Darlaston is situated between Wednesbury and Walsall in the valley of the River Tame in the angle where the three major head-streams of the river converge. It is located on the South Staffordshire coalfield and has been an area of intense coal-mining activity. The underlying coal reserves were most likely deposited in the Carboniferous Period.
Disused coal mines are found near Queen Street in Moxley, behind Pinfold Street JMI School, near Hewitt Street and Wolverhampton Street, in George Rose Park, and behind the police station in Victoria Park.
Mining subsidence, which has taken its toll on many buildings across central England, has also made its mark in Darlaston. In 1999, a council house on the New Moxley housing estate collapsed down a disused mineshaft, its occupant, an elderly man had complained of creaking and groaning in the house to neighbors who alerted the authorities. They in turn instructed him to leave. A few hours later it collapsed down the mine. The adjoining house also had to be demolished.
History
The ancient origins of the town are now very obscure due to the archive record being relatively recent. Any archaeological evidence has been largely destroyed due to intensive coal mining during the 18th and 19th centuries. A possible Saxoncastle probably existed at Darlaston, which eventually became a timber castle.[2] No remains exist today.
Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the de Darlaston family were the landowners, When the de Darlaston family died out, the manor was taken over by the Hayes family and was known as Great Croft.
Darlaston's location on the South Staffordshire coalfield led to the early development of coal mining and associated industrial activities. At first such activity was relatively small scale requiring only a copyhold permission from the lord of the manor. So, for example, in 1698 Timothy Woodhouse was manager of the coal mines belonging to Mrs. Mary Offley, then the lady of the manor. In the first year, he sold 3,000 sacks of coal and later went into partnership in his own business.
Rapid industrial growth in the early decades of the 19th century brought with it problems of housing, poverty, and deprivation. In December 1839, the parish rector reported approximately 1,500 homes in the parish of Darlaston, most of which were in poor condition and owned by working-class people. In 1841 the town had a population of 6,000. Development was driven by the presence of excellent transport links: the Birmingham Canal Navigations and Grand Junction Railway.[3] Much of the mining land was owned by the Birmingham Coal Company. Artist Thomas F. Worrall was born in the Woods Bank area in 1872, where his father worked as a blacksmith.
Notable beneficiaries of nineteenth-century industrialisation were the Rose family whose fortune had been made by astute enclosure of common land. Upon the death of Richard Rose in 1870 his estate was valued at over £877. He bequeathed the land to his wife Hannah. His brother was James Rose, shown in the 1871 census as a latch, bolt, and nut maker, employing 39 people, including 19 children. By the time of the 1881 census, James Rose was 55 and his business had expanded to employ 90 people.[4] James Rose died in 1901.[5]
Darlaston was subject to several bombing raids in World War II. A Luftwaffe bombing on 5 June 1941 wrecked several council houses in Lowe Avenue, Rough Hay, and killed 11 people. The bomb had been aimed at Rubery Owen's factory but missed by some distance. The houses were later rebuilt.[10]
Many Victorianterraced houses were demolished during the second half of the 20th century, and the Urban District Council of Darlaston built thousands of houses and flats to replace them with. From 1966 Darlaston was administered by Walsall borough and is now in the WS10 postal district which also includes neighbouring Wednesbury. However, since 1999 the council-owned housing stock has been controlled by Darlaston Housing Trust. In 2001 two of the town's four multi-story blocks of flats were demolished, and the remaining two were demolished in 2004. .
By the end of the 1980s, most of the industry in the town had closed and the town is now considered a ghost town, with an increasingly high level of unemployment. In 2011 a total of 15 derelict sites in the town were designated as enterprise zones offering tax breaks and relaxed planning laws to any businesses interested in setting up bases in the selected areas. These enterprise zones are expected to create thousands of jobs and ease the town's long-running unemployment crisis, which has deepened since 2008 as a result of the recession.[11]
Education
The town is served by one large secondary school, Grace Academy, which until 2009 was known as Darlaston Comprehensive School.
Demographics
According to the 2021 Census, Darlaston's built-up area population was 21,545 residents. Of the findings, the ethnicity and religious composition of the wards separately were:
All Saints' Church, Darlaston (built 1872) was destroyed by enemy air raids in July 1942. A new church opened in 1952, designed by local architect Richard Twentyman. It is Grade 2 listed.
