Wolverhampton, Lichfield Street c.1905

Photo ref: W285004

More about this scene

Wednesbury. Bilston had a lock-making industry of sorts in the 16th century but it remained fairly static; along with Pontypool, Bilston was an early centre for japanning—the copying of Japanese goods by English factories. On the other hand, the earliest that Brierley Hill is known to have been inhabited is 1619, though by the mid 18th century it too was noted for its coal pits, nail-making, brickworks, forges and glass- houses. Brierley’s development was influenced by the Stourbridge and Dudley Canals, cut in the 1770s and 1780s to provide Stourbridge glass works with Dudley coal, and with access to other markets by way of a junction with the Staffs & Worcs Canal at Stourton. A further boost came in 1792 with the opening of a link between the Dudley and Birmingham Canals. The major industrial development at Brierley Hill was building the Earl of Dudley’s