The history of towns in Walsall goes far back in time. Most of their names have Anglo-Saxon origins, dating back to the first century.
Some towns in the Black Country borough were named after landowners, while others were named after the landscape, and some combined the two. Walsall was settled during the Anglo-Saxon period, forming part of the ancient kingdom of Mercia.
As a result, the names of its towns derive from the language spoken at the time – Old English. Some of the towns were also mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.
READ MORE: Where is the oldest place in the Black Country?
The Domesday Book was a survey carried out on most of the lands of England and Wales, ordered by William the Conqueror, who led the Norman invasion of England in 1066. We’ve already looked at town names in Dudley, and will do upcoming articles for Sandwell and Wolverhampton.
Aldridge: The town, located in the north east of the borough, is thought to derive from two Old English words: alr or alre, meaning an alder tree, and wic, meaning village; which roughly translates to ‘village among the alder trees’. It is also believed Aldridge could have meant a farm among the alder trees.
In the Domesday Book, it was recorded as Alrewic. At the time, the population consisted of seven homes.
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Bloxwich: It is believed Bloxwich, located in the north of the borough, was named after the family of a person called Bloc in the Anglo-Saxon times. Its former name was recorded as ‘Blochescwic’, meaning ‘Bloc’s village’.
Brownhills: The town, located in the far north of the borough, is believed to have been inhabited as far back as the Romans – after evidence was found of a guard post. But Brownhills’ name was not recorded until 1680, when it was listed on an old map of Staffordshire, the neighboring county which is once part of.
It is thought the modern names derives from mounds of waste material from past mining industries which were left on the land.
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Darlaston: Darlaston, in the south west of the borough, dates back to the eighth century. Its name derives from two Old English words.
The first part, Darla, refers to a former landowner called Deorlaf, while the second part, tun, means manor. When put together, the old name would translate to ‘Deorlaf’s Tun’, which has since transformed into Darlaston.
Later variations of the name are listed as Derlaveston and Derlaston before the one we see today.
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Pelsall: Pelsall, located in the north of the borough, derives from two Old English words. It refers to a landowner, called Peol, who owned a piece of land between two streams.
The town was first recorded in 994, in a charter between a Mercian noblewoman and a monastery, where it was spelled ‘Peolshalh’. Pelsall was also recorded in the Domesday Book, described as being a piece of wasteland belonging to a church.
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Walsall: The name of Walsall, referring to the town itself, in the center of the borough, is made up of two Old English words. The first part of the name, Wal, derives from ‘Wealh’, which was a person’s name in the Anglo-Saxon era.
The second part, ‘all’ referred to a ‘hollow’ or ‘small valley’. When put together, it translated as wealth’s hollow or small valley.
However, the world Wealh meant foreigner in Old English, and it later became the word for Welsh. Historians believe Wealh was used to describe the Celts who lived in the area previously.
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Willenhall: Willenhall, located in the west of the borough, is the oldest documented town in Walsall, and the Black Country. Its name was first recorded in 732AD, in a document.
The first of the name, Willen, is thought to derive from a landowner called ‘Willa’. The second part, hall, derives from the similarly spelled word ‘halh’, meaning small valley.
As such, the name meant ‘Willa’s Valley’.
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