Bentley Old Hall
Bentley Old Hall stood in the north of Darlaston until the early 20th century. Bentley Hall was one of several country houses where in 1651 – after the Battle of Worcester – the future Charles II was sheltered, here by Colonel John Lane. The future king finally escaped disguised as the servant of Jane Lane, the colonel's sister. Bentley Old Hall grounds were redeveloped as a housing estate in the 1950s.[13]
Darlaston Manor House
The location of the manor house is believed to be congruent with the Asda supermarket car park, slightly south west of the original parish church, now St Lawrence's Church.[14]
Darlaston Town Hall was designed by the Birmingham architect Jethro Anstice Cossins (1830–1917), and it was opened in 1888, built on the site of one of the town's two workhouses. It comprised municipal offices, a public library and a public hall.[15] Between 2006 and 2008 the building was restored by Walsall Borough Council at a cost of about £400,000. The main building now houses local Social Services departments, while the hall continues to be used for public meetings, concerts of music and other entertainments.[16]
Darlaston Windmill
Darlaston had its own windmill from as early as 1695, when it appears on a map of that date. The mill continued to be in use until about 1860.[17]
St Lawrence Darlaston
Lych gate of St Lawrence Darlaston
The fine looking Grade-II listed St Lawrence's church as we see it today is largely late nineteenth century – the work of A. P. Brevitt – but the site dates back to early medieval times.[18] The church registers date back to 1539 and may be viewed at the County Archives in Stafford. The Bishop's Transcripts are to be found at Lichfield Record Office.[19]
A generous grant from the UK Heritage Lottery Fund enabled the complete redecoration of the church's interior in 2018.[20]
Notable residents
Sue Nicholls (born 1943), an actress known for soap operas including Coronation Street. The family-owned White Lion pub is situated in the Fold Darlaston.[21][22]
Netan Sansara (born 1989), footballer known for being the first Asian to play for the England U-18 team. His grandfather owned two pubs in Darlaston: The Three Horse Shoes and The Duke of York[30]
Local operator Thandi previously had a large presence in Darlaston up until 2023 when the business closed their commercial bus services.
Canals
The 7 Mile Walsall Canal runs through the town forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations.
Rail
A new station for Darlaston is planned to open in 2025/26 which will connect Walsall to Wolverhampton running through Darlaston on the Walsall to Wolverhampton line.
Darlaston railway station closed in 1887 and there is little evidence of its existence at the site, although the former trackbed is in use as a footpath.
Since the early 1970s, the town centre has been bypassed by St Lawrence's Way, which runs between The Green and Great Croft Street Island by the Town's Asda. No motorway runs through the town, but a section of the M6 between J9 and J10 may be considered to be in Darlaston. Also the A462 from Wednesbury runs through the town on its way to Willenhall, the A454/A463 Black Country Route have a Junction on the Darlaston/Willenhall Border and the A4444 Black Country New Road meets the A41 London - Ellesmere Port Road and A4038 near to Moxley War Memorial and the Walsall Canal. The A4038 runs through the Town as the Moxley Road, Pinfold Street and Walsall Road and has a junction with the A462 near to Darlaston Library. The A4038 links the A4444 Black Country New Road and the A41 Black Country New Road and Moxley High Street to Walsall Via Darlaston and Pleck
Trams
Since 1999, there has been a West Midlands Metro stop at Bradley Lane in the Moxley area of the town. An initial plan was for the Metro to have a stop in Picturdrome Way using the old Darlaston railway line but this was abandoned.
Recreation
The town has a few small open spaces such as the playing fields at Broadwaters Road and three parks: Kings Hill Park, George Rose Park and Victoria Park.
Walsall is a market town and administrative centre of the borough of the same name in the West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Birmingham, 7 miles (11 km) east of Wolverhampton and 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Lichfield.
Wednesbury is a market town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands, England - historically in Staffordshire. It is located near the source of the River Tame, and is part of the Black Country. Wednesbury is situated 5 miles (8km) south-east of Wolverhampton, 3 miles (4.4km) south-west of Walsall, and 7 miles (11.8km) north-west of Birmingham. At the 2021 Census, the town's built-up area had a population of 20,313.
Willenhall is a market town in the Walsall district, in the county of the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2021 Census of 49,587. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire. It lies upon the River Tame, and is contiguous with both Wolverhampton and parts of South Staffordshire. The M6 motorway at Junction 10 separates it from Walsall.
