Old Hill

Old Hill (1) is a small town about 3 miles south of Dudley and 2 miles north of Halesowen. both important Black Country towns.  The centre of the town, a crossroads between the Halesowen to Dudley and Cradley Heath to Rowley roads was known unsurprisingly as "The Cross".  Old Hill, together with neigbouring Cradley Heath became a centre of the chain making industry from the mid-nineteenth century (2), a period of industrial expansion and, simultaneously worker exploitation [3]. 

The production of small chain was largely done in small workshops known as "chain shops" at the rear of the terraced houses as "outwork".   The raw materials,  e.g. iron rods were provided by a chain manufacturer who often had their own chain works.  They collected the product of their outworkers for storage in their local warehouse and onward sale, their being a large demand for small chain in the transport and agricultural industries as well as nails for construction.  Shamefully, although there seems to be a lack of written records it is probable that chain and collars were exported to the United States and the Caribbean for use in the slave trade (5).  The manufacturing of  chain in backyard workshops was at its maximum in the 1800s.  An example of this was the Eliza Tinsley Company of Reddal Hill Rd. (3) who had approximately 2000 outworkers in 1896.  Numbers declined in the 1900s as machine manufacturing was introduced but by 1934 there were still 72 chain shops and chain works in Old Hill, about a third of the total in Great Britain.

The strike rapidly became an international cause célèbre (6) rallying public support across all sections of society, from trade unions to politicians and members of the aristocracy (6,7).  Donations flooded in, providing crucial strike pay that allowed the women, who had no personal savings, to survive (6,7).  The strike officially ended on October 22, 1910, when the last employer finally conceded (7).

Old Hill's other claim to fame is Haden Hill Park, a public park of historical and architectural interest, containing two remarkable buildings: the late 17th century Haden Old Hall and the Victorian Haden Hill House (8).  The Haden Hill estate potentially has roots in the thirteenth century, built up over hundreds of years by the Haden family (8).   Haden Old Hall  was the home of Henry Haden (1633–1675), the first Haden to adopt the title of 'gentleman' (8). The Haden line culminated with Anna Eliza Haden (1790–1876), who died childless, leaving the estate to her half-brother’s nephew, George Alfred Haden Best in 1877 (8) on the condition that he incorporate the Haden name into his surname, thus he became George Alfred Haden Haden-Best who embarked on a major transformation of the estate, shifting it from a farm to a grand-style residence with parkland [9].  The residence, the large Victorian Haden Hill House next to the Old Hall, was designed with modern conveniences of the era, including underfloor heating, piped water, flush toilets, and a gas supply (8).  The grounds were also landscaped to create walks and gardens that cleverly emphasised the scenic views south toward the Clent Hills while concealing the less attractive industrial landscape of the Black Country to the north (8).   George Alfred Haden Haden-Best was a local benefactor known for his philanthropy, funding education and supporting the local Sunday School.  He notably adopted two local girls, Emily Bryant and Alice Cockin, raising them as his own with an upper-class lifestyle (9).  Haden-Best died in 1921 and Rowley Regis Urban District Council purchased Haden Hill House, Haden Hall, and the parkland following a public subscription.  Haden Hill House is now a museum, open to the public together with the park.   You can learn more of the history of the Haden Best and Bassano families and their houses in the High Haden area in an excellent YouTube video 

Near to Haden Hill is the historic Corngreaves Hall which fell into disrepair but more recently has been refurbished into luxury apartments.  The History of Corngreaves Hall by Margaret Bradley (10) has fascinating detail of the families who lived at the hall as well as the associated mines, forges, steel works in the Corngreaves location.  The most prominent landmark in the town itself is the Church of the Holy Trinity on Halesowen Road (1) which has an interesting origin: its foundation in the early 1870s was a direct result of local religious discord;  group of worshippers, including Walter Bassano, nephew of George Alfred Haden Haden-Best, sought a more Protestant liturgy and evangelical style of worship than that practised at the existing St Luke’s Church in Cradley Heath, which had adopted a High Church form of worship (1). This led to the construction of Holy Trinity, completed circa 1875.

Much of the content of this page has been sourced from the excellent website "Brief history of Old Hill by Mollymae" referenced in the Bibliography.  Also in the Bibliography is a fascinating YouTube video by David England called simply "Old Hill".  There is an introduction by David England himself for about the first third of video with the actual content of Old Hill following.  You can find it here; if you look closely you might see the street you were born in!

References

1. "Old Hill". Wikipedia. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

2. Mollymae (July 10, 2015). "Brief history of Old Hill by Mollymae". Best's Angels. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

3. "Eliza Tinsley". Wikipedia. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

4. Moss, Ron (2006). Chain and Anchor making in the Black Country. Stroud: Sutton. pp. 15–17. ISBN 0750942215.

5. https://www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/craft/chain-making/#:~:text=Cradley%20Heath%20in%20the%20Black,anchor%20chain%20to%20dog%20chain.

6. "The women chainmakers of Cradley Heath". University of Warwick. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

7. "Women Chainmakers". TUC - Trades Union Congress. June 10, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

8. "Haden Hill Park". Wikipedia. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

9. "Best's Angels". Best's Angels. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

10. The History of Corngreaves Hall by Margaret Bradley. https://static.wikitide.net/cradleylinkswiki/e/e9/History_of_corngreaves_hall.pdf

Bibliography

Mollymae (July 10, 2015). "Brief history of Old Hill by Mollymae". Best's Angels. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

Britain in Old Photographs: Cradley Heath, Old Hill & District by Ron Moss and Bob Clarke, 1998.  Sutton Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7509-2066-1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7wCs_MM-6Q