Visit Walsall Places

Welcome to Visit Walsall Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Walsall

  

Walsall Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Walsall

---

Walsall history

---

Early settlement

The name Walsall is derived from “Walh halh”, meaning “valley of the Welsh”, referring to the British who first lived in the area . It is believed that a manor was held here by William FitzAnsculf, who held numerous manors in the Midlands . The town was visited by Queen Elizabeth I, when it was known as ‘Walshale’ Queen Mary’s Grammar School was founded in 1554 .

Industrial Revolution

Walsall was a village of 2,000 people in the 16th century to a town of over 86,000 in approximately 200 years . The town manufactured a wide range of products including saddles, chains, buckles and plated ware . In 1824, the Walsal Corporation received an Act of Parliament to improve the town by providing lighting and a gasworks .

First World War

Over 2000 men from Walsall were killed in fighting during the First World War . The town’s cenotaph is located on the site of a bomb which was dropped by Zeppelin ‘L 21’ The town also has a memorial to two local VC recipients, John Henry Carless and Frederick Gibbs .

20th-century developments

Walsall’s first cinema opened in the town centre in 1908 . Slum clearances began after the end of World War I, with thousands of 19th-century buildings being demolished as the 20th century wore on . The Saddlers Centre, a modern shopping mall, opened in 1980, being refurbished within a decade . The Memorial Gardens opened in 1952 in honour of the town’s fallen combatants of the two world wars .

21st century

The town’s new art gallery opened at Town Wharf in early 2000 . Crown Wharf retail park opened nearby, accommodating retailers including Next and TK Maxx . New private and social housing has been built on the site of most of the demolished properties .

Redevelopment and local government reorganisation

Walsall underwent modernisation in the 1970s with a new town centre being built at the expense of some medieval properties . The Saddlers’ Centre, a modern shopping complex, was opened in the town centre in 1980 . The Savoy Cinema was a landmark on Park Street for more than half a century after its opening on 3 October 1938 .

Walsall culture & places

Arboretum and illuminations

Walsall Arboretum officially opened on 4 May 1874 by the wealthy Hatherton family . It was hoped that the park would provide “a healthy change from dogfights, bull-baiting and cockfights” However the 2d (old pence) admission was not popular with the public and within seven years the council took over ownership to provide free admission . The Illuminations had up to sixty thousand bulbs and took year-round planning .

Art gallery

The New Art Gallery Walsall opened in 2000 . Named in memory of Ethel Mary Flint, head of art at Queen Mary’s Grammar School . Works by Van Gogh, Monet, Turner, Renoir and Constable .

Museums

Walsall Museum featured local history objects primarily from the manufacturing trades . The leather museum displays a mixture of leather goods and has recreations of leatherworkers workshops .

Public art

The refurbished Sister Dora statue stands at the crossroads of Park Street and Bridge Street . Opposite this stood a locally famous concrete hippopotamus, which has since been moved to outside the library . The hippo was designed by local architect and sculptor John Wood .

Literature

John Petty (1919–1973) set a number of his books in Walsall, most famously Five Fags a Day (1956) Paul McDonald has used the town as a location for Surviving Sting (2001) and Kiss Me Softly, Amy Turtle (2004)

TV and radio

Big Centre TV was for a short time based in Walsall town centre . It ceased broadcasting at midnight on Friday 4 November 2016 and reopened and relaunched as Made in Birmingham at 6 pm on Tuesday 8 November 2016 . On 19 August 2018, rebranded its social media pages as Birmingham TV .

Sport

Walsall has a number of non-league football clubs based within the borough . The Saddlers were founded in 1888 and play in Football League Two . The borough was once home to a horse racing course and a Formula 1 constructor .

Shopping

In 1809, a market house was constructed at the end of High Street, on the site of the market cross, for the sale of poultry, eggs, butter and dairy produce . A pig market was constructed in the town in 1815 on High Street . In 1847, the corporation tried to construct a new market hall on the ‘Bowling Green’, to the rear of the Dragon Inn . The scheme proposed to use a large amount of public money to construct the hall . Shopkeepers feared their businesses would be affected and demonstrations were held across the town against the proposals .

Walsall geography / climate

The soil of Walsall consists mainly of clay with areas of limestone quarried during the Industrial Revolution. Barr Beacon is reportedly the highest point following its latitude eastwards until the Ural Mountains in Russia.

You can visit Walsall places with Walkfo Walsall to hear history at Walsall’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Walsall has 72 places to visit in our interactive Walsall map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Walsall, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Walsall places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Walsall & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 72 audio facts unique to Walsall places in an interactive Walsall map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Walsall Places Map
72 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

---

–

Walsall historic spots	Walsall tourist destinations	Walsall plaques	Walsall geographic features
Walkfo Walsall tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Walsall

  

Best Walsall places to visit

---

Walsall has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Walsall’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Walsall’s information audio spots:

St Gabriel’s Church, Walsall St Gabriel’s Church is a Church of England parish church in Walsall, West Midlands . Its parish includes Fullbrook, Caldmore, Bescot, The Delves, Palfrey and Tamebridge and Yew Tree .

Yew Tree, West Bromwich The Yew Tree Estate is located at Sandwell’s border with Walsall . Developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by West Bromwich County Borough Council for municipal housing .

Bentley, West Midlands Bentley is located around Junction 10 of the M6 Motorway. It is also a rural village of houses towards its eastern sides. It shares borders with Willenhall, Beechdale, Ashmore Park, Pleck, Darlaston and Alumwell.

Birchills Power Station Birchills power station and Walsall power station are a series of three coal-fired power stations in the West Midlands. The stations are located in or near, or in, or near Walsalls, England. Birchills is one of the three power stations built in the 1960s and 1970s.

Emmanuel Church, Bentley Emmanuel Church, Bentley is a parish church in the Church of England in Bentley, West Midlands. It is located in the West Midlands and is situated in the East Midlands.

St Andrew’s Church, Walsall St Andrew’s Church is a Free Church of England church in Bentley, Walsall, West Midlands. Three services are held weekly every Sunday at 10am, 11:30am & 6pm.

Darlaston Town (1874) F.C. Darlaston Town (1874) Football Club is based in Walsall, West Midlands. They are currently members of the Midland League Division One and play at the Bentley Sports Pavilion.

Walsall Leather Museum Walsall Leather Museum tells the story of the leather trade in the West Midlands. It charted the town’s rise from a small market town into an international saddle-making centre. The museum was opened in 1988, in a Victorian factory building renovated by council.

The New Art Gallery Walsall The New Art Gallery Walsall is a modern and contemporary art gallery. It was built with £21 million of public funding, including £15.75 million from the UK National Lottery. Admission to the gallery is free.

Harden, Walsall Harden is an area to the north of Walsall and borders with Bloxwich, Blakenall Heath, Coalpool, Goscote and Rushall. The whole area was part of the industrial revolution, with mining and metal processing being the main industries.

Visit Walsall plaques