THE CRAFT IN WALSALL

The impact of the Industrial Revolution, too, had a considerable effect on the growth of the lorinery trade in Walsall. In 1811, the process of making malleable iron castings was developed in Birmingham. It now became possible to cast metal articles without them becoming brittle, by placing them in annealing ovens after casting. From the mid-nineteenth century also, nickel, both in malleable form and used as plating, was developed commercially and became widely used in the trade. These two advances in technology had the effect of making it more economic to make the goods in factories rather than in small workshops. Casting, plating and drop forging gradually took the place of hand forging until, in 1939, only about four hand forgers were left.

The establishment of lorinery from the eighteenth century as a major trade in Walsall was responsible for the subsequent growth of the leather and saddlery trades, not the other way round, as some have been led to believe. It is doubtful whether Walsall would have achieved its world wide reputation for high class saddlery, harness and leather goods, had it not been for the already flourishing saddlers' ironmongery trade.

Both trades together boomed during the second half of the nineteenth century as Britain’s Empire grew, her military commitments increased and her supremacy in maritime commerce ensured plentiful overseas markets for her manufactured goods.

CHANGES IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

The coming of the motor car was largely responsible for the decline of the lorinery trade over the last eight decades or so. There was a brief resurgence of fortunes during the First World War owing to the need to keep the cavalry and horse-drawn artillery well supplied. However, after that, many firms diversified or turned over to making metal parts for motorcar bodies.

The trade in Walsall, and indeed Great Britain as a whole, has declined dramatically since then. The explosion in the use of the horse for leisure purposes over the last thirty years or so has benefited the saddlery trade, but not the loriners. British firms cannot compete with the low production costs of countries like South Korea, India and China. The majority of saddlers’ ironmongery is now therefore imported. The one exception to this has been saddle tree manufacturing and here the British makers have seen a boom. There are currently ten companies in Walsall making saddle trees, compared to three in 1985.

The turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have seen the sad demise of many famous lorinery names in Walsall. The period has been one of mergers and closures, with famous firms like Eland, Matthew Harvey and Eldonian being consigned to the history books. Some trade names, such as Cotterell, may continue under new ownership but the goods themselves are usually bought in.

However, at the time of writing one or two companies are still carrying on the tradition of producing high-quality lorinery items in Walsall. Two of these are B.B. Stanley Bros. and W. Thacker & Sons Ltd.

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