The Hamlets of Rowley Regis

Rowley Regis has, it seems, always consisted of not only the ancient parish but also of a number of hamlets, large and small arranged around the village, like satellites. 

The introduction to the transcribed Parish Registers, published by the Staffordshire Parish Registers Society in 1915, and written by the transcriber Miss Henrietta Mary Auden, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, or some other knowledgeable authority on local matters offers this commentary:

“The parish in medieval times comprised many isolated houses and hamlets, homes originally of settlers in the forest, and as late as 1842 it was remarkable for the number of old small enclosures. The Manor is not mentioned in Domesday but was apparently a Royal Manor before the Conquest. “

This perhaps laid the pattern of numerous distinct small settlements which persisted until the late 1800s, after which they gradually merged until there was no open space between them. A teacher at the local grammar school in the 1980s commented recently on the local Facebook site that she was amazed, on moving to the area to teach, to find that the local people were very clear about which of these hamlets they lived in, even though, to her as an outsider, there appeared to be no formal or recognizable boundaries that she could identify.

In 1851 William White wrote “The Parish of Rowley Regis forms part of the great Barony of Dudley and contains 7,438 inhabitants and 3,350 acres of land, of which the executors of the late Earl Dudley are lords and owners, and hold Court Leet here in September. The parish comprises the large but indifferently built village of Rowley, seated on the declivity of a lofty hill two and a half miles S.E. of Dudley and about 20 hamlets all of which maintain their poor conjointly, and are occupied chiefly by nailers, chain makers and the miners, forgemen etc  employed in the extensive coal and iron works here. “

Twenty hamlets are listed by White in 1851:

Blackheath, Corngreaves, Cradley Heath, Gosty Hill, Haden Cross, Haden Hill, Hayseech, Knoll, Lye Cross (near Oakham, not to be confused with Lye near Cradley Heath), Oakum (Oakham), Old Hill, Portway, Powke Lane, Reddal Hill, Tipperty Green, Tividale, Turner’s Hill, Windmill End, Whiteheath Gate, Slack Hillock and the other houses in Rowley Village.

In his book A History of the Black Country, published in about 1950, J Wilson Jones, a former Librarian for Blackheath, considers that, at the time of the Enclosure Act of 1799, there were hamlets at:

The Brades (near Oldbury, developed circa 1780 owing to the Iron Works), Tividale (near Dudley, also with a large Iron Works. Developed upon Sheldon Estates.), Oakham (an early settlement as by its name the dwelling in the Oaks), The Knoll (later known as Knowle), Ibberty (Tipperty) Green (a manorial mill), Windmill End (another manorial mill), Old Hill, Reddal Hill, Cradley Heath. Lawrence Lane,  Longtown,  Corngreaves, Hayseech and Gorsty Hill.  He suggests that these hamlets consisted of about twelve or more homesteads plus  groups of from three to six houses or homesteads at Whiteheath Gate, Portway, Turner’s Hill and Perry’s Folly (Perry’s Lake).  There are differences between the lists, but they are largely the same.

Wilson Jones notes that Perry’s Lake was sometimes known as Perry’s Folly which suggests a connection with an individual and an intriguing tale which I will relate if I can find out any more about it. Local people tell me that their families called Perry’s Lake Heaven when they lived here, in the early and mid 20th century, although I have found no formal record of these names.   The reason for these variations is unknown but it is not the only local place to have had several different names over the centuries. 

Some of these hamlets, such as Cradley Heath and Old Hill thrived and expanded into substantial separate communities over time, others faded from history and it is these ‘lost hamlets’ which are the subject of my study, although interesting stories about other parts of Rowley Regis may appear from time to time, if I find these in the course of my research.

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9 thoughts on “The Hamlets of Rowley Regis”

  1. Can you text or call me for a chat.
    Also I will need an address to send the book on Hailstone and Freebodies Farm. By the way you passed the latter on a track on the way to Hailstone. The track ended at the farm.

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  2. Hi, I may have a missing hamlet for you that does not appear on your lists.

    I’m researching my Billingham ancestry who lived at 5 Ways, Cradley Heath from the early 1700s to around 1895. I have been looking at Rowley Regis Suit Rolls (rent records) for 1702 and the late 1700s.

    The 1702 roll lists Foxoaks as a separate hamlet. I think originally there may have been a farm there as I came across some early deeds a few years ago. By 1702 there are about 20 families listed there. Unfortunately, no Billinghams, but there were several Pargeters. Around 1818, Darby and Pargeters colliery was founded there and it is now Foxoak Street in Cradley Heath.

    Foxoak does not appear on the late 1700s rolls but a new, adjacent area, appeared – Scolding Green. Quite a few Billingham’s on this roll and it is now known as St Anne’s Road, 5 Ways.

    Not looked at the other rolls yet, but will be interesting to see how the names and population have changed over time.

    Regards,

    Adrian

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    1. Thanks, Adrian, for your comment. Yes, there are other hamlets around Rowley, there were about ten or twelve listed, I think in a couple of local history books. I chose this little group of hamlets because many of my ancestors lived there for many generations and, when I discovered that these hamlets had literally been blasted away, I wanted to preserve as much information about them as I could find. Despite having been working on my family history for more than forty years now, I have been amazed how much more I have learned in the process and how much my tree has expanded as a result. Other hamlets, such as Sleckhillock, which was between Gorsty Hill and Waterfall Lane and where there was also a farm, have also disappeared but I have my hands full with this study! There were family connections between bits of Old Hill and Cradley Heath, though and the families in the Lost Hamlets, it’s fascinating to trace them down the generations. Where did you find the Rowley Regis Suit Rolls? I would be interested to have a look at those.
      There are still Billinghams in Rowley, of course, perhaps you are. Certainly there were Billinghams at Rowley Grammar at the same time I was there in the 1960s, I seem to remember they lived in Ross and had connections with the Tromans family.
      Thanks for your interest.
      Kind regards
      Glenys

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      1. Hello again, Adrian. Doing some work on some of my Priest family who have definite links with Cradley Heath, I notice, whilst looking through the registers for the Cradley, Park Lane Chapel (Presbyterian), 1789-1821, I notice that there are numerous baptisms for children of several Billingham couples. You may already be aware of these, as Ancestry is pretty good at showing these but just in case! Regards
        Glenys

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      2. Hi Glenys,

        Yes, there are a lot of Billinghams in and around Cradley Heath.

        My own direct line ancestors lived at 5 Ways from at least 1700 to 1895 and then only moved to Netherton and later Coseley. During that time I think they were involved in a number of denominations, from Presbyterians, CofE, to Methodists and Baptists 🙂

        Thanks

        Adrian

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      3. Hi Glenys,

        The suit roles are at Dudley Archives.

        I am not sure if these were previously available as I am sure I have looked before, but there a lot of Earl of Dudley records now available.

        You can do an online search but most of the relevant records appear to be in DE/3 and DE/4. Just found out that they have a copy of the Rowley Regis enclosure act from 1799. Planning to go and look at that in a few weeks as hopefully they may have maps and occupier lists.

        Assume you know this but Rowley Regis has two manors – Rowley Regis and Rowley Somery. The boundaries of the two manors overlapped and were made up of separate pockets of land. The manors changed hands many times but Rowley Regis ended up in the ownership of the Earl of Dudley and copies of many of the records are held at Dudley. Rowley Somery was owned by the Duke of Sutherland (who was also the Marquess of Stafford). Haven’t looked to for the Rowley Somery records as Cradley Heath was mainly Rowley Regis but I think the records for this may be in Stafford record office.

        Reagards,

        Adrian

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