Willenhall History Society

About Willenhall

 

Willenhall is situated between Walsall and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England. Today the town is rapidly changing Traditionally it has been a small industrial town famous for its lock and key industry including the famous Yale factory. There is a Lock Museum including an old lock workshop.

The centre of the town has retained a lot of its character as a market town and still has a thriving shopping centre in the streets centred round the market.

Willenhall is famous for its lock making and engineering factories. There were large industrial areas in the town, many of which became derelict as traditional industries declined. There are also new factories and warehouses being built, particularly at Ashmore Lake and Westacre Industrial Estates. Most recently the old industrial sites have been taken over by new housing, which has brought new life to run down areas around the town centre. There are ambitious new plans to regenerate the area with a lot of new developments.

The centre of Willenhall has a shopping centre and successful market and, although there are no large stores, there is a wide range of shops to cater for everyday needs. The main shopping streets have been pedestrianised and recently refurbished while maintaining the character of the town. The area around the Market Place has some fine Georgian buildings, which have survived well.

There is a wide variety of housing types in the town from older terraced housing near the centre to more recent developments of both council and private housing. Nearly half the houses were council built and these range from early council houses in Little London and Rose Hill, pre war housing near Clothier Street, more recent developments of multi storey blocks and low rise flats and houses at Noose Lane. Many people have purchased their council houses. Private housing covers a wide range of types and the major developments from the 1960s to 1990s have been on the outskirts of Willenhall, particularly to the north.

Willenhall is very mixed in character with housing and industry spread throughout the town. Much of the open space has been used for industry in the past but great efforts have been made to create pleasant areas in the town, particularly the Memorial Park.

Willenhall has excellent communications to neighbouring towns and the rest of Britain and Europe, being close to the M6 and Black Country Route. The main route through the town is the Walsall to Wolverhampton road which now by-passes the town centre along the Key Way and connects to the Black Country Route. The first "by-pass" was built in the 19th Century as New Road!

There are frequent buses to neighbouring towns and a new railway station may open on the railway (The original Grand Junction Railway of 1842) The Midland Metro may one day run through Willenhall as well.

Willenhall is very much its own town in spite of being merged with Walsall and Darlaston in 1966 and included in Walsall Metropolitan Boprough in 1974. In the last few years there has been more investment in the town with . Although administratively Willenhall is part of Walsall there are many links with Wolverhampton, which is equally accessible. portobello, originally part of Willenhall, is now administratively part of Wolverhampton.

Willenhall is a popular centre for shopping and the market is a big attraction. The streets around the Market area have recently been resurfaced and improved. The Memorial Park has also benefitted from improvements including a new bandstand.

The town of Willenhall has retained a lot of character with its Georgian buildings, attractive Memorial Park and historic associations. The people of Willenhall are rightly proud of their town and its history.