Bloxwich is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. It is located between the towns of Walsall, Cannock, Willenhall and Brownhills.
Wednesfield is a town and historic village in the City of Wolverhampton, in the county of the West Midlands, England, It is 2 miles (3.2 km) east-northeast of Wolverhampton city centre and about 10 miles (16 km) from Birmingham and is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It was historically within the county of Staffordshire.
Moxley is a village near Darlaston in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands County, England. It was first developed during the early part of the 19th century when a handful of terraced houses were built to accommodate locals working in factories and mines and the area was created in 1845 out of land from Darlaston, Bilston and Wednesbury.
Wolverhampton South East is a constituency in West Midlands that was created in 1974. The seat has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by Pat McFadden of the Labour Party since 2005. McFadden currently serves as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster under the government of Keir Starmer.
Bentley is an area in the Walsall district, in the county of the West Midlands, England, located around Junction 10 of the M6 Motorway. It is also a rural village of houses towards its eastern sides. It shares borders with the areas of Willenhall, Beechdale, Ashmore Park, Pleck, Darlaston and Alumwell.
Rubery Owen is a British engineering company which was founded in 1884 in Darlaston, West Midlands.
The Walsall–Wolverhampton line is a railway line in the West Midlands, England. It connects the town of Walsall to the city of Wolverhampton. The complete line does not currently have any regular scheduled passenger services: The line's local passenger service was withdrawn in 1965, it was restored in 1998, only to be withdrawn again in 2008. At present, the main use of the line is by freight trains, and it is also used as a diversionary route when engineering works are carried out on the West Coast Main Line.
Darlaston James Bridge railway station was a station built on the Grand Junction Railway in 1837, serving the James Bridge area east of the town centre of Darlaston, near the junction of Walsall Road and Bentley Mill Way.
Willenhall Bilston Street railway station was a station built on the Grand Junction Railway in 1837. It served the town of Willenhall, and was located just to the south of the town centre. It was one of two railway stations in the town - the other being Willenhall Stafford Street.
Short Heath is a residential area situated north of the market town of Willenhall, in the Walsall district, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Short Heath is a ward in the Walsall North constituency, and is bordered by the neighbouring wards of Bentley and Darlaston North, Birchills Leamore, Willenhall North, and Willenhall South.
Darlaston Urban District was a local authority which existed within the West Midlands conurbation, England from 1894 until 1966. It was centred on the township of Darlaston in the Black Country, and also incorporated the villages of Bentley and Moxley.
The Lodge Farm estate is located in the area of Short Heath in the town of Willenhall, which is in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.
The South Staffordshire and Birmingham District Steam Tramways Company which became the South Staffordshire Tramways Company operated a tramway service from their depot in Wednesbury between 1883 and 1924.
The Wolverhampton District Electric Tramways Company operated an electric tramway service between Dudley and Wolverhampton between 1899 and 1928.
↑ William Foot; Geraldine Beech; Rose Mitchell (2004). Maps for Family and Local History: The Records of the Tithe, Valuation Office and National Farm Surveys of England and Wales, 1836 – 1943. Dundurn Press Ltd. p.101. ISBN1-55002-506-6.
↑ William Foot; Geraldine Beech; Rose Mitchell (2004). Maps for Family and Local History: The Records of the Tithe, Valuation Office and National Farm Surveys of England and Wales, 1836 – 1943. Dundurn Press Ltd. p.102. ISBN1-55002-506-6.
↑ William Foot; Geraldine Beech; Rose Mitchell (2004). Maps for Family and Local History: The Records of the Tithe, Valuation Office and National Farm Surveys of England and Wales, 1836 – 1943. Dundurn Press Ltd. p.103. ISBN1-55002-506-6.
↑ Bev Parker. "A New Town Hall". A Brief History of Darlaston. University of Wolverhampton. Archived from the original on 8 October 2006. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
↑ Bev Parker. "Beginnings". A Brief History of Darlaston. University of Wolverhampton. Archived from the original on 31 March 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
↑ 'Town Hall, Victoria Road' in Darlaston's Listed Buildings by Bev Parker (no date); online resource accessed 1 July 2018
↑ 'A New Town Hall' in A Brief History of Darlaston by Bev Parker (no date); online resource accessed 1 July 2018
↑ Bev Parker. "Early Growth". A Brief History of Darlaston. University of Wolverhampton. Archived from the original on 31 March 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
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