Bromford Mill & Forge, West Bromwich

A couple of months ago we visited Bromford rolling mill in West Bromwich; above is how it looked in the late 1980s from the air, the Birmingham to Wolverhampton  canal cutting through the site, which opened in 1777. But Bromford mill is older than the canal, and was there using the waters of the River Tame from at least the early 1600s. The river is just out of shot at the bottom of the image. Bill Venables, who has worked at Bromford for the last 30 years, showed us around the mill.

Up until the late 20th century there were a number of industries that could trace their roots back to medieval mills along the river, but all but one, Bromford, have gone now. Photos below by Ian Stenson (visit his website here).

Bromford Mill was bought in 1610 by William Turton the Younger and used as a 'blade mill', grinding sword blades, which would have probably been made and finished elsewhere, but brought to the mill for sharpening. Ten years later Turton bought more land including 'Smithie Leasow', a nearby pasture, where there were 'all manner of pooles, stagnes, waters, lands and watercourses'. The name of the pasture suggests that the mill had been being used as a 'smithie' for some time.

By the end of the century, in 1693, Joseph Carles(s), a Birmingham whitesmith (basically a tin worker), bought the mill and converted it into 'an iron forge or flatting mill'; taking down much of the original mill and enlarging the mill pool. The Carless family were a big Birmingham and Black Country metal working family, and their steel mills in Birmingham helped the Birmingham streets ring out with the sound of hammers. The family owned the mill through the mid 1700s when it was used for making edge tools.

In the late 1700s the mill as owned by the Abney family, descendants of the Turton's, and they lived in and worked nearby mills too. They witnessed the coming of the canal that cut behind them, and wrote to Matthew Boulton asking him to advise on an expansion, probably wanted to keep up with the industrial changes of the time. Towards the end of the century the mill was making wire.

In 1800 the renowned Black Country iron founders, Wright & Jesson, took over the mill, adding to their collection of other iron forges along the River Tame, such as Old Forge. Nine years later, after marrying Jesson's daughter, a man called Samuel Dawes became partner in the firm. It was at about this time that the river was abandoned as other forms of power came into play and Bromford moved closer to the canal, leaving the old mill behind to be run by the Izon family, another Tame dwelling family with mills along the river.

Next it was the railway that came through, it was completed in 1851 and cut the original mill site in half, the pools were drained and the site used for Oldbury Carriage and Wagon Works. The original water powered mill was gone, but the business that had grown from it prospered by the new waters of the canal.

Photos above by Ian Stenson, visit his website: http://ianstenson.photodeck.com/-/galleries/tame-past-present-future

From Men & Things of Modern England, 1858. 

Map from the 1880s showing Bromford Iron Works. GREEN shows the canal and the site
of the new Bromford Iron Works. BLUE shows the River Tame and the site of the original
water powered mill. 

Memories of Bromford: Bill Bowen

Bill Bowen walked from Wales to the Midlands in the 1930s
to find work. 

In the 1950s Bill Bowen began working at Bromford Iron & Steel Co. Ltd, West Bromwich; how he got there is recalled by workmate, another Bill- Bill Venables. “He had been born in the Rhondda Valley but left there in the 30s at the time of the depression and walked up to the Midlands to find work.” Bill Venables tells us that “he was our hardest working labourer who had enormous muscles and strength, and was a fairground prize-fighter in his younger days to help feed his family”. “After finishing his day shift on Fridays he contracted to dig all the millscale out of the water pits at 4/6d per ton and load it into skips. He did all this by hand with a No 10 shovel and a wheelbarrow and used to work all the way through until Sunday afternoon before walking home. A No 10 shovel could hold half hundredweight of millscale at a time and only he could lift it. In his final two years at Bromford he was put in charge of the new mess rooms and showers and woe betide anyone leaving a mess because he used to thump them”.

Wednesbury Forge

Wednesbury Forge in about 1869 when it was making edge tools
and was run by Edward Elwell.

The site of Wednesbury Forge has over 400 years of industrial history, from the late 1500s till 2005 when the site closed and manufacture ceased. Between 2004 and 2008 an archaeological dig was carried out on the site, which was able to trace much of its change and development over the five centuries it was used; you can find an extensive paper on the digs here.

TIMELINE OF THE WEDNESBURY FORGE SITE

About 1590: Douglas Dilworth estimates construction to be about this time, but then mentions that in 1606 the forge was in a ‘decayed’ state, so the date is probably earlier. In 1597 workers from a different forge (Wednesbury Mill Forge) formed a ‘riotous and unlawful assembly’ and descended on Wednesbury Forge armed with shovels and axes.

1657: Mill rented by Thomas Foley, the English ironmaster and politician, so became part of the large Foley iron empire.

1676: Some of the mill rented by Humphrey Jennens. Jennens was possibly part of the Jennens iron family from Birmingham and north Warwickshire. Later Prof. Johnson notes that John Jennens (Birmingham ironmaster) is involved in the mill, but this could have been another in Wednesbury.

About 1708: The mill was owned by Richard Parkes (another prominent local family), leased to John Willetts, and used as a metal rolling mill. In the 1720s John Willetts junior was a saw-maker. The mill remained in the Willetts’ family, and in 1794 the widow of a Benjamin Willetts carried on the business, owing to the mill pool becoming known as ‘Mrs. Willetts’ Pool’.

 Late 1700s: The forge was in partnership between Holden and Willetts and grinding gun barrels.

 Early 1800s: The mill was run by Hyla Holden.

1817: Edward Elwell, who had previously been carrying on business at Sparrow’s Forge, leased Wednesbury Forge, and erected the long chimney stack. In 1831 he bought the premises which consisted of ‘a forge or iron mill, also a grinding mill which had formerly been a windmill [...] a house, thirteen cottages which had been workshops, but Edward Elwell had reconverted into dwellings, together with adjacent land, a forge pool and watercourse to feed it’.

1839: Elwell advertised his business as making ‘spades, shovels, hoes and edge tools’.

1876. Click to enlarge.

1850s: Edward Elwell junior took over and steam power began to supplement water power. Mrs. Willetts’ Pool had become unused, but it was brought back into use. It later became known as Elwells’ Pool. The forge remained in the Elwell family for the next 50 years.

1902: The last Elwell, Alfred Elwell died and the forge became Edward Elwell Ltd. Water power stopped being used and in 1904 a turbine was used.

About 1920: The pools were filled in.

1945. Click to enlarge.

1970: The site was taken over by Spear and Jackson, making tools. Do you have any memories of working in Spear & Jackson or Elwell's? Please contact Jenni at tameppf@gmail.com

2005: The site was closed.





FIND OUT MORE & DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH

Part of Tame Past Present Future is to train and support people in conducting their own research, you can find out about local archives here. This section will be continually added to with more information about Wednesbury Forge, and documents that relate to its history.

D1400/1/6/1  1699  (STA)
Wednesbury. Piece of meadow (3a.) adjoining road from Wednesbury Forge to Tame Bridge (reserving minerals) Copy assignment of term in trust Jennens/Ward

5350/pp 44 - 45  Nov. 1736  (STA)
Willets of Wednesbury Forge: treatment of colic; similar treatment for R. Wilkes of Wolverhampton

BOOK: Georgiana Elwell, A Lady of Wednesbury Forge: The Diary of Georgiana Elwell, 1868-1869 (Published Black Country Society, 1976) (also held at 'WAL').