A South Staffordshire Tramways tram.

The company had about 23 miles of track linking Darlaston, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Handsworth, Great Bridge, Dudley Port, Dudley, Walsall, and Bloxwich. In the first year about 4,000,000 passengers were carried.

The tram motors were of the Elwell-Parker type and built by E.C.C.

Another of the company's trams.

The tramway company's electricity generating station.

The boilers were made by Musgrave & Son of Bolton, and the posts to carry the overhead wires were produced by James Russell & Sons and John Russell & Company.

A large electricity generating station designed by Thomas Parker was built at the Pleck on the Walsall Road, just beyond where the M6 is today.

The trams, in their oak brown and cream livery, were a familiar sight around the Bull Stake. The South Staffordshire Tramways Company Limited ceased operating in 1924.

Another view of the generating station.

Another view from an old postcard of the tram queues on the Bull Stake.

A Walsall tram at the Bull Stake in about 1910.

In the late 1890s electricity came to the town, and was supplied by two companies; The Midland Electric Corporation for Power Distribution Limited in Church Street, and The Blast Furnace Power Syndicate, which quickly disappeared.

The old electricity sub station in Church Street.

The old fire station.

The first fire brigade consisted of volunteers and the engine was drawn by two horses named Nobby and Hellfire Jack. They were often borrowed by Mr. Turner, who as well as being one of the volunteers was also a coal merchant.

In the late 1920s Councillor Simmonds presented the town with its first motor fire engine, nicknamed Rose after his daughter.

The Police Station, administered from Stafford was the second such building in Darlaston. The first police station was set up in a house at 25 Church Street, with 6 constables, and one sergeant.
 

Darlaston Police Station.

Darlaston Town Football Club was founded in 1874. By the early 1890s the team regularly played on  the old Wakes Field off Waverley Road, which became Darlaston Football Ground. The club purchased the ground in July 1899, after which it became known as City Ground. The team played in the Walsall and District League before moving to the Birmingham Junior League. 1911 was a landmark year for the club which won the Birmingham Combination League Shield in the 1910/11 season.

The opening of Victoria Park

Martha and Jane Mills were the last two members of the family who founded Bills & Mills, which became the Darlaston Iron & Steel Company. They lived at Darlaston House in Victoria Road, and had a country home at Whitton near Ludlow. At the beginning of the century they decided to leave Darlaston, and move to Whitton. They gave the land on which the house was built to the town for use as a public park. Darlaston House was demolished, and Victoria park opened in 1902 as a belated commemoration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

Victoria Park in the early 1900's. From an old postcard.

Another view of Victoria Park, also from an old postcard.
 

Bob Smith

Favourite House as it is today.

In 1904 he had Favourite House built on the corner of Church Street and Bilston Street, and it lived up to its name as one of Darlaston's favourite shops.

It was a shop, showroom, workshop, warehouse, dwelling house, hairdressing salon, photographic studio, and a garage for his charabancs.

Bob was born at Great Bridge on 13th June, 1869. He had a paper round and did hairdressing while still at school.

At the age of 21 he married Sarah Jane, and moved to a terraced house at James Bridge. He opened a barbers shop at the house in the 1890s, and also did picture framing.

He decided to expand his business, and had Favourite House built for the purpose. He had a roof garden where he grew fruit including strawberries and apples, and sold many things in the shop, including toys, fancy goods, jewellery, hardware, and furniture.

Bob also carried out clock and watch repairs, and ran a dolls hospital where he repaired children's dolls.

There was an all-year round club with over 2,000 members, who each paid a subscription of one or two pence a week. This would soon mount-up and could be spent on anything in the shop. It was an early form of interest free credit.

An advert from 1921.

Bob standing in front of Favourite House. From an old postcard.

Club members had cards on which they could pay one or two pence a week towards the cost of their outings.

At Christmas he stood outside the shop dressed as Father Christmas selling penny dips.

In the general strike of 1926 with the help of a group of ladies, and his scouts, he provided hundreds of meals for the needy at his own expense.

Three of his sons and two of his daughters helped in the business. Sadly his wife Sarah died in 1936.

During both World Wars he gave generous help to people and organised the Darlaston branch of the Express & Star War Comforts Fund, placing collecting boxes in pubs and shops in the area.

He was a councillor for many years representing the Green Ward. Relaxation consisted of a game of cards or billiards at the nearby Conservative Club.

In later years he was helped in the shop by his daughter May, and housekeeper Eliza Fellows. When Eliza died in 1955 he decided to retire. He was 85 at the time.

He moved to his son George's house in Foley Street, Wednesbury, where he died in 1956. He is buried at James Bridge Cemetery.

