Samuel Mills

The Mills family began as a working-class family with their own business, who suffered a great tragedy when the bread-earner died at an early age. Out of adversity the family went on to become one of the wealthiest families in Darlaston, thanks to a wise marriage, and excellent business abilities.

Samuel's father, Thomas Fellows Mills was a butcher, who died in 1806 at the age of 23. He left behind his 27 year old widow Elizabeth, and Samuel, just under one year old. In 1813 Elizabeth married Richard Bills.

In 1826, Richard, a gunlock maker of Church Street, established a furnace and foundry at Furnace Lane, Lower Green, where Heath Road is today. He made his stepson Samuel Mills a full partner on his 21st birthday, the company became known as Bills & Mills. Richard died in 1849 and Samuel took over the business which grew to become the largest iron and steel company in the area. The company also owned many coal mines and a great deal of land.

Samuel married 22 year old Phoebe Tilley at St. Lawrence's Church on 16th March, 1830 and they purchased their first house at Caldmore, where their first three children were born. They were Martha, Thomas and Ellen. Thomas died when just 16 months old.

Seven years later the family moved to Kings Hill Field, possibly situated on Walsall Road and two more children soon followed; Elizabeth and Phoebe. Another daughter Jane was born a little later.

The family next moved to Poplar House at 31 King Street where ASDA is today. The house is remembered because of the famous Victorian novelist Mrs Henry Wood, a relative of the Mills family, who wrote part of her successful book ‘East Lynne’ at the house while staying there. It was published in 1861. The house later became a girls’ school, and then a shop, after it was acquired by William Walker Stanbury. Most of the older inhabitants will remember the shop which was a tailors and outfitters. The Mills family finally moved to Darlaston House in Pardoes Lane, on the western end of what is now Victoria Park.

The location of Darlaston House.

They had a total of ten children, but all, except Elizabeth, Martha, and Jane died at an early age. Elizabeth married James Slater in 1861, but Martha and Jane never married. Samuel died in 1864 and his wife Phoebe died in 1883. The original All Saints Church in Walsall Road was built in 1872 in Samuel's memory.

Darlaston House stood on the western end of what is now Victoria Park. The house and its surrounding land occupied the modern Rectory Avenue, the Post Office, and the area behind Pardoe's Cottage, where the dovecote still stands.

 In the 1920s when foundations were dug for the war memorial in Victoria Road, the ground gave way to reveal part of the cellars of Darlaston House. The workmen found a number of bottles of wine, much of which was drunk there and then, although some bottles of parsnip wine did find their way to The Green Dragon in Church Street, were they went on sale. The original All Saints Church in Walsall Road was built in 1872 in memory of Samuel Mills, who died in 1864. All Saints’ National School in Whitton Street which opened in July 1874 was paid for by the Mills family.

Samuel Mills.

Samuel was a churchwarden at St. Lawrence’s Church in 1853, 1858, and 1865. His son Richard was also a churchwarden during 1884, the year of his death.

Samuel Mills became a large landowner. Although most of his land was used for mining, the area between Station Street, Bull Street, Bills Street, and Walsall Road was used for housing. Several streets were built on the land including Tilley Street, named after Phoebe, and Bills Street, named after Richard and Elizabeth.

Part of the Columbarium off Rectory Avenue, which was a dovecote, stables, and coach house for Darlaston House. Photo courtesy of Tony Highfield.

The largest land-owning family in this part of the Black Country were the Levesons who had large houses in Willenhall and Wolverhampton. They married well, becoming the Leveson-Gowers, the Dukes of Sutherland. They owned a lot of property and coal mines in Darlaston. Long after the family had left the area, they sold the bulk of their Darlaston properties and coal mines to the Mills family and the Addenbrooke family. One of the pieces of land included the site of St. George’s Vicarage, which was given to the church by Addenbrooke, Smith and Pidcock.

Samuel Mills became a wealthy man, thanks to the success of Bills & Mills, and the earnings from his many collieries in the area. In 1855 he leased the Essington Wood Colliery which was situated on the western side of Bursnips Road, Essington. He purchased the colliery in 1860 and ran it as a separate business alongside Bills & Mills.

The Columbarium in 2006. Courtesy of Kevin McKeown.

After Samuel’s death in 1864, Martha and Jane continued to live in Darlaston House, and also had a country home at Whitton Court, Whitton, near Ludlow. Jane, a public spirited lady who did much for the town was born in 1848. She founded an institute in connection with the Parish Church to help the needy women and girls of Darlaston. A building was erected near to Darlaston House to house the institute. It was given to the town when Jane and Martha left Darlaston and moved to Whitton Court at the beginning of the 20th century. The institute, later known as the "Mothers Meeting and Girl's Institute" eventually became a clinic and later "The Sons of Rest". The building is now a family home. Jane and Martha also gave the land on which Darlaston House was built to the town for use as a public park, and Victoria Park opened in 1902 as a belated commemoration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

Samuel Mills was also involved in local government as a member of the Darlaston Board of Surveyors. In 1846 the old system of Vestry Government was finally abandoned and a Board of Surveyors constituted. The traditional supremacy of the church was not completely ignored, as members of the Board were elected by a show of hands at a Vestry meeting. The members of the Board were as follows:

George Jones was succeeded as Chairman by Samuel Rubery who in turn was succeeded by Samuel Mills.

