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Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It is in the Black Country, 8 miles (13 km) west of Birmingham. The town was known for the manufacture of chains in the first half of the twentieth century.
The name Cradley has Saxon origins, likely derived from "Crudda's lēah," meaning "Crudda’s clearing" or meadow. The Domesday Book of 1086 records the settlement as "Cradelei" or "Cradelie," then held by Ansculf de Picquigny for the crown. Cradley Heath was originally an area of heathland between Cradley, Netherton, and Old Hill, in the Staffordshire parish of Rowley Regis. The residents of Cradley had grazing rights, subject to an annual payment to the Lord of the Manor. This undeveloped heath was historically separated from Cradley itself by the River Stour and the Mousesweet Brook As on other commons in the Black Country, cottages were built encroaching on the heath. These were occupied by nailmakers, amongst other industries.
Following the Norman Conquest, the manor passed through various hands, including the Earl of Wiltshire—who was beheaded during the Wars of the Roses—before being purchased by Sir Frank Lyttleton in 1564
One landmark in the growth of Cradley Heath as a distinct community was the creation of Cradley Heath Baptist Church, in December 1833. This was the first Christian Church meeting in Cradley Heath, and has the distinction of having the first Afro-Caribbean minister in Britain, Rev. George Cosens, in 1837.
Cradley Heath and the surrounding area lie on the South Staffordshire coalfield. Ordnance Survey maps surveyed in 1882 show the town to be surrounded by collieries.; the High Street still features a prominent dip, a visible reminder of a major mining subsidence event that occurred in 1914. Deaths from mining accidents were not unknown. In December 1839, four men were crushed when a coal mine roof collapsed underground; between two and three thousand mourners attended the funeral procession. In October 1844, ten men including the 'butty' plus a boy aged 12 died in a coal mine explosion, two horses working underground were also killed. Several ironstone miners working below the coal seam managed to escape, but a further three working horses could not be rescued. At the inquest it was reported that the mine had been inspected hours earlier, tested for sulphur gas and declared safe. Verdicts of accidental death were given.
From the introduction of machine-based nail-making around 1830, Cradley Heath developed two prolific industries – chainmaking and nailmaking – which would remain strong for decades afterwards. The area became world-famous for "hand-hammered" or "country-work" chain, often produced by women for use in agriculture and mining. Despite a lack of direct records, it is believed chains and collars were also produced here for export to the United States for the slave trade.
Among the metallurgical companies that were active in the area was the British Iron Company and its successor, the New British Iron Company, who operated a vast iron and steel works at Corngreaves from 1825 to 1894. The works expanded to include rivet and boiler shops and chain works; continuing under other owners until 1912. Innovation continued into the 20th century with the firm Samuel Woodhouse & Sons at the Eagle Works became the first British manufacturer to produce electrically welded chain It was only during the 1980s recession that the iron-working industries based in Cradley Heath began to decline.
Chain-making developed both as a cottage industry where outworkers produced smaller size chains in forges at the rear of their homes – women accounted for two-thirds of these workers – and in factories where both smaller and larger size chains were made. Much of the factory output of larger chain was for ship anchors. In 1903, Samuel Woodhouse & Sons at the Eagle Works on Corngreaves Road became the first British manufacturer of electrically welded chain. Over the summer of 1910, around one thousand local women led and organised by Mary Macarthur of the National Federation of Women Workers, and supported by the Chain Makers' and Strikers' Association were involved in a ten-week-long Chainmakers' Strike. The women successfully campaigned for the implementation of the minimum rate of pay set by the Chain Trade Board – effectively doubling their wages. The dispute ended on the 22 October 1910 when the last of the employers agreed to pay the minimum wage. The triumphant strike led to the construction of The Cradley Heath Workers' Institute, built using surplus strike funds. Opened in 1912, the "Stute" served as a social and industrial hub for nearly a century By 1934 there were 68 chain-works and chain-shops in Cradley Heath; almost a third of the total for Great Britain. Numbers declined after the Second World War but some outworking continued into the 1950s. The papers of the Cradley Heath Chainmakers' Trade Union are housed at the University of Birmingham Special Collections.
