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The Changing Face of Walsall

Date Published : 14 November 2008

A new permanent gallery, celebrating the history of Walsall and charting its development is set to be unveiled at Walsall Museum this month.

The Changing Face of Walsall, funded by a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), will be officially opened by the Mayor of Walsall on Tuesday 18 November 2008.

The gallery draws on the museum’s extensive collection of artefacts relating to the social and industrial history of Walsall, as well as its renowned collection of historic costume and archival material and photographs from Walsall’s Local History Centre.

Famous people, industries and many weird and wonderful artefacts from the borough’s history will be on display, including:

  • the spooky ‘Hand of Glory’, the preserved hand and arm of a young child found hidden in a chimney of a local pub in the 1870s;
  • the striking Bayard’s Colts, a set of ceremonial clubs with unusual carved heads carried in civic processions around the town;
  • the cruel Scold’s Bridle, used as a punishment for nagging and gossiping women;
  • the murky story of the Anarchist’s Bombs, a 1892 plot involving local socialists and suspicions of a police set up;
  • a painting showing the ceremony of ‘Walking the Fair’ at which the Bayard’s Colts were carried and finally,
  • the young Crocodile, a long-lost museum specimen found in the roof space of the building during repair work in 2000.

The industrial history of the borough will be very well covered, with exhibits showcasing the products of the area’s most famous industries including lockmaking and lorinery, as well as many other industries which led to Walsall being known as the Town of a Hundred Trades – from awl blades, rabbit traps and false teeth to plastic tableware and electric lightswitches.

There will be specific displays on three of the borough’s most famous inhabitants: Jerome K Jerome, author of Three Men in a Boat, First World War Victoria Cross hero John Henry Carless and 19th century nursing pioneer Sister Dora.

In addition the names and images of other famous local inhabitants, from Sergeant-Major William Purvis, survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade, to supermodel Erin O’Connor, will be listed on a Wall of Fame.

Other exhibits include a recreation of one of the many dark dank limestone mines which once existed under the borough, a display on Walsall’s involvement in both the First and Second World Wars, and a display of clothing from the Hodson Shop – a unique and nationally-important collection of working-class women’s clothing from the mid-twentieth century - the unsold stock of a small drapery shop in nearby Willenhall which was discovered in 1983 following the death of the last surviving proprietor.

Councillor Louise Harrison, Walsall Council’s cabinet member for leisure and culture said she was delighted to see the gallery in place: “Walsall Council is proud to mark another milestone in the borough’s cultural development.

“It’s been a number of years since Walsall last had a permanent exhibition exploring its history and so this development is long overdue.

“But thanks to a grant from the HLF (Heritage Lottery Fund) Walsall Museum has at last been able to make it a reality.

“We have a rich and varied history here in Walsall and this new permanent gallery will no doubt encapsulate the development of our borough for many generations to come.”

Anne Jenkins, Head of HLF for the West Midlands, said “We’re really pleased to see a permanent testament to the diverse history of this area installed at Walsall Museum. It’s an exciting addition that will benefit the whole community.”

Visitors to the gallery will also be able to watch an audio visual presentation showing historic photographs from the borough combined with recorded reminiscences of life in Walsall, listen to a recorded journal about the Hodson Shop, use an internet access point and other resources to research local and family history, and record their own memories of life in the borough in the ‘Memory Book’.

Its development and collection of artefacts has been progressed thanks to support from members of the community.

An elders’ group run by the Walsall Black Sisters Collective and two primary schools in Walsall helped museum staff select artefacts for the display and their photographs can be seen in the gallery.

Pupils from Streetly Secondary School, studying for an OCR level II qualification in Travel & Tourism have helped by developing publicity posters for the gallery’s launch, while support was also received from local people who helped with photography, research and advice.

The gallery features an area entitled Your Corner, specifically for local community groups and individuals to put on their own displays. The first display in Your Corner will be by Walsall Local Black History Project, exploring the history and development of African Caribbean organisations in Walsall, and this will be followed in early 2009 by a display by the Crabtree Society on the history of the local Crabtree factory.

Walsall Museum is open from Tuesday to Friday 10.00am to 5.00pm and Saturdays from 10.00am to 4.00pm. It is closed on Sundays, Mondays and bank holidays.