Walsall Local History Centre

Walsall Local History Centre holds resources for the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall and is run by Walsall Council.  

Resources held by the Archive date from 1225 to the present day and include documents, manuscripts, maps, newspapers and photographs.

The borough’s building plans from 1870-1950 are also available at the Office.

The Jack Haddock Photo Book, a collection of rail, bus, canal and townscape photographs dating from the 1950s onwards, has been published by the Centre.

The photographs were taken by Jack Haddock, who was a local historian and photographer.

Whatever the reason for your visit, whether you wish to research the history of a house, conduct research for a school, college or university assignment, study your family history or are interested in the history of your local area, you will the documents held of use.  

The knowledgeable and helpful staff are always on hand to help should you have any questions or require assistance.

If you have any documents or other items relating to the history of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall that you would like to donate to the Archive to safeguard them for future generations and to make them publicly accessible, they would love to hear from you.

Information about Walsall Local History Centre

Collections

For information regarding their collections and their opening hours please visit the appropriate sections of their Home Page.  Their collections include:

• Business Records
• GRO Indexes
• IGI (International Genealogical Index)
• Local Census Returns
• Local History Books
• Local Newspapers from the 19th century for all areas of the borough
• Maps and Plans dating from the 1700s
• Oral History Records
• School Records
• Society Records
• Theatre Playbills
• Trade Directories
• Walsall Corporation and Walsall County Records
• Walsall Red Books

The Office also holds parish registers from local churches, available on microfiche or microfilm, but most records are held in Staffordshire Record Office or are still held by the church.

Photographs of Walsall in the past are available on their website, along with several articles, including:

• The Church, the Candle and the Explosion – Cath Yates
• The Gorgeous George – Walsall’s greatest coaching inn – Stuart Williams
• Joseph Tonks of Willenhall – the Poor Man’s Doctor – Stuart Williams
• Lost Astronomers of Old Walsall – Stuart Williams
• Second Lieutenant Harold Parry K.R.R.C. – Cath Yates
• Up the Chuckery with Billy Meikle – Stuart Williams and Billy Meikle
• When Wellington gave Boney the Boot – Cath Yates

Location and Directions

The Archive is located one mile from Walsall town centre and has an onsite car park.  
If travelling by train to Walsall, you must go to St Paul’s Street Bus Station if continuing your journey by bus or Leicester Street Tax Rank if continuing your journey by taxi.

Buses 301 or 302 stop near to the Office.

Booking

You do not need an appointment to visit, but booking is advisable if a microfilm or microfiche reader is required.  You can book one two-hour session per day, but if you are travelling from outside a 25 mile radius of the centre it is possible to book two sessions.

If you wish to peruse census returns, local newspapers, parish registers, the GRO Index or the International Genealogical Index (IGI), you must book a microfiche or microfilm reader.

Photography and Photocopying

The Office can provide black and white and colour photocopies of documents, but restrictions apply and they make a charge to people using this service.  They are not able to copy any document which is fragile and easily damaged.  Some documents cannot be copied because of copyright legislation.

You are allowed to use your own camera in the Office, but must purchase a photography permit before taking any photographs.  Some documents cannot be photographed because they are fragile and easily damaged, so it best to speak to a member of staff before taking any photographs.

Computers and Wi-Fi

The Office provides free access to the Internet, which includes Ancestry library edition.

Accessibility

The building is fully accessible, having disabled access and disabled customer toilets.

Refreshments

Drinks facilities are available in the Archive.  You are also welcome to eat your own food in their reception area.Many eating establishments are located in Walsall town centre, which is approximately 20 minutes (1 mile) walk from the Archive.

Shop

Many local history books are sold at the Centre, some of which include:

• Ahead of Time: story of transport built in Walsall
• Around the Town: Contains photographs of Walsall 1870s to the 1920s
• Biography of Joseph Alexander Leckie, politician, businessman and philanthropist
• Cholera Crisis in Walsall
• History of Walsall
• Maps: Reduced Size County Series OS
• Patriotic Endevaour – Aldridge Manor: History of the house as a military hospital during WW1
• Popular Education in Walsall 1760-1950
• Rook Pie and Orange Posset: Book of Recipes taken from Victorian Cook Books
• Street Names (various books)
• Old Parish Boundaries of Staffordshire
• The Two-Wheeled Time Traveller: book containing photographs dating from the 1950s of Walsall bus, rail, canal and townscape

Research Service

A research service is offered by Walsall Local History Centre for anyone unable to visit in person, for which a fee is charged.

Facebook and Twitter Accounts

The Archive has a Twitter Account, @WalsallLHCentre, where they provide information regarding their collections, events held at the Office, and family history and local history related news.

They also have a Facebook page where they provide information as above and also respond to visitors’ queries.

Readers’ Tickets

Walsall History Centre accepts the Archives Card

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For further details of Record Offices in Staffordshire, please visit my pages regarding Staffordshire Record Office, Dudley Archives, Sandwell Community History and Archive Service and Stoke on Trent City Archives.