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Pelsall

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"Pelsall, or Pelshall is a township, chapelry (of Wolverhampton), and scattered village, in the South Division of Offlow Hundred, eight miles NE of Wolverhampton, and eight miles SW of Lichfield. It has 1026 inhabitants, and about 850 acres of land, belonging chiefly to Phineas Fowke Hussey, Esq, and partly to Mr William Hanbury, and Mr Henry Charles, but the Duke of Cleveland is lessee lord of the manor, as part of the deanery of Wolverhampton, to which the minerals belong.
At Pelsall Wood, an extensive common crossed by the Wyrley & Essington Canal, is a large coal mine, and extensive iron works, the former established about 25, and the latter about 20 years ago. Bar and sheet iron of the best quality is manufactured here, and there are in the village several nail makers. Here is a small station on the South Staffordshire Railway.
Pelsall was anciently the seat of Robert de Corbeuil, a Norman, who came to England with Willaim the Conqueror, and held the manor of Robert de Stafford, by the service of a knight's fee. His descendants assumed the name of Pelshall. The heiress of the family, grand-daughter of the last Sir Thomas Pelshall, was married during the last century to the Earl of Breadalbane, in Scotland. "
[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

 

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Bibliography

'Pelsall, A Thousand Years of Village Life'
by Albert Tomkinson & Ann Galbraith
Published 1990, by Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, Walsall.

'A Tale of Pelsall Colliery'
by William Weldon Champneys, Dean of Lichfield
Published 1873, by Christian Book Society, London.

'Aldridge, Rushall & Pelsall Yesterdays'
by Richard Dudley Woodall
Published 1954, by Norman A Tector, Streetley.

'One Hundred Not Out. Pelsall Cricket & Sports Club 1885-1985'
by Tom Morgan
Published 1985, by Warwickshire Publishing, Birmingham.

 

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Census

The population of Pelsall township was as follows:
1801 -- 477
1811 -- 471
1821 -- 579
1831 -- 721
1841 -- 1026

 

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Churches

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Church History

"Pelsall Chapel was an ancient brick fabric, but was entirely rebuilt in 1843-4, and is a plain brick fabric, with a gallery, but no tower. The perpetual curacy is in the patronage of the Bishop of Lichfield, and incumbency of the Rev William Jesse, BA, of Margaretting, Essex, for whom the Rev Philip G Harper, MA, officiates.
The Wesleyan have a neat chapel here, built in 1836. "

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

 

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Church Records

Church of England Registers
The register of St Michael & All Angels (formerly St Mary), commences in 1756. The original registers for the period 1756-1997 (Bapts), 1849-1993 (Mar) & 1746-1812 & 1818-1997 (Bur) are deposited at Staffordshire Record Office.
Marriages before 1846 usually took place in the mother church of Wolverhampton St Peter. Some Pelsall burials took place in Bloxwich or Rushall to avoid burial fees which had to be paid to Pelsall and the mother church. There are also some Pelsall baptisms noted in the Rushall registers in 1709 and 1712.
Bishops Transcripts, 1799-1839 (Bapts & Bur only) are deposited at Lichfield Record Office.
A transcript of the Pelsall registers for the period 1763-1812 (Bapts & Bur) was published jointly by the Staffordshire Parish Register Society and the Birmingham & Midland SGH in 1985 together with the Rushall registers.

Nonconformist Church Registers
The original registers are deposited at the Walsall Local History Centre as indicated below:
Chapel Street, Pelsall, Wesleyan Methodist, Baptisms 1867-1942
Heath Street, Pelsall, Wesleyan Methodist, Baptisms 1877-1945
Paradise Lane, Pelsall, Primitive Methodist, Baptisms 1882-1987

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Description & Travel

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

You can see pictures of Pelsall which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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

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

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

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK020031 (Lat/Lon: 52.625657, -1.971888), Pelsall which are provided by:

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Military Records

A transcription of the Muster Roll of 1539 for Pelsall

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

Pelsall chapelry became part of Walsall Union following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.

 

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Voting Registers

Electoral registers for the parliamentary constituency of which Pelsall 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 1844, 1845-1867 (SRO)
East Staffs 1868-1884 (SRO)
Handsworth Division 1886-1888, 1892-1908 (SRO)
Lichfield 1918-1940 (SRO)
Walsall South 1955-1966, 1968-1969 (WLHC)
Aldridge-Brownhills 1970, 1975- date (WLHC)