Hide

Bloxwich

hide
Hide

"Bloxwich is a large and pleasant village, seated on an eminence two and a half miles N by W of Walsall, and comprising within its chapelry the whole township of the Foreign of Walsall, except Walsall Wood church district. The inhabitants of Bloxwich are chiefly employed in the manufacture of saddlers' ironmongery, and awl blades, for which the village is more celebrated than any other in the kingdom. In Domesday Book, Blockeswich is described as being held by the king, and having a wood three furlongs in length and one in breadth. "

[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

Bloxwich formed a chapelry to Walsall parish and was situated in Walsall Foreign Township.
More details of Walsall Foreign Township can be found on the Walsall page.

Hide
topup

Bibliography

The Story of Bloxwich'
by Ernest James Homeshaw.
Published by GJ Clark, Bloxwich, 1955.
Reprinted by Walsall Local History Centre, 1994.

'Street Names of Bloxwich & Pelsall'
Published by Walsall Local History Centre.

'Bloxwich in Old Photographs'
by David F Vodden
Published by Sutton, Stroud, 1997.

'Walsall, Aldridge, Bloxwich & District, a Portrait in Old Picture Postcards'
by Eric Wooley
Published by SB Publications, Loggerheads, 1989.

'Bloxwich in History'
by David E Parry & Keith F Jones
Published by AG Wheeler, Bloxwich, 1941.

topup

Cemeteries

Field Road, Bloxwich, cemetery register, is held at the cemetery. A microform copy (1875-1970) is held at Walsall Local History Centre.

A transcript of the Monumental Inscriptions for All Saints Church, Bloxwich, has been published by the Birmingham & Midland SGH.

topup

Census

A full transcript and surname index of the 1851 census for Bloxwich is included in the 1851 Staffordshire Census Vol 14, Walsall Part 1 index published by the Birmingham and Midland SGH.

Walsall has some rare surviving pre-1841 census returns. These only list the heads of households and numbers of males and females in the household, although a few entries record the full family.
Of the surviving returns, which are deposited at Walsall Local History Centre, only the 1801 census includes the Foreign of Walsall (including Bloxwich).

topup

Churches

topup

Church History

"All Saints Church, Bloxwich, was rebuilt in 1791, and enlarged in 1833. It has a square tower, and sittings for 1400 people. The perpetual curacy is in the patronage of the Vicar of Walsall, and incumbency of the Rev John Baylie, M.A.
At Short Heath, or Big-green, on the north side of the village, is a large Wesleyan chapel. "

[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

A view of All Saints Church (1).
A view of All Saints Church (2).

topup

Church Records

Church of England Registers
The register of All Saints, Bloxwich, commences in 1733. The original registers for the period 1733-1950 (Bapts), 1843-1951 (Mar) & 1733-1954 (Bur) are deposited at Staffordshire Record Office.
Although the Bloxwich registers commence in 1733, there is a volume of Bloxwich baptisms amongst the Walsall registers commencing in 1721.
Bishops Transcripts, 1733-1872 (with gaps 1741-44, 1761-62, 1795-1800 & 1843-69) are deposited at Lichfield Record Office. 1786-95 are included in the Walsall BTs.
A transcript of the All Saints registers for the period 1721-1791 (Bapts) & 1733-1791 (Bur) was published by the Staffordshire Parish Register Society in 1984 and has been reprinted by the Birmingham & Midland SGH.

Nonconformist Church Registers
The original registers are deposited at the Walsall Local History Centre as indicated below:
High Street, Bloxwich, Wesleyan Methodist, Baptisms 1827-1906 & Marriages 1900-1963
New Street, Bloxwich, United Methodist, Baptisms 1902-1951
Pinfold Primitive Methodist, Baptisms 1861-1964 & Marriages 1906-64

The original registers of Bloxwich, St Thomas the Apostle, Roman Catholic church for the period 1805-1829 (Bapts), 1807-1829 (Mar), & 1807-1827 (Bur) are deposited at Birmingham Diocesan Archives.

topup

Description & Travel

A transcription of the section on Bloxwich from A Topographical History of Staffordshire by William Pitt (1817)

You can see pictures of Bloxwich which are provided by:

topup

Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for Bloxwich from the Topographical Dictionary of England (1859)

The transcription of the section for Bloxwich from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

The transcription of the section for Bloxwich from the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)

topup

Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SJ997019 (Lat/Lon: 52.614873, -2.005865), Bloxwich which are provided by:

topup

Newspapers

Walsall Local History Centre holds copies of the following local newspapers covering the Walsall area including Bloxwich:

Walsall Advertiser & Newspaper, 1862-1915
Walsall Free Press & General Advertiser, 1856-1881
Walsall Free Press & South Staffordshire Advertiser, 1882-1903
Walsall Observer, 1868-date
Walsall Spectator, 1874-1875

topup

Poor Houses, Poor Law

Bloxwich chapelry was part of Walsall Foreign Township which became part of Walsall Union following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.

topup

Voting Registers

Electoral registers for the parliamentary constituency of which Bloxwich formed part are shown below together with dates and locations of the registers which are held at Staffordshire Record Office (SRO) or Walsall Local History Centre (WLHC)

South Staffs 1843-1867 (SRO)
East Staffs 1868-1885 (SRO)
Handsworth Division 1886-1889, 1892-1908 (SRO)
Walsall 1832-1856, 1864-1955 (WLHC)
Walsall North 1956- date (WLHC)