West Bromwich in 1817

Description from A Topographical History of Staffordshire by William Pitt (1817)

WESTBROMWICH.

Westbromwich is a village situated to the south-east of Wednesbury, on a gravelly hill. The road to Birmingham passes through the village. The population of the parish of West Bromwich has rapidly increased in consequence of the various manufactures iron, particularly locks, gun-locks, and nails. In 1811, the number of inhabitants was 7485; viz. 3773 males, and 3712 females.

A large street in this parish, called Hill-Top, contains several good houses: and near it is a villa belonging to Mr. Elwall, and a good inn on the Dudley road, called the Swan inn.

Dr. Plott mentions an excellent sand for the manufacture of glass, found near Westbromwich. The learned Doctor, whose propensity to the marvellous is remarkable, gives an account of Walter Parsons, who was born at Westbromwich, and was a man of gigantic stature and extraordinary strength. In his youth he was bound apprentice to a smith, and was so tall that they were obliged to dig a hole in the ground for him to stand in up to his knees when he struck at the anvil.

He afterwards was employed as porter to James the First, and was courageous in proportion to his strength, but so good-natured that he scorned to take any advantage of it. On being offended by a man of ordinary stature as he walked London streets, he only took him up and hung him by the waistband of his breeches upon a hook for the amusement of the passengers. He would sometimes, by way of merriment, take up two of the tallest yeomen of the guard, and carry them about the guard-chamber in spite of their resistance. Such is the tale of Dr. Plott.

The valley of the Tame, which bounds this parish to the north-east, is rich, fertile, and pleasant, and the surrounding country picturesque. The prospect is agreeably varied with the villas and pleasure-grounds of George Birch, Esq. at Hamstead, and of Sir Joseph Scott, Bart. at Great-Barr.

The Church of Westbromwich is an ancient building, surmounted by a tower.

Sandwell park and mansion, the seat of the Earl of Dartmouth, is in this parish, and situated to the south and south-cast of the Church. It takes its name from Sancta Fons, or the Holy Well.

The present mansion is built on the site of a priory of Benedictine monks, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen. Some vestiges of the original foundation are still visible to the observant eye, in the rear of the house, and among the offices, where a stone coffin was dug up a few years ago. At the time of the dissolution of monasteries, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, it was given to Cardinal Wolsey. The estate afterwards came into the possession of the present family of Legge. The present mansion is of brick stuccoed white, and forms a square; and in the extensive lawn in front is the holy well, which is now enclosed by iron rails.

Sandwell, though situated in a populous neighbourhood, and only four miles from Birmingham, and close to the turnpike-road from that town to Wolverhampton, is enclosed by a high park-wall and a thick plantation of trees so effectually as to be totally secluded from the busy world.

The elegant mansion, besides every accommodation for convenience, contains a handsome library and a neat chapel; and the principal rooms are adorned with landscapes and portraits by the best masters, particularly Kneller, Housman, Caspar, Vivian, Highmore, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Jansen, Richardson, and Vandyke. A variety of picturesque prospects are to be seen from different points of view in the park.