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Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It is in the Black Country, 8 miles (13 km) west of Birmingham. The town was known for the manufacture of chains in the first half of the twentieth century.
The name Cradley has Saxon origins, likely derived from "Crudda's lēah," meaning "Crudda’s clearing" or meadow. The Domesday Book of 1086 records the settlement as "Cradelei" or "Cradelie," then held by Ansculf de Picquigny for the crown. Cradley Heath was originally an area of heathland between Cradley, Netherton, and Old Hill, in the Staffordshire parish of Rowley Regis. The residents of Cradley had grazing rights, subject to an annual payment to the Lord of the Manor. This undeveloped heath was historically separated from Cradley itself by the River Stour and the Mousesweet Brook As on other commons in the Black Country, cottages were built encroaching on the heath. These were occupied by nailmakers, amongst other industries.
Following the Norman Conquest, the manor passed through various hands, including the Earl of Wiltshire—who was beheaded during the Wars of the Roses—before being purchased by Sir Frank Lyttleton in 1564
One landmark in the growth of Cradley Heath as a distinct community was the creation of Cradley Heath Baptist Church, in December 1833. This was the first Christian Church meeting in Cradley Heath, and has the distinction of having the first Afro-Caribbean minister in Britain, Rev. George Cosens, in 1837.
Cradley Heath and the surrounding area lie on the South Staffordshire coalfield. Ordnance Survey maps surveyed in 1882 show the town to be surrounded by collieries.; the High Street still features a prominent dip, a visible reminder of a major mining subsidence event that occurred in 1914. Deaths from mining accidents were not unknown. In December 1839, four men were crushed when a coal mine roof collapsed underground; between two and three thousand mourners attended the funeral procession. In October 1844, ten men including the 'butty' plus a boy aged 12 died in a coal mine explosion, two horses working underground were also killed. Several ironstone miners working below the coal seam managed to escape, but a further three working horses could not be rescued. At the inquest it was reported that the mine had been inspected hours earlier, tested for sulphur gas and declared safe. Verdicts of accidental death were given.
From the introduction of machine-based nail-making around 1830, Cradley Heath developed two prolific industries – chainmaking and nailmaking – which would remain strong for decades afterwards. The area became world-famous for "hand-hammered" or "country-work" chain, often produced by women for use in agriculture and mining. Despite a lack of direct records, it is believed chains and collars were also produced here for export to the United States for the slave trade.
Among the metallurgical companies that were active in the area was the British Iron Company and its successor, the New British Iron Company, who operated a vast iron and steel works at Corngreaves from 1825 to 1894. The works expanded to include rivet and boiler shops and chain works; continuing under other owners until 1912. Innovation continued into the 20th century with the firm Samuel Woodhouse & Sons at the Eagle Works became the first British manufacturer to produce electrically welded chain It was only during the 1980s recession that the iron-working industries based in Cradley Heath began to decline.
Chain-making developed both as a cottage industry where outworkers produced smaller size chains in forges at the rear of their homes – women accounted for two-thirds of these workers – and in factories where both smaller and larger size chains were made. Much of the factory output of larger chain was for ship anchors. In 1903, Samuel Woodhouse & Sons at the Eagle Works on Corngreaves Road became the first British manufacturer of electrically welded chain. Over the summer of 1910, around one thousand local women led and organised by Mary Macarthur of the National Federation of Women Workers, and supported by the Chain Makers' and Strikers' Association were involved in a ten-week-long Chainmakers' Strike. The women successfully campaigned for the implementation of the minimum rate of pay set by the Chain Trade Board – effectively doubling their wages. The dispute ended on the 22 October 1910 when the last of the employers agreed to pay the minimum wage. The triumphant strike led to the construction of The Cradley Heath Workers' Institute, built using surplus strike funds. Opened in 1912, the "Stute" served as a social and industrial hub for nearly a century By 1934 there were 68 chain-works and chain-shops in Cradley Heath; almost a third of the total for Great Britain. Numbers declined after the Second World War but some outworking continued into the 1950s. The papers of the Cradley Heath Chainmakers' Trade Union are housed at the University of Birmingham Special Collections.
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