| WALSALL WOOD HISTORY PAGE. | ||
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The area that became the civil parish of
Walsall Wood was originally a detached part of Walsall Foreign. It consisted of an area of
1,551 acres and lay on either side of the Lichfield to Walsall road to the North East of
the main settlement of Walsall. In 1894 it became a civil parish in the Urban District of
Brownhills, which itself became apart of the Metropolitan District of Walsall in 1974 Walsall wood it is thought got it's name from the fact it was the Wood of
Walsall. It was once a part of the Cannock Chase Forest. It was bounded on the West by,
Ford Brook, in the South East by Shelfield Brook, the North East boundary ran along
Commonside and along the southern side of Brownhills High Street. Where the Northern
boundary crosses the Lichfield to Walsall road, it was marked by a large oak tree
called,'Shire Oak', the tree was mentioned in 1533 and its
remains were removed in the mid 1890's, a portion of the old tree is held in Shire
Oak School, it was discovered in the Shire Oak Inn In a charter dated 1305 Walsall Wood was mentioned when Thomas Le Rous allowed Roger Morteyn, "to go and return with Wagons and Horses at his will along the highway which leads from Walsall to Walsall Wood in return for the Ladypool". Walsall Wood was made up of small settlements, during the early 1700's there were a few cottages at 'Goblins Pit wood', along Green Lane where the Coppice Wood is now. It was shown on Yates' map of 1775. Much of the Walsall Wood area was common or waste ground until the 19th century. There were however encroachments onto the common land as early as 1600, in 1617 there were 68 cottages ( of which 6 were recently built) and a shop on the waste, in 1619 there were 237 inhabitants in the area receiving Mollesley's dole and this had increased to 387 by 1661. In 1825 the population of the Hamlet of Walsall Wood was said to consist totally of paupers and later in 1845 the incumbent at St Johns church stated, 'there was only one person of independent property in the whole place', He did however when surveying the area 12 years later in 1857 claim,'a new place is formed, the church has been built...the mud and thatched cottages have disappeared and the old ragged inhabitants had dropped off.' The population of the wood had gone from 900 in 1837 which consisted mainly of nail and chain makers to 1,930 in 1861 as a result of the coal mining that had come to the area, although Walsall Wood Colliery had yet to be opened. In the next 20 years the population made a notable rise to 3,242 due to the building of the railway and the opening of the Colliery at Pauls Coppice. The Area around Walsall Wood was being inhabited by small pockets of dwellings in various places. There was a small settlement at ,'Gobblins Pit', along Green Lane. There was a Limestone mine here at one time and the Limestone from there was used to help build the bridges and locks when the canal building boom started in the late 18th century. Bullins Heath (Bullens Heath) was another very early settlement and had the earliest recorded community on the edge of heathland at the junction of Hall Lane and Green Lane, the Black Cock Inn stands in this area now. The community here was most probably made up of Bricklayers and navvies who worked on the Canal building. In 1763 a settlement had started on the edge of Walsall Wood common at Pauls Coppice although nothing was shown on Yates' map of 1775 and the name did not appear until 1805 when it was shown on a map at that time A track ran over the common to the north along the present Lindon Road and Brownhills Road to a small settlement that had started at Catshill on the Chester Road.. The 1775 map shows most of the dwellings strung out along the Lichfield Road ( High St) and a few where Brownhills Road is now.
Mollesley's Dole was an ancient charity which entailed the distribution of 'one Penny' to every man, woman and child in the Borough of Walsall and Walsall Foreign, of which Walsall Wood was a part. The distribution was made on 12th night by the Mace-Bearers and required a visit to every house in the Borough and enquire to the number , including strangers and residents and give a penny to for each person. As stated earlier in 1619 237 people received the charity but by 1661 387 people from Walsall Wood received the penny which suggests the village had grown somewhat during the 42 years. In 1824 The Mollesley's Dole was discontinued and was replaced by the Almshouses. There were only two families in Walsall Wood who were rich enough to employ servants. They were the family who lived at Walsall Wood Grange, a farm near to Goblins Pit Wood, which supplied the village with produce. Also employing servants was the home of the Reverend Harper. There was no Doctor in 1841 only a Midwife called ' Ruth Stokes', who's family were an economic force in the village for many years. The next 20 years saw the population double as Miners and their families became the majority, by 1851 the population had risen to 1,930 with the development of Coal Mines in Shelfield and Aldridge and the opening of Brickyards in the area. An Anglican mission was established in 1820 and the first school was opened in 1825. In 1800 the Daw End branch of the Wyley and Essington Canal was built from Catshill Junction south through Walsall Wood Village to the Hay Head limestone quarries in Walsall. Also in 1882 railway was constructed from Aldridge through Walsall Wood and onto Norton Canes.A station was opened in Walsall Wood in 1884 when a passenger service was introduced, this was discontinued in 1930 and in 1962 the Station was closed to freight trains also and was later demolished. EARLY INDUSTRIES.
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and was donated to the school by Brownhills
UDC in 1966. The Tree was immortalised in a verse by Dean Swift which he composed when he
married a illiterate couple under the shelter of the tree: ' Beneath
this oak in stormy weather I join this whore and rogue together; and none but he who made
the thunder, can put this whore and rogue asunder.' It is
said that the Saxon chieftain 'Cutha', a brother of Geawlin the King of Wessex, was killed
in battle in 584AD and was buried at Shire Oak, some think that this is where the nearby Catshill name came from as it was originally
called 'Cutha's Hill. Shire Oaks
Hill rises up from 420 ft to a height of 540 ft at the site of the old oak tree.