Brownhills

THE DAWNING of the Victorian age marked the beginning of a period of dramatic change for Walsall. The next 100 years would see the arrival of the railways, the development of the canals and a much improved road system. Better transport was a boon for industry and it was a major factor in the development of the leather industry that would leave its mark on the town forever. The 19th century brought rapid population growth and prosperity, but it also brought slum living and poverty. In 1801 there were 10,399 inhabitants in the borough and the foreign of Walsall; this had increased to 26,816 by 1851. Rapid population growth led to 19th-century problems with sanitation and increasing slum accommodation. In older parts of the town the streets were narrow with courts and alleys and many homes were also without running tap water. In many ways Walsall became somewhat a victim of its own success, surrounded by rich sources of minerals and limestone. Housing was cramped but people flocked to the town. The introduction of turnpike roads in the late 18th century had opened Walsall up to travelling tradesmen and more and more people became aware of this much-maligned little industrial town.
An extract from from"Walsall - A History & Celebration".

Upper Rushall Street and Peal Street running north and south from the bottom of the church steps indicate ancient routes to Lichfield and Wednesbury. The modern day High Street running from the steps leading to the west door of the church shows the medieval settlement from the 1200s. As the town grew, Digbeth stretched from the High Street down to a small open stream running through the valley bottom. Today The Bridge public square marks where the stream was crossed and the town continued to climb up the other side on to what is now Park Street. The stream is a tributary of the River Tame but now runs underneath the square through drainage tunnels.
An extract from from"Walsall - A History & Celebration".

The Manor Hospital, in Moat Road, did not get its name until 1928 when the infirmary was segregated from the workhouse. By 1931 the Manor had 300 beds and Walsall General had 100 beds. Another area of growth in the 19th century was religion and several new churches and missions were opened in Walsall. There were too many to mention them all, but the most notable in the town centre were St Paul’s, St Peter’s and the Walsall Presbyterian Church. St Paul’s chapel, north of Bridge Street, was consecrated in 1826 and was originally built for Queen Mary’s Grammar School and the public. The minister was traditionally the headmaster of the school and remained so until 1874 when the chapel was sold to the townspeople for £1,000. In 1875 it was assigned as a parish out of St Matthew’s. The first St Paul’s Church was designed by Francis Goodwin in the classical style. It was rebuilt using Codsall sandstone in the early 1890s. St Peter’s in Stafford Street was built in 1839 on a site donated by Lord Hatherton. It was consecrated in 1841 and designed in a lancet Gothic style. It stood in a churchyard formerly surrounded by streets on four sides and the east end of the church was added in 1910. The other main church that still dominates the town centre skyline is the Walsall Presbyterian Church, now known as the Hatherton United Reform Church. This building was erected in 1881 and has a central pulpit, fixed pews and a period organ.
An extract from from"Walsall - A History & Celebration".

During the 19th century the town centre had shifted westwards to the Bridge and Park Street. Houses and shops were then built and in 1855 it was described as most strikingly beautiful portion of the town. However, along with prosperity came poverty and overcrowding and there was an increasing amount of slum accommodation. In older parts of the town, the streets were narrow and courts and alleys were unpaved. There was some demolition of old and insanitary properties in 1852-53 but it was not until the 1870s that the first slum clearances were carried out. The Artisan Dwelling Act of 1875 allowed governing bodies across the country to demolish slum properties, and in 1876 the area around Townend Bank, near the top of Park Street, was earmarked for demolition. The borough council cleared 9,000 square yards of land and displaced around 600 people. This was the only slum clearance before the First World War. During the 1800s sports also flourished in the town; the Walsall Cricket Club existed by 1833. The town’s lifelong love affair with its football team began in 1873 when the first club was formed in connection with Walsall Cricket Club. By 1882 there were 30 football clubs in the town but the most important were Walsall Swifts, founded in 1877 and Walsall Town, founded in 1879. The two clubs amalgamated as Walsall Town-Swifts and became Walsall Football Club in 1896. Pastimes in the borough also changed and ornate, sprawling parks were opened to the public for the first time. The closest to Walsall town centre remains to this day the Walsall Arboretum. But industry was declining in the town and the 20th century was approaching. Little did people realise that the First World War was just around the corner, or how dramatically it would affect their lives.
An extract from from"Walsall - A History & Celebration".

Education had also progressed greatly before the war with 22 elementary schools established in Walsall. The 19th century had seen the birth of Blue Coat High School for Girls in 1893 and the new Science and Art Institute in 1888, which offered more than 1,000 students courses in arts and sciences. However poverty and slum accommodation, some of which had been cleared, was still very much a reality. For many people the standard of living was poor and they worked long hours for little pay. Industry in the town had exploded during the last century but now things were in decline. Metalworking had always been the main industry in Walsall, particularly small items such as saddlery fittings, buckles, chains and pewter. This was largely due to the demands of war in the early 1800s when there had been a sharp rise in the number of horse-furniture workshops. By the early 20th century the trade had declined again and was only to enjoy a resurgence during the First World War. By 1939 the number of bit makers had fallen to just fourteen, when there had once been 144 during their heyday. A town that had always known limestone mining saw its last mine close at the beginning of the 20th century. The Portland Street Limeworks was taken over by Elias Crapper in 1872 and later merged with the Hatherton Street works. The company passed to a new owner, one G L Lavender, who closed it in 1903. Coal mining was still going on in the town but leading up to the First World War there were many local and national industrial disputes affecting miners, railwaymen and engineering workers. In 1913 many of the engineering trades in the West Midlands went on strike for two months to demand a better minimum wage.
An extract from from"Walsall - A History & Celebration".