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Kingswinford Leasing

Did You Know?

The current economic focus of Kingswinford is tourism, education and housing for commuters. Positioned at the western edge of the Black Country conurbation it looks out on the fields of farms of rural Staffordshire.

Historically in Staffordshire, Kingswinford is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086; its name relates to a ford for the King's swine (Kingswin(e)ford) – Latin Swinford Regis.

Events at the beginning of the seventeenth century made Kingswinford famous in English history with the involvement of John Littleton of Holbeche in the Gunpowder Plot. During this century entries in the Kingswinford registers of scythesmiths, colliers and nailers show some evidence of the changes which were to put an end to its rural character Though most of the men were still engaged in farming the parish was becoming industrialised.

The population of the parish increased rapidly during the eighteenth century and from the beginning of the nineteenth century at the time of the "Industrial Revolution" the inhabitants began to regard themselves as belonging to individual townships that had been built up and in the 1840s with the division of the parish into six ecclesiastical parishes it can be said that this was the end of the old parish of Kingswinford.

There is an area at the end of Kingswinford which has been known as Townsend dating back to 19th century maps of the area. It was centred on Townsend House, the family seat of the Badley family from the 17th until the early 20th century. The Georgian house was demolished in the 1950s to build a shopping centre. John Badley of Townsend (1678–1768) was an ancestor of John Badley, FRCS and John Haden Badley the centenarian educator and founder of Bedales School.

St. Mary's Church, Kingswinford, parts of the tower date back to the 11th century. It remained the church of the huge parish of Kingswinford until it was threatened by mining activities in 1831. It re-opened in 1846 to serve a much smaller parish.

It is said that Kingswinford can trace its history back to Roman times, certainly the earthwork at Ashwood, a mile west of Wall Heath, has been recognised as a Roman Camp since at least 1686.

Events at the beginning of the seventeenth century made Kingswinford famous in English history with the involvement of John Littleton of Holbeche in the Gunpowder Plot During this century entries in the Kingswinford registers of scythesmiths, colliers and nailers show some evidence of the changes which were to put an end to its rural character Though most of the men were still engaged in farming the parish was becoming industrialised.