History of Dudley Town

Dudley is a place-name composed of two Anglo-Saxon words Dudda and Leah. The former is a masculine personal name and the latter the term for a well wooded estate. Together they translate as Dudda's Woodland Estate. The modern spelling is a later corruption.

 

The town of Dudley originated in the same period when it was a small village at the foot of Castle Hill. Its earlier name was probably Upton to diffentiate it from Netherton the other village in the estate. The fact that Upton was the major settlement is suggested by the foundation of a parish church dedicated to the Anglo-Saxon martyr, King Edward of East Anglia in the original centre of the settlement. Dudley, as the name of the settlement, took the place of Upton before 1066.

 

In the aftermath of the Norman Conquest, the lands in the West Midlands remained in the hands of Earl Edwin of Mercia. In 1070, however, he was involved in an unsuccessful rebellion against William The Conqueror. As a consequence he forfeited his estates (and his life). The estates were then divided amongst King William's followers.

 

Ansculf of Piciguiny benefited from this division and amongst the land grants he received was the estate of Dudley. Here he built a fortification of earth and timber, called a Motte and Bailey Castle. This building was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and by this time the castle was held by Ansculf's son William fitz Ansculf.

 

The Ansculf's were followed by the Paganels and Ralph Paganel converted the wooden castle into a stone one prior to 1153 when the castle was attacked by King Stephen in a civil war known as 'The Anarchy'. As he was unable to get in, (though he burnt the village down and stole their stock) we can assume that the defences were complete. After the war Ralph's son Gervase enlargened the village into a borough (town). Most of the area of the town had previously been part of a large open field and the curved shape of the plough lands can still be seen fossilised in many of the passageways and boundaries.

 

The medieval town was bounded by Pease Lane (Tower Street) and Back Lane (King Street) which were small lanes that led to the towns open agricultural fields beyond. The leading tradesmen were called burgesses who traded in the new Borough and paid rent to the lord of the castle. The main focus of town life was provided by the market place which was large enough to hold herds of cattle, as well as the market stalls.The medieval town had its own market cross and pillory which stood near the present fountain. Dudley as a borough was important enough to have a Hundred Court and an Assize (law court) and sent its own representatives to parliament in 1295.

 

Gervase also founded a priory dedicated to St James and Dudley's second church St. Thomas's in or about 1180. The monks were very important in the towns well being. They cured the sick in their hospital, educated children in their school and looked after the old and infirm. They also managed to get permission for Dudley to hold a fair on St. James Day (July 2nd). The Somerys followed the Paganels as Barons of Dudley sometimes they helped in organising the town as in 1314 when John de Somery had a tax imposed in order to pave Market Place.

 

Most crime in medieval Dudley was petty trading offences only ocassionally was a murder committed like the death of Thomas the Miller in Horse Pool (Stone Street Square) in 1274. More violent ocassions ocurred when William Fisher (Fisher Street) and other townsman attacked the castle in 1330. This was not a war between town and castle but the locals joining one of the factions in a family feud between the Sutton's and the Botetourt's over the lordship of Dudley; the Suttons won. There were some extremely wealthy families in medieval Dudley; burgesses like: the Russell's of Russell's Hall and the Freebodies of Kates Hill. William Spere was so wealthy in 1402 he owned a sea going 84 ton ship called Le Mary of Otermouth.

 

Not all the goods in the market place were agricultural products. Iron had been worked in Dudley from time immemorial. Nail making was particularly important and in the 14th century local manufactures were supplying their products nationally. Reynold Warde of Dudley, supplied at nails at 11/4 (57p) a thousand to King Henry VIII in 1538.

 

The dissolution of the Priory in 1535 was a disaster for Dudley as it lost most of its social services in one sweep. Eventually a school was founded from an old chantry and the workhouse evolved to cater for the old, sick and unemployed.

 

During the Civil War the royalist garrison demolished St Edmunds for strategic reasons. In 1645 they heard that the opposing forces were going to lay siege to the castle. They commandeered local cattle and were driving them down the High Street when the Parliamentarian army arrived. As they retreated to the castle they set fire to the lower part of the town. They townsmen would not put the fire out as they feared being shot. So a substantial part of Castle Street was destroyed. After the war the town underwent a new prosperity. Elegant town houses like Finches House in Hampton Lane (Wolverhampton Street) and Dixon's House in Sheep Lane (Priory Street) were constructed.

 

The containment of the town by the traditional open field system put increasing pressure on the available space in the town. Growth could only occur as ribbon development along the major highways. The releasing of priory land by the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century gave the impetus for growth on the north-west side of the town, but this was really not sufficient. In the 18th century the pattern of land use in the former open field system was changed. This Enclosure of the land resulted in people owning their own plots rather than sharing the whole field. This marked a radical shift in town society which was just in time as the town was at bursting point.

 

Then in the 19th century the use of the fields were changed to factories and mines and the population increased to supply the workforce. The densly packed town and poor sanitation resulted in sickeness and a high mortality rate. The average lifespan in the 1850's for a male was 19 years. Individuals tried to alleviate this suffering. The Earl of Dudley was a great benefactor, called 'the poor mans friend', his statue stands at the bottom of Castle Street.

 

Growth then rapidly occurred to the south and west, filling up the valley side between Hall Street and Back Lane (renamed King Street) and High Street and Smith Lane (renamed Wolverhampton Street). These areas continued to expand but were soon joined by the creation of the Birmingham Road and development of land to the north-east and Queens Cross to the south west. By this time the suburbs were growing as well; Dixons Green, Cawney Hill and Kates Hill had grown together by the 1860's and was joined to Dudley by the 1880's.

 

The town began a programme of rebuilding and the release of disused collieries and factory sites for development allowed the rehousing of many of the inhabitants and the demolition of the old slums. This rejuvination of Dudley is shown in the erection of the fountain in Market Street. A flamboyant Italian Renaissance structure which was opened by Georgina, Countess of Dudley in 1887.

 

This was not before time as the town centre had become even more densely packed than in the 18th century and the poor sanitary arrangements led to sickness and death. The new released land gave some people a chance to move out but it was not until the middle of the 20th century that the release of large areas of land at Russells Hall, Wrens Nest and the Priory meant that the traditional town centre began to lose its inhabitants.

 

Today, Dudley is a rich palimpsest. Each age has left its legacy; from the medieval market place and layout of the centre. Through to its 17th and 18th century parish church and houses and 19th and 20th century civic and commercial structures.

 

Information collated by the Borough Archaeologist