Anyone in their mid 50s or above will remember Stanbury's gents outfitters shop near the top of King Street.

The shop was well known and is still fondly remembered today.

In the early 1900s William Walker Stanbury purchased Poplar House, one of the last remaining town houses in King Street, and added a single story extension on the front.

Stanbury's gents outfitters, 31 King Street.

William Walker Stanbury.

Some years later the famous Victorian novelist Mrs Henry Wood stayed in the house and whilst there wrote part of her best selling novel "East Lynne", published in 1861. The house later became a school for girls.

Mr. Stanbury's business was very successful and he became a local councillor. The shop remained in use until the late 1960s, after which it became derelict.

After being empty for several years, the shop and house were demolished in 1973. The modern ASDA supermarket occupies the site today.

William Stanbury became a prominent member of Darlaston Urban District Council and served on a number of council committees including the Finance Committee, the Highways Committee, the Housing Committee, the Child Welfare Committee, and the General Purpose Committee.

It shows John and Ann Maria Stevens, and their dog Monty at the back of their home in Cock Street where they had a shop.

They previously lived and worked on canal boats around the Black Country. All of their children were born at this time, and all survived.

After a thorough examination by an expert the building proved to be unsafe and so a complete rebuild in stone was undertaken.

The work, including a new clock amounted to £3,000, much of which was raised by public subscription. The new building opened in 1907.

St. Lawrence's Church. From an old postcard.

The old entrance gates into the churchyard are clearly visible. They were replaced by the lich gate in 1943.

Pinfold Street in the 1920s. From an old postcard.

View a 1918 Darlaston trades directory

George Rose Park was named after John George Rose, Chairman of the Council from 1911 to 1914, and 1919 until 1924.

After the 1914-1918 war, unemployment in Darlaston was high, with about 2,000 people out of work.

George Rose introduced several schemes to find work for them, one of which was the building of the park.

George Rose Park. From an old postcard.

The park gates. From an old postcard.

The park was built on an old mining area known as Herbert's Park, that consisted wasteland, slag heaps, and pit mounds. The council paid £2,000 for Herbert's Park, and £551 for an adjacent piece of land. The project began in 1921 and took three years to complete. Casual employment was found for over 700 unemployed people, who were paid from a special fund amounting to £3,349, that was set aside for the purpose.

Town Architect C. W. D. Joynson designed the park, in which the old pit mounds were incorporated as grass covered banks. On Saturday 29th March, 1924 a ceremony was held at the nearly completed park. Hundreds of people came along and 140 lime trees were planted by individuals and organisations to form a walkway known as Yardley Avenue, in recognition of Alderman Yardley's services to the town. Councillor George Rose gave a speech during which he said that football pitches, cricket pitches, tennis courts, a bowling green, and a children's playground would be provided. He also asked for donations to cover the cost of a bandstand, a shelter, and some seats.

It had been intended to add a swimming pool at a later date, but it never materialised.

The park was formally opened in pouring rain on the afternoon of Saturday 1st November, 1924. Sadly George Rose died in August, 1924 and so didn't live to see the opening. The park was named after him in recognition of his help for the unemployed.

Another view of the park. From an old postcard.

On the afternoon of the opening a large procession headed by the town band made its way from the Town Hall to the park. Alderman Yardley performed the opening ceremony by unlocking the gates in Willenhall Street with a silver key. In his speech he said:

The thoughts of all assembled here must inevitably be tinged with sadness upon the reflection that the one man who inspired the idea of the park and did so much to bring the scheme to a successful issue, has not been spared to witness the realisation of one of his most treasured dreams. I refer of course to our late Chairman. I am sure that you will agree with me when I say that no more fitting memorial could be raised to his memory than this park, which will ever be known as George Rose Park and remain a permanent record of the good work of one of Darlaston's most faithful and loyal citizens.

After the opening, the procession reassembled and made its way to the Owen Recreation Ground at Darlaston Green.

The park covered 34 acres, and was created at a cost of £16,000.

The area had previously been extensively mined and consisted of spoil heaps from the numerous gin pits. Much of the clay came from the spoil heaps and the production processes were fully mechanised including a Hoffman continuous kiln capable of drying over 200,000 bricks a week.

An advert from 1963.

The old public baths.

The pool measured 100ft. by 35ft., and the depth varied from 3ft. to 9ft. 3 inches. It held 133,000 gallons of water, that was filtered, heated, aerated, and sterilised at the rate of 35,000 gallons per hour. Facilities existed for organised instruction in all types of swimming, life saving, and water polo.

Funds were eventually raised for a replacement swimming pool and the new baths opened in November 2000. The award winning pool was designed by Hodder Associates and Consulting Engineer Arup.

The interior of the baths in 1976.