These two cottages are replicas of a pair that still stand on Station Road, Old Hill. The earliest record of their existence dates from 1848, but they could well date to the 1820s. The replicas have been built on site because they are good examples of typical Black Country workers housing that were built in this area in large numbers throughout the late eighteenth early nineteenth century.
Originally, each house consisted of a single room and pantry downstairs with a single bedroom upstairs. This would have meant extreme overcrowding for large families. In the 1860s the left hand cottage was extended at the turn of the century. They now both have two bedrooms upstairs.
The date of the display for both houses is 1910. Both cottages were occupied by two branches of the Newton family. Edward Newton lived in the left hand unit with his wife and eleven children. He was described by one of his daughter's as a 'coal heaver'. It is likely that it was a constant struggle to make ends meet in this household; the family kept a pig which would be slaughtered in the back yard and salted down in the pantry. Mr Newton brewed his own ale and Mrs Newton baked all the families' bread.
The right hand unit was occupied by Edwards brother, Thomas. He was a nail-maker, and his wife ran a sweet shop from the front room (this has been converted to a cobblers shop by the Museum). We do not know whether they had any children still living with them. The nailshop by the house is not the original one from Station Road, which has long since gone. The shop which now stands by the cottages originally stood behind a house in Chapel Street, Halesowen. By 1910, Thomas Newton would have been struggling to earn a living as a nailmaker. Machine made nails were being manufactured cheaply and on a large scale, therefore making times hard for the hand nailer. Consequently, they usually turned to making special nails with ornamntal heads, spikes or other oddwork.
| Reference: | 530 |
| Keywords: | Old Hill Houses 1900 Newton Chapel Street Halesowen Nails Nailer BCLM MCOL |
| Archive Ref: | 1997/273/001 2.1 R/D |
| Updated: | 17/8/2001 13:49:06 |