Walsall Rotary Club District 1210

History of Walsall

Walsall is at the heart of the English Midlands. The earliest reference to the town is in a will dating back to 1002, which refers to a place called 'Walesho'. Walsall, the name, is believed to have originally been the Anglo-Saxon Wealhs Halh, which means something like the 'sheltered place belonging to 'Weala' or possibly 'the Welshman'.

The town's origins are unknown, but the AngloSaxon place name is evidence for there having been a settlement here since the Dark Ages. It is very likely that Walsall began as a hill-top village with a church in the middle. The town began to spread down the hill with the creation of the High Street around 1200AD.

Originally, Walsall thrived as a market town. However, the good supplies of coal, ironstone and limestone enabled a metalwork industry to develop and prosper -- light metalwork being the traditional industry of Walsall since the 16th century. Bits, stirrups, buckles and spurs known collectively as lorinery -- have all been manufactured locally for centuries.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Walsall grew rapidly and it was then that saddlery joined lorinery as the town's speciality trade. Today, Walsall can still claim to be 'The Leather Capital of Britain' with over 90 leather factories in the Borough -- many in and around the town centre. Sadly, like many other towns, much of Walsall's heritage was lost in 1960s redevelopments. But now, many surviving buildings are preserved in Conservation Areas and by Listing.

Walsall became a Metropolitan Borough in 1974 joining with the towns of Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Darlaston and Willenhall.

In the late 1990s, the town centre is still growing with City Challenge money helping to fund the new Town Wharf development at the top of the town -- which will include a new art gallery, shops and leisure developments. The town has seen many changes since it was first recorded in 1002. But St. Matthew's Church still stands at the top of the hill and looks down on the town as it has since at least 1200.

Pictures of Walsall on a February Sunday - click for big picture

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