population rose to 3,242 and it was during this period that the Walsall Wood Colliery opened. It was also during this time of e xpansion that the first public services were established to serve the needs of the growing community. There was a police stati on, a sewage works near Green Lane, a gas-works at Catshill Junction, several shops and a Post Office. It was here that letters arrived daily from Walsall at 7.00 a.m. and were despatched from Walsall Wood at 7.00 p. m. There was also a carrier to Walsall on Tuesdays ~ and Saturdays -market days -and to Birmingham on Thursdays. There were still one or two farms in the area to supply food for the village. Dairy Farm in Hall Lane produced beef, barl ey and potatoes; there ·was also a farm ) at Bullings Heath -Grange Farm- and a smallholding where Vigo Farm now stands. In the late 19th century some of the familiar roads were laid out. Holly Bank Road was opened in 1876 - we know this today as King Street and Beechtree Road. Other new roads included Queen Street, Vigo Road, Coppice Road, Camden Street, Lindon Road, Friezland Lane and Brownhills Road. These last three roads were laid out over the area then known as Walsall Wood Common. In 1882, 1 railway line had been opened up from Aldridge, passing through Walsall Wood to Norton Canes to carry freight goods, mainly coal and iron ore. Then in 1884 a passenger line was opened and a station was built in Walsall Wood on Lichfield Road, between St. John•s church school and Coppice Road. The village continued to grow steadily. A tram service was introduced in 1904 between Walsall and Walsall Wood. In 1927 it was replaced by a bus service. By 1921, when the population numbered 8,351, there was a well establi shed s hopping area near the parish church. The colliery pros pered and many new metal manufacturing indu s tries were established in the area, including an iror. ; o r = :eech Tree Road. The re were many public houses in ~~e area : _ :-es of which reflected occupations and ente rtain rne~ :s o: : : :as:. e.g. The Black Cock (cock-fighting), the Bric"...,a·::rs - s. : e Beehive, and the Boat, sometimes called 'the Boo~ that this confus ion about the name was due to tre -oca - .: -: · ::.___r- , the word 'boat' often sounds 1 i ke 'boot ' in Blac arce. Many of the old inns and public hou ses have, but som e still remain, such as the Red Lion, kept ~n Thomas Stokes, the Bl ack Cock, the Royal Exchange, : : Jockey, and the Hawthorn, now called Tip pers. Wakes Week was held in Walsall Wood every year . :; week of October or .the first week in November up u ~=- •: - 1924 the Electric Picture Palace , a ci nema, was ooe e: - : :--ses in Brookland Road; it continued to operate up un~;· was not dem ol ished until 1974. By 1931, the popu lation had fa' le~ -o 7 .5s-. had some connection with the closure o: :~e :a::: . the loca l railway line in 1930. re:~::":: carried on operati ng unt ll 962. - -- - ~-- : - -:.:e -- ----- : ~ e ,-.::. -- area by buil ding new housins estc..~es t:- --:: D: ::-:: .:s .: Salters Road and by the introcuc:io -- -:: industries around the area. : n 19~:. a:::r :re Seconc ar, : two mor e hous ing estates were built, o-e : eas:err. - ............... Salters Road and one in the Friezlana ~ar.e arEa. population had risen again to 8,805, aue to ~ e re-nous.:n; of people from other parts of the town and a'so .... ram Bir~in~na~. where there had be~n a great deal of war da~age to homes. There was also, at this time, much encouragement for industries to move to such areas of new development. In 1966 Walsall Wood became part of the Urb an District of Aldridge-Brownhills and, during the next few years, considerable development took place. Old and insanitary premises were demolished and replaced by more modern houses. This was particul arly the case in High Street and Lichfield Road, which was now becoming an e xtremely busy trunk r oad, carrying a great deal of traffic.