INDUSTRY / PUBS
COAL MINING
FARMING
CANALS

GO TO
BROWNHILLS
CLAYHANGER CATSHILL WALSALL WOOD STONNEL

MAIN HISTORY PAGE

FOR A LIST OF ALL THE COAL MINERS ON THE 1881 CENSUS IN BROWNHILLS AREA CLICK HERE:CENSUS 1881

INDEX PAGE A list of links to all the pages on this web site.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Ogley Hay changed very little for 1,000 years, in 995 AD the Manor belonged to the Monastery of Wolverhampton, it was in 1086 a Manor of rural waste of 120 acres with 1 hide, ( A hide was an area of land that could support & feed a household), This was most probably the old enclosure where the Warreners arms now stands.

The Manor changed hands many times between 1500 and 1825 with many different owners not doing anything with the land just buying it and reselling at a later date, some of the Lords of the Manor were in 1557 Lord Stafford and in 1668 The Manor was sub-divided into 24 shares, Ferrers Fowke & James Fowke had 20 shares, John Jackson had 2 shares also Henry Ward and Thomas Worsey had 1 share each, this group leased the Manor to a William Quinton, Yeoman, for an annual rent of £11, included with the land was a Lodge or House which was situated where Warren House Farm is now, at the Lichfield side of the Manor.

The Manor of Ogley Hay remained divided amongst  syndicate owners for 150 years until in 1765, l a Richard Gilbert, who owned part of the Manor of Norton Canes brought 23 of the 24 shares from the estate of Christopher Wood, but it was not until 1809 that Richard brought the 24th share and became the sole Lord of the Manor of Ogley.

The Manor changed hands again in 1825 when  Phineus Hussey who was from a local land owning family who had lived at Wyrley Hall since the mid 1600's. Phineus paid £5,295 for the Manor along with all its privileges. Phineus Hussey died 8 years later in 1833 and left the Manor to his 2  children Fanny aged 17 and Phineus aged 11, as both were too young to inherit the estate their father set the age of 24 years old to when they could inherit their share. The children were cared for financially by the executor of the estate Reverend Edward Lovett. Phineus had left many debts and outstanding mortgage and Reverend Lovett had no option but to sell the Manor of Ogley Hay to who was to become the last Lord of the Manor, Charles Forster Cotterill, (The ex Mayor of Walsall).

The ancient rights of over 1000 years old were to be bargained for and sold off for the last time. Charles Cotterill unlike previous Lords of The Manor had a good understanding of the land he had brought and he new the potential of his investment. He had sold off or leased out most of the 'rural' area of the Manor within 1 year, by the end of 1837 he had recouped his outlay for the Manor and still had substantial lands left to sell, when he brought the Manor in 1833 the population of Ogley Hay was only 10 but 8 years later in 1841 there were210. Dwelling houses had increased from 6 to 47 with a further 8 in the process of being built.. He sold one plot of land to the Wyrley and Essington Canal Company and a road was put through to the land from Burntwood Road, (Ogley road), this through fare was called Mill Street and on the land next to the canal was built the Ogley Hay Steam Flour Mill.
The Mill provided flour to customers in the area and delivered the bags of flour to areas as far as Four Oaks. In the early 1900's the Mill was owned by Haddon & Grimes.

This Photo shows the delivery wagon of Haddon & Grimes in the early 1900's. The man in the long coat is Jack Glen who drove the cart to the customers to deliver the bags of flour.

In his haste to sell of his land Charles Cotterill had overlooked the rights of commoners who for 600 years had the right to cross and graze cattle and sheep on 'Common Grounds'. He looked to the law of the land for a solution to his problem in the Enclosures act and in 1838 an Act of Parliament came out in favour of Charles as long as he paid £2013 for the sole rights to the land, he got this reduced to £1907 and in 1939 the Commoners lost all their ancient rights of grazing on waste lands.

The act also granted Charles Cotterill the rights to close some roads and alter others, in all 11 roads, paths or trackways were closed off, fenced in and dug up all within the space of 1 month. To celebrate his victory over the commoners

Charles set about planning his 'new town' in the area of land he had remaining, which was the area inside the triangle formed by the Chester Rd, (High St), the Lichfield Rd (then the Wolverhampton Rd) and the Wyrley and Essington Canal, an area of some 160 Acres.

OGLEY HAY FARM LANDS.

Charles planed to build a new main road through his new town it was to run between, The Ogley Road (Burntwood road as it was known then) and finish at the junction of the Chester road and Lichfield road at the top of Brownhills High St. He wanted it to be wide enough to allow a squadron of cavalrymen to ride in formation abreast. The width of the road can still be seen today until it narrows where it approaches the Lichfield road. Charles did not own the small piece of land known as Brewe's corner at the junction of the High St and Lichfield road, this was a part of the Manor of Little Wyrley and Charles was unable to purchase this, the consequence was Gt Charles Street had to make a sharp right turn and terminate a few yards down the Lichfield road instead.

Gt Charles Street from the Lichfield Road end around  1930.

Not to be setback by his bent Gt Charles Street he set about building his 'New Town'. He started selling small lots for housing development because the Coal Mining Industry was expanding fast in the Coppice area of Brownhills there was a big demand for houses, as a consequence the price of his land was increasing. 10 Houses were built in a square of land between, Ogley Rd, Mill Rd, First St. The Houses faced onto First St and were complete with a brewhouse. The Cornelius Bonell & Co built an Iron Foundry and Steam Engine works on the corner of Mill Rd and Ogley rd, giving Ogley Hay its first Industry. Sadly the foundry only lasted for 6 or 7 years as in 1846 it was derelict and was demolished to make way for the building of the Infamous Ogley Square, this was a block of 30 houses built in a square with a central yard where there were 12 lavatories and 11 wash rooms.

The square stood for 90 years and at times housed over 200 people. There were 150 persons on the 1881 census mostly miners and their families all sharing the facilities in the yard. The Square was demolished in 1937 after being adjudged by Brownhills Council to be unfit for human habitation and the Wheatsheaf was built in it.

As was stated at the beginning of the page Charles Cotterill sold off the remaining pieces of land to Joseph Greene & Co of Liverpool who were land speculators and they soon sold of the Ogley Hay Farm lands at a profit. The land finally became the property of Thomas & William Hill, brothers, from Walsall. The Hill brothers built up a property empire and Ogley Hay Farm lands remained in their possession for 100 years although   ever decreasing in size.

A portion of the farm lands off Gt Charles St where the Junior School playing fields are now was purchased by The Brownhills Local Board to Excavate sand and gravel from a deposit under the land for road construction and house building. A brick kiln was built nearby,(most probably where Brickiln Street got its name from). The deposits were exhausted by 1902 and the plot was filled with household refuse by the Local Council.

St James' Parish Church was built in 1851and the first person baptised there was William Taylor, son of William and Sarah of Ogley Hay.
St James' Church.

GOTO BROWNHILLS HISTORY PAGE

HOME PAGE