In 1869 the Local Government Act of 1858 was adopted and a Local Board formed in preference to the unsatisfactory Board of Surveyors. Twenty members were elected by the ratepayers. The candidates included almost everyone of note in the town, including Richard Mills, son of Samuel and Phoebe. The successful candidates were as follows:

The first meeting was held on 15th February, 1870 in the upper room of the old malthouse behind the White Lion in King Street.

All Saints' Church and the Mills family

The parish of All Saints was formed in 1872, the church being built and consecrated by Bishop Selwyn in the same year. The building, in Early English style was built of brick and designed by George Edward Street, R.A. The church consisted of a nave, aisles, vestry and a small turret with two exposed bells. The building seated 500 adults and 40 children and was erected as a memorial to Samuel Mills by his widow and children. The church had one of the finest stained-glass windows in Staffordshire, made by Morris to the designs of the artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones, R.A. and an organ built by Bryceson Brothers and Morton. The church contained a magnificent wrought iron chancel screen given by W. Martin Winn in memory of his father, and a large brass lectern given by F.H. Lloyd & Company. 

In 1906 a piece of land adjacent to the church was acquired by Mrs. Samuel Mills, Mr. S. M. Slater and
Mr. A. Slater on which to build a parish hall. The land was offered to the church at half-a-crown a square yard and became an extension to the All Saints Day School playground. The original purpose for purchasing the land was forgotten and so the parish hall was not built until the early 1930s after the original purpose had been rediscovered. The church and parish hall were destroyed by a bomb on 31st July, 1942 during a bombing raid on Guest Keen & Nettlefolds' Atlas works. It made a crater 50ft. deep and 40ft. wide. Luckily there were no casualties. This was the only church in the diocese of Lichfield to be destroyed by enemy action.

On the same night a second bomb landed on the cinder wall at the front of the Railway Tavern at James Bridge. Luckily it failed to explode.

Inscriptions on the family monument in St. Lawrence’s Church:

In memory of Thomas Fellows Mills, who died on March 28th, 1806 aged 23 years.
Richard Bills who married Elizabeth, widow of the above. He died on June 16th, 1849 aged 72 years.
Elizabeth, widow of the above Richard Bills, who dies on January 8th, 1861, aged 82 years.
Thomas, son of Samuel and Phoebe Mills who died on November 8th, 1836, aged 15 months.
Alice, daughter of Samuel and Phoebe Mills who died on January 30th, 1855 aged 16 months.
Samuel Mills, son of Thomas Fellows Mills who died on December 17th, 1864 aged 59 years.
Phoebe, wife of Samuel Mills who died on April 5th, 1883 aged 74 years.
Phoebe, wife of the Rev. Henry Farrow, vicar of Fulford, York, who died on Christmas day 1880, aged 41 years.
Ellen, wife of the Rev. James Loy, vicar of Neston, Wiltshire, who died on November 23rd, 1882 aged 48 years.
Richard, son of Samuel and Phoebe Mills who died on April 3rd, 1884 aged 38 years.
 

James Slater

James was born in New Street, Darlaston in 1836, the son of printer, stationer and bookseller, Thomas Slater. The family soon moved to King Street where Thomas opened a shop and a printing works. James was educated at Shifnal Grammar School and afterwards articled to Wednesbury solicitor J.H. Thursfield. James eventually became a solicitor and ran his business at premises in Walsall Road. James married 23 years old Elizabeth, daughter of industrialist Samuel Mills in 1861 and they had five sons and six daughters.

He went into partnership with W. Marshall, until Mr. Marshall’s untimely death, after which James’ eldest son Archibald ran the business with his father. The business grew to become one of the largest of its kind in the area. One of their clients was Sister Dora.

James was a churchwarden, Chairman of the Local Board and performed the opening ceremony of the Town Hall in October 1888. Slater Street is named after him.

There is also a Slater Street in Willenhall that's named after him. He was one of the original directors of John Harper & Company Limited, founded in 1888, and a Justice of the Peace, as was his son Maurice, who sat on the Willenhall Bench for many years. 

The back of Bescot hall.

William Winn

William Winn was born at Mere Green, Sutton Coldfield in 1838. His father was Joseph Winn. William had a sister, Mary Ann, and a brother, Joseph, who died at an early age. William served an apprenticeship at Mr. Overton's grocers shop in Walsall, and became a successful and well known shopkeeper in Darlaston with a shop in Church Street and another below where he lived in Pinfold Street, next to the Black Horse. William sold grocery, provisions, wines and spirits, was a pawnbroker, and became a member of the Local Board and the first Urban District Council in 1895.

He married Jane, who was born in 1847, and eventually moved to one of Darlaston’s most impressive Victorian houses, “Ilmington” in Crescent Road. The house was named after Jane's birthplace, Ilmington in Warwickshire.
They had three children, one son and two daughters.

William’s shop at 21 Pinfold Street was the first building in Darlaston to be lit by electricity. He purchased a dynamo and capitalised on it by advertising when the lights would be in operation. People came from all around the Black Country to view the spectacle and he always had many bargains on hand to sell to visitors.