Bloxwich
An industrial town that grew from a village through mining, brickmaking, lorinery and its specialty - awl making. There were 45 awl-blade makers working in Bloxwich in 1865, supplying the leather, sail making and upholstery trades. In the 1930's the first stainless steel tableware was made at Bloxwich by the Old Hall Compnay. Old Hall came to lead the way in this field, by its high production standards and quality design.
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Darlaston
The rich 30 foot coal seam of the Black Country outcropped in parts of the Darlaston area, or was very near to the surface, often mined in the cellar of local houses. Important local trades were gun making, which survived into the last century, heavy engineering, and nuts and bolts - by 1860 there were 8 large factories and many smaller concerns. The largest firm was Rubery Owen, formed in 1893, which also built up a strong reputation as makers of pressings for the motor trade and metal frames for building construction.
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Walsall
The commentator John Leland noted a growing specialism in the early seventeenth century : the manufacture of bits, stirrups, spurs and other bits of saddlery-realted metal work, called lorinery. Leather making and saddlery developed as sidelines to lorinery, but were becoming independent trades by the 1800's. Their growth was helped by the ready availablity of raw materials: the oak bark and lime used for tanning leather; plentiful supplies of water from the river Tame; and hides from cattle and sheep in Shropshire ans Warwickshire.
By the end of the nineteenth century, a third of Britain's saddlers and harness makers were based here; exports were worldwide. Then, as the horse gave way to the car many firms changed over to light leather goods - travelling bags, hat boxes wallets and writing cases. While the trade today is much diminished, Walsall saddlery is still recognised worldwide for its excellence.
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Willenhall
Ninety percent of England's locks are made here today. The trade started in the sixteenth century, initially with wooden locks, until the local iron trade developed. Lock making began as a cottage industry, then larger scale works were set up with the adoption of steam hammers for forging in 1856.
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