WILLENHALL, STAFFORDSHIRE

The town of Willenhall, Staffordshire (now West Midlands) lies midway between Walsall and Wolverhampton on the northern edge of the Black Country and following local government reorganisation in 1966 has formed part of the Walsall Metropolitan Borough. It was an ancient settlement formed in Saxon times and first mentioned in a charter of King Ethelbad as Willanhalch. In the Doomsday Book it is listed as Winehala with a population of 16. Following the discovery of coal and steel in the area it grew to become the capital of the lock making industry, producing 90% of British locks and keys and is now the home of major manufacturers such as Josiah Parkes (Union Locks) and Yale. The national Lock Museum is situated here, housing an important historical collection and where the working conditions of a Victorian lockmaker can be experienced at first hand.

Willenhall Reference Sources
A list of published literature relating to Willenhall:
Annals of Willenhall - F.W. Hackwood - 1908 (Reprinted by Walsall LHC - 1990)
History of Willenhall - N.W. Tildesley - 1952
History of St Giles, Willenhall - N.W. Tildesley
Street Names of Willenhall - Horace Davis - 1995
Our Town, Willenhall - Sam & Mary Clayton - 1991
Willenhall Parish Registers, Bapts 1642-1761 - N.W. Tildesley - 1990

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