THE CRAFT IN WALSALL

Evidence of metal working in Walsall exists from as far back as the thirteenth century. This is not surprising in view of the fact that all the necessary raw materials were available locally: iron ore, limestone, charcoal and later, of course, coal. By the fifteenth century the lighter metal trades, in particular the making of small items in iron and brass were well established. Some of these manufacturers were already specialising in horse furniture. Three Walsall loriners occur in 1435 and thereafter the trade is often mentioned. A century later, in 1540, the antiquary Leland noted that “Ther be many Smithes and Bytte Makers yn the Town”.

Before the Industrial Revolution, bits, spurs, stirrups and buckles would have been hand forged and produced in small family workshops, mainly in the back yards of the loriners’ dwellings. Walsall products were reaching a wide market by the mid sixteenth century with one Richard Hopkes of Walsall being owed money for sales made in Exeter, Bristol and other parts of Devon, Somerset and the West Riding of Yorkshire. In many cases the small producers would sell their wares to chapmen who then travelled with them to London and elsewhere.

By the late seventeenth century, the saddlers ironmongery trade was becoming highly specialised and articles could include parts made by several different craftsmen. A variety of patterns were produced, as evidenced by Robert Plot in the 1680s when he noted several designs of spur, five types of snaffle with six varieties of end, six types of bit, four sorts of stirrup, and other ironwork including curbs, chains, bolts, rings, swivels, saddle-bars and plates.

The industry continued to prosper in the eighteenth century as life in Britain became more affluent and improvements in the roads led to an increase in horse-drawn transport. A list of trades in 1770 includes nineteen spur and spur rowel- makers, eleven stirrup-makers, five bit-makers, eighteen snaffle-makers and ten saddlers’ ironmongers.

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